A friend of mine has a old colt 1892 that was made in 1905 in 32/20 and he wants to shoot the pistol and he is not in to reloading, what do you think of the idea of having a gun smith re bore and chamber the gun so it can shoot 357’s ? Or 38 special.
colt 1892 in 32/20 rebore to 357?
- Thread starter starpuss
- Start date
Might be less cost to buy a new barrel and cylinder than to rebore and rechamber, even if there is enough meat to do it. Is the 92 colt frame strong enough to handle .357 mag? I'm thinking it might be less expensive to sell that one and buy a .357 mag.
Heck of a lot easier and cheaper to buy 500 starline cases, a set of dies and LEE scoop, a bottle of powder and some cast bullets. No need to be 'into' reloading it is so simple even I can do it.
remember what Mr Johnson said " I gotta 32-20 boys gotta make the caps alright......
remember what Mr Johnson said " I gotta 32-20 boys gotta make the caps alright......
from what i was told the 32/20 had the same power as the .357 mag
maybe ill try to talk him into reloading.
from looking online it looks like the 32/20 has more power then the .357 so it would be a down grade.
and this 1892 is a smoke less frame.
32/20
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy
85 gr (5.5 g) SP 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s) 999 ft·lbf (1,354 J)
110 gr (7.1 g) SP 2,100 ft/s (640 m/s) 1,077 ft·lbf (1,460 J)
.357
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy
125 gr (8.1 g) Bonded Defense JHP 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s) 710 ft·lbf (960 J)
130 gr (8.4 g) JHP 1,410 ft/s (430 m/s) 574 ft·lbf (778 J)
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That's some awful hot 32-20 loads - my Lyman reloading manual doesn't show any revolver loads over 1100 fps for 85 gr bullets in a 32-20. Winchester advertises their factory 32-20 100 gr cartridge as 1200 fps out of a 24" rifle barrel.
I believe the SAAMI max pressure is quite a bit higher for .357 mag than for .32-20.
Reloading is the better way to go.
Those loads you're quoting for the 32-20 are for a rifle, not a handgun. Converting would be a waste of time, money, and an interesting old Colt (I have one too, nice old gun). If he wants a 38/357, sell it and buy a newer gun. If he actually wants to shoot the old Colt, buy the gear, learn to reload, and enjoy. OR, you can still buy 32-20 ammo. It's not commonly available, and it won't be cheap. - dan
the last two boxes of factory ammo I bought were close to $70 each. It is an easy round to reload and one of my favourites. I have to second the above advise to sell it and buy a 357, don't rebore it and destroy an original. Shoot it and enjoy it or trade it for a modern round.
Excuse me, folks, but the old .32-20 was originally a black-powder round; I have it in an 1873 Winchester which was made LONG before smokeless came along.
The .357 Magnum runs at pressures which will SHRED an 1892 Colt.
That said, .32-20 is easy to load, easy to cast bullets for and it is a LOT of fun to shoot.
I second the above sentiments heartily: shoot it as-is or sell it. Converting will be expensive, will ruin a scarce original piece and it will NEVER be safe to fire with factory .357 loads.
The .357 Magnum runs at pressures which will SHRED an 1892 Colt.
That said, .32-20 is easy to load, easy to cast bullets for and it is a LOT of fun to shoot.
I second the above sentiments heartily: shoot it as-is or sell it. Converting will be expensive, will ruin a scarce original piece and it will NEVER be safe to fire with factory .357 loads.
I agree with smellie. I think firing a modern .357 Magnum round in an old .32-20 (smokeless or not) handgun is asking for destruction. The measurement you need to use is not any of the ones you looked at, but the pressure of the round. The .32-20 should be limited to .32-20. If your friend wants to shoot .357 Magnum, best find a gun built for it.
Bittermansbro
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Reload 32-20 and shoot it in that old Colt, or sell for the calibre you want, nothin worse than wondering what the heck someone was doing when you see a classic old gun bored out in the gun shop.
I have a strong feeling .357 Magnum would DESTROY an 1892, even with the "smokeless" frame - the gun in question was still made back in 1905. .357 wasn't invented until 1934 so Colt had no intention of a round that powerful going through the 1892.
I could see .38 spl being okay, I have one on .41 made in 1897 I shoot smokeless in but they are probably much weaker than factory .38 spl. I would suggest your friend find one in .38 Colt and shoot .38 special in it if he really wants, afterall .38 spl was invented in 1899 so it was at least around back then.
PS, does the 32-20 cal make it prohib?
I could see .38 spl being okay, I have one on .41 made in 1897 I shoot smokeless in but they are probably much weaker than factory .38 spl. I would suggest your friend find one in .38 Colt and shoot .38 special in it if he really wants, afterall .38 spl was invented in 1899 so it was at least around back then.
PS, does the 32-20 cal make it prohib?
Having a look through my smokeless reloading manual, for a basic comparison here are similar cast lead bullet weights and the average pressure for min & max loads given for all powders with that bullet weight:
32-20 Winchester
115gr @ 9,650 C.U.P. & 13,750 C.U.P.
.38 Special
120gr @ 10,322 C.U.P. & 16,088 C.U.P.
.357 Magnum
120gr @ 22,186 C.U.P. & 39,938 C.U.P.
As you can see .357 is beyond double the pressure of 32-20 and would most definately destroy the Colt.
32-20 Winchester
115gr @ 9,650 C.U.P. & 13,750 C.U.P.
.38 Special
120gr @ 10,322 C.U.P. & 16,088 C.U.P.
.357 Magnum
120gr @ 22,186 C.U.P. & 39,938 C.U.P.
As you can see .357 is beyond double the pressure of 32-20 and would most definately destroy the Colt.
