Colt Officers Model Target Heavy Barrel in 32

[LIMPINGJ]

Always wanted a K32 but couldn’t afford them when I found one. So I was able to get this Colt. With the shortage of Colt revolver smiths where should I limit my loads to? I plan to use Bullseye powder. Any other suggestions or information on this revolver is appreciated.
Thanks

[Outpost75]

VERY rare Colt. Less than 1000 made in 1940. Gun is strong and will handle loads approaching 1000 fps with 98-grain Safeco #325 and 7 grains of Alliant #2400. For general use 2.5-3.0 grains of Bullseye or 3.0-3.5 grains of 231 works well.

[rintinglen]

The gun is amply strong to handle any reasonable--and most unreasonable--loads. RCBS 32-98 and 2.7 grains of Bullseye or Titegroup or 3.2 grains of WW 231 will likely shoot wonderfully well.

The fly in the ointment is that frequent dry firing or lots of shooting will cause the timing to wear. I can't say how long it will go, but I know from first hand experience that 3,000 magnums will put your Python in the shop.

ps. That is a really cool gun! Congratulations.

[LIMPINGJ]

No interest in testing the strength of it, just want an accurate target load to not wear out this nice revolver. Any suggestions from the Accurate catalog on a mold, a swc or another with a nice flat nose for small game?

[Outpost75]

Accurate 31-105T is my double-crimp-groove design for the .32 S&W Long and .32-20 which closely follows the shape of factory bullets loaded in the .32 Colt New Police and Western .32-20 loads of the WW2 era. Crimp in the rear crimp groove in the .32 Long to maintain factory LRN OAL and in the front groove for .32-20 to magazine feed in lever actions.

Two grains of Bullseye is a mild load in .32 Long which approximates factory ammo. I normally load 2.5 grains, which gives about 850 fps and is a great general purpose field load. Do not exceed 3 grains of Bullseye for about 900 fps, depending upon your cylinder gap. Consider it like Plus-P in a .38 Special, for occasional use on larger varmints if needed, but not for steady use.

Accurate has a bunch of wide flat-nosed .32 bullets if you want a large meplat, but I have found this bullet very accurate, effective on small game and less destructive of critters you want to eat.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Oh man!
Good find!
You got a whole lot of fun and happy shooting coming your way!

One of my favorites from Accurate that falls in your category of “…or another with a nice flat nose for small game” is 31-088W. I use it 32 SWL, 32 H&R and 327 FM. I’ve driven it from about 700 to way north of 1500 fps and have been happy with it at every point. But I’m a big fan of wadcutters for everything thing but silhouettes.

I have several others from Accurate that are great. Come to think of it all my mounds from Accurate are great and all the designs I have from him have worked out great.

Just perusing his catalog, if I were starting over again in 32 I’d think hard about 31-100S, 31-101E, 31-105A, 31-105K, 31-105R or 31-105S for a first mould.

You’ve got a long cylinder and a strong revolver so you might want to choose a boolit that has a long nose and short seating depth to allow for lots of powder under it if you decide to let it stretch it’s legs a bit.

But if you want to stay in the very conservative end of it’s abilities, I’d choose a full wadcutter to crowd the powder to the primer and keep the extreme spread of velocity to a minimum. Of course you can always deep seat any other boolit and achieve the same thing. But for a small game getter you can’t beat the wadcutter under 50 yards.

I wouldn’t go for a heavy boolit if you want to stay slow bc heavies are long and need some rpm’s to stabilize. Short boolits stabilize at all velocities. But….that Colt might have a twist faster than my Smiths and Rugers. I think in 38 that Colt has a 1:14 where Ruger is 1:16 and Smith is 1:18.something.

So…my recommendation is 31-088W or anything else under about 110 grains.

[ddixie884]

You are a very lucky man. Congrats.........

[MT Gianni]

You have a gun I would love to see and shoot. I like the Lee 30 cal 90 gr tl for easy shooting in the 32 long. Mine is an I frame and 2.3-2.5 gr BE and this bullet are just fun and accurate.

[FISH4BUGS]

I had one of those mint in the box many years ago. The Mass State Police pistol team ordered a number of them in the 40's but never used them. They released them to the public in the 90's and I was lucky to buy one.
There are few guns that truly regret ever selling/trading, but this one is at the top of my regrets list.
A beautifully made and stupidly accurate gun.
Congratulations.

[SOFMatchstaff]

I have a Colt Officers Model, 32 Police Ctg, 6" Heavy barrel, both front and rear sights are adjustable. It does not say Match on the barrel though. The ser # puts it in the 1939-40 era but under the Official Police/Marshal listing. I am interested in the serial # range of the other revolvers discussed in this thread, if they fall into the 629000(1939) to 641000(1940)bracket , mine falls almost midway.

I have yet to find any 32 ColtNP or S&WL loads that have disappointed me. It's a gem... The trigger DA and SA are amazing, as good or better than my Sadowski Python (R.I.P. Fred) I use a Plated DEWC from Berrys and it shoots X ring on a T&R 25 yd BE target and stays in the 10 ring on the B27 sil at 50. I tend to load it hot at about 950fps ..

[Outpost75]

SOFMatchstaff, your presumption on the serial number range is spot-on. Mine is within a few hundred of yours. Larry Gibson pressure tested several loads for me, which I also use in a 1970 Colt Police Positive. To stay within the SAAMI MAP for the .32 H&R Mag, about 20kpsi, don't exceed 3 grains of Bullseye or Titegroup, 3.5 of 231 or WST, or 4 grains of Unique with 100-115 grain bullet, which with 85-100 grain bullet will give your desired 950 fps from 6-inch barrel and about 900 fps with 100 Hornady XTP or Lyman #311008.

I've also fooled with slower magnum pistol powders, but don't necessarily recommend them anymore due to observed erratic pressure rise on the PT traces during initial shot-start, which Larry warns is a marker for potential SEE condition.

Overall from 2.5 to 3 grains of Bullseye is most satisfactory as a General-purpose field load with the common .32-20 bullets.

[SOFMatchstaff]

I am still curious about the barrel markings, do your guns have the "Match" on the barrels?? My 38 has "target" and the 22 is marked one or the other, cant remember which ..

[zarrinvz24]

I have a .38 Special in the 1941 (656XXX serial number) and it is only marked Officers Model, followed by .38. Underneath it is roll marked Heavy Barrel with a Maltese cross on either side. The E frame guns in this time period shared serial number sequencing. In the picture, it is on top of my .38 Shooting Master. I have been on the hunt for a OM in .32, just haven’t gotten there yet. Someday 😉

[James Wisner]

You have a SWEET HEART of a handgun there. I wanted one since the 1982 Colt Collectors meeting when I saw my first one, but I was collecting Pythons and Diamondbacks at that time.

Fast forward to 2019 when I found a Officers Model Heavy Barrel 32 as a Gunsmith Spl, some one had taken it apart and LOST the side plate, Hammer, Trigger and rebound lever and mainspring. I grabbed that pistol rather quickly and then found another side plate with a close # from a Official Police and also replaced and timed the internal parts with OMM parts.

It is s/n # 6205xx.

It will shoot much better than I can, my normal load is 3 grs of Unq under a 95 - 100 gr boolit

Enjoy that Colt.

JW

[Nueces]

I got mine in about 1974 from the old J&G Rifle Ranch in Arizona. Seems they had purchased the old unused stock from an early customer. I chose one with a box, papers and tools, still had cosmoline on it. And still does, though I have fired it with some healthy Skeeter Skelton loads featuring the Lyman 3118. I also have always wanted a nice K-32, but this Colt is a much classier revolver. I recall paying $400, which would be headline news today, but was a fairly substantial wad of cash back then.

In those days very few wanted older non magnum revolvers, so I was able to get this Colt and several other oldies, such as Shooting Masters and Smith Outdoorsmen. Also, anything in 32 S&W Long or even 38 Special failed to excite much market interest and I scooped them up as I found them. Another example is the 1957 Smith 32 Hand Ejector Target, unfired, that my dealer was pleased to unload on me. Didn't even haggle the price.

Years later, J&G was left holding the bag on some of these OM 32 beauties and advertised in Shotgun News that they were rechambering them to H&R Mag. So, it's possible to run across one so altered.

[Green Frog]

I had just decided I wasn't going to buy any more 32 revolvers. In fact I was going to sell off a few. I had never even heard of the Colt Officer's Model Target variation. That would have to be a real joy to...

"Get thee behind me, Satan!"

[LIMPINGJ]

SOFMatchstaff you are correct on the barrel marking, it doesn’t say match just Officers Model and Heavy Barrel. I must have been thinking of the Woodsman Match. The serial number is just below 644000.

[Green Frog]

You have a SWEET HEART of a handgun there. I wanted one since the 1982 Colt Collectors meeting when I saw my first one, but I was collecting Pythons and Diamondbacks at that time.

Fast forward to 2019 when I found a Officers Model Heavy Barrel 32 as a Gunsmith Spl, some one had taken it apart and LOST the side plate, Hammer, Trigger and rebound lever and mainspring. I grabbed that pistol rather quickly and then found another side plate with a close # from a Official Police and also replaced and timed the internal parts with OMM parts.

It is s/n # 6205xx.

It will shoot much better than I can, my normal load is 3 grs of Unq under a 95 - 100 gr boolit

Enjoy that Colt.

JW

Is the side plate on an OM Colt revolver as critically fitted as that of a S&W revolver? If yes, you were doubly lucky; first to find the gun and second to find a side plate you could fit to it well. Congratulations (but of course I would be even more impressed at a post accompanied by photos!)

Froggie

[tward]

I’m a 32 fan, both 32 S&W long and 32-20. I’ve got 2 Colts , 1 in 32 Colt new police and one in 32-20, also a S&W in 32-20 and a H&R 32 S&W long. All are fun to shoot and accurate. The H&R shoots quite high, I might have to file the front sight

[rintinglen]

I’m a 32 fan, both 32 S&W long and 32-20. I’ve got 2 Colts , 1 in 32 Colt new police and one in 32-20, also a S&W in 32-20 and a H&R 32 S&W long. All are fun to shoot and accurate. The H&R shoots quite high, I might have to file the front sight

No, you don't want to do that. You need a smaller-boolit, faster load or a TALLER front sight.