The .32-20 S&W in law enforcement:

[dabney]

Several years ago, I was in a favorite pawnshop here in town, eye-balling the firearms. The owner brought out an 'old' Smith & Wesson, his words, to show me. One that had just come off pawn and was ready to sale. "David, feast your eyes on this jewel." He handed me the revolver, a .32-20 S&W, with a 5-inch barrel and a round butt feature. The nickel finish was 'flaking' badly and the after market grips were broke and barely hanging on. It looked like a 'trainwreck' in a small package from the outside. I dropped open the cylinder and carefully examined, looking for anything more to scare me off. It cycled correctly and seemed to be in good working order. I was already thinking about the S&W round butt K-Frame grips I had at the house to replace the broke ones, already mentioned. "David, you can have this mess for 75-dollars, if you want it." It didn't take me long to fill out the paperwork, and pull the 75-dollars out, and hit the door! I couldn't make out the serial number of my .32-20, while in the pawnshop. Once I got home, I pulled out my high-powered reading glass, and got the serial number off the butt. The serial number of 16362 on the butt was matched on the cylinder and bottom of the barrel. It looked like a Model 1902 1st Change S&W .32-20 and at that time (2007), it was 102-years old. I would later, have this fine 1905-vintage relic refinished, after test-firing. It was in this time frame that I started researching the S&W.32-20, its history and its role in law enforcement. I was surprised to find out that some rural law enforcement, farmers, ranchers, and prison guards utililized the S&W .32-20, as well as the Colt Army Special and Colt Police Positive Special in this same caliber. Also stumbled upon the 'classic' Colt Single Action Army in .32-20 being used by the same mentioned customers. The years of most use seemed to be in the 1920's. I found the subject matter captivating, to say the least! The .32-20 is a flat-shooting, accurate round that was also chambered in Winchester lever-actions in this same time-period. The rifle .32-20 was 'hotter' than the revolver .32-20 and so stated on the ammo box, I referenced. Now for an inquisitive old lawman, like myself, I thought I would take this question to the S&W forum for input from the great S&W historians who reside here.
Could someone elaborate on the .32-20's role in law enforcement. I will later post some pictures of my refurbished S&W .32-20 that I purchased for 75-dollars. It has round butt S&W K-frame service grips, mentioned earlier, along with black rubber Pachmayr grips for traveling missions. Thanks in advance, my friends.
David

 

[ironhead7544]

I heard that the 32-20 was once popular with the horse mounted lawmen back in the day. The 32-20 ammo was a lot lighter and you could easily carry a lot more. In a 7 and 1/2 inch Colt SAA, velocity was high and it had a flat trajectory for a handgun. In a rifle, the trajectory was also good and the lever guns had a large capacity magazine.

 

[DWalt]

Back in the bad old days, lots of lawmen, especially those in small towns or rural areas, could carry about any handgun in any caliber they wanted to, according to their own definition of adequacy. Without any substantiating data, I have read accounts that the .32-20 was considered to be flatter-shooting than other handgun calibers, and was therefore more effective at longer ranges.

Serven's Colt book states that the .32-20 was the most popular chambering for the standard Bisley model, and the second most popular (after the .455 Eley) for the Bisley target model. It was not that popular for the standard SAA, in fourth place after .45 Colt, .44-40, and .38-40 chamberings.

You mentioned the Colt Army Special and the Colt Police Positive Special were chambered in .32-20. But in addition, the Colt DA Army and Navy and the Colt Official Police revolvers were also chambered in .32-20, so the caliber was available in a wide variety of different Colt revolvers.

 

[dabney]

Thanks Dwalt and Ironhead! Both posts added more data to my, just started, research. I hope others will jump in here with their input on the .32-20 and law enforcement connections. Thanks again!
David

 

[southarkrob]

My deceased grandfather was a constable in rural Arkansas in the 20's and carried Colt SAA in 32/20 and had to kill a man with it.. shot him twice. I asked him where he got it and he said they gave it to him when he became a constable.. he still had the original holster for it!!

 

[Muley Gil]

dabney, back in the mid to late '70s, I was a deputy sheriff in Lee County, Alabama, right accross the river from you. I was assigned to the jail and would, on occassion, carry my S&W .32-20 to work. It was a 5" nickel square butt that I had converted to roundbutt. Once had a very large Opelika police sgt offer to trade me his M29 for it. By the time I decided to trade, he had changed his mind.

Jay Jones, who I believe is still sheriff here, and I were young green deputies at about the same time. Cary Torbert was my LT and Ronnie Watkins was the LT investigator. Jim Pearson was the sheriff I worked for.

 

[Texas Star]

I once saw a private guard at the Texas State Fair with a .32-20 M&P. Only one I ever saw in any LE role.

I think you summed up its probable clientele quite well. I've heard that trappers liked it, and I can see it in a backpacker's gear, as the ammo was light. But it might be too much for small game and not enough for large beasts

I've read that it has a quite loud report but maybe not much recoil in larger guns. A Colt Police Positive Spcl. might bounce a little.

I think a Colt Off. Police or SAA would be uncomfortably heavy in this small caliber.

 

[Muley Gil]

I once saw a private guard at the Texas State Fair with a .32-20 M&P. Only one I ever saw in any LE role.

I think you summed up its probable clientele quite well. I've heard that trappers liked it, and I can see it in a backpacker's gear, as the ammo was light. But it might be too much for small game and not enough for large beasts

I've read that it has a quite loud report but maybe not much recoil in larger guns. A Colt Police Positive Spcl. might bounce a little.

I think a Colt Off. Police or SAA would be uncomfortably heavy in this small caliber.

TS, I have owned .32-20s in S&Ws (4" SB, 5" RB and SB, and a 6" target SB), a 5" Colt Official Police, several PPSs and a 4 3/4" Uberti Model P (Colt SAA clone).

Yes, the SAA copy was a mite heavy. There wasn't much recoil in the the PPSs and I actually shot the OP better than my S&Ws, due mainly to the better sights.

And yes, they are loud!

 

[DWalt]

"I think a Colt Off. Police or SAA would be uncomfortably heavy in this small caliber."

Not especially. I have both a Colt Army Special and a Colt OP (actually, pretty much the same revolver) in .32-20. They are very little heavier than the same guns in .38 Special. Both feel about like shooting a .22, and at least with my handloads, have a mild report. I have seen several postings about how loud the .32-20 is, but I have not experienced that - the noise is much the same as shooting .38 Special wadcutters, if not even less. Might be different if someone were shooting the old rifle high velocity loads, as those bullets would probably go supersonic even from a revolver. My bullets go only about 850-900 ft/sec, well within the subsonic range. If you want loud, try shooting a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine. It will shred your eardrums if fired without earmuffs. The .32-20 HV loads fired from a revolver might be similar.

One comment often seen was that .32-20 revolvers were popular mainly among those who also used .32-20 rifles due to ammunition commonality. And that might include some lawmen.

 

[raljr1]

What are the ballistics like on the 32/20? When I looked it up recently it seemed to me it was a pretty hot round out of a revolver as compared to the 32 S&W Long.

 

[DWalt]

What are the ballistics like on the 32/20? When I looked it up recently it seemed to me it was a pretty hot round out of a revolver as compared to the 32 S&W Long.

Old references usually show the standard load as having a MV of about 1000 ft/sec from a revolver (100 grain lead bullet). Of course, a more exact MV would depend somewhat on the specific revolver and its barrel length.

 

[Skeetr57]

My Dad was a member of the sheriff's department here from 1937 to 1961, and from when he started until around 1955, he carried a 4" S&W in .32-20. I asked him once why he chose that caliber and his answer was that that's what was available when he needed to buy a gun. I also asked him if it was enough gun, and he said that a certain officer had had to shoot a man with his .32-20, and killed him with one shot, so he guessed it was enough gun.
Dad was never in any shootings that I know of, but the .32-20 did a good job of shooting down the tires on bootlegger cars and shooting the occasional mule or cow with a broken leg for some farmer who didn't want to do it himself. He became chief of the county force in 1951, and continued to carry the .32-20 in plain clothes until around 1955 when his men gave him a 3" Chief Special, which he carried until he retired. So far as I know, he never fired the CS in the line of duty for any purpose.

 

[Sebago Son]

.32-20

"... I actually shot the OP better than my S&Ws, due mainly to the better sights."

Gil,

That's one of the reasons that this late production "flat top" .32-20 M&P is one of my favorite shooters.



I can actually see these sights!









Drew

 

[texmex]

Back in 1975 I worked with a much older Deputy who carried a S&W revolver during the day and a 1911 at night. Both were nickle and each had rattle snake skin covered holster and he wore a rattle snake skin covered gunbelt. He didn't have anything else on the belt, no ammo or magazines or handcuffs. One day I asked him what kind of S&W he was carrying and he said a 32-20. I asked him why he carried a 32-20 and he said it shot real good, hit plenty hard and he could hit a soda can 100 yards away just about every time. I said "If its so good, why do you carry the 45 at night?" He said "You can't see a soda can 100 yards away at night". He passed away in 1977. His name was Bill Parten and there will never be another quite like him. We all called him "Mr. Bill". He loved playing practical jokes. He didn't really need handcuffs cause people he arrested did what he told them to do and those that didn't weren't around very long.

 

[dabney]

Many thanks all. There seems to be a lot of 'good' fireside talk stories on the old .32-20 in S&W and Colt representatives. It appears that those who packed the S&W and Colt .32-20's felt their six-gun 'adequate' to the task of self defense. I love these shared stories of the .32-20 as each one of them are about 'great' Americans and 'great' firearms heritage, unique 'only' to the USA. GOD bless our country in these 'dark' days!
David

 

[LaVistaBill]

David,

I was in Craig, Colorado a few years ago and visited a museum there. It had a section devoted to Old West lawmen and outlaws and in the display cases I noted a number of .32-20 SA and a few DA revolvers. It surprised me the number of officers that relied on the .32-20 or .32 WCF. I'm doing an article on the New Mexico Mounted Police and one of their officers Fred Lambert was hired in 1911 and carried a Colt SAA in .32-20 and a Winchester Model 94 in .25-35 chambering. Considering the number of officers carrying revolvers in .32 S&W Long, .38 S&W and similar loads like the .38 Colt New Police, the .32-20 might have seemed like a powerhouse. Back in the day, handgun ammunition performance was measured by the number of 7/8" pine boards a bullet would penetrate; expansion was not expected if it was even considered and of course ballistic gelatin testing was way out in the future. The thumbnail photo shows my own S&W 1905 HE in .32-20; with 115 gr. lead, flat-pointed bullets it's very accurate.

 

[Muley Gil]

"Considering the number of officers carrying revolvers in .32 S&W Long, .38 S&W and similar loads like the .38 Colt New Police, the .32-20 might have seemed like a powerhouse."

Teddy Roosevelt was once the Commissioner of Police in NYC. NYPD could carry any handgun they wanted, from .22s up to .45s. TR standardized on Colt .32 DA revolvers!

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
I early 1970 era I visited my former small town Agency where I had started my career in 1962. The current young Police Chief carried a Colt PP in .32/20 caliber as the weapon was his Grandfather's.
In the 1980 era I responded to a young teenager gunshot victim who with her friends attempted to break in an elderly WWII veteran's front door. The homeowner fired a .32/20 Colt through the screen door hitting her in the stomach. It made an impressive wound. She died in the O.R.

 

[Green Frog]

The 32-20 WCF is a zombie round... not in the current sense of zombie hunting, but in the sense that it just refuses to acknowledge its own death. While there have been virtually no revolvers made in this country in the caliber for nearly 75 years, and although ammunition is sometimes hard to find and expensive, guns in this old caliber just slog along, doing their job and refusing to lie down and quit. I currently own an early post WW I vintage S&W 6" M&P and an Italian copy of the Colt SAA in 32-20 and truly enjoy both of them. Muzzle blast? Not as much as my 4" Model 66 converted to 327 Fed Mag! The 32-20 was good enough for Skeeter, so it must be OK.

Froggie

 

[Sebago Son]

In his fine book "The Custom Revolver", Hamilton Bowen wrote that the K-Frame Target .32-20 was probably the most "useful" of all the conversions he does.