Smith and Wesson Pre-Victory Model

[fingolfen]

Here's the Smith I picked up a the recent Portland gun show. Probably a 1941 production, it's before they started going to the V serial numbers, but it's a lend lease gun with the "United States Property" marks and ordinance stamps. Matching as far as I can tell so far. Picked up a British canvas holster to go with...

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[jordanka16]

Some of the victory models didn't have a V prefix, That looks like a victory to me.

 

[fingolfen]

The Model 10 and the Victory are the same gun for all intents and purposes. The terminology for the "early victory" guns varies quite a bit...

It's got Australian proofs on it as well... so it's definitely a lend lease gun.

 

[jordanka16]

is it .38/200 or .38 special?

 

[fingolfen]

is it .38/200 or .38 special?

.38 smith / .38/200

There were some .38 special Victory revolvers, but this is the wrong production block for that.

 

[jordanka16]

I think the .38 special revolvers were only made for the U.S. so a lend lease gun would for sure be 38/200.

All you need now is an Enfield.

 

[fingolfen]

I think the .38 special revolvers were only made for the U.S. so a lend lease gun would for sure be 38/200.

All you need now is an Enfield.

I've got one... smoothed down spur and everything...

I'd really like a Webley Mk VI

 

[jordanka16]

I've got one... smoothed down spur and everything...

Nice


I don't care for .455 webleys, I guess if you collect them you should get one, but the .455 is expensive to shoot and not very fun, too low in power.

 

[fingolfen]

Nice


I don't care for .455 webleys, I guess if you collect them you should get one, but the .455 is expensive to shoot and not very fun, too low in power.

Most Webleys I've seen have the clip so you can fire .45 ACP out of them...

 

[Oro]

That's a nice looking 38/200. It has the original S&W "Black Magic" finish (their version of Parkerizing) in high condition. That the ejector rod is blued is correct - not evidence of a mismatched finish. That is how they shipped.

An easy way to spot US vs. UK lend-lease models is the barrel length. Almost all of the Commonwealth 38/200 models were 5" (like that one); almost all of the US .38 Special models were 4". With that in mind, you can tell them apart almost instantly from the barrel length.

An interesting alternative to a Webley Mk VI is a S&W .455 Hand Ejector. They were built to supplement British and Canadian supplies of Mk VI's from 1914 to 1917. About the same size (N frame S&W with a 6.5" bbl). Much, much nicer guns than the Webleys. I have one that was factory converted to .45 Long Colt so it's more practical to shoot, but either way they are fantastic guns with a great history.

 

[fingolfen]

That's a nice looking 38/200. It has the original S&W "Black Magic" finish (their version of Parkerizing) in high condition. That the ejector rod is blued is correct - not evidence of a mismatched finish. That is how they shipped.

Wasn't sure if it was original finish or not, but since I got the pistol for a song, I didn't think I could go wrong. What's value range on these running at this point?

 

[Oro]

I would estimate that a 38/200 like that should do $300 to $350 to the right buyer. That is also pretty close to the S&W book value, so that seems accurate to me.

That is the original finish. S&W called it "Black Magic" to differentiate from the trademarked "Parkerizing." It is not black, obviously. However, like most phosphate finishes I've encountered, it is fragile so try not to damage it.

The 38/200 models were made in twice the volume of the US .38 Special models, so are much more common and trade a little lower. But finding either one in a condition that nice is increasingly difficult. A few years ago I counted myself lucky to find a similar condition US Navy marked .38 Special in similar condition to yours. Among about a dozen or more revolvers I have, it is the most accurate. With my reloaded .38 Spcl. target loads, I can usually do one-hole groups with it at 15 yards offhand - far beyond my normal shooting level.

 

[Blov]

That's a nice looking 38/200. It has the original S&W "Black Magic" finish (their version of Parkerizing) in high condition. That the ejector rod is blued is correct - not evidence of a mismatched finish. That is how they shipped.

An easy way to spot US vs. UK lend-lease models is the barrel length. Almost all of the Commonwealth 38/200 models were 5" (like that one); almost all of the US .38 Special models were 4". With that in mind, you can tell them apart almost instantly from the barrel length.

An interesting alternative to a Webley Mk VI is a S&W .455 Hand Ejector. They were built to supplement British and Canadian supplies of Mk VI's from 1914 to 1917. About the same size (N frame S&W with a 6.5" bbl). Much, much nicer guns than the Webleys. I have one that was factory converted to .45 Long Colt so it's more practical to shoot, but either way they are fantastic guns with a great history.

+1 Thanks