SIGforum
I just aquired a little Iver Johnson model 1900 .32 S&W

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/3270044284

June 04, 2021, 12:21 PM
BennerP220
I just aquired a little Iver Johnson model 1900 .32 S&W
I have no knowledge except for what little google I did on it.

Anyone here give me any insight about this little guy? I know it is chambered for .32 S&W and can maybe fire .32 S&W long?

I think it has a four inch barrel. I will get a pic up later when I get home.

Thank you in advance!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BennerP220,
June 04, 2021, 12:31 PM
rburg
quote:
Originally posted by BennerP220:
and can maybe fire .32 S&W long?



Don't bet on it.

OK, I'm back. Its not like those magnum loadings will do any damage. If you'll discover the velocity between the two are about the same. Not like you'll burn out the barrel or anything. If you can discover when it was made, I've probably got a shooters bible from back then. You'll probably need to reload to fire it much. The hard part will be getting primers, just like any other caliber. The cheap way will be to buy a bag of O buckshot. The cases don't expand so you won't need to resize them. Might be a pain to decap the fired cases, but a dowel rod and a block of hardwood underneath will serve to reprime them. You can use a tiny measure to toss maybe a grain or two of Bullseye powder, or Unique, whatever. If you can find it, an ancient Lyman tong tool will serve you well. The idea being to keep costs low. I'm just going to assume it has a lousy trigger pull, like most of them. Still OK for plinking in your basement.

If you go the route of O Buck, its about the cheapest way to shoot. The same or even cheaper than 22s. You can't get 22s or primers, so neither is practical. On trash day, if you see an old couch set out, pick off the cushions. Liberate the foam from the covering and stack them several deep. You can often recover the O Buck from that backstop and even reuse them. Yeah, I grew up poor. My mother said my dad was just cheap. But you learn how to keep shooting without spending much money.

Small primers are all the same. Small pistol, small rifle, small magnum rifle might give you a few extra FPS. They're all the same size. Hope you didn't want to make this a magnum.


Unhappy ammo seeker
June 04, 2021, 12:31 PM
BennerP220
I did find one box of .32 S&W. $37 I figured wasn't so bad in this day and age.
June 04, 2021, 03:19 PM
BennerP220

June 04, 2021, 04:35 PM
GT-40DOC
When I was a kid, these guns were very common. A used one was worth $10-12. Granted, when I was a kid, dirt was fresh!!
June 04, 2021, 06:39 PM
Genorogers
Very cool find.....I haven't seen one of these in 50 years. Congrats !
June 04, 2021, 07:04 PM
egregore
Revolvers (those I've seen pictures of) chambered for .32 S&W only have much shorter cylinders. That one looks long enough to chamber the Long.
June 04, 2021, 07:22 PM
BennerP220
Thanks, guys. I guess I bought that ammo for nothing. Everything I’ve read says it only fires black powder.

I guess it’s not really good for much but looking cool. Oh well.
June 04, 2021, 09:14 PM
rburg
Reload with 4f black, its easy. It'll smoke some. Won't stink, I like the smell of black powder. And you probably won't need to measure the powder. Just pour it full and press a ball on top.


Unhappy ammo seeker
June 05, 2021, 07:55 AM
divil
https://www.gunvaluesboard.com...y-revolver-2824.html

This article says to count the pins on the frame above the trigger guard. 2 pins black powder only. 4 pins safe for smokeless.

I see 4 pins on your revolver. As long as there is nothing functionality wrong with your revolver, that owl should be headed to the range with some of those .32 s&w you just purchased!
June 05, 2021, 10:06 AM
BennerP220
Really!? The cylinder seems a bit loose but other than that everything seems to work just fine. You think I’d be good to shoot the regular rounds I got?

quote:
Originally posted by divil:
https://www.gunvaluesboard.com...y-revolver-2824.html

This article says to count the pins on the frame above the trigger guard. 2 pins black powder only. 4 pins safe for smokeless.

I see 4 pins on your revolver. As long as there is nothing functionality wrong with your revolver, that owl should be headed to the range with some of those .32 s&w you just purchased!

June 05, 2021, 11:09 AM
divil
When in doubt have a gunsmith look it over. Your revolver is a solid frame with the 4 pins. The solid frame is stronger than the top break types. The .32 S&w isn’t the .327 magnum by any stretch. Pressure wise according to the article the revolver should take it. However it should be free of any other mechanical problems before a range visit. If it were Me, I would have the smith look it over. I don’t do wall hanger guns and I only shoot smokeless.
June 05, 2021, 02:16 PM
rburg
What ever happened to the good ole days where you just tied it to a tree and yanked a string tied to the trigger?Smile


Unhappy ammo seeker
June 05, 2021, 04:21 PM
GT-40DOC
The "tree-huggers" are occupying all of the trees!!! LOL
June 05, 2021, 05:45 PM
Jelly
Wow blast from the past. On the early black powder models the owl looked down the barrel. Yours is made for black powder.
On the smokeless powder 3rd gen models starting around 1909 the owl looked down the grip.

I have a Iver Johnson 32 short that was my great grandma's. Last time I shot it was in the early 1970s at my great grandparent's farm in Montana. Let me tell you something, almost as much lead comes out the sides of it as goes out the muzzle. Big Grin After about 1/2 a box of ammo my brother and I decided it was a lead splitter extraordinaire. It also has the distinction of being the most inaccurate revolver I've ever fired.
June 05, 2021, 07:43 PM
Mars_Attacks
I have that exact pistol.


____________________________

Eeewwww, don't touch it!
Here, poke at it with this stick.
June 06, 2021, 10:01 PM
TooTech
I don't have an Iver, but I do have a number of S&W lemon squeezers I shoot. I reload light cast bullets and tiny charges of Bullseye powder. Everything has been good thus far, but the Smiths of the era cost 2-3 times what an Iver would so I'm uncertain how the strength of your revolver compares.
A lot of these old .32 S&W revolvers get used in cowboy action "side matches". The most common thinking within that group is that the gun is unlikely to explode, but that smokeless powder will accelerate wear on the revolver.



"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." - Barry Goldwater