Gun Identification

[TheWingedPenguin1976]

Hello,
I do not know much about guns but I was recently gifted this. Any information would be greatly appreciated! The grip is also missing a screw and I am hoping to find a replacement if possible. Thank you for your time!

 

[MelvinWalker]

It was a British Service Revolver originally in .38 S&W and not .38 Special...Made in probably 1942 or so....At some point, your gun had it's 5 inch barrel chopped off and a new front sight installed. The whole thing was then nickeled, plastic faux stag "Franzite" grips placed on it....The yours and tens of thousands of others were sold in places like late 1950's and early 60's magazines like Shooting Times and American Rifleman...Usually for $29

If the cylinder has been reamed out, it will shoot .38 Special, which was often done as well depending on which company was doing these conversions...If not, then it is still in its original caliber of .38 S&W....The gun also had a lanyard ring on the butt of the gun from the factory. The first thing importers did was remove that ring and fill in the hole. You can still see where the hole was in your gun.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Whatever it is it has had the barrel shortened and it has been reimported from the UK. And badly plated. Looks like maybe a filled-in lanyard hole. 4-screw (or maybe 5 screw). Zero value except as a shooter. Caliber would be important. What does the other side of the barrel say?

 

[JP@AK]

maybe 5 screw

All BSRs and Victory models have five frame screws.

Here's a tip for identifying the five-screw vs the four-screw (on K and N frames): If the top side plate screw is present, the unit has five screws. This is true on all K frames after 1905 and on all N frames.

 

[TheWingedPenguin1976]

It was a British Service Revolver originally in .38 S&W and not .38 Special...Made in probably 1942 or so....At some point, your gun had it's 5 inch barrel chopped off and a new front sight installed. The whole thing was then nickeled, plastic faux stag "Franzite" grips placed on it....The yours and tens of thousands of others were sold in places like late 1950's and early 60's magazines like Shooting Times and American Rifleman...Usually for $29

If the cylinder has been reamed out, it will shoot .38 Special, which was often done as well depending on which company was doing these conversions...If not, then it is still in its original caliber of .38 S&W....The gun also had a lanyard ring on the butt of the gun from the factory. The first thing importers did was remove that ring and fill in the hole. You can still see where the hole was in your gun.

Thank you so much for the reply!

 

[444 Magnum]

Whatever it is it has had the barrel shortened and it has been reimported from the UK. And badly plated. Looks like maybe a filled-in lanyard hole. 4-screw (or maybe 5 screw). Zero value except as a shooter. Caliber would be important. What does the other side of the barrel say?

Welcome to the forum.

As stated above, many of these service pistols were returned to the US, modified, and sold inexpensively. The crude modifications hold little appeal to collectors.

The value of the pistol is in it's history. In your case, the value is in who gifted it to you and what history they had with it.

I have one very similar to yours that was my fathers first pistol. The value of the pistol (or lack thereof) is of no consequence. It's a family gun and isn't for sale (I don't care how much money robertwalsh offers me.)

Enjoy it and the memories.

 

[glowe]

Welcome to the Forum. Your revolver has been heavily buffed and plated after the alterations. There may be something wrong with the forcing cone on that gun? Look closely at the left side and you see something like a chip and maybe a crack extending to the frame. Inspect it closely and if you are not sure what you are seeing, have a gunsmith check out the barrel. If cracked or chipped, I would not shoot the gun.

 

[TheWingedPenguin1976]

Welcome to the forum.

As stated above, many of these service pistols were returned to the US, modified, and sold inexpensively. The crude modifications hold little appeal to collectors.

The value of the pistol is in it's history. In your case, the value is in who gifted it to you and what history they had with it.

I have one very similar to yours that was my fathers first pistol. The value of the pistol (or lack thereof) is insignificant. It's a family gun and isn't for sale (I don't care how much money robertwalsh offers me.)

Enjoy it and the memories.

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Thank you for the reply, your exactly right, in my case my grandfather bought it in the early 70s and carried it all over the country as a truck driver.Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

[cgt4570]

The value in these is as a tackle box or glove compartment gun. Something that will get the job done in a pinch, but you won't lose sleep over if you drop it in the lake or it gets lost or stolen.