.35 S&W Auto Ammo?

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Hello everyone,

A Model of 1913 semiautomatic pistol in .35 S&W Auto caliber recently followed me home, despite my valiant attempts to not add another obsolete caliber to my herd. I have it now, and of course I'd like some original ammo to display with it.

A quick look around suggests that this is not easy ammo to find. One or two rounds can be found here and there, but a full box of 50 seems well nigh impossible. Is this true, or have I just not stumbled across the great fountain of .35 ammo that bubbles up from the depths?

And ... is there such thing as a reloading die for this caliber -- vintage, modern or otherwise?

Mike
 
I can't believe it has taken THIS long for someone to open a discussion on this pistol! It likely has been discussed before, but that may have been well before I was a regular on these forums.

I'm sorry -- I have zero answers or help, I'm just adding my reply to subscribe to this discussion in hopes of learning about this forgotten piece of S&W history! If it is possible to make safe and functioning handloads for one of these... then I too see one somewhere in my future. I love odd stuff, and this is historically significant and I'm a huge fan of that as well.

Thanks for opening this discussion!
 
Sevens said:
Thanks for opening this discussion!
Click to expand...

My pleasure. After seeing Michael Smith's incredible display of these guns at the last two S&WCA conferences, I swore that I'd never buy one because I already had enough collections started. And they're easy to avoid, right?

And then I go putting a lowball bid on one at an auction, because I know that someone will outbid me. And then I get the invoice from the auction company, and I shrug my shoulders and figure that it'll go in the safe and be trading fodder for something else.

And then I find myself really liking the little critter, and wanting a box of period-correct ammo for it, and hell, maybe I'll even get another to keep it company.

(This is how the sickness begins, kids.)

Anyways, I think it's a fascinating little piece. And while I'm buoyed to know that I can run .32 ACP in it, I am still curious to find a box of period-correct ammo. Which, from the looks of it, is scarce stuff.

Mike
 
Okay now, are we saying that the .312" component bullets can be used for loading either brass -- or are we going as far as saying that .32 ACP can be safely fired and will operate this pistol?
 
Absalom said:
There are different opinions, but I think the latter thinking prevails.
Click to expand...

With all due respect to those that have been around for a lot longer than I have (and that have accumulated more knowledge on the topic), I think I'll refrain from firing .32 ACP ammo in one of these guns. I'll start scrounging the local gun shows for loose rounds, and I might approach Lee about making a correct set of dies for it (I'm told that they will make custom dies, but I've never pursued this).

Mike
 
Sevens said:
Okay now, are we saying that the .312" component bullets can be used for loading either brass -- or are we going as far as saying that .32 ACP can be safely fired and will operate this pistol?
Click to expand...

Well, I've done it with two of them. I'm not claiming every pistol will function fine with them, but these two examples certainly did. The differences in the two cartridges are extremely minor. The ".35" moniker was marketing hype of the days when S&W was still reluctant to chamber their guns in anything that bore another maker's name, like the .32 Automatic Colt Pistol.
 
Very interesting. According to 'Cartridges of the World' both the ACP and .35 S&W are both .309 bore ( I have been using .312 bullets loading for my ACP. Now I will have to slug the bore!). The ACP is semi-rimmed with rim dia. of .354, the .35 rim dia. is .345. The .32 ACP length is .68, the S&W .67. The base dia. of the ACP is .336, the S&W .345. It looks to me like you could trim ACP cases, possibly turn the rims, fire form and be good to go. The factory .35 S&W supposedly was loaded with a 76 gr. bullet @809 fps, the .32 with a 74 gr. bullet at 905 fps, so a little hotter. I would fire a couple of ACPs and check head diameter and go from there.
C.G.B.
 
I just did some research, and it looks like having custom dies made by Lee will incur a one-time $250 setup fee, and then a $42 cost for each die set made. I could be persuaded to order a set if a few other people went in with me ... or not.

Mike
 
The "Handloaders Manual of Cartridge Conversions" 3rd Edition by John Donnelly and Bryce Townsley has details on converting 25-20 or 32-20 Winchester brass. This requires turning the rim down, re-cutting the extractor groove and then trim to correct length and then I.D. neck ream.
Not a simple process but I would think the brass would last through several reloadings.
 
Contact me if you need some .35 S&W Auto rounds. I have about 4 full boxes and and a few partial boxes. They are not easy to find. Best I can estimate, sometime in the 1930s to early 1940s these rounds went obsolete.

With the 7 model 1913 S&W Autos I have, I never fired one. Then there's the split decision, of collectors, pertaining to "if" it will fire 32 ACP or not. Some claim it does, others say not well, HOWEVER, the reason these went belly up was the ammo.

Reportedly, the .35 S&W ammo was not available (back in the day) on every street corner so .32 ACP was substituted. The bad reputation these guns garnered was BECAUSE of the use of .32 ACP instead of the proper .35 S&W Auto.

The reputation was so negative that when S&W finally broke down and made the .32 ACP model, it too, was tainted from the previous model. Neither malfunctioned with the properly designated ammo

Evidently, the 1913 might fire 1 or 2, .32 ACPs then either stove pipe or jam however with the appropriate .35 S&W ammunition there were not any malfunction issues.

At the Lakeland show in January, when packing up my display I placed a perfect full box of .35 S&W Auto in a plastic baggie that broke. PLOP, right to my feet. That was an expensive box of ammo that just lost it's full value. The rounds were lightly greased so stayed in one pile but the box split. I reconstructed it and wrapped it tightly in saran wrap.

The only thing worse I could have done was drop a period factory pack .45 S&W Schofield box of ammo.
 
From what I can determine, these rounds have not been commercially loaded since 1939. I have a full box of 50 along with gun and case I was able to obtain from a young man selling great grandfathers gun to finance a used Glock 9mm.
 
Check with Buffalo Arms Company. The have newly manufactured ammo for around $70.00 for 50 rounds. I've dealt with them before & have had all good experiences.
 
foxy320 said:
Check with Buffalo Arms Company. The have newly manufactured ammo for around $70.00 for 50 rounds. I've dealt with them before & have had all good experiences.
Click to expand...

Good find. That's a first. i have never seen any other specialty loader offer the .35 S&W Auto. They also sell new brass cases.

I just checked it's $75.67 per 50 plus tax and shipping but they are OUT of Stock.
 
lkabug said:
What are those .35 autos going for these days.

Nice history behind them, tough to find reasonable priced ammo.
Click to expand...

I've paid $150 per full box without hesitation. Sealed boxes a bit more, but have not found a box of .35 S&W Auto in about 15 years. In 1999 I came home from Tulsa with 2 sealed boxes. They were the only boxes of .35 S&W Auto I found in the entire show, so I didn't bicker on the price.

Most of the full boxes were partially sealed but time / handling / vibration in transportation just separated the brittle paper seal.
 
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