The .32-20 Hand Ejector Thread

[bmcgilvray]

"My own little abomination, a .32-20 Hand Ejector Model of 1905, 3rd Change, wearing an Aimtech K-frame scope base and a cheap 2x20 scope (the scope practically weighs as much as the gun!):

Picked it up for a song and a dance, with the Parkerizing already done to it. It has also had a trigger- and lock-up job done -- one of the tightest lock-ups and smoothest triggers I've ever seen.

I've since removed the scope and base, and I'll be looking to add a WonderSight to it."



Wow! Never saw that one coming! Who'd a' thunk it? A scoped .32-20 Hand Ejector in this thread.

Did you shoot it before you removed the scope?

 

[jdh]

This is not my first orphan. You would think I learned my lesson with the 41 mag, but noooooooo.

 

[valkyriekl]

My own little abomination, a .32-20 Hand Ejector Model of 1905, 3rd Change, wearing an Aimtech K-frame scope base and a cheap 2x20 scope (the scope practically weighs as much as the gun!):

Picked it up for a song and a dance, with the Parkerizing already done to it. It has also had a trigger- and lock-up job done -- one of the tightest lock-ups and smoothest triggers I've ever seen.

I've since removed the scope and base, and I'll be looking to add a WonderSight to it.

Wow! Never saw that one coming! Who'd a' thunk it? A scoped .32-20 Hand Ejector in this thread.

Did you shoot it before you removed the scope?

I did; I didn't like the scope (too big, too heavy, sight picture too wobbly trying to hold it one-handed Bullseye-style) so I swapped it out for a red-dot sight and shot it like that for a bit.

But that was too easy to shoot at 50 yards, and it made the gun look really funny, so I went to iron sights -- turns out I can hit just about as good with irons as I can with a red-dot =)

 

[Gatorbaiter]

Does anyone have a lower serial number than this? SN 117 with British Proofs, shipped on 3/6/1899 to P. B. Bekeart & Co, San Francisco, CA:

A pair of Targets;

One with a King rib and sight:

A pretty one:

A factory nickel Target:

Here's one with an extra factory fitted 32 Long cylinder numbered to the gun:

NOW FOR SOME COLTS:

A pair of Detective Specials, one in 32-20 & one in 32 Mag:

Colt SAA 32WCF:

Another Colt SAA 32WCF:

Colt Bisley 32WCF:

 

[bgrafsr]

Gatorbaiter:

All I can say is WOW. You have some very nice .32-20's.

 

[jamned]

32-20's

Gaiterbaiter,
Outstanding guns, everyone of them. The one with extra cyl & original box is my favorite. A 1920 ish gun? Probably sent back to the factory & fitted with the 32 cyl? or special ordered?

The one with King rib, are those Roper grips?

s/n 117 w/british proofs. Went to Britain in the Lend Lease era of WWll, than came back?

Thanks for posting these guns, I am 32-20 NUTs!!!

 

[Gatorbaiter]

Gaiterbaiter,
Outstanding guns, everyone of them. The one with extra cyl & original box is my favorite. A 1920 ish gun? Probably sent back to the factory & fitted with the 32 cyl? or special ordered?

The one with King rib, are those Roper grips?

s/n 117 w/british proofs. Went to Britain in the Lend Lease era of WWll, than came back?

Thanks for posting these guns, I am 32-20 NUTs!!!

jamned;

I'm nuts about 32-20's also, must have a dozen of them!

The gun with the extra cyl was shipped 11/19/1928 to Shapleigh & Co, St. Louis, MO. According to the star stamped by the SN on the butt and the small 9-42 stamped on the grip frame under the left grip, it was returned in Sept of 1942 for the extra cylinder to be fitted. Here is a pic of the right side with the Wonder Sight on it:

The grips on the King gun are Ropers!

SN 117 apparently was a "Battle of Britain" gun that made its way back home later.

Here are a few more 32-20's:

Colt Army Special 32-20:

A pair of Colt Police Positive's 32-20:

 

[Green Frog]

I recently traded into a pretty early 4th Change... a brown (formerly blue) 6" with OK original style (no SN visible) walnut, no medallion diamond grips. I assume it is pretty early because the SN (matching all over gun) is 758XX. I assume further that I have the pre-heat treated cylinder, hence my first question. Is this a safe revolver to use with FACTORY pistol ammo? I will be reloading very mild loads based on Unique and the classic 3118 Ideal bullet as brass accumulates.

Another line of questions; in view of the rather sad cosmetic state of the gun currently, is refinishing or perhaps even customizing a reasonable plan for this piece? If I DO go about rebuilding it, can I use standard K-frame parts from a similar vintage .38 such as a Victory? Also, could I rebore a pre-war .22 cylinder (if I can find one) for a .32 long S&W? I'm thinking WonderSights for my sight upgrade and then grips based on whatever finish I finally settle upon. What think ye??

TIA ~ Froggie

 

[EdwardM]

Showing (once again) my ignorance here with two questions:

1) For target shooting can a standard .32 be used in a 32-20? (I'm thinking yes)

2) To search for one of these - especially a target version - on one of the online sites or here in the "For Sale" section should I simply search for "Hand Ejector" or is there a specific model designation to use?

Thank you.

Ned

 

[popgun]

Showing (once again) my ignorance here with two questions:

1) For target shooting can a standard .32 be used in a 32-20? (I'm thinking yes)

2) To search for one of these - especially a target version - on one of the online sites or here in the "For Sale" section should I simply search for "Hand Ejector" or is there a specific model designation to use?

Thank you.

Ned

No you should not shoot 32 long in a 32-20

 

[DCWilson]

To search for one of these - especially a target version - on one of the online sites or here in the "For Sale" section should I simply search for "Hand Ejector" or is there a specific model designation to use?

The Model is .32-20 Hand Ejector, sometimes seen as M&P .32-20 or 1905 .32-20. You can search on any of those terms. Sometimes uninformed sellers who know they have a .32 caliber gun but don't understand frame sizes will call it a .32 Regulation Police, so look out for mislabeled revolvers as well.

 

[DCWilson]

Gatorbaiter, I knew I liked .32-20s, but I had no idea such variety was available for the collector. Those are spectacular guns.

The double-cylinder gun is pretty cool; and anything with a King Rib sight on it makes my heart beat faster.

 

[DCWilson]

I recently traded into a pretty early 4th Change... a brown (formerly blue) 6" with OK original style (no SN visible) walnut, no medallion diamond grips. I assume it is pretty early because the SN (matching all over gun) is 758XX. I assume further that I have the pre-heat treated cylinder, hence my first question. Is this a safe revolver to use with FACTORY pistol ammo? I will be reloading very mild loads based on Unique and the classic 3118 Ideal bullet as brass accumulates.

Another line of questions; in view of the rather sad cosmetic state of the gun currently, is refinishing or perhaps even customizing a reasonable plan for this piece? If I DO go about rebuilding it, can I use standard K-frame parts from a similar vintage .38 such as a Victory? Also, could I rebore a pre-war .22 cylinder (if I can find one) for a .32 long S&W? I'm thinking WonderSights for my sight upgrade and then grips based on whatever finish I finally settle upon. What think ye??

TIA ~ Froggie

As long as you don't try to fire the .32-20 rounds that are loaded for use in rifles, you should be OK. If it's labeled for revolver use, or if you load to those pressures, you'll be fine.

In general, M1905 lockwork is M1905 lockwork regardless of whether the guns are .38s or .32-20s. But remember that some parts are carefully fitted to the gun in which they find themselves, so expect a little work if you start mixing parts. Maybe you can just drop in a hammer or DA sear, or maybe not. You never know until you try.

Not all K-frame cylinders are the same length, so I don't know how easy it would be to convert a .22 cylinder to .32. Remember that the .22 K-frame cylinders were all counterbored to surround the cartridge rim, whereas the centerfire chamberings of the day (.357 Magnum excluded) did NOT go into recessed charge holes. Some artistry might be involved in making one of those work. Perhaps there would be an option to sleeve a .38 cylinder? You'd need to fabricate a proper star, however.

 

[Hondo44]

I recently traded into a pretty early 4th Change... a brown (formerly blue) 6" with OK original style (no SN visible) walnut, no medallion diamond grips. I assume it is pretty early because the SN (matching all over gun) is 758XX. I assume further that I have the pre-heat treated cylinder, hence my first question. Is this a safe revolver to use with FACTORY pistol ammo? I will be reloading very mild loads based on Unique and the classic 3118 Ideal bullet as brass accumulates.

Another line of questions; in view of the rather sad cosmetic state of the gun currently, is refinishing or perhaps even customizing a reasonable plan for this piece? If I DO go about rebuilding it, can I use standard K-frame parts from a similar vintage .38 such as a Victory? Also, could I rebore a pre-war .22 cylinder (if I can find one) for a .32 long S&W? I'm thinking WonderSights for my sight upgrade and then grips based on whatever finish I finally settle upon. What think ye??

TIA ~ Froggie

I would not worry about standard factory loads, just beware that some older ammunition was marked for rifle use only. Don't use that!

Depends on how much money you want to put into it. By the time you get done, you may have spent close to or as much as buying a target sighted gun in average to decent condition. Nothing wrong with refinishing a gun with little or no original finish left. But if you do, have it done properly; not the local guy. Standard K frame parts of same vintage will interchange.

Reboring should be fine but K frame 22's were introduced late and probably hard to find, but a post war cylinder would probably work. Can't think of any reason it wouldn't off hand, but don't know for sure. Try to compare your cyl with a post war K22. Look for both, 22 and 32.

Wonder sights leave me cold. Can you even find one? If you go to the trouble to reblue and refurbish, why not have S&W target sights installed?

Hope that helps,

 

[Hondo44]

David,

I see we almost overlapped our responses. Good idea about sleeving a 38 cyl; much easier to find. A 22 ejector star might be the one to reconfigure. I would retain the recessed rim feature if for no other reasons than it might be easier to find and he could readily tell the cylinders apart.

I was thinking a phone call to Chicoine could get him some great advice and suggestions:

oldwestgunsmith.com

 

[Green Frog]

Thanks Jim and David! I was thinking along the same lines as you, Jim, on the WonderSight. Although it is still available new (they even have a website!) I'm still not convinced it is the way to go. I thought about milling the top bar of the frame for a post-War K-type sight, but was a little worried about strength issues. There isn't but so much "meat" there, and I assume the frame, like the cylinder, is less thoroughly heat treated than later issues(?) I may experiment on an orphan .32 HE I-frame I have also mentioned here from time to time, see how that works out first, then progress to the .32-20.

In a perfect world I would find an affordable K-32 and have a late K-frame cylinder rebored to .32-20, but that would really run into some (unavailable levels of) shekels!

Neither of these projects is likely to be a carry gun to bet my life on, but for the fine pastime of "woods loafing" either of these should suit the bill nicely for engaging targets of opportunity. All for now, but again thanks for your input.

Regards,
Charlie, the Frog

 

[Dan M]

So tell me who the maker of this one is, At 1st glance I thought S&W then I said no Colt then I just gave up. came with 100 rounds of factory Remington ammo for $150.00

think its belgian or Spanish but not sure

Dan

 

[Muley Gil]

Looks like an Eibar special, made in Spain. A friend of mine had one. The chambers were horrible. Fired cases looked terrible! Never got more than 2 reloadings out of them.

 

[Andy Griffith]

I've seen similar markings on Spanish revolvers. That's my bet, but I'm not certain.

There's a book out there on Spanish revolvers I've been meaning to get- just rarely see enough Spanish made S&W and Colt copies for sale, since usually they are of lesser quality gunshops around me will not put them out or refuse to trade for them. There are actually some that are fairly decent in quality, but they are less commonly encountered.

What's that quality of that one Dan?

 

[Andy Griffith]

Considering we've had some exceptionally beautiful and outstanding pieces in this thread, I figured I needed to add some beaters *I mean character* to keep it well rounded.

Here's a late .32-20 2nd model (#9687), *that does have a good bore*:

.32-20 1905 1st, with a pristine bore and lots of finish left, with what I think is attractive "toning" in the bluing:

Here is another .32-20 1905 1st (#29,999), and although nowhere as nice, it does have a decent bore:

.32-20 1905 2nd, with a decent bore, but lackluster finish:

Finally, .32-20 1905 3rd. that someone chromed :

Group photo (except 1902) with a .32-20 speedloader!

Also, Hamilton Bowen is making some longer cylinders that might be suitable for .32-20's for around $300. Too bad no one is making replacement barrels- there are far more pitted barrels encountered in .32-20 than nice ones.