S&W 1st Model 2nd issue 22cal1862

[rampa_room_artillery]

can the S&W 1st Model 2nd issue 22cal1862 be used in comp. ?? it was an issued weapon from what i have read. and have found one forsale for a reasonable price for an original.

rick bryan
11434

[John Holland]

From the Skirmish Rules:

14.3 FIREARMS DEFINITIONS

g. Revolver: any percussion revolver suitable for general issue to military forces.

John Holland
I.G. Corps

[Muley Gil]

Even if it were legal for compition, there is NO safe ammo for these old tip-up revolvers.

[John Holland]

I have played with those old revolvers, and the best thing you can use are RWS BB Caps, although I believe they are no longer available. The next best thing is CB Caps. They are the same size as a .22 Short, but with less powder. The muzzle blast with either one is horrendous! And, most of those revolvers leave much to be desired in the accuracy department....Hence the time I shot a hole thru the leg of a pair of my wife's blue jeans hanging in the basement......."YOU DID WHAT ? ? ?"

JDH

[rampa_room_artillery]

ammo no long around? yes, but you could pull the bullets out of modern ammo and replace powder with black powder and new bullets.
it would just be nice to have a cartridge revolver to shoot. and pin fire ammo reloading is just to expensive to make it worth it. same with 32 rimfire. they make reloading tools but 2 dollars a bullet are a little to expensive.



rick bryan
11434

[John Holland]

Rick....Did you miss the part about it has to be a percussion revolver?

JDH

[rampa_room_artillery]

sounds like the definition was written to not allow all civil war issued revolvers on accident. it was all just a thought anyway. maybe someday there will be 32 rimfire ammo made again.



rick bryan
11434

[John Holland]

Rick -

If you want the Board of Directors to consider a "Cartridge Revolver Match", you have to but follow the chain of command to do so.

JDH

[Lee Hoffecker]

Reloading tools for .32 cal rim fire???? Please tell me where these tools can be obtained! And what about the priming compound?
Thanks, Lee

[rampa_room_artillery]

I have found it here http://www.hc-collection.com/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=245533

they also have pin fire .

rick bryan
11434

[FlinchJerk]

Turns out that .32 CF brass cases mostly do not fit into an original S & W #2 chamber. The brass case is a bit larger diameter than the original RF copper cases. My test fits of the CF cases was not exhaustive. Also, a few types of original .32 RF copper cases are too big & don't fit, either. If the brass CF cases did fit, I was thinking of locating a loose RF hammer and altering it to CF (preserving, of course, the original-to-the-gun hammer.) I suppose the next way around the case dilemma would be to have a sizing die made to squish down the brass to fit. Will probably wait til I find a loose hammer to alter, before going to the trouble & expense of a custom .32 die. Would use black powder only...Not that it could ever be shot at N-SSA...

Who can make a custom case sizing die?

Thanks!
Dean Nelson
1st MD Infantry, CSA, N-SSA

[Muley Gil]

"Who can make a custom case sizing die?"

I believe Huntington (not sure of the spelling) Dies in CA can make one.

Or, a good machanist could alter one in a smaller caliber.

[RangerFrog]

If you can get the "powers that be" to put on an experimental .22 short match at Ft Shenandoah, I'm there! :lol: I've got an old family relic 1st Model 2nd Issue that is guaranteed to keep all shots in a wash tub at 10 feet, but not much more. :roll: I'd go to the trouble to rebuild and tune it if I had reason to think it would somehow be used, though. :? I've seen one tucked into the back of Larry Romano's belt at Nationals, so maybe we can get him to play too. All I need is another gun to feed and stable. Green

froggie

[Dave Fox]

A few odd points. The S&W tip-up .22s and their patent-defying clones were not issue in any sense during our Civil War. Boxes of BB caps still tend to be generally available here in the Southeast and in my 1864-era Smith .22 they muster the expected "pop!" for an excuse of a report and no recoil.
About 15 years ago Navy Arms commissioned a run of .32 rimfire revolver rounds. Fresh boxes of 50 are not uncommon at gun shows, bringing $50 and up. These short .32 rimfires fit and function in the Civil War era .32 S&W Army, some of which were issued, and in my circa 1861 Moore .32 rimfire, stamped "Made For Smith & Wesson", evidence of another legal battle over the Rollin White patent held by Smith.
Navy Arms also imported a lot of .41 rimfire short cartridges, giving new life to Remington over-and-under derringers and to the Colt #2 Derringer I carry as deep screw-in-his-ear concealment.
Nothing I write here presumes firing any ammunition in your particular 19th Century revolver is safe. Quite the contrary.

[RangerFrog]

I took the aforementioned relic out to shoot this week and on our club's outdoor range was able to keep all of my shots... on the 25 yd berm! :roll:

I guess a rebuild would be in the works before I could use it for anything more than the curiosity it is, but if we can make some of the other arms that we use into accurate shooters, who knows what the limits are for these little guns? Then again, maybe I should be working on tuning up my Remington New Army and practicing with my Maynard and Zouave... Green

Froggie