Grandpa's 32

[shaggybull]

Can I get some help to identify this old relic. Got it from my Grandpa 45 years ago. Grandpa set some cans on post and popped them off then handed it to me. On the barrel is stamped 32 winchester ctg. My father always said this was a 32-20 revolver. The stamp of the side is an H maybe a Harrington? It hasn't been shot since. A piece of the barrel is broke out I tried to get that if one of the pictures, I remember is stripping lead when he shot it.

Thanks for any input.

Would it be worth while to take to gunsmith and have forcing cone repaired or you think cost more than gun is worth?

[rondog]

Oh man, is that a big chunk missing out of the forcing cone? What a drag!

[Outpost75]

Looks like a Spanish knock-of of a Smith & Wesson

[MtGun44]

Design is S&W but the marking is definitely something else. There were a lot
of Spanish copies of S&W revolvers in the early to middle part of the 20th century,
mostly fair to poor quality.

Is that a chunk missing from the forcing cone?

.32 WCF (Winchester Central Fire) is the original name for what we call .32-20 today.
And be aware that there used to be two loadings - one for pistols and the Hi-Velocity
loads which were for Winchester rifles only, could damage a pistol. So if you find a
old original box of Hi Velocity loads, I would not recommend shooting them. If the
forcing cone is broken, it will need a new barrel to work safely.

Bill

[SOFMatchstaff]

Your grandads pistol was made in Spain by Orbea Hermanos .. They made a lot of knock off designs for export.
I think they ceased production around 1926.

I see the chunk missing from the forcing cone, gun is toast unless a new barrel is located and fitted. Probably not cost effective
or safe in that caliber. Even the period S&W pistols in 32-20(WCF) had issues with barrels. Put it in a shadow box and enjoy its
family history.

[rondog]

Put it in a shadow box and enjoy its family history.

I agree! Hobby Lobby has some nice pistol-size shadowboxes that have hinged glass fronts with magnetic latches. They hold a 1911 very nicely, perhaps that pistol would fit too. I certainly wouldn't shoot it like it is, and replacing the barrel is probably a long shot, not to mention expensive.

[shaggybull]

thanks for the information and all the input. I have a small qty of ammo that came with the piece. Grandpa was a moonshiner in Kentucky and it was his carry piece.

[Outpost75]

Usually when a forcing cone is broken out in that manner there are timing and indexing issues with the cylinder lockup, and the forcing cone is cracked or broken because bullets strike the sides of the cone when a mis-aligned chamber fires, instead of going more straight down the bore.