I finally got all the pieces together to breath life back into my 115 year old H&R top break revolver in .32 Smith & Wesson.
I had ordered brass and a double cavity bullet mold shortly after I bought the revolver and the die set came in from England a few days ago.
I cast a hundred 77 grain round nose bullets from soft lead and tumble lubed them in Alox. I loaded six rounds over a mild charge of Unique. After test firing,, I determined that they needed a bit more crimp.
The next twelve rounds shot better on paper and sounded better. According to the load data, they should be running right at 700 fps but I did not drag the chronograph out.
The trigger on this revolver was obviously made before firearms manufacturers were concerned about liability litigation. The double action is smooth and very manageable and the single action is crisp and light. Even with the rudimentary sights, the trigger lent itself to some nice groups.
My best six shot group, fired double action, off-hand, at seven yards, measured an inch and three quarters. Most hovered in the two, two and a half inch range.
In the spirit of reviving this vintage piece, I cleaned it up with my bottle of Hoppes No. 9 and some cotton patches.
I had ordered brass and a double cavity bullet mold shortly after I bought the revolver and the die set came in from England a few days ago.
I cast a hundred 77 grain round nose bullets from soft lead and tumble lubed them in Alox. I loaded six rounds over a mild charge of Unique. After test firing,, I determined that they needed a bit more crimp.
The next twelve rounds shot better on paper and sounded better. According to the load data, they should be running right at 700 fps but I did not drag the chronograph out.
The trigger on this revolver was obviously made before firearms manufacturers were concerned about liability litigation. The double action is smooth and very manageable and the single action is crisp and light. Even with the rudimentary sights, the trigger lent itself to some nice groups.
My best six shot group, fired double action, off-hand, at seven yards, measured an inch and three quarters. Most hovered in the two, two and a half inch range.
In the spirit of reviving this vintage piece, I cleaned it up with my bottle of Hoppes No. 9 and some cotton patches.
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