pistol caliber conversion

1st LtTSG

there is an item on auction i am interested in but a safety issue is in question. if i may inter item # 348493 it is a S&W m&p s&w38 lend lease gun converted to 38spl. I like the looks and the bit of history but is it safe to shoot? I read it as if cylinder was bored out but my after thought it could be a cylinder chance out. Is either safe?
thanks














7p

rufe-snow

Common rework of the Land Lease, Victory model revolvers sent to England and the Commonwealth countries in the early 40's. Most had the cylinders reamed from .38 S & W to .38 S & W Special. Safe enough as long as you don't use any hotly loaded .38 Special ammo like Plus P's.

If it has been refitted with a original .38 Special cylinder, even better from a strength and durability standpoint.

hrf

If you reload, also be aware that the .38 S&W case is .006 larger diameter than .38 Special, so the latter will swell in a reamed cylinder.

givette

I believe the .38 S&W bore size is not a true .357* as is the norm for .38 Special bores. Joe






*needs confirmation

5mmgunguy

Joe is correct it is .360 to .361 on the 38 S&W.

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by givette
I believe the .38 S&W bore size is not a true .357* as is the norm for .38 Special bores. Joe


*needs confirmation


This is true, but there is an interesting twist.

Nominally the .38 S&W (British .38/200) uses a slightly oversized bore of .361.

BUT. . .

Supposedly, all the lend/lease type guns put out by Smith during WWII largely for British export still used the standard .357 caliber barrels Smith had on their shelves.

Apparently, another 0.004" just doesn't matter, especially with soft lead bullets. Also known as "good enough for government work"!

To (re)answer the original question, there are a gazillion of these Smith and Wesson "lend-lease" guns out there. The Brits have frowned on private gun ownership for decades, and most of these guns eventually found their way back to the USA after the war as military surplus. Because .38 special is the most popular caliber here, most of them were converted either before export, or after arrival to .38 special.

The conversion basically just involves drilling out the cylinders a little bit to accept longer .38 special cartridges. Quality of the conversions also varied a great deal, from poor "bubba" conversions, to ones done in large number by reputable gunsmith houses. Here's mine. Note that the front sight has been filed from the military "half moon" configuration to a more Americanized "slant" combat profile, the butt lanyard ring has been removed, the gun was converted to .38 special with the barrel overstamped in the correct caliber, and the entire gun refinished in bright nickel-plating. Its a relatively nice conversion as these go:


I've since replaced the plastic fake-stag grips with an equally non-period (but far nicer looking and better feeling) Smith K-target style grips.

In any case, these revolvers are safe to fire with .38 special ammo, so long as you stick to normal pressure loads. Try to avoid .38+P loads, except for "emergency" use.

Also, because the .38/200 is wider than .38 special, firing ordinary .38 specials shot through these conversions will usually ruin the cases, sometimes splitting them immediately, though generally rendering them unsafe to reload.

If you can have a true .38 special cylinder fitted, you should be good to go for shooting, though unless you happen to have on handy, I think in practice between sourcing the cylinder and having it fitted and timed by a competent gunsmith, a true .38 special conversion may not be cost effective.