Reloading .320 revolver

T

Thenoobgunsmith

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
42   0   0
Location
Ontario
So i have antique .320 pocket revolver on the way. Plan on shooting it.

My research has indicated that Case dimensions for the .320 caliber :

Bullet diameter .3170" (8.05 mm)
Neck diameter .3200" (8.13 mm)
Base diameter .3220" (8.18 mm)
Rim diameter .3500" (8.89 mm)
Case length .6200" (15.75 mm)
Overall length .9000" (22.86 mm)

h and c offers brass with the dimensions and different OAL.

Bullet diam. = .312"
Case diam. = .315"
Rim diam. = .370"
case length = .650"
Overall length = 1.025"

Wikipedia has the bullet diameter as .317. The .320 takes a heeled bullet.

Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
80 gr (5 g) Lead 168 m/s (550 ft/s) 73 J (54 ft·Lbs)
Info from cartridges of the world

H and C, in Europe has brass available for the .320 revolver. However it is very expensive. If anyone knows another cheaper source for brass. Please let me know.

The bullets offered with the brass are said to be .312 diameter, 90 grain and heeled, every gun is different you should meause your bore before making or firing any ammo. This is different than the measurement of .317 but probably works fine. I have some heeled bullets for use in .32 rimfire i want to try. The bullets are from jethunter and are .312 heeled 90 grain.

I think it could be loaded safely with smokless powder . Looks like trailboss is not the right option. Didnt find much info. Even on a black powder load.

The following is from he W.H.B. Smith Book of Pistols and Revolvers", 1968 edition.

"This is a popular European model originally loaded only with black powder, but in recent years also manufactured with a smokeless loading.

It is interchangeable with the .32 Short Colt. As manufactured for Continental use by AKT. Lignose in Berlin it used a 72 grain lead bullet with outside lubrication which had a diameter of .295 inch and a length of .498 inch. The case has a head diameter of .317, neck diameter of .313 inch and a length of .603. Overall length of the loaded cartridge was .938. The load was 6.3 grains of black powder. Muzzle velocity was given at 575 feet per second. Striking energy at muzzle 59 pounds.

This cartridge as manufactured by ICI in England uses an 80 grain lead bullet and a load of either 6 grains of black powder or 2 grains of Revolver Neonite. Muzzle velocity is given as 550 feet per second, muzzle striking energy as 53.777 pounds."



Does anyone have any experience reloading the .320 revolver?
 
Last edited:
There was an antique .320 revolver offered on the EE today that went quickly.

If you are the one that picked it up congratulations! Looked fantastic and you beat me to it! ;)

Certainly looks shootable if that is the one.

I have been going with the H&C brass so far and it has worked out. There are varous routes to resize brass etc that may end up cheaper
but more labour intensive. I would suggest waiting until you have the revolver and proceeding from there with dimenions etc so you
know what you are working with.
 
Actually i got mine sent a few days ago. I saw that one on the EE youre referring to and that one was really nice and definetly underpriced. I will post pics of mine when i get it.

Have you been using smokeless or black powder? Im curious if you have any load data you could share.

Thanks
 
I have a friend with one, and he uses 32 short colt brass. Or 32 long colt trimmed accordingly. Both are a bit rare, but I do see them at gun shows, but are pricey. I don't have any experience as far as smokeless goes in these, but wouldn't use Trail Boss. I believe the pressure curve for TB will be quite a bit steeper than 3f black powder, so it wouldn't be my choice to experiment with. I believe that Vihtavoury Tin Star would have a pressure curve more like 3f, so would be my starting point. Unique might be another option. Either being much preferable to Trail Boss. Good luck.
 
Thank you for the suggestion about not using trailboss. I forget how fast burning trail boss is and you are definetly correct. I have since edited out my suggestion. I didnt know you could make brass by trimming .32 long colt, thats good to know. I will be on the lookout for some. It would be nice if .32 colt/ short colt was easier to come by in Canada.
 
The .320 im trying to reload for thanks to a kind member.





This is the .320 bewteen a .32 rimfire Hopkins and Allen on top. And a .44 H and R Bulldog on bottom. These are already tiny guns, it shows how small the .320 really is.

 
Last edited:
Those are really great! Thank you for sharing!

Did not know it was hammerless. Neat look and also relatively rare for a 'suicide special'. More like its a heavier
caliber 'Velo' type revolver.

It certainly is in excellent looking shape. :)

Recently my friend was fooling around with a camera etc and took some pictures of my Otis A Smith New Model in .32 rim

[url=https://imgbb.com/][/URL]
 
Last edited:
Thats a really nice .32RF do you shoot it?

Yeah ive never seen such a small revolver be hammerless. The cylinder is locked in place when the trigger is up. 5 shot. Its a great overall design. Was made in Paris, France i believe. On the paperwork the calibre is listed as 7.65 European Revolver. Mechanical function is near perfect.

One of the earlier examples of a velo style revolver for sure.
 
Thats a really nice .32RF do you shoot it
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Yes indeed and it shoots well. I have the H&C reloading set in .32RF that I added to the bullets and casings that
came with the item and it all works well. Don't stress it of course and always check lock up etc again just
in case.

As usual its a 5 shot but does not need the cylinder removed for reloading as it has
a loading port on the left side and the cylinder rotates at the first hammer position.

Quite attractive with some good decoration and gold inlay of some type and doesn't have
a martial sounding name so it looks like it was aimed at the ladies or more genteel market and
seems generally better made. Has about 90% of its plating left and the grips are in great conditon.

Wish my friend took a picture of the left side :)
 
Milanczar said:
I have been looking out for a double action in .32but have not seen anything that was reasonable and
in decent enough shape. Best I found was a double action only H&R in 38 S&W so far however.
Click to expand...

I see them on the EE occasionally. The one i have is a hopkins and Allen. There really cool little pistols.

Found out my .320 chambers .32 short colt, confirmed it with a fired brass.Have 200 brass on the way hopefully i can shoot it next week.
 
Last edited:
I didn't realize .32 short was rare. How pricey is "pricey"? I just finished sorting a pail of loose ammunition and found a few hundred rounds of .32 short. There are several different headstamps. There appear to be 2 different case lengths. The ones stamped .32 S&W are a fraction of a millimeter shorter than those stamped .32 short. Or maybe they just look that way because of a different crimp. There are 2 different bullet lengths. The bullets are all lead except for one oddball stamped Fiocchi .320. It has a full-metal-jacket bullet.

There are so many variations just in this one calibre, I'm temped to start a cartridge collection, but I already collect too many things.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom