A friend recently gave me a S&W 4" .38 Special with plastic imitation horn grips. He's a lawyer and described it as a "drop gun"-- to be left at the scene of a crime. The finish looked like matte black spray paint. I later examined the gun more closely and saw the "V" prefix and the US Property and GHD stamps. It also has a lanyard ring. Ser no 359xxx.
I realized it was a V model and was in near perfect shape except for those cheap grips. I called my friend and asked if he had the original grips. He said yes and that he'd put them on a .38 and he'd trade me for a pair of original K grips;he wisely declined accepting the plastic ones. I said yes and went by his house. Lo and behold, he had another V model with the original smooth grips. I'd learned that the V was used by the Britain and Australia via Lend-Lease, but this one had an Austrian Police stamp on the left side above the grip. There are no other proof marks. I figured that it was given to the Austrians after the war and returned to the US in the 1950s. He bought the gun from an ad in ARGOSY magazine in the late '50s when he was 13. He said he'd paid around $20 for it. But the V he gave me came from an estate he'd settled. The former owner was a Navy pilot in WW2.
My V is about mint. There are a few superficial scratches and very faint drag lines. No holster wear.The bore and cylinders are bright and shiny. In short, it appears that it was rarely if ever fired. I don't have the heart to put the plastic horn grips back on and am currently looking for a pair of original smooth ones. If anyone out there has a pair of V grips in good shape, please let me know so I can return my pimp gun to its former glory.
I realized it was a V model and was in near perfect shape except for those cheap grips. I called my friend and asked if he had the original grips. He said yes and that he'd put them on a .38 and he'd trade me for a pair of original K grips;he wisely declined accepting the plastic ones. I said yes and went by his house. Lo and behold, he had another V model with the original smooth grips. I'd learned that the V was used by the Britain and Australia via Lend-Lease, but this one had an Austrian Police stamp on the left side above the grip. There are no other proof marks. I figured that it was given to the Austrians after the war and returned to the US in the 1950s. He bought the gun from an ad in ARGOSY magazine in the late '50s when he was 13. He said he'd paid around $20 for it. But the V he gave me came from an estate he'd settled. The former owner was a Navy pilot in WW2.
My V is about mint. There are a few superficial scratches and very faint drag lines. No holster wear.The bore and cylinders are bright and shiny. In short, it appears that it was rarely if ever fired. I don't have the heart to put the plastic horn grips back on and am currently looking for a pair of original smooth ones. If anyone out there has a pair of V grips in good shape, please let me know so I can return my pimp gun to its former glory.
