? about an H&R breaktop in .32 S&W

A

ATTICUS

New member
I picked up a used one in VG condition a couple of weeks ago (nickel plated). It is an auto eject model with a 3.25" barrel. It is marked 32 S&W on the barrel and the Blue book lists the model as .32 S&W as well. Earlier models were made in both .32 S&W and Longs. I had a box of .32 S&W longs sitting around, so I stick one in the cylinder and it chambers fine.

Do you think this gun was designed to shoot both. Is it safe to do so if it is in good mechanical shape?

Also - Were these guns designed to be carried on half cock?
 
The chart on page 255 of the 1967 Shooter's Bible says "32 Smith & Wesson in 32 Smith & Wesson Long but not conversely"

I can't help with the half cock question.

John
 
No.

Just because the .32 Long chambers does NOT mean that it is appropriate, or even safe.

As for the half cock, I'm sure that a lot of people carried them so, but it's not the safest thing in the world.
 
Dont shoot the long in it.
Even if the cylinder is bored through and will take the long ctg.
The .32 S&W Long has a LOT more punch than the .32 S&W.

Sam
 
Thanks for the advice- I'll not shoot the longs in it.

I've never had a breaktop and have to say it is a very strange little gun. The hammer mounted firing pin protrudes into the cylinder when at rest, and prevents the cylinder (loaded with brass only) from turning unless the trigger is pulled or the hammer is thumb cocked. The half cock feature is kinda odd to. The more I fool with this one, the curiouser it gets.
 
Firing Pin Protrudes?

I have several top breaks and I have a concern. After you fire the weapon, does the pin retrack back into the frame of the gun? It should. If it doesn't, make sure you leave an empty cylinder under that pin. Never let it rest against a live primer. Any blow to the hammer could set it off. I have a 32 s+w that has that problem.


Joe
 
No, it does not retract. I thought that was by design- possibly some way to index the cylinder. When you load it, the cylinder won't close unless the pin is between cartridges. When the trigger is pulled, the pin recedes and the cylinder indexes to the next chamber. That's why I thought the half cock might have been incoporated as a safety measure.
 
Atticus,

It's not a way to index the cylinder. It's ust the way the gun was designed. It's an early design.

Colt Single Action Armies and Smith & Wesson No. 3s are the same way. With the hammer down, it's down the WHOLE way, in the fired position.
 
Have a smith check it out or get a exploded view of the parts. I think the revolver is missing a retracting spring or another part. I have seen these revolvers before and the firing pin should NOT be protruding.
 
Clem,

These revolvers were made in MANY MANY variations over nearly 60 years.

I have 2 H&R breaktop .32s, both pre-1900, that behave the exact same way.

I have an Iver Johnson that was bought new by my Great Grandfather in the early 1920s that works in the exact same way.

Many of these early guns simply did not have a mechanism to retract the hammer or firing pin.

When the hammer was at rest, the firing pin protruded into the action. The only safe way to carry these guns loaded was the way Colt Single Action Armies were carried in the old west -- with an empty chamber under the hammer.
 
Mike,
Wow, I would guess that with the firing pin into the fired primer, that another pull on the trigger would allow it to extract. Then, the cylinder could rotate to the next chamber.

Thanks...
 
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