grappler - This is a great topic. I am in the same boat. Bought a half a dozen or more little top breaks and have yet to shoot them, cause I either can't find the ammo, or am not sure what the right ammo is.

I hope there are several posts here to enlighten!

There are several .32 cal American cartridges. Number 1 will be the 32 acp for semi auto pistols. Next common will be the 32 S&W short and long for revolvers. like the 22 rimfire they are determined by chamber or cylinder length and the shorts will fire in the longer chambers. Next will be the 32 colt short and long for revolvers and some rifles. Ballistically twins to the S&W cartridges they are slightly smaller in diameter than the S&W cases and are physically the same outer dimensins as the 32 short and long rimfire, Years ago Marlin and some other rifle manufacturers made rifles with interchangable fiting pins so both the Colt and the rimfires could be fired in the same gun. The S&W round is enough larger that it will not chamber. However, even if not advised, many of the colt cartridges have been fired in the S&W chamber with a slight bulging of the case. The last one, the 32-20, started life as a rifle round but was chambered in the Colt SAA as a companion piece and was pretty hot for the original blck powdwer frames. Onyy when S&W and Colt started chambering their swingout cylinder revolvers for it the ammo companies started marketing 2 levels of loadings for it. 1 for revolvers and another for rifles. This was confusing for the public so after WWII the rifle loading was dropped. These are the common pre-war 32 cartridges. More exist but are seldom encountered. The british round 38-200 is the twin to the 38S&W cartridge and was their service cartridge for a while. axolotl

Ax thanks a ton for the info and for being kind enough not to point out I erroneously typed 32-200 instead of 38-200.

I just went to the safe and grabbed a representative arm load.

I have two Iver Johnsons and an H&R which are clearly 38 cal centerfire but have no stamp to indicate the chambering.  Is it safe to assume 38 S&W? 

One Iver 32 cal centerfire with no stamp.  32 S&W???? 

I have two H&Rs with 32 CAL S&W CTGE and 32 S&W CTGE stamped on them.  Is the 32 S&W short commonly referred to as the 32 S&W?  In other words absence of a short or long designation means short?

Last one in the batch is a single post latch "side latch" Iver.  Again 32 cal with no other stamp for caliber.

What do you think?  Other than I have some weird fetish for top breaks.  Still have to find one just like Indiana Jones had.  And a Schofield.

I miss Bill Goforth.  I need to find his book.  His word on these was as good as gold.

Brain, you want to sell some?........crap now I gotta call my therapist and my sponsor.

The general rule is, H&R if the calibre is marked on the barrel it is problably for smokeless powder. Iver Johnson if under the grips it is a coil spring action it is for smokeless. Other than those 2 instances the revolvers are for black powder and should never be used with modern loads.

Did Bill GoForth's book on the H&R ever get published? His Iver Johnson book is great.

grappler; yes , you can assume that a topbreak 38 is the 38 S&W cartridge. Remember what assume means. As i said the 32 S&W short or long will be determined by cylinder length I`ve seen them marked 32S&W with long cylinders. If the 32S&W case will chamber that is probably the correct cartridge beeing the largest diameter. My wife has the same passion for the old `suicide specials` and must have a hundred of them, no two the same. She also is a fan of the late Bill Goforth and one of her high points in life was meeting him and having a conversation with him. axolotl

Yes, Bill Goforth's book was published.  Am holding a copy.

the 38/200 was a .38 S&W with a 200 grain bullet.

George, Ax

Thanks.  I wish I could have known Bill.  It seemed as if I did know him.  His knowledge and willingness to share were unparalleled.

C3 shooter His book on the H&R's was published?