A friend of mine down in Alabama has a .32-20 S&W that is in the 1446xx range. He has a letter on his and I seem to remember it being shipped in 1939. I'll try and get him to send me a copy of his letter.
latest issue revolver for the 32-20
- Thread starter Frank46
- Start date
Texas Star
US Veteran
Very true. I thought about mentioning that, but I figured you would know. My point was only that elderly single shot rifles chambered for the .32 W.C.F. are not too scarce. But if you insist on a Remington or other rolling block over the extremely fine Model 1885, your search parameters will definitely shrink.
I think .32 WCF is the .32 Winchester, much like a .30-30. I think this was a typing error. You are so knowledgeable about guns that I think you just had a momentary lapse while typing. ?? Or, am I in error about the .32's?
Muley Gil also called Cpt. Curl, Cpl. Curl. Tsk, tsk...I doubt he'd appreciate the demotion. And he couldn't afford his many fine guns on a corporal's pay!
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I bought a 1st change 32-20 S&W to go with my Winchester 92. Its a great little cartridge, a little tender at the mouth...maybe worse than the 44-40 due to its smaller opening. You learn to be a little careful after you crush a few slammin and bang'em.
I keep my rifle cartridges in red boxes and pistol in green, you shouldn't push the pistol cartridges as fast as you can the rifle.
I've got a rolling block .357 Uberti that would make a decent conversion, I'm currently having too much fun with .357/38 to make the change to 32-20. 32-20 can be pushed to M1 carbine velocities and similarly will "shoot plumb through a man".
Rural Southern L.E. types that had to purchase their own firearms liked the 32-20, I often wondered if ole Barney Fife carried a 32-20. The first model I picked up looked like a Barney type used it bang up wanted posters, either that or a shop keeper used it as a hammer to pound in tacks.
I keep my rifle cartridges in red boxes and pistol in green, you shouldn't push the pistol cartridges as fast as you can the rifle.
I've got a rolling block .357 Uberti that would make a decent conversion, I'm currently having too much fun with .357/38 to make the change to 32-20. 32-20 can be pushed to M1 carbine velocities and similarly will "shoot plumb through a man".
Rural Southern L.E. types that had to purchase their own firearms liked the 32-20, I often wondered if ole Barney Fife carried a 32-20. The first model I picked up looked like a Barney type used it bang up wanted posters, either that or a shop keeper used it as a hammer to pound in tacks.
DWalt
Member
"I think .32 WCF is the .32 Winchester, much like a .30-30."
.32 W.C.F. is another name for the .32-20. The rifle cartridge somewhat like the .30-30 is the .32 Winchester Special. There was also a .32 Winchester Self-Loading (WSL). But that was another cartridge made for the Winchester M1905 semiauto rifle. And it was also the inspiration for the .30 Carbine round. The .32 WSL is similar in size and appearance to the .32-20, but the two are not interchangeable.
.32 W.C.F. is another name for the .32-20. The rifle cartridge somewhat like the .30-30 is the .32 Winchester Special. There was also a .32 Winchester Self-Loading (WSL). But that was another cartridge made for the Winchester M1905 semiauto rifle. And it was also the inspiration for the .30 Carbine round. The .32 WSL is similar in size and appearance to the .32-20, but the two are not interchangeable.
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"Muley Gil also called Cpt. Curl, Cpl. Curl. Tsk, tsk...I doubt he'd appreciate the demotion. And he couldn't afford his many fine guns on a corporal's pay!"
I sure did! By mistake, of course. I went back corrected my error. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
DWalt is correct about the .32 WCF and the .32 Winchester Special cartridges.
BTW, the "C" on a lot of the old ammo boxes read "Winchester Central Fire".
I sure did! By mistake, of course. I went back corrected my error. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
DWalt is correct about the .32 WCF and the .32 Winchester Special cartridges.
BTW, the "C" on a lot of the old ammo boxes read "Winchester Central Fire".
He is. .32 W.C.F. was Winchester's name for the .32-20 and it appears on S&W revolvers chambered for the .32-20 and made from about late 1913 until mid-year 1922.
Winchester indicated the .32 Winchester Special with the letters WS.
Yes. I've seen that. Weird.
DWalt
Member
Central Fire was the standard industry terminology until just after WWI, when the ammunition catalogs started using Center Fire instead. I don't see what difference it made, means the same thing.
Being the bunch of rebels we all are Winchester probably knew we'd be cuttin central down to center just cuz its easier to say. A local fire district might be named "Central Fire District", everybody calls it "Center Fire", or "Center Far".
CptCurl
Member
The .32 W.C.F. is the .32-20.
Here's what Winchester calls it on the barrel of my Model 1892 shown above:
On the other hand, S&W simply calls it the ".32 Winchester" (followed by "CTG", of course).
These photos are from the thread I posted here: A Couple of .32-20s at the Range Today
Curl
And oh, by the way, the "Cpt." part has nothing to do with military service. It was a moniker hung on me many years ago by a close friend and had to do with a motorboat I had at the time. So Cpl. Curl wouldn't really be a demotion - it just wouldn't fit the situation of a curly headed guy with his first (and last) motorboat. The boat is long gone, but the moniker stuck like tar.
Back then there were lots of snide comments about "three hour tours" and all that.
I posted a detailed explanation some years back.
Curl
Here's what Winchester calls it on the barrel of my Model 1892 shown above:
On the other hand, S&W simply calls it the ".32 Winchester" (followed by "CTG", of course).
These photos are from the thread I posted here: A Couple of .32-20s at the Range Today
Curl
And oh, by the way, the "Cpt." part has nothing to do with military service. It was a moniker hung on me many years ago by a close friend and had to do with a motorboat I had at the time. So Cpl. Curl wouldn't really be a demotion - it just wouldn't fit the situation of a curly headed guy with his first (and last) motorboat. The boat is long gone, but the moniker stuck like tar.
Back then there were lots of snide comments about "three hour tours" and all that.
I posted a detailed explanation some years back.
Curl
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On the other hand, S&W simply calls it the ".32 Winchester" (followed by "CTG", of course).
Yes, but only until about 1913-14. At that time, they changed the roll stamp to read, 32 W.C.F. CTG. Then, in 1922, it changed again, this time to 32-20 CTG. That lasted until the end of production in c. 1929.
Here is one (a target model) that shipped in March, 1904, with the earliest cartridge designation on it, like yours:
I have one in my safe that is labeled 32 W.C.F. CTG, but I have no photo of it.
Texas Star
US Veteran
The .32 W.C.F. is the .32-20.
Here's what Winchester calls it on the barrel of my Model 1892 shown above:
On the other hand, S&W simply calls it the ".32 Winchester" (followed by "CTG", of course).
These photos are from the thread I posted here: A Couple of .32-20s at the Range Today
Curl
And oh, by the way, the "Cpt." part has nothing to do with military service. It was a moniker hung on me many years ago by a close friend and had to do with a motorboat I had at the time. So Cpl. Curl wouldn't really be a demotion - it just wouldn't fit the situation of a curly headed guy with his first (and last) motorboat. The boat is long gone, but the moniker stuck like tar.
Back then there were lots of snide comments about "three hour tours" and all that.
I posted a detailed explanation some years back.
Curl
Thanks for the explanation. At least, he didn't call you Cpt. Bligh or Cpt. Kidd.
I found the W.C.F. interpretation interesting.
Yes. Keep in mind that the .32 W.C.F. (AKA .32-20) was introduced for the Winchester Model 1873 in 1881. That is about 20 years before Winchester introduced the .32 Winchester Special cartridge for use in the the Model 1894. So the .32 W.C.F. designation was not available, while the W.C.F. designation could be applied to the .30 caliber cartridge that came out a few years earlier (1895).
CptCurl
Member
Thanks for the explanation. At least, he didn't call you Cpt. Bligh or Cpt. Kidd.
. . .
Well, he did call me "Captain Curly Hazelwood" and referred to my boat as the Exxon Valdez
But that was many years ago!
Curl
