What does this image tell you about this .32 HE?

[Bosquebass]

I have a fairly new M438 j-frame with about 500 rounds of mostly 38 special +P through it and the round rub marks on the recoil shield are already well defined. It has not been carried at all. I say the op's gun has been shot a lot and carrying it has little or nothing to do with the marking of the recoil shield.

 

[BC38]

I have a fairly new M438 j-frame with about 500 rounds of mostly 38 special +P through it and the round rub marks on the recoil shield are already well defined. It has not been carried at all. I say the op's gun has been shot a lot and carrying it has little or nothing to do with the marking of the recoil shield.

Yeah, but the modern "bluing" isn't anywhere near as durable as the carbonia bluing on guns of the vintage of the one posted by the OP.

The marks are from the case heads jiggling against the recoil shield all right - they jiggle against it every time a round is fired! And with a lot more energy and violence than they'll ever experience riding in a holster.

The "walking holstered jiggle" doesn't account for the wear that caused the oblong center pin hole - but shooting thousands of rounds does. Because you have to open and close the cylinder every 6 shots!

 

[Texas Star]

I wonder if a reloader used some hot handloads in that .32, also. It's a weak cartridge that many would want to load hot.

And I've read that the .32 H&R Magnum or the .327 Federal Magnum can be fred in a .32 Long cylinder. If true, that could account for the marks.

 

[adowns]

OK. I give up. It's from recoil.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Thanks much for all the inputs and discussion.

I have several Chiefs Specials that were LEO backups for, reportedly, 30+ years. No end shake, and lockup is like new. None have the marks on the recoil shield.

Thanks again to all. I'm going to pass on that little .32.

 

[2152hq]

Looks like a previous owner liked to slam it shut (burrs on the right side of the centerpin hole) and then push hard on the cylinder as they were also pushing the thumb piece forward to open it. Makes it 'snap open' smartly that way you know but it also wears that center pin hole out on the left hand side.
That center pin hole can show wear and abuse like it does, but still lock up OK. The damage is often right at the outer edge and not down the entire length that the centerpin engages.

As far as the breech face imprints, brass marks a slightly rough blued surface very easily. Just gently swipe a brass punch across the same surface and look at the mark it leaves.
I've seen hundreds and hundreds of heavy use and light rd ct use revolvers all with the same look.

One thing I think I may see is that the shooter may have been using 32acp ammo. Not much of a rim outside of the primer circle. But that may just be due to the chamfer(s) on the brass case rim not coming in contact with the surface.

 

[Jaymo]

I was looking at an Outdoorsman, about 10 years ago.
The owner was a young dude who inherited it from his grandfather.
He didn't want it because it was just a revolver.
He wanted to sell it and buy a Glock.
It had the most extreme brass stamping I've seen.
The gun was in good enough condition for a shooter, but it had obviously been shot a LOT, with HOT loads. It had endshake to match the brass stamping. I didn't have any ammo or brass with me to test, but I suspect it had had the chambers reamed for .357 Mag, somewhere along the way.
That, or some yahoo had been loading .357 mag pressure ammo into .38 Spl cases.
I offered him what it was worth, and he reacted like I'd just tried to have my way with his girlfriend.
First, he said "These things go for $3000." I said, "Show me one in that condition that goes for anywhere near that price."
Then he said "It's got sentimental value."
I said "Bovine Scat. If it had sentimental value, you wouldn't have been calling it a Papa Oscar Sierra and trying to sell it to buy a Glock. Besides, sentimental value has NO effect on its monetary value."
Then, he came back again with "It's worth $3000."
I again replied to the effect of "No, it's not. If it were NIB, it would be. With this amount of evident wear, it's worth a few hundred $."
He went into the whole "It's worth whatever somebody will pay for it," load of yak squeeze.
I reiterated what I would pay for it and that it was worth precisely that.
He really thought it was his winning Cash 4 ticket.

I did not buy it. It was an old, obsolete, worn out, grandpa gun in our original conversation.
It turned into his redneck retirement account, when I told him I'd buy it and what price I'd pay for it.
I wished him a good day, and wished him good luck finding an idiot stupid enough to pay him $3000 for it.

It may have been a good one to buy and shim out the end play.
I'd still love to have one, but I'm glad I walked away from that one, because it may also have been a dog that would have needed more work than it was worth.
Kind of like the worn out, loose as a goose, poorly cold-blued Colt Trooper Mk III I spied at a pawn shop that was priced at NIB prices.
I looked at it. Sales guy asked if I wanted to buy it. "Not at that price. It's not worth anywhere near that much."
"But it's a COLT!"
"But nothing, it's a DOG." It has no collector value, and it's not even good as a shooter. Have a nice day."
I ended up buying a like new 1964-1966 10-5 snub AND an ANIB Dan Wesson 14-3 from them for less than they wanted for the worn out Colt.

Anyway, rambling over. People just confound me with the prices they want for worn out old junk.