Gun Show Revolver

[Hondo 60]

I've never owned a 32/20.
I would've more than just tempted to add another caliber to reload.

 

[outflyin]

I have the exact same gun in the OP, but it's very rusty and I've never seen one like this before. How is this type of cylinder release supposed to open? This one won't budge. Thanks.

Is the button supposed to slide?

Thanks.

 

[Walkalong]

The latch should slide. Try a little bit of Kroil or some other penetrating oil and let it soak awhile.

 

[outflyin]

The latch should slide. Try a little bit of Kroil or some other penetrating oil and let it soak awhile.

Thanks. I've been soaking it in CLP for days. I even tapped it a little with a brass punch, but not sure which way it is supposed to move, up or down.

 

[outflyin]

Finally got it. Slides down.

 

[Monac]

Oh, but mine says 38 Long on the barrel.

The Spanish marked a lot of guns "38 Long", by which they seem to have meant 38 Long Colt. That was the standard US Army pistol cartridge from about 1890 to about 1910, IIRC. Around 1900, S&W evolved it into the 38 Special by making it longer, and giving it both a heavier bullet and a higher velocity. The Army decided to go back to 45 caliber, but S&W had a winner anyway, and soon even Colt stopped making guns specifically for 38 Long Colt.

It is kind of an open question what to shoot in Spanish guns so marked, because they often will chamber 38 Special, and sometimes even 357 Magnum. The Spanish makers may have actually had 38 Special in mind, but thought that stamping the gun with a military cartridge would gain wider acceptance. Or maybe they thought being vague would pay dividends in the event of an accident. As the British would say, they were making guns "down to a price, not up to a standard".

As I have said before, some very experienced people here (JimK) advised not shooting these guns at all. I would try a good one (Orbea, GAC, Trocaola) with standard velocity 38 Special loads, but I can't in good conscience advise others to do it. (Needless to say, 357 Magnum is RIGHT OUT.)

 

[outflyin]

Thanks for the info, I doubt I would ever consider firing it unless I got it cleaned up much better than it is now and got some really tame ammo for it. I just wanted to get everything mechanically functioning which it is now. Pretty amazing considering how seized up everything was. The barrel and cylinder chambers would need a lot more work to consider firing. I'm very happy to be able to dry fire it for now. It's a strange old revolver with a cylinder that spins freely until you pull the trigger. The lockup is very loose but appears to be lined up well.

 

[Monac]

Thanks for the info, I doubt I would ever consider firing it unless I got it cleaned up much better than it is now and got some really tame ammo for it. I just wanted to get everything mechanically functioning which it is now. Pretty amazing considering how seized up everything was. The barrel and cylinder chambers would need a lot more work to consider firing. I'm very happy to be able to dry fire it for now. It's a strange old revolver with a cylinder that spins freely until you pull the trigger. The lockup is very loose but appears to be lined up well.

If it's made that way, I would never shoot it. There are NO parts, because guns like that were not made with interchangeable parts. And the Spanish often used very soft steels to make manufacturing easier. That means rapid and heavy wear. The upside is that the "failure mode" is usually for the guns to stretch until they won't work any more, instead of bursting like a grenade. That was JimK's concern. He contended that these guns were brittle and likely to burst. As I have said, his opinion of ALL of these guns was lower than mine, but his experience was much greater.