This Forum Costs Me $$$

[Nomadmax]

Hanging out here costs me money But I'm happy about it. Went to the OGCA show yesterday looking for a Model 30 or 31 in 38 S&W Long because of all the posts here about 32s. At the moment, I'm distrustful of S&W's QC so an older revolver was the only way for me to dip my toe in the water.

Attendance at the show was sparce, mainly because the day before a table holder had a live 308 round in a bolt gun on his table (with the bolt closed and a zip tie on it). A potential customer pulled the trigger while attempting to pick it up. The result was two men shot, non fatally and the "customer" (older man in 60s) ran out the door not to be seen again.

Back to yesterday. I found what I believed to be a 31-1 in a box but the older gent selling it was convinced it was a 32-1 as it said on the box and his asking price reflected it. I'm no expert but the fact that it was a 32 S&W Long (not 32 S&W), 6 shot instead of 5, had a square butt and wasn't pinned convinced me it was a 31-1. Also, to my knowledge, the 32-1 stopped production before that. SN revealed the gun shipped 1981.

I'm certain he was mistaken and not being deceitful so I spent some time respectfully explaining the differences. He lowered the price to what was fair, I paid it and he gave me a new box of ammo.

I may look into reaming the chambers to 32 H&R mag, but don't know enough about it yet. Just this morning I ordered 1K of ammo and later I'll probably get some HKS speedloaders. Thank goodness I have other J frames so leather/carry gear isn't a problem. So thanks to all of you 32 guys for whipping me into a frenzy and denting my wallet

 

[ColbyBruce]

Sorry for the injured folks and wish them a speedy recovery.

The S&W models 30 & 31 were chambered for .32 S&W Long cartridge; the models 32 & 33 were chambered for the .38 S&W cartridge.

I have two 31-1 revolvers, one is pinned, the other is not.

The first photo, middle gun is the pinned 31-1, bottom gun is unpinned. Second photo is a 32-1 .38 S&W, third is a 31-2 .32 S&W Long. These are my three grandchildren's guns.

 

[pharman]

Glad you found your Model 31...

Glad you found your Model 31...anyone else on here that was at that OGCA show Saturday? I WAS planning on going but did not make it as I was sick...

 

[Nomadmax]

@colbybruce

Thanks for confirming I was on the right track regarding the identification issue. Those are some good looking revolvers. Depending on how this on works out, I may get on the hunt for a 3" version. Have you converted any of your 32s to 32 H&R mag?

And for anyone else, is that a conversion that carries no real risk in terms of safety given the extra pressure? I'd probably treat the H&R magnum conversion much like I do my 38/357s. Mostly 38 Special with a qual every 60 days with .357. And for SURE I wouldn't shoot any Buffalo Bore ammo

@pharman

I hope you get better, but you picked a great day to be sick

 

[GnarlsR2]

Wow!! ... those are some mighty purdy hole-punchers!

 

[ColbyBruce]

Nomadmax, I have not converted any of the four .32 S&W Long revolvers I have to .32 H&R magnum…yet. I was hoping to run across a 4" barrel gun to convert. Several members here have successfully reamed their guns chambers to accept the magnum cartridge. I have a 30-1 3" nickel and a 331ti as well. If you reload, the .32 Long can be greatly improved.

My grandson shooting his 31-2, the above mentioned guns, and the 32-1 with pink stocks for my granddaughter.

 

[cmansguns]

What Model is stamped on yoke?

OP: I see the box says 32, but what is the factory stamp in the yoke? Did the seller have it zip tied so the yoke could not be accessed?

Mine is a "H" prefix shipped in September 1975, bought by a widow on October 11, 1975, sat in the box in her dresser drawer untouched for over 40 years until son was cleaning out the house after her passing. I have the original sales receipt. She paid $107 for the gun in 1975, so your gun was actually cheaper in 1981 according to the tag on your box.

Could it be that the box you got is actually for a Model 32 with the box serial number but the gun you got is a different Model and has a different serial number?

 

[Jon651]

I don't think of this forum as costing me money, but with as many firearms as I've purchased from fellow members over the years I think of it as just swapping around our money and guns between us!

 

[Nomadmax]

Seller wouldn't cut the zip tie because it was an atuomatic expulsion given the shooting the day before. So the yoke was inaccessible. The SN on the box did not match the SN on the revolver so it is in no way connected, just a box that he had I guess.

The price listed is for the gun that's who knows where. I'm guessing my 31-1 produced in 1981 cost more than what the misatched box indicated. You have a very cool find there. I'm looking forward to shooting this one later in the week.

My gun is indeed stamped 31-1

OP: I see the box says 32, but what is the factory stamp in the yoke? Did the seller have it zip tied so the yoke could not be accessed?

Mine is a "H" prefix shipped in September 1975, bought by a widow on October 11, 1975, sat in the box in her dresser drawer untouched for over 40 years until son was cleaning out the house after her passing. I have the original sales receipt. She paid $107 for the gun in 1975, so your gun was actually cheaper in 1981 according to the tag on your box.

Could it be that the box you got is actually for a Model 32 with the box serial number but the gun you got is a different Model and has a different serial number?

 

[ACE10000D]

I was at OGCA all days. The shooting definitely put a damper on the show.

 

[Nomadmax]

I was at OGCA all days. The shooting definitely put a damper on the show.

We'll be lucky if we don't lose the venue. The guy who pulled the trigger shouldn't have run. It's idiotic that he even touched the trigger but 90% of what happened belongs to the guy who brought in a gun(s) for sale on a table that had a live round in it.

It's my guess they'll find him as there are cameras all over the place. When that happens, at the very least, everybody involved (minus the men that were shot) are going to be ejected from the club. To be quite honest, I can't see criminal charges being approved for the "customer". The seller on the other hand may be looking at criminal charges and about a 90% certainty that civil action will follow.

According the account, the seller bought the Mossberg bolt action 308 the week before at a flea market, assumed it was unloaded and just strapped a zip tire around the closed bolt, safety off.

 

[wproct]

I've attended multiple dozens of gun shows in my lifetime and only once have I heard a gun go off in the show. No one was injured and I never heard what led up to the accidental shooting.

 

[PatriotX]

A local show that had run for over 20 years here had a ND, the town won't approve any more shows in city limits.

I hope that's not the case for the Ohio club. Two idiots, one bigger than the other, shouldn't ruin it for all.

 

[ladder13]

We are happy to help you spend money.

 

[xfarfuldog]

I was there when the shot was fired. But I was about 20 rows away. It sure did not sound like a 308, more like a 22. I heard several rumors but am glad to to get the facts.

I am an ex LEO and normally would have responded to the scene. But I did not want to get in the way of the deputies doing their job. I too worry about losing the venue.

 

[Jon651]

We'll be lucky if we don't lose the venue. The guy who pulled the trigger shouldn't have run. It's idiotic that he even touched the trigger but 90% of what happened belongs to the guy who brought in a gun(s) for sale on a table that had a live round in it.

It's my guess they'll find him as there are cameras all over the place. When that happens, at the very least, everybody involved (minus the men that were shot) are going to be ejected from the club. To be quite honest, I can't see criminal charges being approved for the "customer". The seller on the other hand may be looking at criminal charges and about a 90% certainty that civil action will follow.

According the account, the seller bought the Mossberg bolt action 308 the week before at a flea market, assumed it was unloaded and just strapped a zip tire around the closed bolt, safety off.

I obviously wasn't there, but just by listening and reading I would say in my decidedly inexpert opinion that the responsibility is about 50-50 in my eyes.

I compare it to this scenario: Let's say a car has failing brakes but the owner didn't know about it because he never checked them. You borrow the car, also without knowing about the bad brakes and get into an accident where a bystander gets seriously hurt.

The question to all the current and former law enforcement officers out there is how much responsibility is shared/spread between the owner of the vehicle and the operator at the time of the wreck? That's how I see this situation.

 

[BoulderTroll]

Hanging out here costs me money But I'm happy about it. Went to the OGCA show yesterday looking for a Model 30 or 31 in 38 S&W Long because of all the posts here about 32s. At the moment, I'm distrustful of S&W's QC so an older revolver was the only way for me to dip my toe in the water.

Attendance at the show was sparce, mainly because the day before a table holder had a live 308 round in a bolt gun on his table (with the bolt closed and a zip tie on it). A potential customer pulled the trigger while attempting to pick it up. The result was two men shot, non fatally and the "customer" (older man in 60s) ran out the door not to be seen again.

At risk of sounding "anti-gun", I went to my last gun show about 30 years ago, and I will never go to another one, and I avoid areas with numerous armed individuals. Many years ago I did WWII reenacting with a couple work buddies for a summer, and at one of the "battles", where I saw them do very unsatisfactory safety checks, I saw one guy sell another participant a few hundred rounds of blank ammo, for his M1 Garand. Among the blank ammo were three live rounds. Thankfully they were spotted before being loaded in a Garand that was about to be intentionally pointed at another human. Long story short, there are just too many careless people in the world, and as much as I support their right to be armed, that doesn't mean I want to stand next to them.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I'm a former member from back in the 1980's and my dad dated back to the late 1950's.

There is no telling what the knee jerk reaction of the Roberts family will be, but they are long term acquaintances of my brother's, and they are known to respect individual rights and responsibilities.

As for the true responsibility, it rests on the people that allowed an uninspected gun to be displayed! That is the dealer (Who obviously doesn't understand gun safety), but mainly on the Show's security personnel! (Any previously zip tied gun still needs inspected!)

Ivan

 

[Shadyhaven]

Glad you found your Model 31...anyone else on here that was at that OGCA show Saturday? I WAS planning on going but did not make it as I was sick...

I was there on Saturday but left right when it happened. I was sitting in the parking lot when the sheriff and ambulance arrived.

 

[Nomadmax]

I'm pretty sure dealer guns aren't checked by anyone from the OGCA. They are self checked by dealer/table holder.