black powder revolver

[Symbolic]

Neighbor has a six-shot Harrington & Richardson .32 cal revolver, second model premier, 3rd variation. Apparently it was made in 1893 and shoots black powder ammo. Is that stuff still manufactured? Anyone know anything about these revolvers?

[Jonnin]

if I understand it correctly, modern .32 S&W factory ammo is safe to use in these guns IF THE GUN IS IN GOOD CONDITION.

Magtech makes ammo for these old guns, and is the brand I have seen most. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/magtech-revolver-32-sw-85-gr-lrn-50-rds.aspx?a=289669

[1gewehr]

Before buying any ammo for this pistol, measure the chamber length. There is .32 Long and also .32 Short. The 'Short' came out in 1878, is the older of the two, and your revolver may only be rated for that cartridge. The .32 Long didn't show up until 1896.

Any factory .32 Short ammo is safe to fire in your revolver.

Generally, '.32 S&W' refers to the shorter cartridge, and '.32 Long' means .32 S&W Long.

For inexpensive plinking, a .32 round ball on top of 2.0 grains of Unique worked well for me. Alternately, a .25acp case full of FFFg black powder also works with a .32 round ball pressed in with your thumb.

These old revolvers can be surprisingly accurate. I've perforated many soda cans with old IJ and H&R top-break revolvers.

[Symbolic]

The revolver's trigger and hammer are no longer connected, so no one will be shooting it until it can be fixed. Anyone know of a gunsmith off hand that works with something this old? I called an H&R warranty gunsmith and he said it'll cost 150, he doesn't like doing those kind of jobs, and that I should look for a local gunsmith.

[Mike.357]

Sounds like it ought to just look nice hanging on your wall now..

I'd be real hesitant to shoot it.

You should post a pic of it.

[Symbolic]

It's not mine...yet. I'll see if I can snap some pictures of it tonight.

[Symbolic]

[Jonnin]

not a super-expert but I am reasonably certain that getting it fixed is going to cost more than its worth in actual dollars. You really need a second opinion on this, though.

[Symbolic]

The gunsmith I talked to said it would run about $150. If my neighbor gets it fixed, I'll buy it from him for what he's asking.

[RichardR]

Last time I worked on an old .32 short like that one (was a US Revolver Co version) I had to make some of the parts by hand simply because there was no-one making replacement parts for them anymore, I can't recall the exact number of hours I put into that project but the end result turned out to be a pretty fun little gun.

anyway I've since found a gun parts supplier that stocks some pretty obscure and hard to find parts, your best bet is to contact them to see if they have any of the parts you'd need (if you are thinking about fixing it yourself), the name of the place is Numrich & their website's address is http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

Good luck to you & keep us posted on how it turns out.

[Randy L]

Even if the gun was in working order it is a $100.00 gun I agree with what has been said already the cost to repair will far exceed value. Just my two cents for what it is worth I just checked the ones on gunbroker that actually sold one or two may have went over the $100.00 mark most were under

[Timestepper]

Really (IMO), the bottom line is that the gun is worth as much as you think it is, according to your own uses for it. I've bought guns for less than 50 bucks that I wouldn't part with for ten times that much. Conversely, I've bought guns for several hundred that I ended up selling for much less because they didn't meet a perceived personal value.

I've got one now that was "appraised" at $75.00, but it shoots well and it fits me and I love it and to me, personally, it is worth much more than some arbitrarily assigned collector's value.

Some of those little .32's were exceedingly well balanced and great shooters, not to mention a ton of fun to own and shoot. If that turns out to be the case with the one mentioned in the OP, then the repairs may very well be worth it at any cost. If not,then maybe it'll make a good trot line weight or conversation piece. Any any rate, the fact remains that value is both relative and subjective.