Requesting some advice

[lrrifleman]

Greetings!

This is a first for me. I am looking at a .32 Safety Hammerless. It looks to be about a 3.5" barrel, with the lemon squeezer safety. The serial number on the cylinder matches the number on the grip. The serial number is 2084XX. Can anyone give me an idea of when it was manufactured? It appears to be chambered for the 32 S&W round. Should these top breaks be considered safe to fire?

As always, thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Sevens]

Hint: you attract a lot more very specific views and interested/knowledgeable poster for potential replies when you put the subject in the subject line.

 

[raljr1]

Just a guess but that serial number is probably 1905 or later, but probably before 1910 or so. Others will get you closer...if the gun functions ok, it is safe to fire with standard 32s&w ammo.

Robert

 

[opoefc]

Firing safety depends entirely on the condition of the revolver. Modern .32S&W caliber ammo is loaded to safe pressures for these older revolvers, as there are may of them in circulation. I suggest you have a gun smith check the gun for safe operation and good mechanical condition. Ed

 

[glowe]

Welcome to the Forum. These Safety revolvers are all safe to shoot current commercial ammunition if the mechanics are carefully checked out. As Ed states you might have a gunsmith look it over, but be aware that there are many who will simply tell you not to shoot it. They answer that way either out of ignorance or are concerned about liability. The gun is a 120 years old and any part can break and with repeated may well end up with a broken spring somewhere on the gun. I shoot mine from time to time and they function fine from

That serial number means your revolver is called a Safety, 3rd Model made from 1909 to 1937 in serial number range 170,000 to 242,98. That serial number gun was likely shipped in 1915. By that time, however, sales of this model were slow and often shipped quite a bit out of serial number order.