Remington .31 Pocket

[coyotejoe]

I ordered this little Remington .31 for a friend who wants a light weight BP revolver to carry while running his trap line. At just 15 ounces it is smaller and lighter than the Colt type .31's. I cleaned it up and removed the half gallon of oil it came packed in and was struck by how similar it seemed to a little H&R model 1905 double action .32 I happen to have laying around. The Remington has one inch more barrel at 3 1/2" and is four ounces heavier than the H&R but that plus a double action trigger in the guard is about the total difference. Even the diameter of the 5 shot cylinders are very close. I would expect ballistics would be about the same as well. The H&R is marked ".32 S&W ctg." and I take that to mean .32 short but since the chambers have no throat it will accept .32 H&R mag and even .327 Federal brass with the case mouth even with the front end of the cylinder. Not that I would ever fire anything but the shorts in this little 11 ounce popper. Check out the photos and see what you think.

[mcwoodduck]

I looked at them too and wanted to see if I could get a 32 Long rimfire cylinder for it.  but the gun smith wanted way too much for the cylinder.
I was impressed that it really looked like my S&W model 1 top break in 38S&W in size and even the spur trigger.

[Nobade]

IIRC somebody is making cartridge conversion cylinders for those revolvers.

[coyotejoe]

That may be so, I know they do make them for the Colt replicas but accuracy would be pretty hopeless. The barrel has a groove diameter of .327" while the largest bullet you can load in a .32 cartridge is about .314". Of course the "invisible sights" make accuracy pretty hopeless anyway. The front sight blade is only .032" wide. I guess the intended purpose is to cut the hand of anyone who grabs the barrel.

[BGRooster1]

I think you would be surprised by the accuracy of one of these pietta revolvers.It is hard to believe with a cylinder chamber of .315,If I recall,and bore of .323.That is what mine comes up with.Other than shooting about 1 inch high for every yard it groups well.Ya that's right one inch per yard.I am fixin to add a sight almost twice the height as factory furnished.
 Lot's of info on the little Remmie on the internet.It is a fun gun and will take rabbits and other small game.
 I'm also thinking of reaming the cylinder to better match the bore.

Remember this was an acrossed the table/room firearm. Sights were estimators at best.

[billy_56081]

BTW there is no such thing as a 32 S&W short. The shorter cartridge is the 32 S&W. There is also a 32 S&W long, but no short. If someone makes a conversion cylinder you could try to find a hollow bases bullet mold like I use on my 36 Rem that has a 38 special conversion cylinder.

[BGRooster1]

Kirst makes a conversion cylinder for the Pietta .31 Remington Pocket Pistol.It is for new made pistols.Pietta is supposed to be doing a very good job making the new ones.Mr. Kirst had a hand in encouraging Pietta to tighten tolerances.The conversion is for steel frame only and is .32 S&W

[coyotejoe]

BTW there is no such thing as a 32 S&W short. The shorter cartridge is the 32 S&W. There is also a 32 S&W long, but no short. If someone makes a conversion cylinder you could try to find a hollow bases bullet mold like I use on my 36 Rem that has a 38 special conversion cylinder.

I understand what you are trying to say but it's like the silly argument that there is no .45 long Colt. We all know that isn't technically a correct designation but in common parlance everyone understands the term and some of us just like to say it that way. Likewise I think everyone understands that there is a .32 S&W long and most people drop the "S&W" and just say .32 long, the same as you just dropped the S&W from .38 S&W Special, so what's wrong with referring to the shorter cartridge as a .32 short?  As I mentioned, the chambers will accept .32 S&W long and even .32 H&R mag, though I certainly don't recommend anyone fire them but I'd bet a lot of "longs" have been fired from revolvers of this type.
  BTW, there is a .32 short Colt centerfire and a .32 short rimfire, but lots of luck finding ammo.

[mcwoodduck]

BTW there is no such thing as a 32 S&W short. The shorter cartridge is the 32 S&W. There is also a 32 S&W long, but no short. If someone makes a conversion cylinder you could try to find a hollow bases bullet mold like I use on my 36 Rem that has a 38 special conversion cylinder.

32 Rim Fire short, Long and Long Rifle.

[Cuts Crooked]

BTW there is no such thing as a 32 S&W short. The shorter cartridge is the 32 S&W. There is also a 32 S&W long, but no short. If someone makes a conversion cylinder you could try to find a hollow bases bullet mold like I use on my 36 Rem that has a 38 special conversion cylinder.

32 Rim Fire short, Long and Long Rifle.

Yup! I once had a Low Wall chambered in 32 Rimfire Long. Could chamber and fire shorts and longs, but not long rifles.

[bedbugbilly]

OK - I know this is a BP forum but since you fellas are talking about .32 cartridges, can one of you possibly answer a question I have on .32 cartridges?  I have (I think it is at any rate) a H & R New Safety Police Revolver - top break like a S & W - I imagine it is from around the early 1900s but not really sure - at any rate, it takes a .32 center fire "short".  I bought it about 40 years ago from an estate and with it was an old (I mean OLD) box (50 count) of "S & W central fire .32 shorts).  I went to a good gun shop back in Michigan a few years ago and they ordered me a box of .32 center fire "Colt" shorts.  When I went to load the revolver to shoot it, the "Colt shorts" were too long.  The nose of the slug extended beyond the front of the cylinder just enough that the cylinder would not turn.  As a result, i returned the Colt cartridges to the gun shop and they were kind enough to take them back.  The revolver is in excellent condition and I'd like to shoot it sometime - my question is this:  Why wouldn't the Colt "shorts" fit (they were too long)?  Is there a difference in the length between say a S & W "short" and a Colt "short"?   With the abundance of .32 caliber "Saturday night specials" that there were and which are still around, I would think that a "short" is a "short" . . . . but, that was not the case and I am not familiar enough with cartridges to know if there is/was a difference.  The gun shop clerk was scratching his head over it and at the time, I just gave up trying to find cartridges that would be the right length.  Many thanks for any enlightenment any of you can provide!  Sincerely, bedbug   

[mcwoodduck]

BTW there is no such thing as a 32 S&W short. The shorter cartridge is the 32 S&W. There is also a 32 S&W long, but no short. If someone makes a conversion cylinder you could try to find a hollow bases bullet mold like I use on my 36 Rem that has a 38 special conversion cylinder.

32 Rim Fire short, Long and Long Rifle.

Yup! I once had a Low Wall chambered in 32 Rimfire Long. Could chamber and fire shorts and longs, but not long rifles.

I had a Remington Rolling block.  Personally I liked the Longs better than the shorts.

[coyotejoe]

Bedbug, what you need is .32 S&W, and not .32 S&W long nor .32 Colt. In the early years of breech loading it seems that Colt and S&W developed some very similar but not quite interchangeable cartridges. Colt's line of cartridges in .32, .38 and .44 calibers were first produced for cartridge conversions of Colt cap & ball revolvers. They all used "heeled" bullets, where the cartridge case diameter is the same as the forward portion of the bullet with just a short "heel" of the bullet being reduced diameter to fit inside the case, the way .22 rimfires are still made. All of the "Colt" line of cartridges were obsolete and about gone until the cowboy shooters got into them.
Anywhoo, I got my .32 S&W ammo from Graf & Sons. They had both Winchester and Magtech brands but I just checked online and they are out of stock. Midway also lists the .32 S&W in Winchester, Remington and Magtech brands but are also out of stock except for Winchester black powder blanks. I do have some Magtech loads left and I have reloading dies but I'm really not much interested in shooting that little belly gun, which is why I still have ammo left. You pop off a few rounds and say "yep, it goes bang" but you can't hit anything past 10 feet and I soon became bored with it. Besides, my wife saw the little H&R and decided it should be her gun and I had no reason to argue the point.  I originally bought it as one of four "Saturday Night Specials" which I intended to make into a wall hanging but never got "aroundtooit". The other three are all break tops but I sure like the solid frame a lot better since it is still tight. Fast reloading is superfluous in a pocket pistol anyway. But .32 S&W is what you need and Midway does list it as ".32 S&W short".
As an after thought I checked Natchez Shooters Suply and they have both Aguila and Remington in stock.
 http://www.natchezss.com/ammo.cfm?contentID=ammoGroup&ammoGroup=2&searchBy=size&ammoSize=250

[bedbugbilly]

coyotejoe - Thank you so much for the cartridge lesson!  I really appreciate it.  I was under the impression that a .32 short was a .32 short but that clears up what my problem was with the .32 Colts that I had.  I have to agree with you . . . . I don't think that I would shoot more than a half dozen rounds just to say "I done that"!  It's a nice little pistol but I think I would want something with a little more stopping power to keep handy for home defense.  Thanks again very much for taking the time to answer my questions and the info on the ammo and sources.  I'll probably just keep my eyes open at the gun shows and see if I run across some rounds for it.  If not, it will probably be one of the "roundtuits" like you spoke about.  Thanks much and kindest regards!     bedbug

[coyotejoe]

You are more than welcome bedbug. With luck maybe you'll find a partial box for five bucks.