What .32 ammo for S&W 1.5 top break

[Tony M.]

The Double action .32 top break was the first gun I ever saw in life. I was about 3 when Dad showed it to me. I inherited it when he passed, and it's my most prized firearm, though far from being the most valuable.

I've got a single action top break that's a fair bit earlier, and I shoot it with some regularity.

For authenticity, I occasionally load my balloon head cases with BP and 88 grain bullets from an old ideal mold.

 

[tjpopkin]

.32 short centerfire (.32 S&W)….NOT .32 S&W Long!

some ammo is available on GunBroker, but many stores carry it and it is affordable…..If you reload, you can use standard .32 S&W long dies and just adjust for the short case.
In a récent antique gun show, I was able to find .32 RimFire Shorts….for the early Models. The Model 2 used .32 Long RimFire.

 

[glowe]

. . . I was able to find .32 RimFire Shorts….for the early Models. The Model 2 used .32 Long RimFire.

Actually, all 32 rimfire S&W revolvers, both Model 2 and Model 1 1/2 are chambered for 32 Long. Both can shoot 32 short as well. I still have about 400 rounds of Navy Arms 32 rimfire and meter it out at the range. Hopefully, the ammunition will last as long as I do, since I do not see anyone manufacturing it again. What brand of 32 Short ammo did you find?

. . . and yes . . . they all shoot.

 

[Askeladden]

The 32 S&W was originally loaded with black powder, pretty much like 4F powder of today, but actually finer. The Peters case was loaded with 10 grains, under an 88 grain bullet, while the US Cartridge Co. cartridge was loaded with 8 grains under a 85 grain bullet. I have shot these loads in the past and chronographed both and the averages were: US Cartridge - 800fps and the Peters averaged 740fps.

Those speeds are impressive. What about .32 S&W long with black powder? Have you chronographed that?

Cant really seem to find any information about actual tests done on that caliber in its original configuration.

 

[glowe]

I have not done as much testing on HE calibers, since my collecting has been with antiques up until the last few years. The difficult thing to find are loose rounds of good quality BP ammunition to test. I do not want to shoot rounds out of a full collector box, so usually find part boxes down to single rounds of some calibers. I ran across a couple dozen UMC BP rounds of 32 Long a couple years ago and was able to sort out a half dozen for testing. The results were low: 650, High: 710, and average 685. The bullets were RN and weighed 88 grains. The velocities were out of a 6" barrel.

This caliber mirrors my suspicions that current ammo manufacturers typically download most old calibers. I purchased a box of PPU and a box of Fiocchi with tested velocities of PPU: 526 (98 grain RN) and Fiocchi: 578 (100 grain WC). All testing was done in a 6" barrel.

 

[um30087]

I have a S&W 32 serial # 132142 can anybody give me any info on production date and what ammo is safe to shoot in the classic.

 

[glowe]

I have a S&W 32 serial # 132142 can anybody give me any info on production date and what ammo is safe to shoot in the classic.

Check the new thread you started for this gun.

 

[DWalt]

I'll repeat what I have said in several other postings concerning the safety of today's factory smokeless loads in revolvers from the BP era. UMC offered a fairly complete line of popular revolver cartridges loaded with smokeless powder as early as in their 1895 catalog. I have always believed that many if not most of the earlier .32 and .38 top break revolvers (S&W and others) from the mid-1890s onward probably never fired anything but smokeless loads, and with no problems.

"I purchased a box of PPU and a box of Fiocchi with tested velocities of PPU: 526 (98 grain RN) and Fiocchi: 578 (100 grain WC)."

I have noted in other postings that Fioccci seems to make a little hotter loads in the old BP revolver cartridges than everyone else, except maybe Buffalo Bore. Otherwise, the modern smokeless loads generally have similar to lower MVs vs. the earlier BP loads.