police positive special
Its a 32-20 six shot revolver made by colt with the markings police positive special 32-20 marked on the barrel. Was this an actual gun used by police, is it rair gun,and what would it be worth in fine shape,how old would it be?
ducktec@exite.com
ducktec@exite.com
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Your gun is either a first or second edition, depending on the last patent date on the top of the barrel.
If it is 1905, it's a first edition or 1924, it's a second edition.
The are both worth about the same in value with condition being everything. It can run, for mint at 495.00 to a low of 155.00.
Hope this helps......
Charlie
"It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com0 -
The .32-20 has NOTHING to do with the guns NYPD used under Rosevelt. The .32-20 is very close to a 7.62x25. The .32-20 is a hot fast round and was also made for rifles and the pistols should NOT have used rifle ammo.
The .32-20 was very flat shooting and had a nasty muzzle blast when fired. It is a sadly UNDER rated and ignored round. It was found in Colt's and other brand revolvers.
I don't know of a dept that issue the .32-20's. If you get one and find the ammo it's an impressive gun to shoot. NYPD used the .32 Long in fact which was a "magnum" of the day.0 -
I just purchased a S & W hand ejector .32-20 made in 1904 or 1905. Shot some Remington lead bullets with half jackets and it worked fine. The same loading with solid lead bullets produced a badly leaded barrel and keyholes.
Both seemed to be pretty mild loads with minimal muzzle flash and very mild recoil - less than a .38 Special. I have read one source that I can't now find that said that .32-20 pistol accuracy was not good. Mine "patterns" about 4" at 50', low and to the left.
I checked reloading manuals and Cartridges of the World and there was no differentiation made between ammo made for pistols and for rifles.
Is the modern ammo too hot for my gun?0 -
Check with all loading data for .32-20 rifle loads. They all say unsafe to shoot in pistols.
They're hard to find, but one load I found is for 100 grain bullet:
4.5 grains Unique. That's max.0 -
In the 5th edition of Cartridges Of The World he shows 2 loadings for the 115 gr. lead bullet of 5 gr. Unique and 3 gr. Bullseye resp. for revolvers. That's half the velocity and one third the energy of the rifle loads.
Also a warning:
Do not use rifle loads in revolvers; pressures develop beyond what the average handgun is designed to withstand.0 -
I pulled the Remington boxes from my stash and found on the box "for all revolvers and rifles" on the end flap. They are 100 grain bullets. Pulled some bullets and found the cases only half filled with a flake powder. 0 -
I see no warning on boxes of Peters, Remington and WW X about revolvers and one box of WW X says rifle or handgun cartridges.
In Shooting Times of Feb. '89 in the article on Ruger's .32-20/.32 Magnum Convertible, Lane Pearce says the Remington and Winchester 100 grain rounds are rated in the 15,000 to 17,000 psi range so the old revolvers will not be subjected to any danger.
They loaded them much hotter for the Ruger and warned that these loads should not be used in any other firearm.
I load my 100 gr. rifle rounds with 14.1 grs. of H 4227 at 1890 fps, but use the Unique load in the Colt. It seems too dainty to subject it to abuse.0 -
I. Shute: Thank you for your reply. 1989? You have a good memory. 0
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