I got a Smith and Wesson that'll shoot plum through a man.

P

Plain Old Dave

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That was what the Depression-era resident of Southern Appalachia would say about a .32-20 pistol of any sort. 1905 4th Change .32-20. 5" barrel and square butt. I am reasonably sure it is factory nickel, as all the markings are perfectly clear. Very fine bore. I would say what I have in this revolver, but let's just say it's not much.

I am heavily predisposed against restoration; well-traveled .32-20s are IMO Appalachian folk art as the .38 Special didn't supplant the .32-20 in These Parts til after WW2.

Is a nickeled .32-20 worth dropping $50 on a factory letter on?

Also, the cylinder has a couple (maybe 5) degrees of rotational travel when locked up, less with the trigger back and hammer down. Should I be concerned?
 

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The 32-20 is a fun little round if you reload. I think that's what Elmer Kieth cut his teeth on. I have a Colt Police Positive 5" in 32-20 that my grandmother gave to me earlier this year. It belonged to her father who was a Deputy with the small town of Lexington, Va back in the 1930's. It was in rough shape. It had been in a basement for 30 years or more. All of the blueing is gone and it not worth much to most people. But since I found his initials carved on the underside of the grip, I know I will never sell it. And it still shoots just fine.
 
As it happens, I do reload. Still have @30 pieces of brass from a round butt 2nd change .32-20 I had years ago. Need dies, though, and will probably get a set of Lees. Never lettered an old Smith, and I am curious if this one has spent its entire life here in East TN.

Are nickeled 1905s anything like uncommon?
 
Try RCBS 98 gr. FP as cast, Aloxed- 3.5 gr. Hog. Tire Group, CCI 400
approx. 1000 fps. Have tried sized to .312 & jacketed bullets, not as accurate. Know what you mean about 32/20,also 25/20,my people hail
from Sandy Fork of Cheat River in " Old Virginny " the south will rise again!
 
From the pictures, and even without a serial number, I am certain your M&P shipped in the 1920-1922 period. Getting a factory letter will cost you $50, and it's reasonably certain to be a disappointment. In that condition, there is no real benefit to getting a factory letter. And it won't actually tell you much about its history, aside from providing the exact shipping date and to where it was first shipped, almost always to a S&W distributor, some hardware or sporting goods store, etc. If it really is as sloppy as 5 degrees rotation at lockup, you have a serious problem, and I wouldn't shoot it in that condition. But it shoudn't be too difficult to fix.
 
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"That was what the Depression-era resident of Southern Appalachia would say about a .32-20 pistol of any sort."

"...my people hail
from Sandy Fork of Cheat River in " Old Virginny " the south will rise again!"

I've seen a bunch of them in Alabama and also here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Southwest Virginia.
 
Measured it, and the cylinder rotates a total of @1mm in battery. If I have measured the cylinder right, that's about 3 degrees total. Looked up the order of operations for a k frame, and it looks like this .32-20 needs a new hand. Not pushing up enough to hold tight when the trigger is pulled.
 
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Letters are a personal decision. As others have stated, most of the time you will get, "It shipped to Jones and Smith Hardware in Podunk, South Carolina." However, there is that rare occasion when the letter tells you the gun was shipped directly to a Jefferson Davis in Fairview, Kentucky.

The second response is the gamble that we pay the $50 for.

It's your choice if you wish to roll the dice. ;)
 
Drm50 said:
Try RCBS 98 gr. FP as cast, Aloxed- 3.5 gr. Hog. Tire Group, CCI 400
approx. 1000 fps. Have tried sized to .312 & jacketed bullets, not as accurate. Know what you mean about 32/20,also 25/20,my people hail
from Sandy Fork of Cheat River in " Old Virginny " the south will rise again!
Click to expand...
I don't think I have shot more than 50 jacketed bullets through any revolver in the last 15 years. They are very expensive and bring no benefit for the modest handloads I always shoot.
 
I wouln't invest $50 for a letter from Roy Jinks unless it were a family heirlom with sentimental value, or had some other provenance.

I'd just enjoy it as a shoote with character.
 
Careful..

JSR III said:
Letters are a personal decision. As others have stated, most of the time you will get, "It shipped to Jones and Smith Hardware in Podunk, South Carolina." However, there is that rare occasion when the letter tells you the gun was shipped directly to a Jefferson Davis in Fairview, Kentucky.

The second response is the gamble that we pay the $50 for.

It's your choice if you wish to roll the dice. ;)
Click to expand...

Careful. Some of us live in Podunk, SC.:)
 
Five Degrees of Separation

Five degrees is a bit excessive rotational play. Unless the cylinder notches are completely worn, it sounds like you need a new dog (the little cylinder advance thingee).
 
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Plain Old Dave said:
Is a nickeled .32-20 worth dropping $50 on a factory letter on?
Click to expand...

I say if you have the money, why not? Especially since you don't seem to have that much money invested in the gun anyway. It might be interesting to know when it shipped and to where. Maybe some little hardware store or something in rural Tennessee. I'd letter it, if for no other reason than to just satisfy my own curiousity.
 
Plain Old Dave said:
Wouldn't a worn hand do that too?
Click to expand...

Hands are hardened but ratchets are not so it is the ratchet that wears down. In post WWII S&Ws installing an oversize hand eliminates a small amount of rotational play and advances carry up, or timing. I suspect finding an oversize hand for a long action revolver will be difficult, but I haven't tried.

You may read that in order for the over size hand to fit through the frame the side of slot nearest the center of the gun may have to be filed but I've installed quite a few over size hands and they all dropped right in.

My WAG is that your .32 will fire many more rounds as is but I can't say without handling it.
 
k22fan said:
Hands are hardened but ratchets are not so it is the ratchet that wears down. In post WWII S&Ws installing an oversize hand eliminates a small amount of rotational play and advances carry up, or timing. I suspect finding an oversize hand for a long action revolver will be difficult, but I haven't tried.

You may read that in order for the over size hand to fit through the frame the side of slot nearest the center of the gun may have to be filed but I've installed quite a few over size hands and they all dropped right in.

My WAG is that your .32 will fire many more rounds as is but I can't say without handling it.
Click to expand...

Sometimes, modern parts will fit. I fitted a .312" combat trigger to a WW I era .32-20 back in the '70s.

Make a post in the gunsmithing section and I'll bet tennexplorer will know.
 
Muley Gil said:
Sometimes, modern parts will fit. I fitted a .312" combat trigger to a WW I era .32-20 back in the '70s. [...]
Click to expand...

During WWII S&W changed K frame hammer blocking safeties to the modern stamped bar that slides up and down in a slot in the side plate. Previously K frame hammer blocks swung toward the center of the gun under the hammer and out of the way toward the side of the revolver. In the older system a cam milled into the hand moved the hammer block. I believe that system was in use by the 1920 to 1922 time period during which Dwalt said Plain Old Dave's .32 WCF was made. However, I'm not familiar with the even earlier safety system nor when the pre-WWII system replaced it. Modern, or I should say pre-MIM hands do not have the cam to operate pre-WWII hammer blocks.

Muley Gil said:
[...] Make a post in the gunsmithing section and I'll bet tennexplorer will know.
Click to expand...

^^^ This is a good idea. I only wrote based on my fuzzy memory.
 
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