after being a member of this board for a little while, i decided to go upstairs into my junk room and dig out the revolver that i inhereted from my grandparents. It is a Hopkins & Allen in .32 Smith & Wesson. It is a slick little piece it has a 4in. barrel and a 5 shot cylinder with a chrome finish. questions are 1. is there still ammo available for the .32 smith and wesson 2. is it worth considering shooting the gun? it looks sound w/ the exception of some thin rust in the barrel, i would take it to an expert for futher evaluation if the consensus is that it would be a worthwhile venture

.32 Smith & Wesson Shorts and Longs are still made by Remington and likely the others too. I'd give it a try if a gunsmith says it's sound.

I've got a student in my Firearms Safety class because of a registration mess thanks to Canada's screw-ball laws. His .32 S&W revolver was his grandfathers and he's 60 years older than my youngest student. :rolleyes:

Bye
Jack

It's probably not chrome, but nickel-plated. Or it could have been chromed later, anything is possible. But I doubt if it was originally chrome.

If it's an old top-break action..... be exceptionally cautious. Those guns weren't the strongest even in their time, and age doesn't do them any favors. May have even predated smokeless powders, that's how long that cartridge has been around.

If it's a solid-frame then they are quite a bit stronger.

Either way have someone give it an independent blessing before you shoot it.