It is known that standard factory 32 S&W and 38 S&W ammunition is very mild and from my experimentation, lower felt-recoil and velocity than original BP loads. There have been many discussions of shooting pre-1899 firearms with smokeless powder and, but no documentation or examples of damaged guns from doing so. Remember, the companies that manufacture ammunition have huge liability issues with regards to every caliber they manufacture. The last thing they would want is to blow up these old top-breaks.

There is much discussion about the evils of smokeless and the dangerous pressure curves the produce. Second and third hand information has been passed along forever, but those people do not realize that nothing changed in post-1899 top-breaks. Almost all top-break S&Ws transitioned from black powder to smokeless era with absolutely no changes made in steel strengths or design. They still remain in fine operable condition today. Stick with Remington, Winchester, and other major brands and they will assuredly under-perform BP loads all day long, which is a good thing.

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Gary
SWCA 2515