Its been a while since we had a .32 handgun thread......

[Outpost75]

Outpost has it right. I did not know this story when I bought my revolver and was actually pining for a recently discontinued K32. But I knew a fine gun when I saw it at a good price. The 70s was a good time to acquire older revolvers in non-magnum calibers, as everyone seemed to want semi-autos or Dirty Harry guns. I went after big Colt New Services and Shooting Masters, slim target sighted N frames and little 32s. Glad now that I did, since I wouldn't stretch far enough to do it today.

Those are a highly desirable collectible when in the condition illustrated. I bought one back in the day, and when I saw what they were going for on GunBroker I decided that mine was worth too much to shoot, so I put it up for auction and netted $2000 for it with the original box! I was glad it went to somebody who knew and appreciated what it was.

I used the proceeds to check off a "bucket list" item, to buy and have restored a real British rook rifle. I found an Army & Navy Cooperative Society rook, which had originally been a .255 with thoroughly pitted bore. John Taylor relined and rechambered it to .32 S&W Long. I then had Lucas Geiger redo the wood and metal and refurb the vintage scope...

Attached is the obligatory eye candy. Groups at 50 yards with RCBS 120 Cadet heeled bullet and 2 grains of Bullseye. Bullets cast 1:30 and lightly pressed into leade upon chambering.

As they say, "no pics? then it never happened "
Attachment 208596Attachment 208597Attachment 208598

[lucifers]

You mean one like this ?

The rarest 32 ever made due to a bad typist in MA.

Attachment 208559

My understanding is that in 1941 Mass meant to order 41 of these OMMs in 38 Special. An error on the purchase order said "32" so Colt built them. Mass tried to send them back, Colt said "you own them". Mass police finally gave them away to the well connected, hence most are NIB or close.

Mine came with box, original holster and factory letter.

Do I shoot it ? Heck yes with wadcutters. It's a tack driving beauty.

[rking22]

Beautiful revolvers, swish I had come across one wnen they were "surplus" , thanks everyone for widening my awareness of elite 32s

[djw]

The very first centerfire handgun I ever fired was in 32-20. Shortly later I went to .32 S&W Long. After the .32 H&R Magnum was created, I started adding them to my pile. I bought a 332 a couple of months ago and found that it did not eject well. Evidently, one or more people in the past used wire brushes to clean it. S&W strongly recommends AGAINST doing that on titanium cylinders. So I sent it back to them. I asked them to polish the chambers and recoat it with whatever pixie dust they use to make the ejection smoother. If that would not work, I asked for a stainless steel cylinder. I got it back today. It looks like they polished the original cylinder and recoated it. It sure looks shiny. I will know for sure when I shoot it Sunday afternoon. Until then, here is a picture of my .32 H&R Magnums (the S&W NewModel 16 on the bottom has since been rechambered to 32-20).

Attachment 205788

I shouldn't need to identify them considering the expertise on this board.

Harry O, that 631 looks just like mine, grips and all. Mine came that way when I bought it used, but surely they aren't original.

[Nueces]

Harry O, that 631 looks just like mine, grips and all. Mine came that way when I bought it used, but surely they aren't original.

Those grips appear to be Herrett's Shooting Stars. My 631 came with just the regular J frame magna-style non-target stocks.

[Brad Cayton]

My 32s are all the H&R mag. 2 Ruger SSMs and a Marlin 94 CB. All 3 are very accurate (after DougGuy worked the baby Vaquero).


I've taken quite a bit of small to medium game with them and can shoot them cheaper than I can a 22 LR.

[NoZombies]

Here's an old one; the first home of the .32 S&W CF. The model 1 1/2 single action. The sights are atrocious, but when the sun is right, and I'm squinting and holding my mouth just right, it's a pretty accurate little pea shooter. I've also been known to CCW this gun occasionally when I needed something light and unobtrusive.



This one isn't quite as old, but it's certainly no spring chicken. It's an I-frame hand ejector in .32 S&W long. Obviously it's had a bit of work done to it, and with wadcutters it shoots little groups at 25 yards. But every time I shoot it, I cry a little bit knowing that someone did this to an original I-frame target model. Yup, this one started life as a super rare adjustable sighted target model I frame 32 S&W long (total production in the dozens according to some collectors). I don't know who did the work, or why, all I know is it's beyond reasonable restoration, so I shoot it as is.

[Green Frog]

NoZombies, I would opine that your "upgraded" target model I-frame was built long ago before the current lust after factory original specimens displaced the more practical desires of shooters to have tools that did what they wanted to do. With the barrel replaced and the rear sight mounting area covered up by that big adjustable sight, are you sure it was originally a factory target model and not just a Regulation Police? It appears that the original gun was nickel plated, which would not be a likely finish for the target models.

BTW, the grips are interesting... are they perhaps by Sanderson? What does the left grip panel look like, does it have a thumb rest? Regardless, you have a neat piece of shooting history and I would jump at the chance to obtain and shoot one like it.

Froggie

[miniwini]

Oh My Dad had 32 caliber S&W... It was very very good gun. Feeling bad I've sold it and bought Glock 43

[Harry O]

Harry O, that 631 looks just like mine, grips and all. Mine came that way when I bought it used, but surely they aren't original.

Nope, the grips are not original. They originally came from the factory with what was called "gunfighters grips" that looked like someone took regular grips and partially melted them. It also did not have checkering. I got some Herrett's grips that felt (to me, anyway) a lot better. I have been using them ever since. I later sold the original grips on Ebay at an obscene amount of money.

[NoZombies]

NoZombies, I would opine that your "upgraded" target model I-frame was built long ago before the current lust after factory original specimens displaced the more practical desires of shooters to have tools that did what they wanted to do. With the barrel replaced and the rear sight mounting area covered up by that big adjustable sight, are you sure it was originally a factory target model and not just a Regulation Police? It appears that the original gun was nickel plated, which would not be a likely finish for the target models.

BTW, the grips are interesting... are they perhaps by Sanderson? What does the left grip panel look like, does it have a thumb rest? Regardless, you have a neat piece of shooting history and I would jump at the chance to obtain and shoot one like it.

Froggie

I agree completely that it was done some time ago. I had an original K-frame target model circa 1909 or so that was factory nickel as well, so the finish doesn't throw me.

The top strap is cut for the original adjustable sights as fitted on the target models, and at one point for unknown reasons was filled in with brazing. (part of why it's unrestorable). Here's what the top strap looks like with the 'new' target sight removed:


The stocks do have a thumb rest on the other side, I'm not sure if they are sanderson's or not, they're only marked with a 1955 date inside as far as I can recall, though I wasn't really looking for markings when I had them off...

It's an ugly gun that shoots beautifully. I snagged it at an auction to keep the unwashed masses from further molesting it. (I overheard one 'gentleman' pondering if it could be rachambered to H&R mag!)

[Green Frog]

That is a strange one all right NZ. Is there any indication of who made either the front or rear sights?? As the old saying goes, they look "Hell for stout," but I would certainly feel safe shooting it... they won't be damaged from the "heavy recoil" of the 32 S&W Long! The giveaway for identifying Sanderson grips is the way they stamped a one or two digit number inside both sides to keep the pair together through the finishing steps. I only have one pair of Sandersons (on a High Standard Model H-E) and would love to have some for an I- or K-frame.

Froggie

PS I agree that your revolver has suffered enough indignities. I wouldn't rechamber it either.

[NoZombies]

The rear sight at least appears to be made by LPA of Italy. No idea if the front sight was, as only the rear is marked. Now that you mention it, I suppose the 1955 marked on the inside of both grips could have been an assembly number rather than a date... The mystery continues.

[Harry O]

I learned something new today. My new/old S&W 332 Airlite was difficult to extract cases from when I bought it used. Someone had probably used a brass or steel wire brush cleaning them. S&W prohibits that with Titanium cylinders. I sent it back to S&W for refinishing. They polished the chambers and recoated the insides of them. Things were considerably better when it came back, however, it was still not a gun that you could shoot very long with. I could shoot 30-35 rounds after repairs before the cases stuck and the gun had to be cleaned.

I thought about it a while and realized that my cases were old, old, old (from the early to mid-1990's) and had been reloaded many times. Being that most of them were Federal cases, they had been annealed at the mouth. This was not a problem with my stainless steel cylinders, but I wondered about the Titanium cylinder. I decided to buy a couple of hundred brand-new, nickle-plated Starline .32 Mag cases and loaded them with the same load I have been using many years. Took it and the new handloads to the range today and shot 50 rounds without any extraction problems. The extraction problems have been solved.

I also took my S&W 642 to the range today to check it against the new gun. Both grouped as close as could be expected firing DAO. I am not sure which to use for my primary carry gun, now.

[Traffer]

Question:
I would think that even the 32 "short" S&W, provided it is used in a strong enough gun, could be loaded to just under supersonic speed with modern powder. That is probably the route I would go ...and may indeed in the future. Any ideas on that? Load experts" How much red dot can you stuff in one of those little cartridges?

[Outpost75]

Can't speak to the short .32 S&W, but I have a Remington 580 bolt rifle converted to centerfire and relined to .32 ACP. Ordinary FMJ 73-grain RWS ammo gives 1200 fps. An 87-grain cast bullet with 2 grains of Bullseye gives 1050 fps. A 90-grain cast bullet with 5.5 grs. of Alliant #2400 gives 1200 fps.