32 S&W Long in Colt police positive

[tward]

My latest project is a 32 S&W long Colt police positive. The piece has a 4" bbl and looks to be all original parts. I disassembled it last night and I believe the original oil was still in there! Lots of brown hardened crud on all the parts. I got all the gunk off and reassembled and relubed. Funny the action doesn't seem nearly as gritty as before. I'm now working up some reloads using Lee 90 gr SWC TL. I love these old Colts on the D frame! Tim

[Earlwb]

Nice job. Yeah some of these guns can be pretty cruddy on the inside. Congratulations. The little 32 is fun to shoot.

[Green Frog]

So the Colt’s chambering is “Colt 32 New Police,” right? That is dimensionally the same as 32 S&W Long but allowed Colt to avoid admitting that they were using their competitor’s more popular chambering. I’ve had fairly good luck with the loads of Bullseye suggested by Alliant in their loading data tables when I load them for my I-, J-, and K-frame S&Ws as well as my 327 Blackhawk. I’ve got a good supply of the discontinued Hornady 95 grain swaged SWCs I’m using that behave very much like your Lees will. Enjoy! :Fire:

Froggie

[smkummer]

You didn’t say if it was a pre-war on a 32 frame or short 38 frame. Post war was on the longer 38 special frame. If it’s on a 32 frame, I would stick with SAMMI pressure loads, the forcing cone is pretty thin with a 32 on a 32 frame. I had a post war detective special 32 that I thought about rechambering to 32 H&R. Instead I just loaded 32 S&W long to that data with the bullet at the same aol as 32 H&R. It worked fine but I finally just traded for a 38 special as it’s just as easy to download 38 special.

[Petrol & Powder]

Yeah, Colt was always real keen on marketing and cartridge names were a part of that scheme.

32 Colt New Police - AKA "32 S&W Long"
38 Colt New Police - AKA "38 S&W"
And of course just about any Browning cartridge marketed by Colt in America was identified by the initials "ACP" [Automatic Colt Pistol], 25 ACP, 32 ACP, 380 ACP, 38 ACP and 45 ACP. With the possible exception of the 45 ACP, those cartridges are equally as well known by their Browning names or European metric names. (25 ACP = 6.35 Browning, 32 ACP=7.65 Browning, 380 ACP= 380 Auto or 9mm Browning Short or 9mm Kurz or even 9x17mm)

Colt was a shameless self promoter.

[RED BEAR]

I am in love with 32's so much so the wife asked if they quit making anything but 32's.