1905 hand ejector 32-20

[jkingrph]

I just won an auction for a S&W 1905 hand ejector in 32-20. Not knowing a lot about those old revolvers I have a few questions. First serial number is 109xxx and the gun has a factory letter saying it was shipped in Nov of 1922

1. Is it safe to shoot modern high speed 32-20 factory loads, or should I reload to lower levels.

2. It looks a lot like my much newer K frames, esp the K-22 and K-38, is it a K frame or simply an earlier model?

3. What does hand ejector refer to? I think it simply means opening the cylinder and pressing the ejector rod to eject cartridges.

4. I see 4 screws showing on the sideplate, is this a 4 screw model or a 5 screw, with one hidden under the grip plate?

I sought out this gun to be a companion to a little Marlin 1894 CL in the same caliber, that I bought new back in 2006.

 

[Absalom]

My answers are inserted below:

I just won an auction for a S&W 1905 hand ejector in 32-20. Not knowing a lot about those old revolvers I have a few questions. First serial number is 109xxx and the gun has a factory letter saying it was shipped in Nov of 1922

1. Is it safe to shoot modern high speed 32-20 factory loads, or should I reload to lower levels.

Yes, shoot standard ammo. If you handload, milder loads are always a good idea on older guns.

2. It looks a lot like my much newer K frames, esp the K-22 and K-38, is it a K frame or simply an earlier model?

Standard K-frame. Identical to .38 Special version.

3. What does hand ejector refer to? I think it simply means opening the cylinder and pressing the ejector rod to eject cartridges.

Exactly. As opposed to auto-eject top break.

4. I see 4 screws showing on the sideplate, is this a 4 screw model or a 5 screw, with one hidden under the grip plate?

Screw 5 is in front of the trigger guard.

I sought out this gun to be a companion to a little Marlin 1894 CL in the same caliber, that I bought new back in 2006.

 

[jkingrph]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have gotten to the place in life at 72 years old, the hottest loads just do not interest me any more, so tend to load more on the mild side and for accuracy, not max velocity.

I see that fifth screw in front of the trigger guard now. I did not catch in in the pictures. This gun looks good, very mild patina, probably 90+% of bluing remaining, with trigger and hammer still showing good case hardening color.

I bought my K-38 back in 1968 as a college graduation present for myself, and the K-22 a couple of years later to match, so am familiar with the more modern forms. When I saw a picture of the internals of one of these I thought it looked very familiar.

It looks like I had answered most of my questions except for the one about the screw. When I receive it will strip it down, clean and re-lube and go shooting.

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

I have had a .32-20 or two or more since about 1975. They are fun guns to shoot. I also had a Marlin .32-20 rifle.

All modern .32-20 ammo is safe in handguns. About 50 years ago, there was a high velocity .32-20 factory round available. It had a 80 grain hollow point bullet and the case head was stamped "HV". These were NOT to be used in revolvers or old (1873 Winchester era) lever action rifles.

 

[DWalt]

"Is it safe to shoot modern high speed 32-20 factory loads?"
There are really no "modern high speed" loads for the .32-20. As previously stated, the high velocity .32-20 load has been extinct for many years and you are not likely to find any of that. In fact, any .32-20 ammunition is not the easiest to find in most areas, although it is still loaded and available through internet ammunition sellers and sometimes at gun shows. Reloading eliminates such problems.

You might be aware that S&W ceased manufacture of the .32-20 M&P revolver around 1929-30 after making around 145,000 of them. The Model 1905 designation was dropped by S&W just before WWI. But some collectors still use it.

 

[jkingrph]

It's good to know that the HV ammo is not available. I have a few boxes of cast bullet ammo I bought at a gun show a few years ago, as well as a supply of Starline brass, and a supply of cast bullets, so I am well fixed in that area. Thanks for the info. As I get older I am more interested in the little guns. A few years ago I bought and built a couple of AR 15 rifles in 6.5 Grendel, and just last year finally got a little CZ 527 bolt action in that caliber. It's rather amazing at the performance out of such a small round.

I've been a forum member since 2009, but obviously not posting much, just occasionally reading for reference.

 

[glowe]

Not such a little caliber though, since there are old advertisements out there stating that this caliber "can shoot clean through a man"

Years ago, I purchased my first 32 Winchester and started loading that caliber. I researched lots of loads and settled on one powder to start with. The revolver was a solid shooter with a 6 1/2" barrel and shipped in 1908. Being relatively new to this caliber, I loaded a box with increasing charges from minimum to maximum. Out the the range, I ended up shooting the entire box of 50 because it was so much fun, but I noticed that as I neared the upper end of the powder charges, the sound of the report changed to a loud crack. No worry since the revolver was handling everything with ease, but the next time I went to shoot the gun, I invited a friend that had a chronograph. To my surprise, the upper end of the loading range ran over 1200 fps using the pistol loading data. I did not realize it, but I had gone super-sonic. I bought a chrono shortly after my experimentation and use is religiously. I settled on a 750 fps load that is quite accurate and the old work-horse is still going strong. One thing about the K frame in this caliber is that the barrel and cylinder have lots of metal, since they are the same as the 38 Special with much smaller holes.

I shot the gun for years in its original condition, but decided it needed a new finish a few years ago. Badly pitted and no finish, I could not diminish the value further, so I rust blued it. Still one of my favorite shooters.

 

[DWalt]

Long ago I settled on a load of 3.2 grains of Bullseye and the 100 grain Missouri Bullet Company .313 lead bullet. The average MV is in the mid-700 ft/sec range in all three of my .32-20 revolvers. Not much point or purpose in going beyond that.

One of my more notable blunders was mistakenly loading up a cylinder full of .32-20s in a .38 Special revolver (I was shooting both calibers that day). I thought the noise and recoil felt a little off. I ejected a group of six blown-out and split cases. Strangely, all those bullets hit the target at about 15 yards.

 

[glowe]

. . . One of my more notable blunders was mistakenly loading up a cylinder full of .32-20s in a .38 Special revolver (I was shooting both calibers that day) . . .

I have loaded 32 Long into a 32-20 and had amazing accuracy. Did not do the cases any good, as all were split.

 

[Muley Gil]

I have loaded 32 Long into a 32-20 and had amazing accuracy. Did not do the cases any good, as all were split.

I have worked two murders where the offender used a .32-20 revolver loaded with .32 Long cartridges. Worked good enough.

Back in my younger, dumber days, I used a max load of 2400 behind a 100 grain bullet. It also "cracked" when shot. Luckily there was no damage to my pre WW I S&W.

 

[DWalt]

I remember reading about the use of .32 Long in .32-20 rifles. Apparently it works but it doesn't do anything for case life.

 

[kraynky]

I've been wanting to pick up a shooter grade 32-20 ever since I bought a Marlin in that caliber a year or so ago. I didn't realize they stopped making them that long ago. They sound like a lot of fun. I'm still working on a "favorite" load for the lever gun. It would be great if I had one load they both liked. So I better get busy finding that revolver I suppose.

What barrel lengths were they made in? I like the balance of both my 17-3 6" and 15-2 4".

 

[jkingrph]

I wanted a very good shooter grade, and think I found it in this one. The auction was ending soon and I was the only bidder, and probably paid too much. There are a couple of others on Gunbroker that look better, with lower current bids, but time remaining is well over a week and there are already numerous bids. Some that appear very rough have relatively high starting bids, and I don't want to go through the expense of a complete refinish/ restoration. The one I am getting looks like it can be freshened up with an application of light steel wool, degreasing and touching up with some Brownells 44/40

 

[glowe]

. . . What barrel lengths were they made in? I like the balance of both my 17-3 6" and 15-2 4".

Depending on the era, they came in 4", 5", 6", and 6/2". I think they are currently selling for less than its 38 Special counterpart.

 

[jkingrph]

Depending on the era, they came in 4", 5", 6", and 6/2". I think they are currently selling for less than its 38 Special counterpart.

I did not research 38 prices, as I have had my K 38 for a bit over 50 years now, and specifically wanted a 32-20 ( would really like a K 32, but look at the prices on those things) If you wanted one for shooting a lot, I would go the 38 route because of the price difference in ammo.

 

[DWalt]

Colt was a little more into making .32-20 revolvers than S&W as they made at least five different models in .32-20 I can think of, possibly more. And they continued to make them for a little longer than S&W did. I have a nearly mint condition Colt Official Police .32-20 made in 1935 which is one of my most prized handguns. I have another .32-20 Colt revolver, an Army Special from 1911, which is in nearly, but not quite, as good condition. Both are too nice to shoot much. Which is why I usually shoot a more pedestrian M&P which has a fairly good re-blue..

 

[Kinman]

I did roughly the same thing years ago. Bought my first S&W 4th change to go with a Winchester 92. The only problem I ran into was that I could load the bejasus out of the 92 but had to be careful with the revolver. Now I have two boxes for 32-20, green for revolver, red for rifle. Nearly any factory 32-20 you will find on the market today is safe in your Smith, the only thing you need to watch for is anything labeled rifle.
The last I've checked and found was Remington and Winchester offerings. The Winchester is 100gr. lead and although labeled Super X is well within the capabilities of your older revolver.

 

[DWalt]

I am not sure it is still the case, but the last time I saw a box of new Remington .32-20, it was labeled "Rifle". Of course it can be used in any .32-20 rifle, but it is equally suitable for use in any revolver. It is nothing like the old HV loads. No idea why they would add such confusion to their packaging. I guess the same question applies to Winchester Super-X. Traditionally, Super-X was Western's (not Winchester's) designation for higher velocity ammunition. Regardless, any .32-20 ammunition made today is OK for revolver use.

For use in a Model 92 (and several other rifles), one can approach .30 Carbine MV levels (upper teens) from the .32-20 by handloading.

 

[adowns]

One of my more notable blunders was mistakenly loading up a cylinder full of .32-20s in a .38 Special revolver (I was shooting both calibers that day). I thought the noise and recoil felt a little off. I ejected a group of six blown-out and split cases. Strangely, all those bullets hit the target at about 15 yards.

I did this exact same thing once.

 

[Muley Gil]

Yes, all of the recent factory loaded .32-20 ammo I have seen has been marked for "rifle". The only reason I can think of is the fact that the .32-20 was first offered in rifles, with revolvers in .32-20 coming a few years later.

It is safe in revolvers.