I have inherited my grandfather's old Colt revolver. It is a double action revolver in 32-20. It is in excellent condition including the bore.

I googled up some info that said these guns were made between 1908 and 1922. Serial number is 474514F. Black grips with the Colt insignia inscribed on rolled on the gun just behind and under the cylinder release.

My question is can I use modern smokeless ammo in the gun safely? I have an old yellow box of Winchester/Western ammo that came with the gun. About two empty cases in the box. Looking at the wear rings on the cylinder it does not appear to have been shot much. Mother said he only shot it on New Year's Eve. Would load it up with a full cylinder and empty the gun just to make plenty of noise. This took place in the '30's and '40's most likely.

Also wondering about approx. value. I don't want to sell it, just curious. And don't want to damage the gun with too hot of ammo. Thanks for any advice you can give me. Merg

It was designed for smokeless powder used at that time .The 32-20 was originally a rifle round ,one of the group including 38-40 and 44-40 loaded with black powder .While with black powder this rifle/revolver combination worked well with smokeless it didn't. I don't know what the factory loads are today but for a revolver it should be 115 gr lead at 850-1000 fps with smokeless. Stick to that type of load and it'll be OK.

You have a great gun there. I have owned/shot one since the early '70s. They are not a heavy framed gun so in diference to their age and elative strength, I would recommend shooting lead bullets in the "cowboy" or "action" shooting loads. You will probably find these will also shoot to the point of aim with the fixed sights. I would avoid jacketed bullet loads. If you handload, don't try to hotrod it. Save that for a Colt SA or one of the Ruger Buckeyes in that caliber. Do a google search for "32-20 cowboy action ammunition" and you will turn up several sources. Blackhills makes some and their products are always good. Enjoy it and cherish it, they are a fine gun. For value, I would recommend looking on Guns America and the auction sites for a similar gun. That will give you an idea of the current aasking and selling prices.
BTW be sure you have ear protection on when shooting it. That ctg. is noisy as heck out of a 4-6" barrel!

Thanks guys,

I remember shooting it after Grand Dad died a few times with my dad and it was extremely loud. That was back in the early sixties. I got an early start on hearing loss.

I never did let my kids shoot w/o hearing protection. They will just blow their hearing with I pods, loud music and such. Merg

Here's mine:



Like yours, it was a hand-me-down from my Grandfather to my father to me. Soon, it'll go a fourth generation to my son. I wouldn't sell it for anything. Enjoy your pistol and cherish the memories.

Well that blows! Guess I'll have to find a new place to host pictures. AOL sucks!

Yea John, I would like to see a picture of your's. I don't have a digital camera so I don't do pictures.

Sometimes I get pictures and sometimes I just get little red X's as in your case. Thanks for the reply anyway.

They are a very well made gun and I want to keep it in the family but use it too. I ordered some cowboy ammo last night from Collins Cartridge Co. $16.00 for a box of 50 but $10.50 for shipping! However, this was the best price I could find. Merg

Let's try this again.



When my father me the gun he said that his father was a guard during the WW I and needed a pistol, hence he bought this. My grandfather died in the 30's and my father was given the pistol. He passed it down to me in 1977, and I will eventually pass it down to my son.
I think my Dad tried a little "shade tree gunsmithing" on it because there are some scratches near the end of the barrel as if he tried to remove it. Obviously, the pistol means more to me that its physical value.

Holy shit! I didn't mean for the image to be so big!!

Hey JohnK,

Yea the photo is big, but thanks; I enjoyed looking at it.

Mine is a 4 inch bbl and with virtually no drag marks (or whatever you call them) on the rear part of the cylinder it appears to have not been shot much at all. Thanks, Merg