Victory 38 Snub

[hsegura]

and to the question about the serial number,,,,it is a 6, on the butt, underside of the barrel, and on the cylinder.

[Wiregrassguy]

Then, you have a fake...

[hsegura]

I am sure it isnt a fake. I do believe that the nickel is aftermarket and not original. When this gun was issued to my dad, it was nothing special. I think that was in 1949, or 50. Can't see any reason for someone to be faking victories at a time they were not considered collectable. Also, it would be hard to imagine the Army having counterfeited guns in inventory. I do plan to get a letter and I assume that will clear it all up.

[Wiregrassguy]

By fake, I mean that the nickel is not original so it is not one of the nickel Victories from WWII. If you take the grips off, look on the left side of the frame for a star and numbers like 0449. The numbers indicate the month and year of S&W factory rework. If none are there, my guess is the nickel was locally done.

[MOONDAWG]

Speculation about how one "managed to keep it" is usually generated from those who have never served, and aren't familiar with the G.I's "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome" credo.

Every squadron I ever served with had a "Duty Scrounge" whose handle was generally "Echo-4". Echo-4 "appropriated" gear needed that either wasn't in the system or couldn't be acquired through traditional channels.

In my last squadron Echo-4 scrounged a 60 gallon stainless steel coffee maker, which he swapped for a galley deep fryer, which was swapped for 50 lbs. of coffee which was swapped for enough "shorty parkas" to outfit the entire Tiger Flight.

Anything from weapon's, ammo, cleaning gear, to PSP for run way and bunker building was acquired this way, and some followed the G.I. home.

Your Dad's snub victory is so ugly it's cute. Congratulations on this family heirloom of such sentimental value ENJOY!

[hsegura]

Interesting military information. My Uncle was career military. Originally a fighter pilot with the Flying Tigers in China. After two more tours in Viet Nam, he retired a Brigadier Gen in the AF. When he died, I helped my cousins collect all the stuff he had collected from the military to donate to museums. I was surprised by some of the things he had, including issued handguns, F4 Phantom drop tanks, survival gear, etc. So, the gun my Dad had really didn't make me question very much how he was able to keep it.
And yup, I am not a fan of the grips either, but finding original grips is probably a daunting task. LOL.

[Wiregrassguy]

Not so daunting for WWII service grips. gunpartscorp.com and NC Ordinance have them, IIRC.

[hsegura]

And, I will look under the grips as suggested. However, even though my Dad was issue the gun with nickel, I do believe who ever had it before him probably had it done aftermarket. One thing my Dad did tell me is at that time, nickel was the only real way to protect the metal without a lot of maintenance and was inexpensive back then, so very popular as an aftermarket process.

[hsegura]

Oh, and thanks for the tip on finding grips, will check it out.

[hsegura]

Went to the gun range today and shot the victory snub. 50 rounds of wad cutters. Still shoots great. Also shot my 1911, Service Model Ace, Baretta Storm, Ruger P94, Colt Officers Model, M1 Garand, and my Remington 1100 with new 18.5 barrel. I smell like gunpowder and everything from the chest up hurts. What a great day!
By the way, dont forget to put the O ring back in your 1100 when you change the barrel,,,,no shell ejection and kicks like a mule,,,LOL