Noob needs help identifying please

[grinder.1]

Hi this is my first post and its the typical what do I have post. Barrel is 5" 5 screw 38 smith and wesson. There was no model number. Serial number v 150xxx. It was brought back by grandfather in Saskatchewan Canada. I live in Alberta and found it in his barn along with a 1918 enfield bayonet. Any info would be great thanks.

 

[Dillyp]

Victory .38 M&P. Its a .38 s&w, NOT a .38 special.

 

[gkitch]

what a nice find! Mighty rust-free! Barns around here are not so kind.

 

[DCWilson]

During WWII, S&W provided service revolvers to both the US and their Commonwealth allies. Guns meant for US service generally have four-inch barrels and chamber the .38 Special round. Commonwealth revolvers have five-inch barrels and chamber the .38 S&W round, which carried a little less powder and a heavier 200-gr bullet -- hence the name .38/200, which you will see in discussions of guns of this era.

Your grandfather's revolver probably dates to late 1942. The United States Property marking reflects that these revolvers were manufactured under lend/lease agreements and were still owned by the US though used by other nations' military forces. The broad arrow within a circle is a military acceptance mark that indicates Canadian use if I recall correctly. (The more familiar Canadian service mark is a broad arrow within a C.)

That specimen seems to be in pretty good shape.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

Most likely it is still chambered in .38 S&W, which is a shorter, slightly fatter cartridge then the .38 special. Can you post a picture of the cylinder, taken from the rear, so that we can see the chambers?

 

[Absalom]

A very nice find. There were actually almost twice as many of these made as of the US version, and many were re-imported, but finding all-original, unmolested, unconverted ones in decent condition like yours here in the US is not that easy. And don't let the dull grey finish mislead you: That's not wear or patina, the guns came that way from the factory.

.......The broad arrow within a circle is a military acceptance mark that indicates Canadian use if I recall correctly. (The more familiar Canadian service mark is a broad arrow within a C.)
.....

That's actually the C, stamped sideways; if you zoom in, the opening is on the bottom .

 

[Green Frog]

Welcome to the S&W Forum. Yours is a somewhat typical entry here, the finding of a family heirloom and wondering just what it is, followed by all sorts of welcoming, advice, and sometimes offers to buy (of course.). You've already gotten a pretty good run down on what the gun is, so I'll speculate a little just for fun. It looks like your grandfather did what thousands of GIs North and South of the Border did... bring back a souvenir from the War, then stash it away and forget about it. I'm sure it had some special meaning to him, but perhaps your grandmother said something like "I don't want that dangerous thing around the children" so it ended up hidden away in the barn and forgotten. Unfortunately in the meanwhile your government has taken on some rather misinformed ideas about firearms and their ownership, so a few discrete (and perhaps anonymous) inquiries about its possession might be wise. I hope you will be able to to shoot it, as it is not only a neat family relic but a good, solid firearm in its own right. Enjoy it.

BTW, in recent years that Enfield bayonet has taken on a bit of value of its own. You might check with a militaria forum about it. Be ready to discuss length, blade markings, handle material and style, etc,etc. Those edged weapons types are as fanatic in their own way as we are!

Again, welcome to the forum and I hope you will both visit us again and enjoy your unexpected "inheritance."

Froggie

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass!

 

[DCWilson]

That's actually the C, stamped sideways; if you zoom in, the opening is on the bottom .

Thank you! I didn't have my up-close glasses on when I first looked at that post. What you describe is clear as day now that I know how to look at it.

 

[grinder.1]

 

[Cyrano]

Incidently, that WB stamped on the butt is the inspector's initials, Colonel Waldemar Broberg.

 

[JSR III]

Welcome to the forum.

There are a few S&W's that are very easy to identify based on their unique serial numbers. The Victory models with the V prefix is one. Another is the .22 caliber Escort models with their B prefix.

The hardest are the no prefix guns and the "S" prefix guns that span multiple models and time frames.

You have most of what you asked answered above. I will only add that having a family heirloom is one of the great things about owning firearms. There are millions of guns out there that one can own but usually only a few that have been in a family for one or more generations.

Yours is also interesting as it may have been used by your grandfather during the war and might have even saved his life. Guns with that kind of provenance can not be purchased anywhere.

Enjoy and hopefully you can keep it in the family unless big brother won't allow that north of the border.

 

[S&W Oldtimer]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I will only add that because your Victory Model has the V prefix it has the older style hammer block in it. It is best to only load this gun with just five rounds, not six, and keep the hammer down on an empty chamber.

Very unlikely, but bad things could happen to these guns with the old style hammer block if it happened to get dropped onto its hammer. In 1944 the modern style hammer block was added and the Serial Numbers for the Victory Models with the modern hammer block had a VS prefix. Those are completely safe to carry fully loaded.

 

[Skeetr57]

I think that Mr. Johnson has somewhat exaggerated the hazards of guns with the earlier type of hammer block. S&W had built nearly 2 million M&P revolvers before the latest style of hammer block ws installed in late 1944. From 1915 all had some form of hammer block that was quite effective unless through neglect, the spring steel hammer block in the side plate became jammed due to rust or perhaps dried grease and then the gun was dropped far enough onto a hard enough surface at just the right impact angle to break the hammer in just the right spot to cause the gun to fire, and it was pointed in just the right direction when it fired, then injury or death could result. I would guess that the chances are about the same as being struck by lightning while walking down the street. Apparently S&W and the military felt the same as I do since I have never seen a warning from either to only load 5 chambers on the earlier revolvers, nor was there any effort to recall the earlier revolvers.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

I used to feel exactly the same way you do. I did not agree with the idea of only loading 5 in an older Smith. I am very, very familiar with only loading five in a traditional single action revolver such as a Colt.

Anyway, I felt the same as you, and I have lots of old Smiths with the older hammer blocks in them, both types.

But apparently, at least I seem to remember reading this, when the incident happened on shipboard in 1944, S&W did some extensive tests, fixturing up revolvers with the older style hammer block in them and dropping them, and there was a significant amount of failures.

Personally, all my old Smiths are range toys, and just out of convenience I only load them with five rounds at a time, mostly because ammo boxes are arranged in rows of five, and it is simpler to keep track that way.

I agree that the old style hammer blocks to make an old Smith safer than a single action to fully load with six, and I did state that it would be very unlikely to have a problem if one dropped one fully loaded onto the hammer.

I just wanted to make clear the difference between a V prefix Victory Model and a VS prefix Victory Model.

 

[grinder.1]

Thanks to all for the help

 

[Muley Gil]

grinder.1, looking at the cylinder, your Victory model is still chambered in .38 S&W.

Is .38 S&W ammo available where you live?

 

[gordonrick]

Nice Victory! You can't beat a gun with history and a family story. See what else you can find out about it from your family. A factory letter probably wouldn't provide any more info that you already have.

... I only load them with five rounds at a time, mostly because ammo boxes are arranged in rows of five, and it is simpler to keep track that way.

That's me! I thought I was the only one. Anal or practical?
I do remember that my buddy's Dad would only load five rounds for that reason.

I don't always carry, but when I do, I only load five. But then again, it's a Chief's Special, J-frame, so six is not an option...

 

[grinder.1]

Got a couple places that still sell the 38 s&w rounds but it seams to be drying up. Would I be better off to start reloading? Im not going to be shooting it much but its nice to have some on hand.