Supposed Unissued and unfired WWII Victory .38 revolver

[rambob1]

Many years ago when the OGCA (Ohio Gun Collectors Association) gun show was still held in the IX center in Cleveland, I was walking the show floor and blundered onto a table with one of the nicest Victory .38 Special revolvers I had aver seen. I know you are supposed to buy the gun not the story, but the person manning the table told me he was a police officer and that after WWII, mint unissued Victory Revolvers were released to police departments throughout the US for service use. He told me this pistol and a few more had remained in the inventory of his police department, unused, since then and was eventually sold off to any of the departments police officers that were interested in buying them. He said that he was sure that this pistol had never been fired after being released by the US government. Looking at it, closely, I believe him as I saw no hint of any wear or brass marks that would have indicated it had ever been fired. The gun is serial V 514472, chambered for .38 Special, all matching, has the flaming bomb along with U.S. Property G. H. D. on the top strap and the P stamp on upper left side of frame. The grips are perfect and the right grip has the serial number stamped on the inside of it. While the finish coverage is 99+, the metal does have some tiny dings and scratches on the surface, like it has been stored touching other pistols in its vicinity. Overall, about as good of condition as you can find these pistols in. I also am attaching an image that shows the accessories I have accumulated for it since I enjoy hunting these items down almost as much as the firearms.

Bob

 

[Mistered]

Reality being what it is there is nothing to convince me it is unfired. It is a nice Victory, about average, but I see a cylinder turn mark and a good cleaning can remove most evidence of being shot - especially with a Victory that does not have the greatest finish to begin with as it is. A lot of Victory's stayed in the Military inventory after WW2 and it is unlikely there was any priority to separate out the 'mint', unfired ones (if there were any stored as such anyway) I have Victory # 120XXX and it is in a little better shape than yours - and has been carried and shot quite a bit over the years. Anyway unless there is something very specific in writing to qualify it as unfired it then it cannot be regarded as such. Keep it clean, shoot it judiciously and appreciate it's history!

 

[Absalom]

The story being whatever credibility you affix to its narrator, you do have a standard US Victory in very nice condition from about spring of 1944 that was originally shipped to a military destination, statistical probability saying the Navy. I would not attach any meaning or value to "unfired" on any Victory, but it certainly appears unissued as there are no visible signs of use or holster wear.

 

[Texas Star]

First time I've seen some of those acc. Thanks for posting.


I carried one of those guns in the USAF most of the time I was in, as we were often short of the replacement Combat Masterpiece.


However, our holsters were different, and many of us bought our own.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Welcome aboard, and thanks for sharing your Victory and the artifacts you've amassed.

Is the second holster from left a Boyt '43? I've seen two like that: yours and mine. But the one I have is longer and easily accommodates a 5" K-frame. I've been told the stitching on the bottom (to close the opening) is not correct.

My Victory was shipped to the Navy in December '43, and as luck would have it I had a bunch of artifacts to support a '43 photo ('43 "silver" nickels, '43 "steel" pennies, and the license plate).

Mine doesn't appear to have been fired, either. I had to clean cosmoline out of the small nooks and crannies when I first got it. I plan to remove all doubt (about its being shot) come spring -- .38 M&Ps are just too sweet not to shoot. I picked up some almost period-correct ammo for its inauguration. The gun went to a German municipal police department after the war so it has all sorts of German stampings. A U.S. Air Force civilian employee bought it for a pittance (I have the receipt) from a U.S. military Rod & Gun Club in Germany in the mid-60s and did the requisite military paperwork, which I also have, to bring it back to the states.

Not much of a story, but it's my Victory's tale, and I'm stickin' to it.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Jack Flash]

I was once offered an immaculate 4" .38 Special Victory Model for $400. It was really perfect, I could not see a mark on it. I assumed it had gone to do duty at a munitions plant or the like stateside and had spent the war in a drawer. At the time, I had other priorities and tastes so I passed. Wish I had that to do over again.

I do not doubt the story in the OP, but obviously it would be practically impossible to document it now. Still, I would print the first post and keep it with the revolver for what its worth to the next owner. As we get older, we tend to forget details, mentally merge one gun's story with another's, ... Trust me on this.

 

[MajorD]

From my perspective ( I shoot all my guns even collectible antiques and own no mint unfired anything) that Vic looks a lot more than about average!
I would be pleased to find a shooter grade victory ( at shooter grade price of course)
When it comes to military stuff, while there are certainly exceptions and flaws in my thinking, I prefer examples with a bit more wear, as this suggests they were actually carried in combat as opposed to sitting in some arms room rack. The bonus is shooting them also doesn't hurt them a bit either.

 

[rambob1]

Thanks everyone for all of your comments about my post. Bob, I really like your Victory with it's German history. BTW. That holster you show in your post is in gorgeous shape and is a scarce, 100% correct example that I have never seen an example of except in my Scott Meadows reference book. Congratulations!! It was designed to fit both the 4 inch and 5 inch barrel lengths of the Victory pistols and you were told wrong, because the stitching/holster is 100% correct!! BTW. That holster you asked about in my post is stamped Craighead Denver 1943 on the back, even though Boyt also made them.

Bob