Converted Victory model question

[Tex62]

I have a S&W Victory model in British 38-200 that has had the cylinder reemed to accept 38 special. I know shooting 38 special is inaccurate in these guns and should be kept lower powered loads.



Are there any issues shooting 38 S&W out of these guns?



Thanks.

 

[rcmodel]

No.

You can shoot .38 Special, or .38 S&W interchangeably all you want.

The result is not dangerous, as your British .38/200 gun has the same cylinder & frame strength as the U.S. Victory model made at the same time chambered for .38 Special.

The only down side is your .38 Spl brass will be bulged due to the remnants of the larger 38/200 chamber.

Accuracy will be about the same, as they probably used the same bore diameter barrel blanks.

I would probably hold off on the .38 Special +P+ loads though!!


And unless your gun has a S stamped frame, or SV serial number??

It doesn't have the modern drop-safety hammer block so should probably best be carried with an empty chamber under the hammer.

rc

 

[Tex62]

Thanks for the explanation. What I am curious about is whether I would get better results shooting 38 S&W. I am reloading.38 special already. I figured if 38 S&W works better, I might as well try it if I can find components.



Thanks.

 

[LAGS]

@ Tex62
I have two Victory revolvers.
One that is still in the 38/200 and one I got a .38 special cylinder for, plus I have the original .38/200 cylinder that is still timed up and can be put back in the gun.
If you are shooting .38 Spl. loads out of a Reamed revolver, then I would keep the loads Mild.
The cases expanding can cause a .38 spl. case to crack.
That is why I opted for a .38 spl. cylinder
My friends reamed there cylinders and were not pleased with the differance in accuracy when compared to my gun with the correct size cylinder.
And there accuracy with shooting the .38/200 also suffered once it was reamed.
But the revolvers frame is the same as any other K frame S&W but it is not a +P revolver because of its age and when they were made.

I originally bought two with the intent to change out the barrel and cylinder to .32 Long Colt and then have that cylinder reamed for .32 H&R magnum.
But after I bought the guns, I found out that the .32 barrels and cylinders for that model were collectors items and very scarce and expensive.

 

[justashooter in pa]

hollow based wadcutter handloads will obturate and be reasonably accurate.

 

[Tex62]

Funny, I got a box of those with the gun. I need to find a source for those for reloading.



I guess I am looking for an excuse to reload 38 S&W...



Thanks, Marty

 

[LAGS]

Speer I guess still makes the 148 gr HBWC lead bullets.
If you don't want to go whole hog on reloading for the 38 S&W then do what I did.
I bought a Lee Classic Reloader just for that pistol in .38 S&W.
But now I own 5 other 38 S&W's so I bought the Lee reloading die set for my press.
If you only shoot up one box of 38 S&W a week or month, the Lee Classic reloader will suite your needs just fine.

On my friends Victory,
The cylinder was so sloppy with .38 Spl's in the chambers, he would put a wrap of Scotch tape around the back of the case to get them to center in the chamber.
Then they would fire Form to the chamber, and he would only partially resize the cases when he reloaded them.
But those reloads only fit That revolver.
His accuracy vastly improved.

 

[Jim K]

I have read all the cautions about firing .38 Special in those revolvers (cases bulge and split, won't extract, guns blow up, bullets fly all over, etc., etc.) Then I tried it and guess what didn't happen. I have revolvers chambered for .38 Special that bulge cases more than those converted guns did. Nor were there any accuracy problems; I slugged some bores and found they ran .357 +/-, the same as barrels for .38 Special. I suspect that in the wartime press, S&W used the same barrels and just changed the markings.

Jim

 

[LAGS]

@ Jim K
The barrels are exactly the same except for the markings on the British/Austrailian contracts.
They run between .357 and .358 in both the .38 spl, and 38/200
That was about Par for a wartime gun.

 

[Twmaster]

Call me a bit weird but I'd love to find one of those in the original 38/200 caliber with the original chambers unmolested rather than shooting 38SPL out of it.

Also, Hornady makes nice hollow base wadcutters in 148 grain that should seal just fine.

Hornady part #HRN10208 And Graf's has them in stock.

 

[LAGS]

@ Twmaster
There are still some from time to time on the gun auction sites.
But the guys are asking a pretty penny for them, and there are getting fewer by the day with people converting them to .38 Spl.
I have been offered three times what I paid for mine, but I like it, and would never find one in the same condition for what I would get.
Besides, it goes well with my "Unfired" Lee Enfield #4 Mk2

 

[Twmaster]

Like you I'd not be inclined to sell it if I had a nice one. Nice find, even if it's been molested.

I take a peek at the online auctions now and then. I found a cute 33-1 to fill my .38 S&W void for a bit.

 

[LAGS]

I want a Enfield revolver with the single action and hammer spur intact, and a Webley Mk6 38/200 to go with the Brit.
A Un rechambered Webley .455 would be nice Too.

 

[Jim K]

Webley Mk 6 in .38/200? Sure you don't mean a Webley Mk IV? (Not the government Mk IV which is .455).

I also slugged the bores on Enfield and Webley Mk IV revolvers. Yep, .357-.358". I then miked bullets on British .380 inch Mark II revolver cartridges from 1943, Guess what? Yep, .357".

Actually, that is larger than the specs for the Pistol, Revolver, No. 2, which call for a bore diameter of .352" and 7 grooves of .005" depth.

Jim

 

[LAGS]

You are correct.
The 3 IV is the .38 and the 1 VI is the .455
But they are still on my same wish list.

 

[Tex62]

Hmmm. Saw some 158g slugs sized to .358, so maybe that would work ok.



Wanted to go shoot it this weekend, but will need to wait until the ice melts some here in Dallas. Maybe tomorrow...

 

[LAGS]

@ Tex62
Either the ,357 or .358 slugs will work in your gun.
Cast bullets are normally .001 larger than the intended bore size.
But the two of them will be the same accuracy out of your gun unless your barrel is .359 or larger.
In mine, I shoot .357 Jacketed Bullets, and .358 cast lead bullets.
But my gun likes heavier 158 bullets over the 125 grain bullets in either cast or jacketed.