Grand-dad's revolver, redemption and good will

[bigbossman]

Sometime back in the 80's, my dad gave me his dad's revolver. It was nothing special - a top-break H&R in .32 S&W Short. It was dirty and crusty, so I thought I'd take it all apart and give it a good cleaning. I did just that, but when I tried to re-assemble it I ran into an issue...... I had no idea how to put it all back together again. So, I put all the parts in a baggie, put the baggie in the safe, and let it sit. For years that stretched into decades, that baggie got moved around, pushed aside, and set in corner or the other. It was a constant reminder of my failure, and made me wince every time I looked at it. Several times I came close to getting rid of it, but for obvious reasons just could not let it go.

Fast forward to a few months ago..... I happened to be talking with a friend and fellow CG member (I'll leave it to him to reveal himself if he desires), and during the conversation I mentioned the revolver. He told me that he had spent untold hours assembling these type of revolvers and knew all about them, and advised that if I could get it into his hands he would be glad to re-assemble it for me. So, I gave it over to see what he could do. Two weeks later, it was repaired (bad springs and pins), assembled, and fully operational again. Along the way he was also able to pin down the year range of manufacture (1897 to 1904), the variation, confirm the caliber, and let me know that it was a black powder only gun. Good to know.

Anyway - It is all back together, thanks to a friend that redeemed my error with no small measure of good will.

It's not much to look at, and it isn't worth much in a monetary sense. But - my grandfather carried this in his pocket on the streets of Boston at the turn of the 19th century, and that personal family connection is worth much to me.

Here's a picture, just because:

[smle-man]

Thanks for sharing!

[risingsun212]

Great story. Nice looking revolver!

[JohnnyMtn]

That gun is gorgeous. You say it’s not much to look at but I disagree. I think for many guns their aesthetic beauty is partially based on their history. That is great story. Thank you for sharing.

[sealocan]

What a great story and happy ending that highlights the generous friendships and great family memories that can be shared here. It seemed to me like we were getting a few negative threads so it's great to have this at the holiday season.
Thank you for sharing it with us.


*And as a warning and a side note to anyone who knows anyone with one of these old .32 short break open pistols, an acquaintance of a friend had supposedly loaded .32 ACP rounds into his old revolver and I did my very best to explain that even if the more modern, higher pressure .32 ACP rounds fit into the chambers it would be dangerous to the shooter, bystanders or at the very least damage the revolver.
Although it's nothing I've ever tested or experimented with myself.

[SkyHawk]

I am glad you got it back in shape OP!

Originally Posted by sealocan

an acquaintance of a friend had supposedly loaded .32 ACP rounds into his old revolver and I did my very best to explain that even if the more modern, higher pressure .32 ACP rounds fit into the chambers it would be dangerous to the shooter, bystanders or at the very least damage the revolver.
Although it's nothing I've ever tested or experimented with myself.

I recently bought an old H&R Young America in 32 SW Short (BP only) and the young man I bought it from had also shot a few 32ACP self defense rounds from it

Anyhow I have handloaded rounds using Trailboss now, about the same speed as BP but without the mess or the corrosion issues.

I had to detail strip it to clean up 100+ years of muck, there isn't much to them. I did not note any damage from shooting the 32acp but I would never try it or expect the gun to hold up from shooting too many of them

[Dougbert66]

Cool story and revolver. My Dad has his father's top-break S&W in 32 short that looks pretty much identical to your H&R. I dated it to 1918. Most likely my Dad's Dad inherited from his father based on the date.

[Enzo rules]

Great story OP and it’s great you have your grandpa’s revolver in working condition.

[TRAP55]

Only because you know I'm a sucker for family heirloom guns.You're welcome.
There's thousands of these old breaktops floating around, and as stated above, the right ammo selection can mean the difference between having some fun, or a grenade go off in your hand.
A lot of these models transitioned from BP to smokeless around the turn of the last century. Some were made in BP and smokeless in the same time period. With some having a half dozen variations on one model, you need to know which is what. Chamberings are another guessing game, especially in these H&R .32s. Most common is .32S&W (short) and .32S&W Long. H&R had to add a .32H&R Long, that just has a different length case.
There's dozens of different indicators to figure out if it's BP only or not, most by maker and serial number, others by the barrel patent dates. In the case of BBM's .32, patent date, cylinder length, and no caliber marking on the barrel ID'ed it as a .32S&W (short), and BP only.
If I don't know it, I know the qualified experts that do, for S&W, H&R, and Iver Johnson. If you have one you're not sure of, I'll do my best to find out for you.

[ojisan]

For H&R, if the caliber is marked on the left side of the barrel then it is for smokeless powder.

[beerman]

Great story Op and hats off to the Calgunner that assembled for you.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by beerman

Great story Op and hats off to the Calgunner that assembled for you.

Please see post #9.

[M76]

thanks for sharing

[Dougbert66]

Originally Posted by TRAP55

If I don't know it, I know the qualified experts that do, for S&W, H&R, and Iver Johnson. If you have one you're not sure of, I'll do my best to find out for you.

Very kind offer. If I get some pics of my great grandfather's S&W I'll take you up on that.

[peppermintman]

I have the same exact pistol in parts, in a box and forgotten until I read this thread. So many signs of bp be used.
Now that I read this I hope the man that did the work for you contacts me ����

[moleculo]

That is the coolest story and a very cool gun. Thanks for sharing and thanks to the Calgumner that brought this to life.

[SVT-40]

Super story!

[TRAP55]

Originally Posted by Dougbert66

Very kind offer. If I get some pics of my great grandfather's S&W I'll take you up on that.

Do that, be glad to.

[bigbossman]

Thanks to a good friend donating some brass and casting some bullets, I was able to cobble together some black powder loads for this revolver. Turns out 4.5gr (by weight) of BP is a slightly compressed load for .32 S&W Short. So, I took grand-dad's revolver to the range yesterday to see it if would shoot.

For the first time in probably 100 years, the little revolver sparked and barked, and sent lead downrange. I didn't lose my eyes, retained all my fingers, and the gun is still in one piece - success! Lots of smoke, a lot of sparks, but mild recoil and everything functioned as it should. Thanks, Dave!!

Not terribly accurate though. I fired it at 10 yards off-hand, at an 8 inch bullseye. Maybe it's the gun, maybe the bullets were undersized, maybe it was the corroded bore...... maybe a combination of some or all of these. In any case - it works, and will now occupy a place of honor in a shadowbox on the wall of my reloading room.

[operavoice]

Your gun is surprisingly accurate, .32 S&W is an under powered, close up belly gun round.
I have a multitude of these antiques, and at 25 yards, I'm lucky if I can even hit 18" paper.

You have a nice little shooter there.

[k1dude]

Lol. That looks like a buckshot pattern at 10 yards.

Cool story.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by k1dude

Lol. That looks like a buckshot pattern at 10 yards.

Cool story.

Yeah, wouldn't be my first choice for self-defense. :-)

[TRAP55]

Originally Posted by k1dude

Lol. That looks like a buckshot pattern at 10 yards.

Cool story.

I've seen him shoot before, that's a tight group!

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by TRAP55

I've seen him shoot before, that's a tight group!

You are no longer welcome in my house.

[TRAP55]

lmao! That gun locks up tight, and the bore wasn't perfect, but it wasn't that bad! We'll blame it on the load.
Any leading in the bore?

[Devilock04]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

It's not much to look at, and it isn't worth much in a monetary sense. But - my grandfather carried this in his pocket on the streets of Boston at the turn of the 19th century, and that personal family connection is worth much to me.

Knowing that this was what your grandfather carried it daily makes this valuable in a heirloom sense. It’s a great bit of family trivia to pass down.

I have a somewhat similar story about a gun. I have a H&R Trapper .22lr in my safe that was my wife’s grandpa’s pocket gun that he carried daily. At some point he chopped the barrel down to 2 inches, never put a front sight on it, and shaved the grips down to barely cover the frame. Every time I take it out of the safe, I wonder what he was thinking when he chose a .22lr and cut the barrel down. Why a .22lr and why put in the effort to modify it the way he did when there was better choices available.

I doubt she would even be able to get $25 if she tried to sell it. I’ve thought about trying to find parts to restore it, but I think I’ll leave it the way it is, let my wife pass it on to our son and explain the story behind it when it comes time.

This topic also reminds me of this song (yes, I know Aaron Lewis isn’t the original artist. I just prefer this version)

[SkyHawk]

At least your's prints on paper. The one I have shoots about 18" high at 10 yards

Now I am thinking about how or even if to build up the front blade a bit.

[mikeyr]

I assume you know that since you shot black powder in it...clean it and then clean it again and it might be a good idea to clean it again before putting it in that shadowbox

I shoot a lot of BP, that stuff is wonderful and nasty all at the same time, it even rusted up my Ruger Old Army in Stainless before I knew better, I thought Stainless would be safe and in about a week there was rust everywhere, of course that was back in the late 70s when the Old Army was new and I was just growing out of the know-it-all age.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by mikeyr

I assume you know that since you shot black powder in it...clean it and then clean it again and it might be a good idea to clean it again before putting it in that shadowbox

I shoot a lot of BP, that stuff is wonderful and nasty all at the same time, it even rusted up my Ruger Old Army in Stainless before I knew better, I thought Stainless would be safe and in about a week there was rust everywhere, of course that was back in the late 70s when the Old Army was new and I was just growing out of the know-it-all age.

Yeah - it was thoroughly flushed with hot water, flooded with WD-40, cleaned, brushed, flooded with Ballistol, and then scrubbed and cleaned again. After all that, I checked it daily for a week.

I think I might be out of the woods.

[dougd1015]

A nice piece of history.