S&W Victory model

[Mississippi Mike]

Hello all.
I have a chance to buy a Victory model that has the lanyard loop on the grip and has a "sandblasted parkarized" finish. The pistol looks to be in really great shape except for one missing screw. It is 38 caliber. He is asking $475 so I am wondering if you guys think it would be worth that much or if the guy is trying to work me over.

Any comments?

 

[Muley Gil]

Need a few more details. Is it a 4" .38 special or a 5" .38 S&W? What are the stampings? A "US NAVY" stamped Victory is usually more desirable than a "US PROPERTY" marked Victory, though some of the latter did go to exotic places like the OSS.

A .38 S&W Victory rechambered to .38 special drops the value quite a bit.

 

[opoefc]

As said above, we need a lot more info. to give you a correct response. Barrel length ? Has it been cut ? Refinished ? Caliber ? "arkings & stamping and their location ? Are the grips original and numbered to the gun ? Missing screw where? , etc. Post some pictures, if possible. Ed

 

[Mississippi Mike]

The screw is missing on the removable side plate at the uppermost near the hammer.
The one thing I do remember was the caliber (38 Special) was stamped under the cylinder release. (I had never seen this before) And was not marked as a conversion.
The finish is what clued me in that this pistol was different than any I had seen. It had a satin like parkerized finish that was in really good shape.
I did not see (but was unaware of) any US GOV markings. I will check for those markings if I think the gun is worth going back for.

What say ye?

 

[Mississippi Mike]

And the barrel length was about 5" (seemed like a normal uncut barrel)

The owner is very knowledgeable of guns in general. He had a Russian S&W top break in nickle finish that looked GREAT but the caliber was 44 Russian. Not my cup of tea so my Bro-In-law bought that one for $950.

The grips were the plain walnut grips. ( I thought they were aftermarket at first). It seems now after further research, these are the grips that were issued with this pistol.

 

[opoefc]

Sounds like you may be looking at a converted .38S&W British lend lease gun. Whoever did the conversion marked the ".38 S&W Special" stamp on the frame. That's a conversion marking. It probably says " US Property " on the top strap, or it was polished off when the gun was refinished. $475 is about twice it's value, assuming it's good mechanically. Ed.

 

[DWalt]

If it has a 5" barrel it's almost certain to be a British .38/200, and its chambers may or may not have been bored to accept .38 Special. The barrel should have a caliber stamping - either .38 S&W (.38/200) or .38 S&W Special (US version). In any event, I remain very suspicious. Based on your information, I wouldn't touch it.

 

[Mississippi Mike]

I am going to have my bro-in-law go back today and take a good look at the pistol. He knows the shop owner pretty well, so between him and the shop owner I should be able to get all the particulars on this pistol. He also has another similar S&W laying beside this one. As I remember it had the lanyard loop also but it had more stampings on the frame. We will see.

Thanks for the guidance everyone!

Mike

 

[JP@AK]

Mike
I agree with the earlier comments. This is almost certainly a reworked British Service Revolver that has been rechambered for the .38 Special. If so, you don't want to have anything to do with it, especially at that price. If I just wanted something weird to play around with, I might pay $200 for it.
Skip this one. You can do better for $475.

 

[Mississippi Mike]

So true Jack.... I think a better use for my $475 will present itself at a later date.

 

[Mississippi Mike]

OK.... on one of the revolvers there is a "S&W 38 GPG" stamp. (sandblasted and parkarized version)
On the other there is a "38 S&W CTG" stamp.
This pistol is blued and there is no stamping under the cylinder release.
The blued model is the one with the above stampings and it has a price of $350.

What y'all think?

Mike

 

[Mississippi Mike]

ALSO... nothing on the top strap.

 

[Mississippi Mike]

Here is some pics:

 

[Mississippi Mike]

Plain walnut grips, blued finish, and that is a "V" under the lanyard loop.

Thanks guys.

Mike