Calling all S&W experts. Help me with my dads Victory

[onemancoyote]

My dad has an old Victory that is marked as a 38sw and as 38 special. Also has some other odd marks. 
 

What caliber is it? 38 special fits but is a little loose.

 

any info would be appreciated!

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-CkO-qXpl2eUydAwGj6w6_3BsnGsRkuA

 

Edited November 4 by onemancoyote

[Garufa]

I am by no means an expert but it is a S&W Victory model originally chambered in .38/200 for the British (.38 S&W).  The chambers then reamed out to accept .38 Special special cartridges when imported back into the US.  It was quite common at the time to do that.  But know that .38 S&W has a slightly larger bore diameter than .38 Special; .361 vs .357.

The line of markings on the left side of the barrel under the original caliber designation are British proof marks.

The folks on the Smith & Wesson forum can probably tell you all about it.  They even have a specific thread dedicated to them...https://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/223676-victory-data-base.html

 

Edited November 3 by Garufa

[Grayfox54]

Garufa hit it. After WW II many British Service Revolvers were returned to the U.S. and had their chambers reamed out to .38 Special. 

Another way to tell is by barrel length. British revolvers usually had 5" barrels. The U.S. guns were 4". U.S. guns were generally marked "property of United States" or sometimes just "Property of U.S. on the top strap. British guns often had a whole array of proof marks on them. 

Be aware that .38 Specials will work in these guns, but depending on how good the reamer was, they can swell badly and sometimes split. 

Pictures would help. 

[onemancoyote]

Thank you both for the info. 
 

the pictures are in that link in my post. 

[Grayfox54]

Link don't work for me. 

[onemancoyote]

Fixed!

[onemancoyote]

16 hours ago, Garufa said:

I am by no means an expert but it is a S&W Victory model originally chambered in .38/200 for the British (.38 S&W).  The chambers then reamed out to accept .38 Special special cartridges when imported back into the US.  It was quite common at the time to do that.  But know that .38 S&W has a slightly larger bore diameter than .38 Special; .361 vs .357.

The line of markings on the left side of the barrel under the original caliber designation are British proof marks.

The folks on the Smith & Wesson forum can probably tell you all about it.  They even have a specific thread dedicated to them...https://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/223676-victory-data-base.html

 

I posted there.

[gregintenn]

3 hours ago, onemancoyote said:

I posted there.

Sit tight. You'll soon receive a doctorate level education regarding the revolver. Those folks have an unbelievable amount of knowledge.

 

I would suggest starting a new thread in the same subforum. You'll get more responses, as not many folks return to that database thread.

Edited November 4 by gregintenn