1896 Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless

[cwtebay]

Howdy all,
I got my great grandfather's 38 lemon squeezer from my uncle for Christmas.
What sort of loads and bullets are those of you who have one prefer in it?

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[jonjon00]

Depends. Is it a 32 or 38? Short or long?
Mine is a 32 short. It does OK with an 80 grain. And it is also a snubby.

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[StuBach]

Fun little piece of history but be very cautious with them. They are known for the lockup’s getting loose and becoming unsafe. I inherited my grandpas as well and I only ever shoot it sparingly with old stock Remington 38 Short ammo. These were made with older powders low pressure loads so they don’t stress the lockup. I’ve read that modern powders of not loaded carefully can be dangerous.

I know Lee still sells dies for the 38 short (them and I think RCBS has some cowboy dies for it but they’re pricey). I’ll try and grab my old Lyman #1 Cast Bullet loading manual and see what loads it has listed for you when I can.

[cwtebay]

Apologies, it is a 38. I got ahead of myself.

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[cwtebay]

Fun little piece of history but be very cautious with them. They are known for the lockup’s getting loose and becoming unsafe. I inherited my grandpas as well and I only ever shoot it sparingly with old stock Remington 38 Short ammo. These were made with older powders low pressure loads so they don’t stress the lockup. I’ve read that modern powders of not loaded carefully can be dangerous.

I know Lee still sells dies for the 38 short (them and I think RCBS has some cowboy dies for it but they’re pricey). I’ll try and grab my old Lyman #1 Cast Bullet loading manual and see what loads it has listed for you when I can.I have dies for it (I redid a 32RF Remington #4 in it) it is a short in the revolver. My great grandfather let me shoot it with him in his garden when I was a wee tadpole (too many years ago to admit). I know it was safe then, but it is "well used".

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[Buzz Krumhunger]

I’ve had a couple of S&W “Safety Hammerless” revolvers, colloquially known as “lemon squeezers”. Mine are chambered for .38 S&W, not .38 Short (Colt). They were also made in .32 S&W caliber.
Never seen or heard of one one chambered for .38 Short, which is a slightly smaller diameter cartridge. I’ve fired mine with factory loaded .38 S&W loads from Remington.

[cwtebay]

I’ve had a couple of S&W “Safety Hammerless” revolvers, colloquially known as “lemon squeezers”. Mine are chambered for .38 S&W, not .38 Short (Colt). They were also made in .32 S&W caliber.
Never seen or heard of one one chambered for .38 Short, which is a slightly smaller diameter cartridge. I’ve fired mine with factory loaded .38 S&W loads from Remington.Thank you for that, I hadn't ever heard of an S&W long in that either. I thought there was only one 38 S&W.

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[StuBach]

My apologies for mis-speaking and using the word short. That was a miss on my part.

As for the Lyman cast handbook #1 it only references the 358-64 bullet for 38 S&W but doesn’t reference a charge. Looked in current Lyman Cast Handbook and it lists 358-477, 358-311, and 358-430.

I’ll Pm you a photo of the page.