Smith and Wesson .32 Double Action Safety 2nd Model

[DM32]

I'm about to acquire a Smith and Wesson .32 Hammerless Double Action Safety 2nd Model (am I close to its proper name?). I know it was made well into the smokeless period, but, looking around for loads, I see that many shooters suggest using black powder. I have a Colt from the same period, same caliber, that I load with smokeless. Are the top breaks really that weak? I always load my old guns with minimum loads. This gun is tight and solid.

[gmborkovic]

AH! the good ole "Lemon Squeezer"! Wink.

[H Richard]

The current factory smokeless loads are loaded appropriate for the older top breaks and can be shot without problem. If you are loading that little cartridge, I'd start at the low end of the recommended load in the manual, and probably wouldn't go past the half way mark. This is of course depending on the firearm being good and tight and in good working order. I shoot factory loads in mine.

[glowe]

The only part you forgot was New Departure. No need to use all those words since the gun is simply called a 32 Safety, 2nd Model by collectors, but it had several names back at the turn of the century, and New Departure was the official factory name for the revolver.

All 2nd Models are considered as modern firearms according to the BATF, so keep that in mind when it comes to local and federal regulations & laws of ownership.

I feel the most important thing to remember when reloading 32 S&W caliber is the weight of the bullet. I only use 76 grain LRNFP from Hunters Supply and they help keep pressures low. There are several bullets allowed for this round, but with top-breaks, the use of a light bullet reduces pressures and allows for higher velocities. 88 grain bullet was the factory standard and you can load up to 95 grains, but I find no advantage in loading heavy bullets in these little top-breaks.

I have shot original 32 S&W black powder loads and find that they run in the neighborhood of 750 fps with 88 grain bullets. I shoot either 1.3 grains of Trailboss or 1.1 grains of Bullseye and get around 700 to 725 fps with the 76 grain bullets. These are very small numbers and a reloader has to be very accurate with this caliber, since a few tenths too much will push pressures too high and velocities over 800-900 fps!

[DM32]

The gun is in Maine, I live in Mass, so I have to use my C&R to buy it, which is fine. I use Bullseye and 85 gr bullets for the Colt, so I'll just drop the load down to what was suggested here - 1.1 grs of Bullseye. I load for my .25 Colt, so the .32s seem large.
I've been collecting handguns from the early 1900s lately, including a few .32s. I like that round. The gun that I'll be buying soon still has a lot of original blue on it, and it's tight and solid. It'll be a good addition to the collection. I have an Enfield in .38 Smith and Wesson (double action, no hammer - the "tanker" version) that is similar.

[BMur]

You can see from the powder/ bullet selection that there are actually several 32 bullets available in .311-.312 diameter.

So many factors translate to actual pressure developed.

As long as you confirm the size of the bullet used of preferable soft lead with no hardening material used in the casting? Plus a good lubricant and stay within the chart limits of powder load? You should be ok in this small caliber.

What I have found wicked about the very fast burning Bullseye powder is “Hardened” bullets can spike the pressure. So you have to be cautious of bullet material used in casting. You can actually cast a pretty hard bullet if you just use wheel weights as your source material.

Pure lead is the safest option.

Murph