Recent content by applefish

The 32 S&W lemon squeezers had a 2" bicycle gun variation where they stamped the barrel similarly, so it there was definitely a market for snub-nosed top breaks back in the 1890's. On those guns, they also stamped the barrel markings on the side of the barrel instead of the normal location on...

With the heeled bullets you use a pair of pliers very carefully so the bullet doesn't get deformed. At least that's what i've done with 22s, but those were the cheapo remington 22s that were pretty much already loose... You are right though glowe, using an inertial bullet puller is probably a...

Yours might not be made by the same gunmakers, but apparently these top break S&W copies were fairly common: Nouvelle page 0 Nouvelle page 0 And here's an old auction listing for one looks identical to yours (mods please remove if against the rules to post) Belgian Smith & Wesson Copy .38 S&W...

That ammo by itself is pretty rare and desireable now. If you want to play it safe, you can pull the bullet out, dump out the powder, refill with black powder (original loading in 1890's is 9 gr of black powder), and then reseat the bullet. I've never tried it with a 32 rimfire, but since...

Those are S&W grips but the Crown+R proof mark on the right side of the barrel tells us that it's a belgian copy made after 1894. The S under a star next to the Crown+R is the inspector's proof. I would bet you good money there is an ELG in a circle with a crown somewhere on the cylinder. You...

If you're very adventurous you can load 32 SW long with black powder, they were originally designed for 13 grains of black powder on a 98 grain bullet.

With the cost of small pistol primers these days and no end to the shortage in sight, that might not be the best idea!

If you want to be authentic, you can get away with even less than 11 Grains of powder! Here's some original Load Data from 1887. A 120 grain round ball (corresponds to just under .433") on 7 grains of black powder. In 1905 they used a 110 grain round ball on 7 grains of black powder, looks...

I've heard of people "reloading" 32 rimfire with specially made cases from Dixie gunworks, that accepts an offset .22 acorn blank as a primer, and then reload normally with black powder and an approrpriate heeled bullet. But at $6 per case that's some very expensive brass!

Never mind, that was a stupid question of me, did some more reading and realized that's how you're supposed to identify the club guns!

Now that is a beautiful revolver! I wonder why they stamped it "02" instead of "2" On the DA version it seems they didn't have a leading 0, as seen in these pictures: https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/78/1330/serial-number-2-sw-44-double-action-revolver Or is it specific to club...

I've heard the government stuck with the Colt because they had a large stockpile/contract for .45 Colt ammo, and it was easier on the supply chain (and less costly) to keep the gun that could use the .45 colt ammo rather than switching over. I think a lot of times government arsenal decisions...

In my experience with muzzleloaders Swiss burns hotter than Goex too. I've also heard that Swiss granulation sizes best approximate what they used in the 1800s, while with Goex and Schuetzen you may have to step up from 2F to 3F. Apparently there's a difference in how they do the graphite...

Found some old Union Metallic Cartridge company catalogs from 1896 and 1905. The best part it they have the old load data, with powder measurements and bullet weights! It's interesting to see that there were two types of gallery cartriges for the 44 russian. The standard 44 russian load...

back to the top