VictoryOwner
Member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2013
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 10
Pictured is the .38 Special Victory I recently purchased, and I'm wondering if it is one that was originally .38 S&W only to be modified to accept .38 Special.
Making me most suspicious is that on the side of the barrel pictured, this is imprinted:
.38 SPEZ =XX XXXX CTG
Yes, that's a Z in "SPEZ," and the row of x's appears to be covering other markings that I can't make out, but could plausibly be ".38 S & W." I'm not sure that the = sign is an = sign, but that's what it looks like.
From this, I infer that someone changed the caliber marking on the barrel, and probably someone in Germany, since "SPEZ" is the German spelling of "SPEC." A reasonable guess is therefore that Germans acquired some of these Victory revolvers from imprisoned or alas killed Allied soldiers, and altered them to shoot .38 Special.
Swapping out the barrel doesn't seem likely, since the serial number on the bottom of the barrel (726563) is the same one that's stamped several other places on the gun, including the inside of the grips, although the V prefix is also on the butt.
Of course, it's possible that in its haste, S&W simply used barrels with different markings and quickly changed them. But this wouldn't explain why "SPEZ" is spelled with a Z.
Clue #2 is that I happen to have .38 S&W ammo from three different manufacturers, and they all fit in the chamber. My understanding is that all .38 S&W ammo doesn't fit in .38 Specials, but they all fit in this revolver.
Otherwise, the gun seems fairly typical of a Victory revolver from about 1942 or 1943, I'd guess. I guess this in part because it is stamped "U.S. Property G.H.D.," and in part from the checkered grips as well as the serial number. There is also no "S" marking to indicate that it was a later gun with the safety upgrade. The 5" barrel is a little unusual, but not so out of the ordinary as to raise red flags, I understand.
Fortunately, as far as I can tell, the gun shoots OK--or at least I'm not a good enough shot to fault the gun for my misses. I took it to a range the other day, loaded it with 158 gr. LRNs, and managed to put 9 out of 10 shots into a 5" target from 20 feet, which isn't too bad for me.
One more point. I bought the gun in Costa Rica, which always raises the question of how it ended up here. There are myriad possibilities, including that it was imported after the war along with a zillion other guns. However, the apparent German abbreviation "SPEZ." makes me wonder if perhaps a Nazi brought it in. Costa Rica sided with the Allies during WW II, but there was some pro-Nazi sentiment in the country, and we know that at least a few Nazi war criminals ended up here. And in those days, I don't believe that Germany was exporting many guns to Costa Rica. Plus, it would make sense for an escaping Nazi to choose a gun marked "US Property" rather than a German-made gun to help hide his past.
But I'm way out on speculative limbs here. My main question is if this is a .38 S&W modified to a .38 Special, and if so, by whom? It would appear to be a German modification, or some other country where the abbreviation for special is SPEZ.
Making me most suspicious is that on the side of the barrel pictured, this is imprinted:
.38 SPEZ =XX XXXX CTG
Yes, that's a Z in "SPEZ," and the row of x's appears to be covering other markings that I can't make out, but could plausibly be ".38 S & W." I'm not sure that the = sign is an = sign, but that's what it looks like.
From this, I infer that someone changed the caliber marking on the barrel, and probably someone in Germany, since "SPEZ" is the German spelling of "SPEC." A reasonable guess is therefore that Germans acquired some of these Victory revolvers from imprisoned or alas killed Allied soldiers, and altered them to shoot .38 Special.
Swapping out the barrel doesn't seem likely, since the serial number on the bottom of the barrel (726563) is the same one that's stamped several other places on the gun, including the inside of the grips, although the V prefix is also on the butt.
Of course, it's possible that in its haste, S&W simply used barrels with different markings and quickly changed them. But this wouldn't explain why "SPEZ" is spelled with a Z.
Clue #2 is that I happen to have .38 S&W ammo from three different manufacturers, and they all fit in the chamber. My understanding is that all .38 S&W ammo doesn't fit in .38 Specials, but they all fit in this revolver.
Otherwise, the gun seems fairly typical of a Victory revolver from about 1942 or 1943, I'd guess. I guess this in part because it is stamped "U.S. Property G.H.D.," and in part from the checkered grips as well as the serial number. There is also no "S" marking to indicate that it was a later gun with the safety upgrade. The 5" barrel is a little unusual, but not so out of the ordinary as to raise red flags, I understand.
Fortunately, as far as I can tell, the gun shoots OK--or at least I'm not a good enough shot to fault the gun for my misses. I took it to a range the other day, loaded it with 158 gr. LRNs, and managed to put 9 out of 10 shots into a 5" target from 20 feet, which isn't too bad for me.
One more point. I bought the gun in Costa Rica, which always raises the question of how it ended up here. There are myriad possibilities, including that it was imported after the war along with a zillion other guns. However, the apparent German abbreviation "SPEZ." makes me wonder if perhaps a Nazi brought it in. Costa Rica sided with the Allies during WW II, but there was some pro-Nazi sentiment in the country, and we know that at least a few Nazi war criminals ended up here. And in those days, I don't believe that Germany was exporting many guns to Costa Rica. Plus, it would make sense for an escaping Nazi to choose a gun marked "US Property" rather than a German-made gun to help hide his past.
But I'm way out on speculative limbs here. My main question is if this is a .38 S&W modified to a .38 Special, and if so, by whom? It would appear to be a German modification, or some other country where the abbreviation for special is SPEZ.
