Old .32 S&W Black Powder Ctgs. - "OK" to Use???

[J.Solo]

I have a very old box of 50 rounds of Remington Old .32 S&W Black Powder Ctgs.

Box Marked "Black Powder" on the end flap Lead Bullets.

Ammo looks to be in good condition.

Can this Black Powder Lead ammo be safely fired in a Smith and Wesson in .32 S&W late 5th edition Break Top five shot revolver without haveing to perform water clean up???

I'm also looking for a set of grips for this revolver or just the right grip pannel that has a chip missing.

Thanks - J.Solo

[Oldtrader3]

Black powder is not chemically stable like the single and double based powders of today. Are these modern black powder loads and do you know how old they are. If not, I would not fire them and I would not fire them if you don't know how they were stored and they are more than a few years old. Just my two cents.

[cgt4570]

I say try one. It won't hurt anything. The odds are probably 50-50 that it won't go off. If it does, immediately check the barrel to make sure the bullet made its way out and didn't get stuck. (If you do happen to have one stick, just use a wooden dowel to knock it out). If luck is in your favor and it was stored 'high and dry', they may work just fine. Remember that early primer residue is corrosive, so always clean it after shooting the stuff. There aren't any risks of it being 'unstable'. All it's composed of are charcoal, saltpeter (potassium nitrate), and sulfer.

As for clean-up, ammonia-based window cleaner (Windex) works great to neutralize any corrosives, then just clean with Hoppe's #9 and oil as usual.

[murphydog]

Agree with Oldtrader3, I would not use these, they may be unstable or not work at all. Better to put these up for sale to an ammo collector and use the proceeds to buy a box or three of modern .32 S & W loads, which are loaded light and fine for your gun if it is mechanically sound.

If you decide to use them, clean the gun with soapy water or black powder gun solvent immediately afterward. I have seen many early tip-up and top-break guns with "perfect" finish, except for the pitted chambers, forcing cones and barrels - no fair guessing how they got that way. Hope this is helpful.

[H Richard]

I wouldn't try them. First "IF" they might go off, they would be very corrosive in your gun and require detailed cleaning with soap & Water, the re-oil, etc. Second, they are collectors items themselves, and are probably worth much more than several boxes of current mfg. ammo. The current mfg .32 S&W is very mile, and won't hurt your gun if in decent shape. I recently fired some in a 1921 issued .32 Safety Hammerless, and were surprisingly accurate.

[MAC1911A1]

Thread jumper here,
Question, is the new production ammo loaded to the original blackpowder specs of the .32 S&W ? I tried finding sammi specs on 32 S&W with no luck. The most recent list was 2004 and did not list 32S&W ? I have a 1896 safety hammerless which is in great shape and I would like to fire it.

[W.E.G.]

Firing them would be a terrible waste.

Sell them to a collector on Gunbroker.

Mark the package: "Cartridges - Small Arms - ORM-D"
Charge the buyer actual shipping.
Take to UPS hub (not "UPS Store") for shipment.

[n4zov]

You might check here to see how valuable that old ammo is before shooting it:

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[Richard C]

Yes 32 S&W is loaded to origional spects. Remington 32 S&W is loaded with an 88gr bullet at 780fps. I use them in Iver Johnson revolver ,my fathers, made about 1900. Enjoy your old timer.

[gizamo]

Thanks for the good laugh...

Nobody thinks that Black Powder is less stable then modern smokeless....not really, right!

Where do folks get these ideas? Wait, it was posted on the InterWeb, so it must be true....

[Jim Watson]

A full box of cartridges is worth a lot more than a box with 49.

The black powder is fine. But the primers may have died and the bullet lube has likely dried up.

More use to a collector than a shooter.

[MAC1911A1]

Are a handful of assorted head stamped BP worth anything. If so where do you sell them

[Oldtrader3]

At a gun show?

[DWalt]

1. I would never fire any of the cartridges. A full box of vintage ammo in good condition, even of common type, is easily worth more than several boxes of new ammo, and possibly a lot more.
2. Black powder is extremely stable provided it is kept dry. Moisture will destroy it. Time alone will not. Primers are far more likely to deteriorate before the black powder does.
3. Black powder residue is easily cleaned up. Just give the gun a bath in warm or hot water and a little dishwashing detergent, then dry it thoroughly.

[gwpercle]

Keep the box of old ammo . Click on the post by PALADIN85020 . the box of vintage ammo really looks good alongside the vintage safety hammerless. Shooting ammo that old is not dangerous but it's not very good ammo and once the ammo and box are gone you will have a hard time finding another box of old stuff..

38 S&W is still loaded, I would buy a new box and keep the old for display, I think those old ammo boxes are really nice looking.