38SW with a 38SPL cylinder ???

Go here and price a .38 Special barrel & cylinder.

http://www.e-gunparts.com/products.asp?chrMasterModel=1980zVICTORY&MC=

They will not be drop-in parts.
These are used parts, and have already been fitted to a different frame, so they may very well require a gunsmith who knows how to work on revolvers to get them to work correctly.

I would much prefer to replace the barrel & cylinder with .38 Spl ones to reaming out the .38 S&W chambers.

If you ream the chambers, you will end up with slightly funnel shaped chambers, and the brass will swell toward the back, a lot.
The .38 S&W bore is also larger then a .38 Special so better accuracy would almost be assured with the correct size cylinder throats and bore size.

rc

During World War Two, Smith and Wesson made nothing but its .38 Military & Police model 1905 Hand Ejector, 4th change. The wartime production were called the Victory Model, and differed from pre-war production only in that they were for the most part Parkerized, instead of high gloss blue, and had plain walnut stocks in place of checkered ones. All of the Victory Model frames were identical, though the company made two versions. Great Britain and her allies received revolvers that were called the .38-200 Model. These were chambered in .38 S&W and usually had 5 inch barrels. The other version, called the Victory Model, were made for Uncle Sam, were chambered in .38 Special. They usually had 4 inch barrels, although some were made as 2 inch snubbies.

With the exception of barrels and cylinders, the .38-200 and Victory Model were identical in all other respects.

If one has a .38-200 revolver that is in its original condition (not refinished or rechambered to .38 Special) owners should be aware that collectors have been getting interested, and backing their interest with cash. Right now the going price for guns in top condition is in the $300 ballpark. Rather then pay the considerable cost of correctly converting a .38-200 to .38 Special it might be much wiser to sell the gun to a collector, and use the cash, plus what you were going to spend on a conversion, and put it toward the purchase of a commercial quality Model 10 already chambered in .38 Special.

Ream the cylinders. Hands-down the easiest thing to do. If you handload, don't ream the cylinders. Just get some brass and shoot the S&W loads.

If one has a .38-200 revolver that is in its original condition (not refinished or rechambered to .38 Special) owners should be aware that collectors have been getting interested, and backing their interest with cash. Right now the going price for guns in top condition is in the $300 ballpark.

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Having this revolver rechambered would probably cost between $50 to $75, and reduce the value by around $75 to $100. That's a potential loss of up to $175.

I thought i shot 38 specials in my 38s&w. I sold it many years ago.
I think I called Smith and Wesson and they hinted that is was fine to do so but that they could not overtly make that statement

Reaming the cylinders can be iffy, at best.

The older .38 S&W is larger in case diameter (.385") than the .38 S&W Special (.379"). I've seen split brass come from guns so rechambered by reaming out .38 S&W cylinders.

It used to be that old Lend-Lease .38-200 Victory Models, and pre-Victory Model 1905s, went for a dime a dozen. Many years ago I bought a Broad Arrow 5" pre-Victory Model 1905 for a few bucks for just the frame and lockwork.

Fit a new .38 Special cylinder, 6" Apex barrel, Aristocrat rib, cylinder release, tune the lockwork, parkerize the whole thing, and head off to the PPC/Bianchi Cup/Steel Challenge races. I wouldn't recommend doing so now, because of the rising collector value of original specimens. Back then, it was no big deal.

Buying a .38 Special cylinder will let you shoot that caliber without altering the gun, but will be more expensive than just reaming the chambers.

The bore diameter of the .38 S&W is a bit larger, but not enough to cause any wild inaccuracy.

Strength is not a factor in the conversion; the guns were designed for .38 Special, but avoid the +P and +P+ and equivalent loads.

Jim