new guy here, not new to guns though...
my father in law was a caster, handloader, shooter & collector, & my wife & I inherited his stuff many many years ago, after he "groomed" me to take over his collection... I've been hand loading for 10-15 years now, I currently load for between 45 & 50 different cartridges... but, I have yet to take the plunge into casting my own yet, though I retain all the equipment & about 1500 lbs of reclaimed lead ingots I helped him cast before he died ( I mostly got stuck carrying them around ) ...
... this last year I became enamored with the old top break revolvers, & have added 10-12 of them from the various manufacturers of the day, & in several different barrel lengths, to my collection... these are pretty evenly devided between 32 S&W & 38 S&W... because not all are in pristine condition, both mechanically or cosmetically in discussing with my local builder & mentor we thought the round ball loads could be used with better accuracy results out of a less than perfect condition barrel, & the lighter weight round balls have less resistance in the barrels, & thus reduce chamber pressures for these old top breaks... I started out with new Winchester 32 S&W cases, light loads of Trailboss, & Hornady .315" balls for a gun function test load to test each 32 gun for function... I was suprised at the accuracy, though my velocities were quite low, I've been encouraged to raise the charges, as I was getting sooting the length of case in all the guns chambered, so my pressures were low enough that the cases were not expanding to the chamber, & so, I continue on with the 32 S&W...
as for the 38 S&W, I'm still looking for a source of .360 balls or molds... I see Lee still lists them, although Midways said they have discontinued that mold ??? ( I'd rather just buy balls right now, but would like to add molds to my mold library for future use )
I'm hoping to get both cartridges to shoot well, & find a gun or two in each cartridge that is a strong enough shooter to shoot regularly with my pop gun loads, as they are a real "hoot" to shoot ( Iver Johnson owl head grip pun )... even Mrs. Magnum likes shooting them... & any time I can get her out on the shooting range is good...
anyone loading these cartridges... comments or suggestions welcome...
this is one of my "prettier" 32's... ( original nickel & engraved Hopkins & Allen Safety Police with original walnut grips... most were black plastic )
one of my "prettier" 38's... ( original nickel 4th model S&W old MOP grips )
this i what my 32 round ball loads look like... ( re-nickeled Hopkins & Allen double action exposed hammer )