S&W I Frame prices?

[TruthTellers]

Looking to get a .32 I Frame or Colt Police Positive. Doesn't need to be in immaculate condition, just in good condition to shoot, so cosmetics don't matter.

I've never considered getting one of these before, but I want another .32 and one that's cool. I've been waiting for very long barrel H&R top breaks to show up on gunbroker and it's been many months since I last saw one. I figure the I frame or Police Positive, given those frames were smaller than the J frames we see today, that got me intrigued.

So, what price range should I be looking for and which would be better the S&W or Colt?

 

[micromontenegro]

What you want is a Pocket Positive... the Police Positive is quite a bit larger.

I have both the I frame and the Pocket Positive in .32. Both are a joy to shoot, but the Colt is a little jewel. Not easy to come by, so prices may be all over the place.

 

[105kw]

I know it's bigger than an I frame, but I have found the Police Positive to be easier to shoot.
I like S&W, but the old I frame is a little too small to shoot comfortablely. The one exception is the Regulation Police, they have larger grips, and a 4in barrel.

 

[Nathan]

I think there are a ton in the $200 range, but I think you want one that is still serviceable. That is probably more like $600, I’d guess.

 

[TruthTellers]

What you want is a Pocket Positive... the Police Positive is quite a bit larger.

I have both the I frame and the Pocket Positive in .32. Both are a joy to shoot, but the Colt is a little jewel. Not easy to come by, so prices may be all over the place.

Yes, Pocket Positive, thank you. Is it smaller than the I frame?

 

[Captain Nice]

I'm not sure if this would be of any interest to you but I have a link for you to follow and a story to tell.

Many years ago my next door neighbor who was an NYPD officer came to me with a request. He knew I was into guns and shooting. He reached into his pocket pulled out and handed me a little Colt Pocket Positive Revolver with a 2 inch barrel in .32 caliber. My heart stopped, the little gun was in immaculate condition, not a mark on it. No burn rings on the face of the cylinder, not even a turn ring on the cylinder. He told me he was given the little gun by his father-in-law who was a retired NYPD officer. He asked me if I could clean and oil it for him. It certainly didn't need cleaning, as far as I could tell it had never been fired. I said okay I'll get it back to you ASAP. I took it down to my basement workshop and inspected the gun working the action. It seemed a little stiff and I wondered what was causing it. I very very carefully removed the side plate and what I found was the action was packed with dark blue lint. I carefully removed all of the lint with a tweezer. The action was completely void of any lubrication. I lightly lubricated the internals with Hoppes gun oil and replaced the side plate. I went next door, knocked on his door and returned the gun to him. I also showed him the dark blue lint that I removed from the action. He laughed and explained that his Father-in-law carried the gun as a backup in the pocket of his duty winter woolen over coat and that’s where the dark blue lint came from. I could only imagine how many years his Father-in-law walked the beat with this little gem in his pocket. My neighbor is since retired from the NYPD and has moved away with his family. That is the last I saw of this little beauty.

Here is a link to the exact gun on Gunbroker. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same gun I'm talking about in this post. Take a look at the starting bid and the buy now price. It's probably out of sight for most of us. I'm almost tempted to place a bid on it myself but I would have a lot of explaining to do to my wife.

CN

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/944938946

 

[dahermit]

I have one such gun. S&W L frame (flat mainspring instead of coiled like a J frame), in .32 S&W Long. A joy to shoot.

I made this full-flap holster with which to carry it when I am out in my woods.

 

[Drm50]

Shooter in S&W can be had at $400 for a nice one. I put Target grips on the small frame Colt and S&Ws, makes them much nicer to shoot. However for same money in S&W shooter grads can be had on bigger frame models.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

If you want a Colt Police Positive chambered for 32 S&W Long aka 32 Colt New Police, you are going to have to go with a Pocket Positive. The standard Colt Police Positive was a larger gun and it was never chambered for 32 S&W Long. The Colt Police Positive special was chambered for 32-20 but that was a considerably larger gun than a Pocket Positive.

The three revolvers in this photo, top to bottom are an I frame S&W 32 Regulation Police, chambered for 32 S&W Long; a Colt Pocket Positive, chambered for 32 S&W Long; and a tiny Colt Pocket Positive chambered for 32 Short Colt, which is no longer manufactured

The Smith is a little bit bigger than the Colt Pocket Positive, but has been mentioned the grip of a Regulation Police is extended a little bit more than on most I frame revolvers.

This photo shows two Colt Police Positive Specials at the top, and the 32 caliber Pocket Positive at the bottom so you can compare the sizes. The standard Colt Police Positive was chambered for 38 S&W, not 38 Special. Unfortunately I do not have one for you to see the size comparison, but the Colt Police Positive Special was built on the same basic frame as the Police Positive, but the cylinder and frame were stretched slightly to accommodate the longer 38 Special cartridge.

Just so you know, Colt patented the Positive Lock in 1905, which incorporates a hammer block that will prevent the revolver from firing if dropped onto the hammer with a live round under the hammer. All the Colts with the name Positive in them employed this lock. Stay away from the earlier New Pocket Model, it did not have the Positive Lock inside.




This photo shows the detail of the grip of an I frame Smith and Wesson Regulation Police. The slightly longer wooden grip was inletted to 'fit around' the smaller metal grip frame. If you look at the bottom of one of these grips you will see S&W patented it in 1917, and because the wood covered the bottom of the metal grip frame, the serial number was located on the front of the metal grip frame.

The S&W Regulation Police was available as a six shot 32 (32 S&W Long) or a five shot 38, 38 S&W, not 38 Special. The revolver at the top of this photo is a 38 Regulation Police, a 32 Regulation Police is at the bottom.

This photo shows a J frame 22/32 Kit Gun and an I frame 32 Regulation Police for a size comparison.

One more photo. A K Frame S&W, this one happens to be a 32-20, and the smaller I frame 32 Regulation Police.

Prices: I paid $400 for a S&W 38 Regulation Police a bunch of years ago. Probably paid about the same for a 32 Regulation Police. The 32 Police Positives are not falling off of trees, but I probably paid about $500 for that one a bunch of years ago. No idea what they are going for today.

 

[RoyceP]

Colt also made the excellent Officer's Model in several variations from the 1930's - 1960's in 32 S&W Long (32 Colt New Police). They are great little guns, sharing the same mechanicals as the Police Positive.

 

[jrothWA]

Recommend you avoid the "I" Frames, as parts are sparse.

The Model 31-1 is a "J" frame and available is the .32 S&W Lg., acquired one for wife and she likes it but decided to get a LCP ez-cock in .22LR.

I'll carry the 31-1, when we travel ,just to have commonality of a firearm.

Other than that minimum is J-frame is .38Spl. or 4" .38Spl / 9MM.

Acquired some .32 S&WL in 100 gr wadcutters and saw a "U-TUBE" where the wadcutters fired in toBallistic gelatin made 13.5" depth.

 

[dahermit]

Recommend you avoid the "I" Frames, as parts are sparse.

I have never had a part that broke on any S&W revolver. It is more likely that an owner of any S&W revolver lose or damage a part than to have one break. In that case, if they do not know what they are doing, leave the internals alone and "problem" solved.

 

[Captain Nice]

I have never had a part that broke on any S&W revolver.

I have had two hammer studs break on S&W J frame revolvers while firing them with standard .38 Special ammunition. I had to send them both back to S&W for repair. I disposed of both of them after receiving them back from S&W, really ugly repairs. I have also had parts break on other manufacturers, Colt, Walther and High Standard. Parts will break during normal usage no matter who the manufacturer is.

 

[zeke]

a pic of 30-1 3 in, no idea what they go for.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"The standard Colt Police Positive was a larger gun and it was never chambered for 32 S&W Long."

Uhm... You sure about that?

I've seen Police Positive revolvers chambered for the .32 Police cartridge, which is most decidedly the .32 S&W Long.

There are several shown on this page: https://www.oldcolt.com/collections/colt-police-postive

 

[Mike Irwin]

"I have one such gun. S&W L frame (flat mainspring instead of coiled like a J frame), in .32 S&W Long. A joy to shoot. "

That's an I frame.

The L frame is the beefed up K frame with a full lug barrel.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Years ago I picked up my circa 1920s Regulation Police I frame and it made a weird rattling sound.

When I pulled the grips the mainspring fell out in two pieces. It snapped right where the strain screw bore on it.

Easy replacement.

 

[dahermit]

"I have one such gun. S&W L frame (flat mainspring instead of coiled like a J frame), in .32 S&W Long. A joy to shoot. "

That's an I frame.

The L frame is the beefed up K frame with a full lug barrel.

Whoops! Of course you are correct. While I have a couple of "L" frames, my .32 S&W Long is an "I" frame. I waxed old and now make a lot of errors.

 

[jar]

I really enjoy my Police Positive but it's in 34S&W. Still far softer shooting than 38 Special.

 

[TruthTellers]

OP here, sorry for lack of involvement in this topic, been busy. General question I guess I should have asked in the first post: is the I frame or Pocket Positive significantly small enough to make it worth buying over a J frame? The entire interest in this isn't just because of the .32 caliber, it's also the added uniqueness of the revolver.