S&W help with id. 32-44

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wiskey49

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Hello Folks, new member here. I could not find out if Roy Jinks still would send a letter out for pistol id. So I will try here. S&W target model ,looks to be 32 caliber, very deep chamber in cylinders. Functions as expected, bore shootable. Anyone know year of manufacture , ammo available ? Thank You W49
 
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Can you unlike a post? Welcome to the Forum and forgive those who forgot how they got started. There is a "sticky" that will help us help you.

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Follow the options and post the information mentioned. No gun is too tough for us, but there were so many models of S&W that we need detailed information.
 
wiskey49 said:
Hello Folks, new member here. I could not find out if Roy Jinks still would send a letter out for pistol id. So I will try here. S&W target model ,looks to be 32 caliber, very deep chamber in cylinders. Functions as expected, bore shootable. Anyone know year of manufacture , ammo available ? Thank You W49
Click to expand...

Please post us some nice, natural outdoor light images of the Revolver, and, it's serial Number as seen on the Butt.

Given that S&W offered Target Revolvers in .32 of one kind or another in many models for over 140 years, being able to see the Revolver in question will allow us to know what model it's serial number goes to, and to then be able to tell you more about it.
 
S&W

Sorry fellas I thought I downloaded 5 photos, looks like they did not come thru. Havin, trouble downloading photos. Will try again. W49
 
From your photos it appears to be the model Guy mentions, and likely in .32/44 caliber (a .44 length case with a fully enclosed .32 caliber bullet within it). One of the antique collectors will be along with more information.
 
Yup. New Model No 3 Target. The serial number is low because they were numbered in their own series from 1 to 3600 or so.

I haven't the faintest idea of where you could get .32-44 Target ammo.
I don't even know what parent case I would start with to handload it, even though I could feed my .38-44.
 
You have a very unusual caliber there in a very desirable gun. There is no available ammunition or brass to even reform today since this caliber uses .320 bullets, 98 grains, not .312-.314 like other .32s. One can shoot 32 Long if all you want is a small boom, but no accuracy guarantees. it has been said that one can reform 32-20 brass, but still not long enough to fill the entire cylinder. I would be suspicious that the very base would not be fully reformed and there are no dies available anyway. I believe your revolver takes the same cartridge as 320 Revolving Rifles.

There are some obsolete rifle cartridges out there like the 32 Ideal and 32 Extra Long Ballard, but still have do do some reforming to get is the right diameter??

Correction: As Guy points out, the New Model 3 Target was manufactured from 1887 to 1910 and so your revolver was certainly made in 1887. There were only 4,333 made in either 32-44 S&W Target or 38-44 S&W Target.
 
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The NM#3 Target was first produced in 1887. That's the year I would pick for its manufacture date. I believe 7.62 Nagant brass is 1.5". Would that be long enough for the .32/44?
 
They made 4333 Target models, 2930 of them in .32-44, starting in 1887. So yours was likely made in 1887 unless they started real late in the year so it might be an 1888.

The .32-44 Target case is not full cylinder length like the .320 Revolving Rifle or .38-44 Target.

Buffalo Arms has brass, made out of .32-20 WCF.
32-44 Smith & Wesson (S&W) Brass Cases

You could size down 8mm Nambu .323" bullets to .320"... if you could find bullets or mold.
ETA Buffalo Arms has the mold, but it is $195.
Again: You could make "gallery loads" with a size 0 buckshot down in the case over a light powder charge. This was a factory load back then.
 
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Good luck on the ammo. I’ve looked for some 44 American ammo for years.
 
7.62 Nagant might work if one can find a way to reform it. I do not know how many 32-44 reloading dies are out there and if any have an expander to enlarge the top section of the case? 7.65 converts to .301" and the top section would have to be enlarged to .323"?

Found a set of 32-44 from somewhere online that costs 4 528,00 Kč?? Who know how much that is in dollars, but the CH4D set did not have a neck expander. Some claim that 32-20 will work, although the case is shorter than the cylinder of a NM3.

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Buffalo Arms is making gallery brass, not target brass cases which would be the length of the cylinder, but will work. These cartridges only carried a round ball and figuring out how to reload these short cases with a bullet could be problematic. I would suspect that the cylinder might be 1 9/16" on these revolvers, since they are post-1885 manufacture, and if so, that would require a 1.56" case length. At any rate, reloading will be an interesting journey.
 

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Well fellas , thank you so much, wonderfull information. Out to buy 32-20 brass. Cheers W49
 
Some claim that 32-20 will work, although the case is shorter than the cylinder of a NM3.
Click to expand...

Repeat, .32-44 is not cylinder length like .38-44 or .320 Revolving Rifle.
The step down to a conventional chamber throat is clearly visible in the first picture.
 
Thanks for this Jim. Clears up why some list these short case calibers for reforming with this round. So there were two different cartridges made in the same shorter case. A target load using a bullet fully seated and the gallery load that used a round ball? Also, does it have a stepped chamber?

The 7.62 Nagant would seem to work well since it appears to be long enough to cut the crimped section off the case to make up the 32-44. Of course, the shooting of the ammo will resize the mouth.
 

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