My three Antique .32 cal.rimfire revolvers are cleaned, restored & ready for the target range🔫

A very clean & oiled S&W No.1½ New Model Revolver

I can't get over how well preserved the factory blued finish is on this revolver that was manufactured in 1875!

S&W No.1½ New Model & Colt's New Line 32

S&W No.1½ New Model and the Colt New-Line .32cal.RF

Norwich Pistol Co. "Protector" .32cal.RF 

"PROTECTOR" by Norwich Pistol Co., Colt "New Line 32", Antique .32 cal. Bullet & Roundball mold circa 1860.

Colt New-Line .32cal.RF 

S&W No.1½ New Model + the best book on the subject of S&W's history

Norwich Pistol Co. "PROTECTOR" & two of the reloadable, machined brass .32 Short Rimfire cases with heeled bullets.(without the  black powder and  .22cal.nailgun blank)

The original Colt New-32, the "other" model of 1873

19th Century Firearms Advertising

 

I have cleaned, polished & lubricated my "spur trigger" rimfire revolvers🔫

 In order to preserve  pre-1898 Antique firearms so they are in their optimal condition, and safe to continue shooting the reloadable black powder .32 caliber rimfire cartridges, one must regularly disassemble, clean & lubricate the revolvers & pistols.

Cleaning the nickel plated finish requires a multi-fiber cloth & polishing compound such as "Flitz", which polishes and removes tarnish while providing up to six months of anti-tarnish protection.

These photos show the  nickel finish after the "Flitz" treatment...the S&W No.1½ New Model has been cleaned and polished with a silicone infused gun cloth, and not the "Flitz" compound.

                                                    Model of 1873 Colt New Line 32

S&W No.1½ New Model revolver  and the Colt New Line 32 revolver

Colt "New 32"

It is hard to believe that this Colt New_Line_32 was manufactured in 1873! 

The N.A.A/North American Arms company manufactures a number of modern "mini" pocket sized revolvers and their design was  obviously inspired by the original "New Line" revolver series by Colt and other pocket sized spur trigger rimfire revolvers  begining in the 1870's.

Here is a N.A.A revolver chambered for the  .22 Magnum rimfire cartridge:

Colt's early metallic cartridge revolvers & Derringers

 

A look at Antique S&W Cartridge Revolvers circa 1870's-90's...

 

Reloading .32 cal. rimfire cartridge ammunition

 

The popularity of .22LR cartridge ammo among recreational shooters caused manufacturers to discontinue .32 rimfire following WW2.

Today, there are countless antique rimfire firearms in good shooting condition, and owners have to be creative in order to keep shooting their old rimfire rifles and revolvers.

There have been  some creative cartridge conversions  discovered and shared that have solved the problem of obsolete rimfire ammo shortages.

The most convenient, in my opinion are the custom machined hand reloadable brass cases, designed to use 6mm Flobert crimped blanks as primers, and 0.310" or 0.315" roundball plus black powder/pyrodex.

There are two companies in Belgium & France that offer reloading kits and supplies form many of the various obsolete rimfire & center fire  cartridges.

A few American shooting supply companies also sell similar 6mm blank primed  brass cases.

 I lucked out and have bought 11 x .32rf short and 14 x .32rf Long cases from a terrific fellow in Alberta, Canada.

They aren't cheap, the last 10 x .32rf Long cases cost $102 including postage, and arrived 3 business days after I paid for them!

I have read that people report reloading these cases 30 times, and they are still in great shape.

The .32 Colt is essentially a center fire version of .32 rimfire, and if I get .32 Colt cases, I plan to ream out the primer pocket to accept .27 cal. Nailgun blanks, which is another handy cartridge conversion that provides shootable .32RF ammo.

This is a tool kit with dies & punches  for use with a Lee hand press to reload .32RF.

Here's a page taken from the 1905 Marlin catalog, when .32 R.F was still available.

These are original factory made .32RF cartridges.

They cost $5 or more per round on the collector's market!

I own an antique Civil war era bullet & ball mold tool  that casts projectiles which meaure 5/16" or .32 caliber.

I have yet to cast my own heeled bullets and roundballs, but plan to do so eventually.

My S&W No.1½ 'New Model/2nd Issue .32 cal. Rimfire "Tip-up" Revolver

 My Smith & Wesson No.1½ New Model .32 caliber Rimfire Revolver is in amazing condition, as these current photos show.

That Factory blued finish on the frame is nearly perfect!

The high  serial # 92900 makes dating the revolver's manufacture date to 1874-75.

The barrel/frame hinge has a bit of play, causing barrel wobble.  I will tighten it up with a bench vice and aluminum vice blocks to protect the guns finish while in the vice.

UPDATE: The barrel wobble was eliminated completely with a few seconds of very careful pressure in the bench vice.

I have 11 reloadable .32 r.f. Short cases, and 14  of the .32 r.f. Long cases  to reload with pyrodex, 6mm Flobert blanks and 0.315"(long) or 0.310"(short) roundball.

I will put together a compact field handloading kit so it can easily load 5 cartridges to fill the cylinder prior to shooting.