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S&W Antiques S&W Lever Action Pistols, Tip-Up Revolvers, ALL Top-Break Revolvers, and ALL Single Shots


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Old 01-20-2011, 05:44 PM
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Post .32 S&W Black Powder

I just inherited a .32 S&W break-top revolver. When I brought it home, nothing functioned on the gun. I stripped it down, ran it through my electrolysis machine to clean the rust and then reassembled it. I ordered new grips and all new springs from Numrich. However, I still need the rounds for it now that its back together. I do not reload and I know that the new commercial rounds even if lightly loaded still carry smokeless powder which this weapon was not designed to handle. Does anyone know where one can find black powder .32 s&w? I called an outfit named stars and stripes buy they were asking a very high price with a very long lead time.
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Old 01-20-2011, 05:50 PM
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Note: After looking over several notes on case dimensions. Could one use primed .32 ACP brass. Pull the bullets, reload the primed case with cast lead and black powder? I could buy a bullet puller, and reloading the brass with black powder consists of filling of the case and compressing the powder slightly. I don't think re-seating would be too much of a problem either.

.32ACP dimensions
Case type Semi-rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter .309 in (7.8 mm)
Neck diameter .336 in (8.5 mm)
Base diameter .337 in (8.6 mm)
Rim diameter .358 in (9.1 mm)
Rim thickness .045 in (1.1 mm)
Case length .680 in (17.3 mm)
Overall length .984 in (25.0 mm)

.32S&W dimensions
Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter .334 in (8.5 mm)
Base diameter .335 in (8.5 mm)
Rim diameter .375 in (9.5 mm)
Rim thickness .045 in (1.1 mm)
Case length .61 in (15 mm)
Overall length .92 in (23 mm)

The only problem would be the rim diameter. The rounds might not eject every time. But I'm doing this more for the fun than for the speed.
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Old 01-21-2011, 12:01 PM
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Not sure which of the myriad 32 top breaks you might have. The first, the single-action Model 1-1/2 appeared in 1878 and was the first of the 32 S&W's. Some comments: Other folks in this forum have fired factory smokeless 32 S&W's in their top breaks, without incident. They are lightly loaded. I do not recommend it and would not do it myself. If you would go to the trouble of pulling bullets and reloading with black powder, why not use 32 S&W factory loads? Several brands are catalogued, including Magtech, Winchester, and Remington. You may have to wait awhile because the Cowboy Action guys have discovered that shooting pocket pistols is fun, so 32 components are often out of stock. I don't think the 32 acp would would extract reliably. Lastly, I would be a bit concerned about the condition of the piece since it was corroded beyond function to begin with. Proceed with caution and good luck.
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