S&W Victory Forcing Cone

[silhouette_shooter]

After a lot of soul searching, I bought a WWII S&W Victory revolver in 38 S&W. I tried some commercially available cast bullets which were .361, they didn't shoot well, too small, dropped right through the cylinder throats, also, the bore on this gun is more like .362.

So, I ordered a mold from Accurate Molds and, as usual, was very impressed by the quality of the mold. I chose the Accurate version of the Lyman 358477 mold, a classic 150 grain bullet. I size them .362, Lyman No. 2, and then heat treat them.

Long story short, I am very pleased with this revolver, I did touch up the crown using the brass screw method and also hit the forcing cone with a 11 degree cutter which I rented from 4D Rentals, money well spent. Using the forcing cone depth gauge, I ended up with the maximum recommended depth, (started out at very close to the minimum depth). Lucky for me I went to the Brownells web site and got detailed instructions on using this tool. Naturally I had to lower the front sight a bit. But it shoots those 150 grain bullets about .5 inch high at 10 yards, windage perfect!

Just out curiousity, I tried that depth gauge on my 357 Ruger Blackhawk, which shoots cast bullets just fine and does not pick up lead. The forcing cone on my Ruger was cut to the maximum depth.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Sounds like you have done well with the Victory Model S&W.

[Outpost75]

Your experience on the S&W Victory forcing cones is similar to mine, except that I didn't want to cut down the front sights, wanting to keep both my Brit and Aussie Victories original. So, I got the Accurate 36-190T bullet, which drops .362 in wheelweights and shoots to the fixed sights with 2.5 grains of Bullseye at 620 fps. Ballistics are very close to the original service load, but with a more effective flat-nosed bullet. I shoot the same load in my Ruger India Model Service Six in .380 Rimmed and it shoots to the sights of that one also.

[silhouette_shooter]

Had a hard time choosing my Accurate mold, finally chose the 358477. More boolits per lb. Designed by Phil Sharpe.

[9.3X62AL]

The #358477 is a winner, for sure. I size them to .359" for a 38 S&W Colt Police Positive, and to .361" for a S&W Regulation Police (both 4"). I opted some years back for an NEI #169A RN (202 grains in WW metal) to fit the wider throats in my Webley-Enfield and S&W M&P in 38/200. Those two miscreants need a .363" bullet. That Accurate #36-190T sounds like a better all around option for the 38/200, though.