I have a .38 Victory revolver off getting parkerized. Before I sent it off I shot about 100 rounds of .38 special through it. Now the gunsmith doing the parkerizing told me it is actually chambered for .38 S&W. So knowing a S&W round wont fit in a .38 special chamber could it be possible to shoot a .38 special round in a .38 S&W chamber?? If so can I assume I got off lucky not blowing myself up using the more powerful round??? Is there a definitive way to tell what my gun is actually chambered for??
.38 Victory Revolver
- Thread starter renrutmd
- Start date
Did the fired .38Sp. cases look normal? Some of these revolvers had .38Sp. reamers run into the chambers so that they would accept this cartridge, the .38Sp. being much more popular than the .38 S&W. If the revolver was rechambered, the cases will be slightly bulged in the rear portion.
I don't think an unaltered .38 S&W would accept .38Sp.
Or, perhaps a .38Sp. cylinder was fitted.
I don't think an unaltered .38 S&W would accept .38Sp.
Or, perhaps a .38Sp. cylinder was fitted.
.38 Spl
Bullet diameter .358 in (9.1 mm)
Neck diameter .379 in (9.6 mm)
Base diameter .379 in (9.6 mm)
Rim diameter .44 in (11 mm)
Rim thickness .058 in (1.5 mm)
Case length 1.155 in (29.3 mm)
Overall length 1.55 in (39 mm)
.38 S&W
Bullet diameter .361 in (9.2 mm)
Neck diameter .3855 in (9.79 mm)
Base diameter .3865 in (9.82 mm)
Rim diameter .440 in (11.2 mm)
Rim thickness .055 in (1.4 mm)
Case length .775 in (19.7 mm)
Overall length 1.240 in (31.5 mm)
These rounds are not interchangeable as they are a different caliber. A .38 S&W will not chamber in a .38 spl cylinder because it is a larger diameter.
The smaller-diameter .38 spl normally doesn't fit into a .38 S&W cylinder AFAIK due to the significantly longer overall length; however, I've read that some of the .38 S&W revolvers are missing a step in the chamber which allows them to fire the longer .38 Spl cases.
As for a way to tell what your gun is chambered for, take a look along the side of the barrel.
Bullet diameter .358 in (9.1 mm)
Neck diameter .379 in (9.6 mm)
Base diameter .379 in (9.6 mm)
Rim diameter .44 in (11 mm)
Rim thickness .058 in (1.5 mm)
Case length 1.155 in (29.3 mm)
Overall length 1.55 in (39 mm)
.38 S&W
Bullet diameter .361 in (9.2 mm)
Neck diameter .3855 in (9.79 mm)
Base diameter .3865 in (9.82 mm)
Rim diameter .440 in (11.2 mm)
Rim thickness .055 in (1.4 mm)
Case length .775 in (19.7 mm)
Overall length 1.240 in (31.5 mm)
These rounds are not interchangeable as they are a different caliber. A .38 S&W will not chamber in a .38 spl cylinder because it is a larger diameter.
The smaller-diameter .38 spl normally doesn't fit into a .38 S&W cylinder AFAIK due to the significantly longer overall length; however, I've read that some of the .38 S&W revolvers are missing a step in the chamber which allows them to fire the longer .38 Spl cases.
As for a way to tell what your gun is chambered for, take a look along the side of the barrel.
IIRC, I believe rechambered revolvers had special markings on them.
I think".38 S&W CTG" is the marking used on Victory revolvers. Elsewhere, it should also be marked ".38 Special" if this is the case. Apparently both cartridges can safely be fired in the rechambered Victories, but they have all kinds of problems and bad accuracy.
I think".38 S&W CTG" is the marking used on Victory revolvers. Elsewhere, it should also be marked ".38 Special" if this is the case. Apparently both cartridges can safely be fired in the rechambered Victories, but they have all kinds of problems and bad accuracy.
Many of the rechambered revovlers were done in the UK, and will have appropriate proof marks. If a conversion was done by a gunsmith, it may or may not be marked, and as Dangles has pointed out, such a revolver will accept both types of cartridges. .38Sp. cases will bulge slightly; if .38 S&W is fired, the throat will be long and oversized, because the bullet is jumping part of the .38Sp. chamber. This will not contribute to accuracy. Because of the larger chamber, plus a 60 year old cylinder intended originally for .38 S&W, the use of hotter .38Sp. loads would be a bad idea.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
If the cylinder was reamed for the longer .38 Special, I sure wouldn't be quick to use any +P ammo or loads in the gun. They might be all right or they might cause a problem. No point in risking a wrecked gun and a possible injury. There's lots of M-10's around for cheap if you want to shoot +P's. If you're a handloader don't be surprised if you experience short brass life. This could be mitigated by running the brass through a .38 S&W resizer rather than resizing to .38 Special.
If the revolver has been rechambered, I would be inclined to use light .38Sp. loads with hollow based target wadcutters. Might shoot better than S&Ws. The case expansion is noticable, but with light loads, I don't think it is a safety issue. After all, altered revolvers did make it through the Birmingham Proof House.
I don't see how rechambering a .38 s&W would make the chamber long enough to accept the .38spl...I've got a Colt Police Positive in .38 S&W and the only .38spl ammo I have that will fit is target wadcutters...everything else is too long... I'm very confused...post pictures if you have 'em
So if S&W made both .38 calibers and also converted some over to .38 special by I am assuming changing the cylinder only then could we assume they felt the Victory frame and barrel could handle the .38 sp round ok so if I wanted to shoot the .38sp I could do so with out to much worry??
Looking at the dimensions posted above by Dangles, the base of the .38S&W is .0075" larger in diameter than that of the .38Sp. If the cylinders are the same diameter, the outer wall thickness of the .38S&W chambered cylinder would be some .0038" (thirty eight ten-thousandths of an inch) thinner than that of the .38Sp.
I am getting more confused by the minute about all this however let me first say thanks for everyone posting on this subject as it all is helping me understand more about the two cartridges. So if for example my Victory was first a S&W cartridge and if they didnt do the conversion then the .38spl would not fit??? If they did do the conversion would they not have had to change the cylinder out as the .38spl is a smaller cartridge?? How did they go about converting the S&W cartridge guns to .38 spl???
Interesting pic thanks for sharing. Your foresight appears to have been cut down on the aft portion. Mine is a rounded almost half-circle. The gap between the cylinder and the crane seems to be less than on mine, and mine has plain wood grips. The biggest difference is the projection? screw? on the trigger guard. What is that?
Here's mine, not the best pics, sorry:
My serial number starts with V143.
Here's mine, not the best pics, sorry:
My serial number starts with V143.
Thanks also for your picture. Is yours a .38 special?? The screw in the trigger guard was to stop the trigger from going all the way back for quicker firing I am guessing. Either way I am having it taken out. I to order some of the plain grips so when my Victory returns I can put them on.
As mentioned my revolver is at the gunsmiths so I only have one picture of it currently. Also if serial# helps to identify it is V516***.
Considering the bubba work done on your pistol, there is a good chance that the cylinder was swapped for a 38spl one, or reamed to take the longer cartridge.
Since it's at the smiths, why not ask him to check it out and see what it's chambered for?
