[VN Vet]

I recently purchased a very good condition 1951 Colt Cobra Ser#65xxLW. I also purchased a box of MAGTECH .32 S&WL, 98gr SJHP ammunition just to have it around.

I notice that when the cylinder is loaded, there is much room available in the chamber like there is when chambering .38 spl in a .357 mag firearm.

I bought the little Cobra mostly for any collector value it may have someday, because I collect Colts and because I may just want to carry it to church on Sundays.

Was this, or is this normal for this revolver to have this extra space in the chamber?

Or, is there a higher powered cartridge that is suitable in the Cobra that uses this extra space?

 

[Malysh]

That's the way they were designed. Nothing to worry about.
Don't shoot any modern 32 magnums from this gun. I don't think they would fit in the cylinder anyway, but I just want to make sure you don't do something wrong.
You can shoot ammo marked 32 S&W (short or long) and ammo marked 32 Colt New Police Ctg. They are identical except the Colt bullet weighs about 5 grs. more.

 

[VN Vet]

Thank you. I suspected such. I'm sure Colt had a reason for doing the longer than needed chamber length. Maybe the same cylinder was used for both the .32 NP and the .38 spl with the difference being the bore of the chambers. OK, that makes sense to me.

 

[Malysh]

Here's a link to some testing I did with two 32 ammo brands.

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/rel...t-new-police-32-s-w-long-rem-32-s-w-long.html

 

[smkummer]

Pre-war police positives used the shorter cylinder of the police positive for 38S&W and 32 Colt New Police (32 S&Wlong). After the war, the short cylinder gun was dropped and for the few guns requested in 32 S&Wlong and 38 S&W, they just used the longer cylinder of the police positive special.