Found this 1969 Colt Commander D-frame and short handle in a Pawn Shop. It had an obvious re-barrel with 32 Mag listed on the bottom. The handgun was fitted with a homemade weaver type scope base, (Fig 1) a set of homemade target grips, (Fig. 2) and older Tasco red dot scope (not shown). The chambers did not have any corrosion and the barrel was clean. I have been wanting to develop a 32 Smith and Wesson Long round using 98 grain wad cutter for ISSF shooting. Most 32 target type firearms on the market are out of my price range and this had possibilities and the price was nominal. I had been using a Smith 51 but was losing brass and did not want to drill and tap this classic. After removal of the Tasco scope and mount, there were several holes drilled into the barrel that did not align with the scope base. They were, however, tapped and I used receiver screws to fill them in. I took it to a gunsmith who drilled and tapped one hole for the center mount opening which aligned with the front and back.
Testing
I was able to find a set of Colt extended target grips for the handgun and then mounted a Match Dot Ultra Dot scope on top (Fig 1). I used Hertenberg brass, WW small pistol primers, Lapua 98 grain HBWC and a set of Redding dies and a Lee Factory Crimp die. Powders tested included N310, HP38 and Hodgdon Tite Group. A COAL of 0.9580 inches was used which has the HBWC seated flush with the case. Crimp was determined by measuring a factory round and reproducing it. The published loads for this round are small and trying to find a measure to consistently throw these small charges was difficult. For initial testing all loads were done by hand. After testing an older Lyman 55 provided consistent powder throws for this cartridge.
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At the range
I used a Hyskore pistol rest for the testing. The best group of 0.5 inch at 25 yards (Fig 3) was with Lapua 98 grain HBWC and 1.9 grains of HP-38. Notably, Lapua factory ammunition gave similar results but is pretty costly. Also the trigger pull in single action is a respectable 2.5 pounds. Someone must have worked on the trigger previously.
Testing
I was able to find a set of Colt extended target grips for the handgun and then mounted a Match Dot Ultra Dot scope on top (Fig 1). I used Hertenberg brass, WW small pistol primers, Lapua 98 grain HBWC and a set of Redding dies and a Lee Factory Crimp die. Powders tested included N310, HP38 and Hodgdon Tite Group. A COAL of 0.9580 inches was used which has the HBWC seated flush with the case. Crimp was determined by measuring a factory round and reproducing it. The published loads for this round are small and trying to find a measure to consistently throw these small charges was difficult. For initial testing all loads were done by hand. After testing an older Lyman 55 provided consistent powder throws for this cartridge.
.
At the range
I used a Hyskore pistol rest for the testing. The best group of 0.5 inch at 25 yards (Fig 3) was with Lapua 98 grain HBWC and 1.9 grains of HP-38. Notably, Lapua factory ammunition gave similar results but is pretty costly. Also the trigger pull in single action is a respectable 2.5 pounds. Someone must have worked on the trigger previously.
