Hey All,
I went to the local gun shop the other day and saw a pair of 32 S&W Long Hand Ejector revolvers. They were in OK shape. Mechanically they seemed sound, but the finish was a bit pitted in spots and the grips were cracked on the bottom. However, overall they looked pretty good.
I really liked the guns and was thinking about buying one of them as a fun gun. Mechanically, the guns seemed OK. The timing seemed to be good and when I cocked the hammer back, the cylinder did not move much when I tried to wiggle it.
I was wondering if it's safe to fire low pressure loads in them. I was thinking about buying one of the guns (the one in better condition) and hand loading some cartridges - perhaps loading them to 32 S&W levels instead of 32 S&W Long levels.
I don't know the exact serial numbers of the two guns, but they were both around 250,000 or 275,000. I've read somewhere on the internet that S&W didn't start heat treating these guns until somewhere > serial number 331,000.
Would it be wise to buy these guns as plinkers or should I move on?
Thanks in advance.
I went to the local gun shop the other day and saw a pair of 32 S&W Long Hand Ejector revolvers. They were in OK shape. Mechanically they seemed sound, but the finish was a bit pitted in spots and the grips were cracked on the bottom. However, overall they looked pretty good.
I really liked the guns and was thinking about buying one of them as a fun gun. Mechanically, the guns seemed OK. The timing seemed to be good and when I cocked the hammer back, the cylinder did not move much when I tried to wiggle it.
I was wondering if it's safe to fire low pressure loads in them. I was thinking about buying one of the guns (the one in better condition) and hand loading some cartridges - perhaps loading them to 32 S&W levels instead of 32 S&W Long levels.
I don't know the exact serial numbers of the two guns, but they were both around 250,000 or 275,000. I've read somewhere on the internet that S&W didn't start heat treating these guns until somewhere > serial number 331,000.
Would it be wise to buy these guns as plinkers or should I move on?
Thanks in advance.