For our wonderful members Down Under - I found something of yours...

[Dapper Dave]

 

Unmolested 38SW, original finish, and the original little two page manual! I already have the NOE mold to make the original 38-200 load, so this is going to be fun. Do I need the hat with the brim buttoned up on one side before I can shoot it?

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Now by golly there's a nice find!

[Buckshot Bear]

Very nice find, one of my sons has one and I like the parkerised finish.

Fantastic to have that ephemera with yours. 

[Painted Mohawk SASS 77785]

48 minutes ago, Dapper Dave said:

 

Unmolested 38SW, original finish, and the original little two page manual! I already have the NOE mold to make the original 38-200 load, so this is going to be fun. Do I need the hat with the brim buttoned up on one side before I can shoot it?

Not only the 'slouch hat but also singlet & thongs   [ your tank top & flip flops ' ]

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

and a jar of vegemite

[Alpo]

27 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

and a jar of vegemite

To use as a target.

[Dapper Dave]

Now I have actually tried Vegemite...not bad, but an acquired taste, for certain.  Like Fosters' beer - I assume Australia sends it out so they don't have to drink it?  

Tank top and flip flops, Umm...no...yikes. With my feet? Double yikes. 

 

 

[Buckshot Bear]

46 minutes ago, Dapper Dave said:

Now I have actually tried Vegemite...not bad, but an acquired taste, for certain.  Like Fosters' beer - I assume Australia sends it out so they don't have to drink it?  

Tank top and flip flops, Umm...no...yikes. With my feet? Double yikes. 

 

 

 

LOL you got that in one 😀

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

2 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

Now I have actually tried Vegemite...not bad, but an acquired taste, for certain.  Like Fosters' beer - I assume Australia sends it out so they don't have to drink it?  

Tank top and flip flops, Umm...no...yikes. With my feet? Double yikes. 

Is Fosters even brewed in Oz?

[watab kid]

not sure on the fosters , like the ausie lend lease , 38 S&W will work fine just not hit POA , but yes if you can cast some 200s you can tune the POI to POA , what you need next is a HAK - ausie made to go with that one , same ammo 

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   ......................... is that where I left it ?   🤫

[Dapper Dave]

Interestingly enough, the guy I bought it from, a retired gunsmith, included a 000 Buck he slugged the bore with, and it came out .355. That's 9mm sized right there, tighter than 38/357. I wonder how much problem I might have firing .360 bullets down that bore?

 

Edit to add, I did a little research - it was a Lend Lease revolver made in 1942, marked "US Property" on the top strap, sent to Australia, and completely rebuilt in 1954, Factory Thorough Repair, inspected and reimported into the US sometime in the late 80s through Vega in California. 

 

 

Not really collectable more than English ones, but nifty history...and I am more partial to Australia than England any day of the week, anyway. 

[Dapper Dave]

Preserved for posterity, as I doubt many of these little "manuals" survived after the importer stuck them in the box. 

 

You ever seen an 83 year old bore look that nice? All I did was clean out dust...

[Dapper Dave]

So, we made it out to the range today, and wonder of wonders the 80 yard was open...of course when I didn't bring anything medium range. Oh well, we still had the line to ourselves, and the weather was beautiful.
Note, all load data shown is for academic purposes only and replicated by you at your own risk, mileage may vary, do not use in the shower, may cause loose stools, etc. All rounds fired two hand standing, unsupported.
Starting out with one box of Mikes Bullets 38/200 "factory" loads, and a collection of 38 SW handloads.  

First up, the 38/200 replicas. This is a 200 grain all lead bullet that was notorious for tumbling in targets, and was removed shortly after the war started due to the Brits fearing it would fail the Hauge Convention restrictions, and replaced with a less effective 178gr jacketed round.

Target is at 10 yards.

First 6 rounds of Mikes Manstoppers is fired double action only. Hmm. BTW, contrary to popular "wisdom" about 38SW, these rounds have some power, got a wee bit of recoil you wouldn't expect, kinda like it's serious about what it was made to do. Go figure. 

How about single action? In fact, everything afterwards is fired SA only. I seriously doubt I am going to carry this as a defensive sidearm, after all. 
Hey, that's not too bad.

 

Moving on, my own cast 204 gr bullet, but loaded much lighter than the "factory" ammo.

High. Not terrible, but high.

Howsabout something people say will never work? A 358 sized bullet down a .361 bore. Well, it is my day off, so why not?

Ok, THAT was unexpected. Must explore further...

Lets go even lighter, but this time the bullet is sized properly to .361.

Intriguing indeed. Conventional wisdom says that these guns are sighted in for the heavier grain bul;et and will shoot very high with the lighter bullets...but I'm not seeing that. Used the "8" as my aiming point, BTW

.

Same bullet but let's put a little more oomph behind it.

Some actual recoil here, not MUCH, but enough to let you know you touched off a round. Used the "9" as my aiming point.

Tried again with a regular pistol target.

Well, this is interesting, leading me to think I have more than one avenue to explore. The old wheelgun worked perfectly. Only issues were a couple of spent brass that got caught under the star extractor, a common thing with 38 SW. The "heavier" loads needed a whack on the ejector rod to get them out, which I thought was odd, but then again, this may not be exactly completely broken in after its repair job in '54!

All in all, fun to shoot, a very enjoyable revolver. I hope you enjoyed the goofy range report.  

[watab kid]

On 10/21/2025 at 8:50 AM, Dapper Dave said:

Interestingly enough, the guy I bought it from, a retired gunsmith, included a 000 Buck he slugged the bore with, and it came out .355. That's 9mm sized right there, tighter than 38/357. I wonder how much problem I might have firing .360 bullets down that bore?

 

Edit to add, I did a little research - it was a Lend Lease revolver made in 1942, marked "US Property" on the top strap, sent to Australia, and completely rebuilt in 1954, Factory Thorough Repair, inspected and reimported into the US sometime in the late 80s through Vega in California. 

 

 

Not really collectable more than English ones, but nifty history...and I am more partial to Australia than England any day of the week, anyway. 

AH its been FTRd  thats why its in so nice condition , the full factory refurb included refinish before going to stores , , in super condition and a really nice find , as collectibles go id add it to mine 

[Dapper Dave]

I think all the Aussie ones were FTR before they were sold. The barrel is the same serial number as the frame, so I really think it didn't get used much. It will now! Just loaded up another 50 rounds a few hours ago.

[Dapper Dave]

So, I continue on in my Aussie Smith journey, with a find from Amazon...of course. This was sold as "Revolver Holster, Australian WW2 Khaki Web 38 Victory Model 10 M&P - Original Unissued". It was very inexpensive. 

You know by now I can't do a post without pictures...

 

This is not very stiff, quite floppy, but if it's 80+ years old, it holds it well!

 

NOT a quick draw rig at all.

 

The markings are quite faded, but that is the D^D marking on the inside of the flap.

 

Interesting

 

They roughly match up to this old "Belt, Individual Equipment, Nylon", which I think is from 1966...but the only way that would fit is to simply slide the vertical D rings down the belt - they have no bend to go inside the belt grommets. 

 

Yes, it's floppy, yes, it's kind of crude, but what it is, is nations attempt to meet a very sudden and immediate need to provide an expedient way to carry a sidearm into combat against the Empire of Japan, and enemy who had ALL DAY to prepare for war...even if their pistols really sucked.

If this is original as claimed, I wonder if the Sheila's who stitched it together for their Diggers in 1942 or so would wonder about it ending up in Arizona 83 years later.

Well, now I want a tunic and a slouch hat as well as a proper belt, even though I saw a picture of Diggers practicing with Webley revolvers, with the holsters jammed into unbelted shorts!

 

Waitaminnit...did they make the tunics in size old and fat back then?

[Dapper Dave]

Well, a bit of looking across the 'net showed me how it is supposed to look, not my picture. Clever attachment system. The two examples I found were a bit expensive. This one is from a British bit of kit on Evil Bay, from Palestine, and shows some miles. 

[Dapper Dave]

I haven't forgotten this gun, but I am not sure if anyone is interested in load data for this forgotten round. I think the last revolvers made in this caliber were over 20 years ago, when H&R came back to life briefly. 

I am trying something odd, will modify it, (not the gun!), to see if I can get a good fit, but it certainly helps!

 

Also, the light 124gr bullets have some zip to them - I wonder if I should buy a clear ballistic gel block in January and see what all these weird things do in actual gelatin?

 

[watab kid]

that is the correct holster [but i think it to be a reproduction] it fits both that S&W lend lease as well as the weblet , enfields , and the scottish made albvion and the aussie made HAK i mentioned earlier - for the record i was somewhat facieses on the HAK as only 350 of them were produced ....it would be a very valuable find to get one in original condition , only one i ever got close to had its barrel bobbed to 3" - total blasphemy in the collector world 

 

 

[watab kid]

my S&W was rhe 5th one down on the right hand side - just below the webley no2 

[Dapper Dave]

Your Smith had a 4 inch tube?

Even if the canvas holster is a repro with added stamps, it's cool, and makes a good gun rug.