Had To Get It... (S&W Victory)

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I think I posted it a few times on here, but I got a Carcano M38 Short Rifle about two years back... which was made into a pretty damn close replica of Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle. Sling, mount, everything was done right... minus it being the actual rifle (there was a slight production difference with the scope, but on the eyepiece and purely cosmetic). Was impressed with a Type I Carcano’s action... so when I was looking to get a Carcano with the clip system, figured it would be a good buy. Very least, it is something that sparks up a conversation... but it does make you look at the assassination differently when you can have the rifle in your hands.

Now, fast forward to after picking up my first pistol on my FFL-03 (Colt .25)... started looking at something else to add to the collection. Makarov, CZ-52, a few older S&W or Colt revolvers... plenty of stuff to search out while I’m still in NJ. What I really want is to find a nice Colt or S&W M1917... as that is a revolver I really want to get (will probably be a pickup at the March Oaks show).

So, a decent deal came into my lap... might not be .45 ACP, but ties into the Oswald rifle (can read the title of the thread).

British S&W Victory revolver, originally chambered in .38 S&W. Post war, these were commonly brought back into the US, and rechambered for .38 Special. Most of those had the barrels chopped down to about 2”. Oswald picked one up through mail order, and was the gun that he used to shoot Officer Tippit after the Kennedy assassination (revolver was clearly his, and while you can argue if he killed Kennedy, evidence really shows him/his revolver killed Tippit).

Only big difference between mine and Oswald’s is the front sight... which his was a half moon. Cleaned it up, which had a little bit of rust internally near the cylinder stop (talked to seller after the sale, and said it sat in the safe for awhile). The rust cleaned up well, and really is a nice revolver (more or less, a Model 10). I cleaned up the grips when I did the furniture on my uncle’s Winchester 62, and put a few coats of teak oil on them (reminds me I need to wax the Winchester’s wood). Can’t wait to get to the range with it. Might not be a tack driver with the 0.361” barrel, but should be able to get rounds on target.

When I knew I was likely getting it, I made a few purchases for the “collection.” First one was the Myers book on the Tippit shooting, being I was more interested in that aspect of Oswald which I really didn’t know that much about (learned a lot about the Kennedy shooting after picking up the rifle). I also grabbed a copy of the February 1963 edition of American Rifleman... which Oswald ordered the rifle from (capt14k mentioned an eBay coupon on MeWe, which I used). Last thing... a Hunter holster for that revolver, like the one Oswald owned/took the infamous picture with.

I don’t really want to hunt down a Colt Cobra with a shrouded hammer to get a Jack Ruby clone... at least not until I move and can have it shipped directly to me (that is going to be hard to find at Oaks/people I know in East PA). But I think it is a nice way to round out the rifle in my collection. While Oswald didn’t acquire awesome weapons... for a man with limited funds to spend, he got firearms that were good enough to accomplish what he wanted to do. Looking at what other assassins used, you find many of them not being well funded... and shooting something most think of as subpar. The Victory definitely is in this category, as it was converted to be more appealing to buyers, but worked well enough for Oswald to make his mark in the history books.