High Standard Deluxe Sentinel

[Potsy]

I recently inherited my Great-Grandad's 4" High Standard Deluxe Sentinel .22lr.
It has an aluminum frame. On another forum a fellow recommended shooting only "standard" velocity loads to avoid stressing the aluminum frame. Is there anything to this?
All my current crop of .22's are old Mini-Mags and old Winchester Super Speeds (alos inherited) and given the rarity of .22 shells these days I didn't know if I should go ahead and shoot it or wait till I could find some Winchester Wilcats or Federal Targets or something along those lines.
Does anybody have any experience with these?

Also, I inherited his H&R .32 S&W Break-Top. He had a couple of boxes of .32 S&W Long, but I was always under the understanding that the long was a different cartridge than the standard .32 S&W, which is what the gun is stamped for.
Also, was this gun designed to function double action only? It has a hammer with a spur but does not stay back when pulled.
There also seems to be some slack in the gun when the action is closed. I don't know if most H&R's were made that way or if that's the result of having .32 Longs fired out of it.
If it can be fired single action (the way I prefer to shoot a revolver) I'd not mind getting it fixed and getting a mold and some brass for the old girl. Dunno why, just want to.
Thanks!

[Green Frog]

I didn't know what 22 Standard Velocity was for the first 10 years I shot my 2" High Standard Sentinal Deluxe. Admittedly I only fired a few hundred rounds through it (OK maybe a thousand or so :wink:) of this high speed ammo through it, but I saw absolutely no sign of wear or slack. Enjoy shooting it.

As for the H&R, that type of revolver has been made by them for over a century, so much more info is needed to make any kind of intelligent comments on that gun.

Froggie

[phonejack]

I have a 6" version. Since the cylinder is steel I don't see a problem. However, mine gets better accuracy with standard velocity.

[gunfan]

Potsy: The .32 S&W H&R is best fired with .32 S&W ammunition and with lighter "factory" level loads to ensure that the revolver won't be stressed. A good 1 grain of Bullseye behind a #0 Buckshot are "gallery" loads that are more fun than a barrel of monkeys. You can get 7000 loads from a single pound of powder, and a five pound bag of #0 Buck goes a long, long way.

Scott

[rintinglen]

H&R made 2 sizes (at least) of their 32's. The 5 shooters were chambered for the 32 S&W, while many of the 6 shooters were chambered for the 32 S&W Long. The 6 shooters were usually on the "big" 38 S&W frame. I have loaded RCBS 32-84 grain boolits over 1.0 grains of Bullseye for a load that shot close to point of aim in an old Iver Johnson Secret Service hammerless 32 I used to have. Never got around to trying a 00 buck ball, though. That sounds like it would be a hoot.