A pre- victory S&W used by british forces and "civilianized" after the war. Brought to states.Bobbed and reamed like 1000s of them were in '60's. Shot Jack Ruby. Now infamous because of that. Not famous like Dirty harry gun...
I believe Ruby died in prison from lung cancer. He shot Oswald with a Colt 38. But I've been wrong before.
You aren't wrong this time.
The other man was. Ruby shot Oswald wih a Colt .38 snub, I think a Cobra, maybe with a hammer shroud. Unsure on the shroud.
BUT...a re-worked S&W .38-200 with no front lock for the extractor rod WAS used by Oswald to shoot Dallas cop J. D. Tippit in a theater before Oswald was apprehended. That may have been what the other poster was trying to recall.
That gun was like so many butchered by surplus dealers, made into a .38 Special (bad idea) in hopes that it'd sell faster.
If you are very lucky, you may have bought a .38-200 that is unaltered other than arsenal refinishing in dull gray in lieu of the normal blue finish it originally had. The dull gray was used after April, 1942, and guns being refinished were also given that look. If the gun was competely refinished and overhauled
by an official arsenal, like Munitions Australia, it'll be stamped FTR for Factory Thorough Repairr. It will still use the original .38-200 (.38 S&W) ammo and be of interest to British/Commonwealth martial collectors and be in restored condition. Those guns were refurbished before the 9mm Browning pistols replaced .38 revolvers in Commonwealth service. Many that were evidently never used after refinishing were held as reserves and sold here some years ago.
If you did not know these things, you should have never bid on the gun! You should know JUST what it is and see sharp photos. You must also learn what a US Victory Model should look like if that is what you were trying to buy.
I'd like to see the gun in pics and learn the markings and condition. But I think you probably paid about $200-300 too much, depending on just what you got.
Look on this as a learning experience. AND...if you got lucky and bought the gun I described, you at least have an honorable piece of history that was restored to nice condition. If you were unlucky, you probably bought a gun similar to what Oswald used on Tippit. I hope that if it was altered, they at least left the front cylinder lock still under the barrel.
You may be able to locate a collector of British arms and sell the gun for not too much a loss if it is a good original. Remember, it helped to beat back the Axis forces and win WW II. It deserves respect and care. And if you can determine just which miitary used it, you can speculate on which battles in which it may have seen service. This gun may have helped to drive Rommel out of North Africa or seen service against the Japs in the horrid jungles of New Guinea.
