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What ammo for US Revolver 32

5K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Shrek73 
#1 ·
hi, I have a US Revolver 32. Not sure if it would take modern smokeless powder S&W 32 short or if it old enough to use black powder. Serial number on trigger guard and grip frame is 40871. No letter prefix either location.
 
#4 ·
It's considered a black powder frame.

They were manufactured of left over malleable iron frames when Iver Johnson made the conversion to stronger steel alloy frames made for smokeless cartridges and marketed under the US Revolver trade name.

If it's a .38 it's chambered for .38 S&W, not the .38 special.
 
#5 ·
Thank you very much. If I understand you correctly...Long story short, not suitable for smokeless powder loads. More a novelty item these days. Tell me please, you can tell this by the serial number? Can you also tell the year it was made? I'm thinking it is 1917 if they were already switching to newer frames for smokeless at the time.
Gun Firearm Revolver Trigger Starting pistol
 
#6 ·
It was made in 1912. US Revolvers Top Breaks were all considered black powder frames. While Iver Johnson converted their 3rd Model Safety Automatics to smokeless ammo in 1909, the US Revolvers were made from surplus 2nd Model Frames. They never used a 3rd Model frame to build a US Revolver.
 
#7 ·
Thank you for the intel. This gun is actually owned by a friend of mine and I will be happy to give her the full scoop on her relic from days gone by. I am of the engineering variety, knowledgeable in metals, a pattern and mold designer for foundries. I took some measurements and I can see by design that the frame would have some sections vulnerable to fatigue and deformation under the impact/forces of firing modern loads...being made of ductile iron. I am curious and may do a spectrometer test on it to determine the exact composition of the iron. Given the period I have no idea of tensile/stress-strain values. Not that it matters, the best ductile iron would not change the facts. I can test it under the grip where it will not show. Ductile (maluable) iron then may be much different then it is now. If I can return your kind investigative gesture just let me know. DRB
 
#8 ·
Mine is just like that one, but in 38 S&W. Since it was made in the 50s if I remember correctly, I figured I would shoot smokless powder 38 S&W loads. Am I causing a dangerous situation?

 
#11 ·
Mine is just like that one, but in 38 S&W. Since it was made in the 50s if I remember correctly, I figured I would shoot smokless powder 38 S&W loads. Am I causing a dangerous situation?
Not sure who told you that your revolver was made in the 1950's, but US Revolvers were made from 1910 - 1936. They used surplus Iver Johnson 2nd Model Safety Hammer Frames which were black powder frames. They are not proofed or safe for modern smokeless ammunition. I am sure most of the US Revolvers saw their share of smokeless ammo thru the years. I am certain that is one of the reasons these old revolvers are so beat up and worn out.

If you look at the differences between your revolver (2nd Model) and the ones Firpo posted (3rd Model) there are several visible differences. The 3rd Model used a stronger metal, used an independent cylinder stop, updated to a wire trigger spring, used a coil mainspring, and strengthened the top post latch. They also changed the notches on the cylinder from a V shape which allowed you to free spool the cylinder to a rectangular notch, which stayed in place using the independent cylinder stop.

The fact is your revolver was never proofed or tested by Iver Johnson to handle the pressures created by smokeless ammunition.
 
#9 ·
No one can tell you if your gun is safe to shoot from just a picture. I have two IJ Top Break 38's, one made in 1911 and the other 1921. Both are 3rd models and are fine to shoot. Not that they would ever be daily shooters but I ran a box through each and they did just fine. Here's a pic of the two if you'd like to see. I hand load so I've loaded the empties back to factory spec.

Gun Firearm Revolver Trigger Gun barrel
 
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