Shooting the .32 rimfire Smith & Wesson

[Øyvind F.]

Some time ago I got an Smith & Wesson Model 1 1/2 Second Issue as a gift. It's made in 1869 or 1870 and in good shooting condition. As I only have five original .32 rimfire long cartridges I purchased new brass from H & C Collection in France (Dixie has brass too). The cases utilize .22 starting pistol blanks as primers and the flash hole is bored off center and thus allows the hammer to hit the rim. The heel base bullets are also from H & C and were cast from an old Hensley & Gibbs mould.

Here's a video I put together during the first test of the revolver:

[flash width=720 height=450]http://www.youtube.com/v/L3CnJyXOf9U?version=3&hl=en_US[/flash]

The cartridges was loaded with 8 grains of Swiss No. 2 which is maximum. The .22 blank adds quite a bit of power, so it's probably a good idea to use .22 CB (6mm Flobert) as primers instead.

[jæger justnæs]

Nice field report, Øyvind!
If you need Flobert cases for testing,please let me know.