New old guy!

[avproavi]

Hi All,
Please teach an old dog new tricks.
I was a gunners mate in tne USCG in the 70's. Range instructor and armorer. Worked on 1911 45 but no revolvers...........
My dad gave me a Victory 38 Special years ago and I never did any thing with it.
Shot it one time and found that it only wil fire on 3 cylinders.
Looking to repair the gun, but do not want to rune the historical value.
My dad got the gun off a dead Japenise solider on Sipan.(He was a Marine 2nd div.) Story goes that the gun was issued to a Navy nurse.
Any way, I want to keep it and to honor thoes gone now that I will never know. They are at rest and I have a Silent V149562.

 

[DCWilson]

Welcome to the forum. Those Victory revolvers have so much history in them.

If the ammo was not at fault in the misfires, I would suspect grime and sludge in the hammer's path of travel. If you haven't done so, how about taking it completely apart and giving all the interior parts a good Kroil bath while you scrub out the inner surfaces and corners with a toothbrush and toothpicks. Pay attention to the spring loaded safety block in the sideplate. Goo builds up there and interferes with its proper function. When you cock the gun or pull the trigger in double action, the rising hand is supposed to push the block back out of the path of hammer travel. But I would not be surprised if that wasn't happening according to spec.

If the cleaning doesn't solve the problem, I'd watch the action cycle closely on a chamber by chamber basis and see if you have a carry-up problem that doesn't put the chamber in proper position before the hammer falls. Maybe the firing pin is hitting the case beside the primer rather than on it.

Just a couple thoughts to help you get started. Can you post pics? We love pics here.

That serial number points to a ship date in late 1942 or early 1943.

 

[avproavi]

Only 3 Fire

Thanks for reply,
There has been damage to the ejection rod collar and gas ring just in front of the cylinder as far as i can see.
I think this will allow the cilinder to woble a bit and the firing pin will not contact the center

 

[glowe]

Welcome - the 1917 is a great revolver.

Years ago I started shooting Sporting Clays with a semi-auto and they get dirty fast. I had a can of carb cleaner and found that it disolved everything and the pressure from the cleaner actually blew out all the crud without any scrubbing. I now use it on my revolvers. Remove the grips, take off the sideplate and spray away with the wand. It will literally blast grime right out of the mechanism. Stubborn grime can use a second treatment, but it's easy and cheap. It will evaporate in a short time and you are ready for a light oiling. I have been using this cleaner for years with no adverse effects. Oh - don't forget to do this outdoors.

Try to move the cylinder after you pull back the hammer. The cylinder should not move after the revolver is cocked in single action mode, if it does it is not locking up properly. It is certainly worth getting it repaired.

Hope this helps get your 1917 back in proper working order. There are many experts on this forum, most are much more qualified than me, who can add suggestions as you begin to work on this piece of history.

 

[Oldiron]

Greeting avproavi from one Ala. knee deep to another. One thing you might also look at is the hammer. I bought a mod 36 a couple of months back and had a very hard time getting it to fire a whole cylinder full. By accident I saw something fall out of the gun and when I found what and where the something came from it was the side of the hammer. It had cracked top to bottom along the firing pin channel and through the firing pin retainer. Replaced the hammer and it fired every time I pulled the trigger.
Welcome to the forum and hope the combined info will get you going.
Larry