32 Rimfire?????

[45-70 Chevroner]

I was not sure where to ask this question, but this is the most watched part of the forum.
I have 7 rimfire loaded rounds.
Overall length is .928"
Case length is .560"
Rim diameter is .375"
Bullet diameter is .316" (Copper Washed lead)
Case diameter is .317" I guess that would be an outside lube set up.
6 of the loaded rounds have a diamond shaped stamp in the base of the case.
One has an H stamped in the base.
Does any one have a good educated guess as to what they are.

Also I have 2 loaded rounds of what look like one of the 45 colt family of cartridges.
This is a funny looking loaded round. It has a hollow nose of about .25" and what looks like glue about .25" down in the nose. The bullet is made of brass. The base of the case is stamped REM-UMC 5-in-1. The rim diameter is .522" the case just in front of the rim is .461" and the bullet is .413" just in front of the case mouth. The case length is 1.243". What do you think I have?
I wish I could do pictures but I have problems in that area of computer stuff. I need to get my grandson over here to teach me how. I have done a few pictures but with great difficulty.

[Reg]

Don't have a caliper handy but think your rimfire rounds might be 32 rimfire.
The 5 in 1 is another story. They were made up as movie studio blanks. The idea being they could be fired in 38-40 and 44-40 rifles and pistols and 45 long colt pistols ( hence 5 in 1 )
Many years ago you could walk into the old Martin B Retting Co. in Culver City California and buy these in large wash tubs by the handful.
Retting also had 32-20 blanks, also movie studio in wash tubs. Bought several hundred and cut off the extended portion, dumped the powder and loaded them up.
Little bit of history you have.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Thank you Reg. I thought I was pretty close on the rimfires. The 5-in-1 had me stumped though. I wounder it the rimfires are worth anything.

[texassako]

The 7 rimfires are probably .32 Short Rimfire and the H is should be Winchesters headstamp. Collectors may be interested in them.

[JIMinPHX]

.32 rimfire came in several flavors. I've personally seen a .32 long rimfire & a .32 short rimfire that were made by Navy Arms probably 15 or 20 years ago. To my knowledge, that was the last time that cartridge was loaded. The last time that I saw those Navy Arms rounds at a gun show was probably 4 or 5 years ago. They were going for $1/round loose & much more per round for a full box. I think that the Navy Arms stuff had a U for a headstamp, but don't quote me on that. I need to look it up before I can have any confidence in that statement.

Any other headstamp that you have is most likely an antique & the cartridge collector types pay more for that stuff. If the lead has a white powder on it, that is an oxide of lead that is pretty darn toxic, so be careful with it. Don't clean it off though. The collector guys seem to pay extra if that crud is still on there. Don't polish them either. The patina adds to the value too.

[JIMinPHX]

Page 431 of Cartridges of The World (#9) lists 5 different American .32 rimfire cartridges - .32 long rifle, .32 extra short, .32 short, .32 long & .32 extra long. The long rifle is listed with a .312" diameter boolit. All the others are listed with .316".

The closest to what you wrote is their listing for the .32 short. boolit .316", neck .318", base .318", rim .377", case length 575", cartridge length .948".

Page 422 lists some more information on that cartridge. Some of the highlights include -
Originated under a S&W patent of 1860
First used in S&W mod. 1-1/2 & mod 2 revolvers
Later chambered in revolvers made by Colt & many others that are now long gone
Also used in a variety of rifles
Stevens single shot rifles were chambered in this caliber until 1936
Existing guns in this caliber are estimated to be in the tens of thousands
Loaded & listed in some ammo catalogs as late as 1972
Navy arms had a batch made in Brazil in 1990.
Original load was 80 grain boolit over 9 grains of black

Page 430 lists a MV of 950 with a "late smokeless load" out of a rifle. I assume the MV to be in fps, but the unit is not actually listed.

I'd love to see a picture of the 5 in 1. I've never seen them before.

[Mk42gunner]

The Navy arems .32 Long that I have has a headstamp of M R P, with each letter a half line above the preceding one, if that makes any sense.

The diamond headstamp sounds familiar, maybe Dominion????

Robert

[Reg]

Dominion ( CIL or Canadian Industries Ltd. ) I was told went out of business quite a few years back. Perhaps some of our Canadian members could step in on this one.
The CIL ammo was of excellent quality, as good as our best .22 RF. Think I still have a box or two somewhere.
I was recently told that someone is importing .32 rimfire again. Could be coming from Brazil Mexico, or Italy. I can only hope it's of better quality than some that has been brought in. Have seen some in the past that had real erratic performance with quite a few missfires in each box for no extra charge !! ( No less !!!)
Also If I am not mistaken someone also made a run of 5 in 1 not too long ago also.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I'm going to try to get my grandson over to help me with some pictures.
Also I forgot to mention that the rimfire cases are made of copper. None of the cases or bullets have any corrison of any kind on them. The cases are not shinny copper, they look about like a 1950's penny.