sks for victory

[xblax619]

hey guys. i walked into a lgs and found a beautiful pre-war victory model smith & wesson snub nose with blued finish made in 1941 and issued in 1942. it has checkered grips with s&w medallions (unsure if these are original to the model) its goin for just under a grand. do u think i shoud trade an unfired, numbers matching russian sks out of tula or just buy it outright? im only considering trading the sks bc in its condition i find myself unlikely to fire it. im in quite a dilema. please help.

things to consider: i already have a 2" model 10-5 from 1967 iirc and a chinese norinco sks, all numbers matching both in excellent condition.

[sealocan]

What the heck.
"Get both!"
It's only giving away colored pieces of paper.

[Milsurp Collector]

Original 2" barrel Victory revolvers are rare. They are likely outnumbered by Victory revolvers that had their barrels shortened. An original would have the locking lug for the extractor rod.

Web picture of a real Victory snub nose



Web picture of a Victory revolver with a cut down barrel. Notice the lack of the lug under the barrel.



Genuine snub nose Victory revolvers are rare and desirable.

[MrOrange]

Even the best expert would have to see a lot of good detailed pics of that S&W before believing it was genuine. 2" Victorys, even pre-Victorys, are extremely rare. I don't know how you found the date of manufacture, since not even S&W can provide that, but if it was made in 1941 it shouldn't have a V in front of the serial number and therefore it would be called a pre-Victory model.

Is it in .38 S&W or .38 S&W Special? If it accepts Specials, check to see if it's been bored out, you'll see the original shoulder for the S&W round part-way down the chamber. There were boat loads of these imported and "chopped & bored" after the war.

[xblax619]

Even the best expert would have to see a lot of good detailed pics of that S&W before believing it was genuine. 2" Victorys, even pre-Victorys, are extremely rare. I don't know how you found the date of manufacture, since not even S&W can provide that, but if it was made in 1941 it shouldn't have a V in front of the serial number and therefore it would be called a pre-Victory model.

i was told of the date of manufacture by the salesman. said the shop obtained it from an older gentleman after his passing. i assume he got that info from him (or his estate). i will have to talk to shop owner to get more info as i think the guy i was speaking with was passing on what he could recollect. i will take pics next im there.

[MrOrange]

In that case I would take it with a grain of salt. When one purchases a history letter from S&W historians, the best they can do is give you a shipping date, which is the only date the factory keeps when they make a gun. The factory doesn't keep info on the manufacture date.

You can assume a relative manufacture date from the shipping dates. I've read of a few instances where guns lettered as having been shipped 100's of serial numbers and months out of order, and Smith has been known to skip around and reassign blocks of numbers, but for the most part collector's can give you a very good estimate of when a gun was made from the serial number. A couple guys here can do that, or if you want an expanded answer you can try at the S&W forum.

Do you remember what the front locking lug situation was? If it's the later style that Milsurp Collector posted, that will be a dead giveaway.

[SoldierLife7]

i was told of the date of manufacture by the salesman. said the shop obtained it from an older gentleman after his passing. i assume he got that info from him (or his estate). i will have to talk to shop owner to get more info as i think the guy i was speaking with was passing on what he could recollect. i will take pics next im there.

Always buy the gun, NOT the story...