Inherited .32 S&W

[kbacklund]

Hey guys,

New to the S&W world, but not in an easy way. Unfortunately my father passed away a few months ago and we are just getting around to going through his things. He had a collection of rifles, shotguns, and pistols that are now mine. And, I must admit, while I enjoy shooting (and shot competitively in high school), I am by no means an expert on firearms. I actually did not own a gun prior to this.

Anyway, most of his guns were easy to identify and determine their condition. Two were a little more difficult for the novice like me. One was an old Mauser and the other is a S&W Revolver.

The revolver is a S&W 32 Winchester CTG. Serial number 51XXX (marked on bottom of the grip and inside the cylinder). 4063 is marked on what I believe is called the "yoke." (Connects to where the cylinder swings out and you can see the number when the cylinder is open.) A picture is attached.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help...

Kurt

 

[Texas Star]

Takes the .32-20 Winchester (WCF) cartridge (CTG.) Four-inch bbl. Do not shoot Rifle Only ammo in it.

Give the full serial number and someone wll tell you the year of manufacture and whether the cylinder is heat-treated for added safety with smokeless powder. (They may be able to use the partial serial number given.)

Show the Mauser. (Post in the Lounge section.) We'll ID and help with it, too.

Sorry that you lost your dad. I hope that you'll keep and treasure his guns, and become more familiar with firearms and their recreational and defensive roles.

 

[DCWilson]

S&W made a line of handguns that took the .32-20 (.32 WCF) cartridge before WWII. The line began to fade in popularity in the late '20s and the 1930s.

With that serial number your gun was manufactured about 1913. It is known as the .32-20 Hand Ejector, Third Model (or Model of 1905), Third Change.

This was a kind of companion piece to the company's .38 Hand Ejector, or .38 Military & Police. The .38 version was quite successful, with 600,000 produced between their introduction in 1899 and the onset of WWII. The .32-20 version exists only in about 145,000 units for the same period.

There is a kind of constant low level of enthusiasm and appreciation for the .32-20 revolvers among collectors. They are fine shooters, and clearly louder and more powerful than the standard .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long cartridges. I am not sure where they fall in comparison to the .32 H&R and .327 Federal Magnum rounds, but for a long time the .32-20 was the most powerful .32 round you could get in a revolver. Colt made them too.

 

[kbacklund]

Texas Star, Appreciate the thoughts. To your point, I am planning to keep the guns. Just trying to learn what they are and what to do (and more importantly, what not to do) to keep them in working order. With regards to the Mauser, I posted pics on a Mauser focused forum and got some interesting feedback. Sounds like it is a VZ-24 stock with Polish action.

David, Excellent info! I guess it is in pretty good shape for a 100 year old revolver. I had no idea it was that old when I first saw it. Dad also had a Security Six and a Walther PPK with the S&W that are much newer. Selfishly I wish he would have given me a little history on them.

Any suggestions on how to keep it in decent condition?

Kurt

 

[Texas Star]

S&W made a line of handguns that took the .32-20 (.32 WCF) cartridge before WWII. The line began to fade in popularity in the late '20s and the 1930s.

With that serial number your gun was manufactured about 1913. It is known as the .32-20 Hand Ejector, Third Model (or Model of 1905), Third Change.

This was a kind of companion piece to the company's .38 Hand Ejector, or .38 Military & Police. The .38 version was quite successful, with 600,000 produced between their introduction in 1899 and the onset of WWII. The .32-20 version exists only in about 145,000 units for the same period.

There is a kind of constant low level of enthusiasm and appreciation for the .32-20 revolvers among collectors. They are fine shooters, and clearly louder and more powerful than the standard .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long cartridges. I am not sure where they fall in comparison to the .32 H&R and .327 Federal Magnum rounds, but for a long time the .32-20 was the most powerful round you could get in a revolver. Colt made them too.

David--

You are so knowledgeable that I think you mean the .32-20 was the most powerful .32 round available in revolvers. Right?

I think the .45 Colt was usually considered the most powerful normal factory revolver ammo prior to the .357 Magnum in 1935. I'd sure carry a .45, or other cartridges in preference to any .32!

I offer this comment respectfully, pretty sure that you meant to restrict the post to just .32 guns.

Oh: if the gun dates from 1913, the cylinder is not heat-treated. Be careful not to load the gun with hot ammo. Others here may know more about the safety of today's standard factory .32-20 ammo. Heat-treating of cylinders in the K-frame models began circa 1919-1920. They probably used up the old cylinders first.

 

[DCWilson]

Yes, I just typed too fast. I went back and fixed it. Thanks.

 

[Texas Star]

kbacklund-

I don't have time to suggest care, but post in The Lounge, and others will help.

Basically, oil with a good lube/preservative like Break-Free CLP and don't store in a case. Don't keep it in a damp basement or attic, and inspect guns at least monthly. Wipe off fingerprints with an oily patch. Do not over oil the action. Just put a drop or two down in front of the hammer and cycle the action maybe 15 times to distribute the oil in the action. Wipe off any excess oil that seeps out at the top of the trigger.

I take it that your Mauser is a Polish rifle in a Czech stock, not a Mauser handgun. But don't store it in a case, either. It may acquire moisture and rust.

 

[kbacklund]

Texas Star: Thanks. Yes, the Mauser is a rifle. And thanks for the heads-up on the case. I assume that goes for all firearms.

Kurt

 

[thibaultfelix40]

At a gun show a guy had a 32-20 Colt Police Positive that he said came from his uncle aformer forest ranger. He told me that the foresters favored 32-20 because of it's flat trajectory that gave it greater range.

 

[Springfan]

.32-20 Legend?

I had also heard that the .32-20 was once considered the most potent revolver cartridge available.  Picture it. Someone in the 1920s is looking at a table of muzzle energies of commercially available revolver ammunition, and using this metric as a measure of the potency of various rounds (not a good assumption, we know), sees that the 45 ACP at under 400 ft-lb is less powerful than the .32-20 at over 400 ft-lb. The .32-20 value is based upon velocity from a rifle. Also, even today, many manufacturers load conventional 250 gr 45 Colt ammunition at a little  over 300 ft-lb to a shade over 400 ft-lb. The origin of the legend might thus have had a kind of substance to it.

 

[Hondo44]

You got great storing and care advice. Just don't use WD-40 on it; that's a penetrant not a long term lubricant.

 

[Hammerdown]

Hey guys,

New to the S&W world, but not in an easy way. Unfortunately my father passed away a few months ago and we are just getting around to going through his things. He had a collection of rifles, shotguns, and pistols that are now mine. And, I must admit, while I enjoy shooting (and shot competitively in high school), I am by no means an expert on firearms. I actually did not own a gun prior to this.

Anyway, most of his guns were easy to identify and determine their condition. Two were a little more difficult for the novice like me. One was an old Mauser and the other is a S&W Revolver.

The revolver is a S&W 32 Winchester CTG. Serial number 51XXX (marked on bottom of the grip and inside the cylinder). 4063 is marked on what I believe is called the "yoke." (Connects to where the cylinder swings out and you can see the number when the cylinder is open.) A picture is attached.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help...

Kurt

Hello Kurt
Welcome to the forum and Sorry to hear of your Father's Passing. I too lost my Dad Last August and know how hard it is to loose a Dad, and have to go through his personal effects. The gun you have shown is a 32-20 hand eject revolver. They used this caliber in lever action rifles as well back then, but be carefull to not use Rifle ammo in your revolver as the rifle ammo is a Tad bit hotter and S&W did not start placing heat treated cylinder's in the .32-20 Guns until after around 1926 time span. In comparing the Potency of the 32-20 round to todays standards, it is a Tad bit hotter than the infamous .32 H&R Magnum being around 1000 F.P.S. It is a super accurate round but a Bit of a challenge to hand load for due to the bottle neck design of the cartidge care must be taken when seating the bullets in the case or the crimp will distort the case necks with dimples from the crimp die. It is a Fun Caliber to shoot and very accurate. Cool First name by the way we both share the same name and mine is spelled the exact same way as yours... Regards, Hammerdown

 

[kbacklund]

Hammerdown (Kurt): Appreciate the thoughts. I am actually a little afraid to shoot it given it's age. Should I have any concerns here?

 

[DWalt]

Assuming the revolver is in good condition, you should have no reservations about using modern .32-20 ammunition in it. The "Hot" rifle load is no longer loaded (at least I have not seen any). It is a fairly popular Cowboy Action Shooter round, and I used it myself back in my CAS days, over ten years ago. If you can find some modern Cowboy loads to use, they are very mild. I handloaded mine using a 120 grain lead bullet and 3.7 grains of Bullseye, and the velocity, as I remember, from my revolver was about 900 f/s.

 

[Hammerdown]

Hammerdown (Kurt): Appreciate the thoughts. I am actually a little afraid to shoot it given it's age. Should I have any concerns here?

Hello Kurt
I would have a Gun smith check it's timing before shooting it. Older guns are more prone to be out of time or have slight action timing issues if they have been fired a lot. If the gun smith say's it's good to go wear it out... Hammerdown