S&W Victory .38S&W

[patrick james]

I have a victory model that I really like,but it's in need of a tune up.When I pull the hammer back I have to turn the clyinder slightly so the clyinder latch will go into the slot on the clyinder.I was wondering if one of the gunsmiths here on the forum would be willing to fix this pistol that my Dad gave me?I only shoot .38 S&W in this gun but I noticed a .38 special will fit in the clyinder.Is this normal?I would never shoot a .38 special in this gun.I would like to say I really like this forum.It really helps me enjoy my small collection of S&W.
thank you,PJ

 

[patrick james]

I have a victory model that I really like,but it's in need of a tune up.When I pull the hammer back I have to turn the clyinder slightly so the clyinder latch will go into the slot on the clyinder.I was wondering if one of the gunsmiths here on the forum would be willing to fix this pistol that my Dad gave me?I only shoot .38 S&W in this gun but I noticed a .38 special will fit in the clyinder.Is this normal?I would never shoot a .38 special in this gun.I would like to say I really like this forum.It really helps me enjoy my small collection of S&W.
thank you,PJ

 

[opoefc]

Patrick, What caliber does it say on the side of the barrel? .38S&W ? or .38 S&W Special? Chance are you have a British bought Victory Model that came in .38S&W caliber and someone has drilled out the cylinder to chamber .38 Specials, a very common alteration for those guns that were brought back to the US after WW2 and sold here. The .38 Specials will shoot fine in your gun but some say accuracy is affected due to the barrel being a .380 bore and the .38 Special is .357" dia. Personally, I don't think that is a big problem, as accuracy depends more on the shooter than the gun. The poor indexing of the cylinder may be fron a worn bolt ( hand) that revolves the cylinder, but 99% of the time it's due to accumulation of dirt, crud , powder residue, etc in the action and a thorough disassembly & cleaning of the action's parts will solve the problem.

 

[patrick james]

Thanks for the reply.Everybody very helpfull.
PJ