Hey gang,... Wanted to get your thoughts on Ammo used in a very old 1906.... What ammo do you like when shooting a 100+ year old weapon, and why? thanks!~

Hope you get a variety of good answers, perhaps including some respectful handload data..

As for me, it would be standard velocity, non-jacketed 38 Special. Usually Magtech 158 grain lead round nose or SWC, as I lucked into some a bit back.

Good luck with your centenarian piece and its diet.

I've enjoyed shooting Black Hills Cowboy Action loads quite a bit, I've shot quite a lot of it out of my triple locks. But for my .38spl guns (even the 100+ year old ones) any standard factory produced .38spl has worked just fine.

Handloads or sketchy ammo though are reserved for my modern Rugers.

As long as your old S&W is in good working order, the ammo is quality manufacture, and isn't hot, you are basically just fine. I tend to see people running into trouble when they are shooting something cheap, or home cooked. Mostly squibs, which result in some very fine guns needing a new barrel.

so basically, stay away from NATO and stick to known manufacturers on the lower end of loads??... like anyone can be picky with choice of ammo these days,.... jeeessssh. If I cant find anything safe for me and the pistol,... Ill wait. thanks for your reply~!

Hi DGNY,... and thanks for the reply. Can you explain why staying away from FMJ is a good idea? Can I assume its just more wear, stress and generally harder on the barrel to put jacketed ammo through it?

"Owning a firearm doesn't make you armed,.... anymore than owning a guitar makes you a musician."

My question, why bother shooting anything from 1906?

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Really? Why drive a 1906 Packard model S?, "The gentleman's sports car"



Because you can.


Because its fun.


Because it offers a sense of history.

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When words fail, music speaks.

My oldest guns that actually get shot usually get fairly new reloads that I did myself. Most of my reloads (except those for special purposes) tend to be loaded toward the low end of the range for their caliber and cartridge. I don’t stress my guns or myself ‘cause I’m just a bid wuss!

Froggie

I am guessing the above "why" question will get a lot of response on this site,....The asking of the question itself describes to me, just how much the person asking does not get it. I dont say that to be a smart *****, d*&k or anything else,... its just, no matter how much it was explained, it would not be understood.

Now Froggie,.... Gets it!!!

What model and chambering/caliber are you asking about?

If you mean a .38 Military & Police (model of 1905) in .38 Special, good information above. They were made for use with lead bullets, so in theory use of FMJ ammunition may accelerate barrel wear, but standard factory 130 gr loadings are pretty tame pressure-wise and likely not concerning to use, in a mechanically sound gun.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

OP referred to a S&W Model 1903 made in 1906. Pistol is chambered in .32 S&W Long..32 Hand Ejector Model of 1903 - 1st Change",
"Serial number range 19426 to 51126 with 31,700 manufactured circa 1904-1906".

built on "I" frame.

The earliest I frame I have owned or shot was a ‘20s vintage Regulation Police in 32 S&W L with 6” barrel. I was able to get plenty of factory ammo of the mild, lead bullet variety back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, so that was a clear solution for me. As that ammo became harder to find an more expensive, reloading made much more sense to me.

However, even the newest factory ammo in this caliber, out of consideration to the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of old 32 chambered revolvers of great age and dubious strength that are still out there, is loaded to very mild levels, and I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot it from any of my I frames. I just don’t choose to “pay the freight” to do so.

Froggie

Heck, I have Model 1896 revolvers in that caliber and love shooting them. Best part is having other shooters at the range come over and ask what is that? Gives me a good chance to spread some good words about S&W to others.

Your question is best answered by what you want to do with the gun? If you want to put holes in paper, then there is no better way to do that than reload your own. There is absolutely no reason to shoot even standard loadings in something you want to last and only shoot targets. Average speeds of commercial 32 S&W Long ammo is 750 fps. I am sure there are some hot-rod loads out there, but it is hard to find a more mild loading.

My reloading premise requires a very important piece of equipment for any reloader, a chronograph. I load pre-WWI ammo to around 600 fps and nothing higher is needed or wanted. It assures that pressures will be well below SAAMI levels and accuracy will be just as good, plus recoil and stress to the mechanics of the revolver will be kept at a minimum. I have played with accuracy and found that some old revolvers I own actually shoot with greater accuracy at lower speeds.

If factory ammo is all that is available to you, pick light bullets and lowest speed you can find. Not many ammo companies will print velocities on their boxes, but one can find many of them online.

There are also those who think reloading allows them to go rouge and everything they load has to be lightning fast. Good example of one such reloader can be read here: The .32 S&W Long: A Handgun Hunter's Perspective - By Glen E. Fryxell

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Gary
SWCA 2515