[craze]

My parents are out of town so I stopped by their house today to just give the place a quick once over, and decided to bring this old revolver my dad has home with me to see If my interweb friends know more about it. It's from his aunts house who passed away 25 or so years ago. Her husband was a St. Louis police officer a long time ago. He passed when my father was very young, and my dad didn't know him at all and didn't have much interaction with her until she became senile and needed care. It ended up being my dad to take care of her and her affairs because nobody else could or would do it. After she passed he found this old Smith and Wesson, assuming it belonged to his uncle.

It looks to be in pretty good shape, has .32 long ctg stamped on the barel. Here's a few picks with my 642 thrown in for size comparison. Any ideas of what this is? There is no model number on it, it does have patent numbers stamped on top of the barrel. They are too small for my cell phone camera to pick up. They are feb 8 06, sept 14 09 and dec 29 14.
Thanks.

 

[G-man*]

The old 32 S&W Long is a nifty little revolver that was built on the I frame, a little smaller than the j frame.

A little anemic compared to the 38 S&W, but it was actually used as an LE gun by some.

My great grandfather killed a man and wounded another in a gun fight in Catlettsburg Ky back in the early 1900's.
It was the hand ejector model.

 

[Rock and Glock]

That looks to be in gorgeous condition.

 

[WrongRecroom]

s&w regulation police 32 long ? And yeah I would agre I frame ..

32 long is decent round for the day and is still made now and not that pricy

 

[PAcanis]

Wow, nice little pistol.

 

[HoustonB77]

Nice find! Congrats

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[msgt/ret]

I have a few S&W and Colt revolvers, the Colt is the Police Positive and I only know the S&W as the I frame. The 32 S&W Long is a very nice soft shooting and accurate round. I have read of it being very popular for bullseye shooting when it was still popular. The round is seeing some new interest due to the 32 H&R Magnum since basically it is just a shorter case like the difference between 38Spl and 357Mag.

 

[maxwell97]

That's very nice. If I recall my S&W history correctly, the original J-frame Chiefs Special was simply the I-frame with a lengthened cylinder for .38 Special. If that's true, I figure that there's a very robust gun for .32 and should last several lifetimes, with proper care.

 

[G-man*]

That's very nice. If I recall my S&W history correctly, the original J-frame Chiefs Special was simply the I-frame with a lengthened cylinder for .38 Special. If that's true, I figure that there's a very robust gun for .32 and should last several lifetimes, with proper care.

I believe the j frame was introduced much later, maybe in the 50's in the 38 Special, which is different than the I frame Terriers in 38 S&W

 

[dangerranger]

My mom still shoots a S&W 32 long. You can also safely fire the 32 S&W shorts from it. Yours looks to be in good shape. To get ammo you will probably have to go to a full service LGS , I don't think you will ever find ammo at a big box retailer. I reload for my moms gun. Its been awhile though, last time I loaded 300 rounds for her, and 10 years later she still has a few. If you get a chance take your dad out and shoot some. its an enjoyable gun to just shoot! DR

 

[craze]

Looking around on line I'm surprised how available ammo is. It's not outrageously priced either. My Dad's never fired it to my knowledge. Next online order I place I'll probably pick up a box and give it a try out. I'm surprised how similar in weight it is to my 642. It's obviously a smaller frame but it's all steel and the barrel is longer. I don't have a scale on hand but handling both of them the weight is very close. Outside of a little holster wear at the muzzle and at the front of the cylinder the blueing is indeed in very good shape.

 

[maxwell97]

I believe the j frame was introduced much later, maybe in the 50's in the 38 Special, which is different than the I frame Terriers in 38 S&W

Had to look it up - it sounds like the I-frame was the basis for the J-frame, but they did beef up the frame/top strap (along with lengthening and widening the cylinder) for the Chiefs Special in .38 Special in the early 50's, to compete with Colt's DS. But apparently I-frames were in production up until that time?

I need to find a good book on S&W, it's fascinating to me. I mean, the Model 10 has been in continuous production, by the same firm, for about 118 years. That's pretty darned rare for any piece of technology.

 

[msgt/ret]

I almost forgot S&W did make a J-frame in 32 S&W, the six shot Model-31.