Need advice on .32 Colt

beigebowtie · January 17, 2011, 09:40 PM

Hey all, I'm new to the site and was hoping to get some advice on a .32 Colt revolver I'm thinking about buying.
First some details about the gun: It is in great condition, I'd call it very good to near mint maybe. It is very clean and almost scrap/scratch free. I don't know how the guy did it..either he didn't use it too much or took excellent care of it.
It belonged to this guys dad who bought it new way back when. Only 2 owners which is good. The asking price is $500.

So- Is this a good deal? How common are these revolvers along with ammo?
Is it even worth shooting and instead just keeping it clean and put away for value? Anybody with any experience on these? Any other negatives or positives I should know about? How old are these and is it possible that it was actually purchased new?
Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure its a good deal and figured I could find some great advice here. Thanks guys!

gyvel · January 17, 2011, 09:48 PM

I'm guesssing you are talking about a "Police Positive" revolver? Pictures would be a big help. More than likely a "good" price would be in the $350-400 range.

carguychris · January 17, 2011, 10:50 PM

FYI the .32 Colt New Police cartridge is essentially identical to the .32 Smith & Wesson Long, which is still readily available from a variety of online retailers and specialty gun stores, although most big-box sporting goods stores no longer stock it. Colt came up with an alternate name because they didn't want to put their arch enemy's name (S&W) on their guns.

A few notes:

1) .32 S&W Long is a fairly low-powered cartridge that will outperform .22LR, .22WMR, and .25ACP, and is about equal to .32ACP. Most people don't consider it a viable defensive cartridge anymore, although it certainly killed its fair share of BGs in the old days.

2) Most .32 S&W Long ammo is loaded with lead round-nose bullets or lead wadcutters. Hollow-point ammo is rare because (a) its velocity is marginally too low for expanding bullets to work reliably, and (b) not many people use it for self-defense anyway (see above).

3) You should NOT use .32ACP (aka .32 Auto or 7.65 Browning) in this gun! Although both cartridges nominally fire the same caliber bullet and have the same case diameter, .32ACP has a much smaller rim that may jam in the chamber, and it's loaded to higher pressure than .32 Long, so it may damage the gun. Unfortunately, many otherwise knowledgeable shooters mistakenly believe they're compatible or don't understand the difference.

4) .32 Smith & Wesson (.32S&W) aka ".32 Short" is perfectly safe to fire in this gun, but it's so obsolescent that it's generally more expensive and harder to find than .32 Long, so there's usually no point in using it nowadays.

beigebowtie · January 18, 2011, 06:58 AM

Ok thanks guys. I needed the ammo advice too. And yes, it is the police version. Anything else I oughta know? Sounds like a decent deal so I'm gonna jump on it. Thanks

January 17, 2011, 09:40 PM	#1
beigebowtie Junior Member Join Date: January 17, 2011 Location: Cane Country Posts: 2	Need advice on .32 Colt Hey all, I'm new to the site and was hoping to get some advice on a .32 Colt revolver I'm thinking about buying. First some details about the gun: It is in great condition, I'd call it very good to near mint maybe. It is very clean and almost scrap/scratch free. I don't know how the guy did it..either he didn't use it too much or took excellent care of it. It belonged to this guys dad who bought it new way back when. Only 2 owners which is good. The asking price is $500. So- Is this a good deal? How common are these revolvers along with ammo? Is it even worth shooting and instead just keeping it clean and put away for value? Anybody with any experience on these? Any other negatives or positives I should know about? How old are these and is it possible that it was actually purchased new? Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure its a good deal and figured I could find some great advice here. Thanks guys!

January 17, 2011, 09:48 PM	#2
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,172	I'm guesssing you are talking about a "Police Positive" revolver? Pictures would be a big help. More than likely a "good" price would be in the $350-400 range.

January 17, 2011, 10:50 PM	#3
carguychris Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2007 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 7,523	FYI the .32 Colt New Police cartridge is essentially identical to the .32 Smith & Wesson Long, which is still readily available from a variety of online retailers and specialty gun stores, although most big-box sporting goods stores no longer stock it. Colt came up with an alternate name because they didn't want to put their arch enemy's name (S&W) on their guns. A few notes: 1) .32 S&W Long is a fairly low-powered cartridge that will outperform .22LR, .22WMR, and .25ACP, and is about equal to .32ACP. Most people don't consider it a viable defensive cartridge anymore, although it certainly killed its fair share of BGs in the old days. 2) Most .32 S&W Long ammo is loaded with lead round-nose bullets or lead wadcutters. Hollow-point ammo is rare because (a) its velocity is marginally too low for expanding bullets to work reliably, and (b) not many people use it for self-defense anyway (see above). 3) You should NOT use .32ACP (aka .32 Auto or 7.65 Browning) in this gun! Although both cartridges nominally fire the same caliber bullet and have the same case diameter, .32ACP has a much smaller rim that may jam in the chamber, and it's loaded to higher pressure than .32 Long, so it may damage the gun. Unfortunately, many otherwise knowledgeable shooters mistakenly believe they're compatible or don't understand the difference. 4) .32 Smith & Wesson (.32S&W) aka ".32 Short" is perfectly safe to fire in this gun, but it's so obsolescent that it's generally more expensive and harder to find than .32 Long, so there's usually no point in using it nowadays.

January 18, 2011, 06:58 AM	#4
beigebowtie Junior Member Join Date: January 17, 2011 Location: Cane Country Posts: 2	Ok thanks guys. I needed the ammo advice too. And yes, it is the police version. Anything else I oughta know? Sounds like a decent deal so I'm gonna jump on it. Thanks