What does 32 Police CTG mean

[Jack B.]

I have a Colt Police Positive revolver. I think it was manufactured in 1914. Printed a little further back on the barrel behind Clot Police Positive it reads 32 Police CTG. My question is what ammo dose this gun use? It came with 32 S&W,Colt and 32 auto ammo. Can anyone tell me what ammo I'm supposed to use? All 3 work ok in it. But what is supposed to be used in it?

 

[PRD1]

The marking indicates the revolver is chambered for the Colt variant of the .32 S&W Long cartridge, also called '.32 Colt New Police'. There is no essential difference in the two types, except that Colt used a flat-nosed bullet as opposed to the round nose of the S&W round.

PRD1 - mhb - MIke

 

[Jim Watson]

Right. The correct ammo is .32 Smith and Wesson or .32 Smith and Wesson Long; the Colt version with flat pointed bullets has not been made in a long time.
A real .32 Colt Short or Long will chamber but is undersize and not likely very accurate.
Also .32 ACP = Automatic Colt Pistol. The semirim will let it shoot in SOME revolvers but it is not good practice. The thin narrow semirim may or may not hold headspace and extract. It is also an overload in a top break .32.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Jim above has it right.

I'll add just a bit more. Colt didn't want to mark their guns with S&W on them (.32 S&W Long) so they confused things by making their own version of the same cartridge.

 

[airfoil]

If I may...I have a Colt Police positive chambered in .32 Colt. A .32 S&W of any sort will not fit into the cylinder of the very early Colt Police (I remember mine being circa 1907). The diameter of the brass is just too large by a couple three thousands.

I've been down this rabbit hole. Luckily, the OP's revolver must be chambered for .32 S&W. If he has any .32 colt, those rounds are collectors' items, haven't been made for many decades.

It's quite the dance to reload for the round as well...turn the brass down in a lathe, source some .32 cal. heeled lead bullets, and still had to size the entire cartridge in a bullet sizer. A headache, but it's accurate in a across the bar room way.

OP...thank the stars you don't have a .32 cal. Colt proprietary cartridge revolver...I like mine 'tho... craftmanship...and I did buy a Police Positive in .32 S&W made in the 20's.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have a Colt Police positive chambered in .32 Colt.

Teddy Roosevelt standardized NYPD on the Colt .32 during his tenure as Commissioner.

 

[airfoil]

Speak softly and carry a big stick...seems sticks have gotten heavier through the years, to what end...I can only guess.

 

[herrwalther]

Colt didn't like to "free advertise" other names on their firearms, even as part of calibers. So things like 38 Smith and Wesson Long and 38 Smith and Wesson became 32 and 38 Colt New Police. The change was just a flat nose bullet instead of standard round nose. I went through this same confusion just a couple years ago when I inherited a Colt Police Positive from my mother in law and couldn't find any "38 Colt New Police" ammo for it. What made it worse is her Colt had been professionally cut to a 2 inch barrel decades ago so I had no model or caliber stamp on the barrel to work with. Just a prancing pony.

 

[Jim Watson]

And Marlin wasn't going to put .30 WCF on their rifles, either, hence .30-30. Etc.

 

[BigBlue 94]

32 Colt. A .32 S&W of any sort will not fit into the cylinder

32 Colt is not the same as 32 Colt New Police. As pointed out, its just Colt's duplicate chamber of 32 S&W

 

[airfoil]

tomato, tomato, rutabaga