does it lock up tight with the barrel and chamber aligned properly? that's a problem with these old revolvers. you will hear a lot of opinions about 32 s&w being underpowered for these old revolvers but if it was mine I wouldn't shoot it.

 

It seems to lock up securely and align properly. The timing appears to be correct too. I plan on having it looked over by a gunsmith prior to shooting it. I appreciate the response, thanks for the info.

 

If it locks up tight and indexes properly, why not shoot it? The ammo is rather low powered and the revolver was most likely made in the last century so made for smokeless powder. Most of these top break revolvers were priced accordingly to their quality but worked okay. The Premier is probably one of the better ones. I have one in .22 caliber that I used to shoot but after realizing that I could not see the sights and could not hit anything with it, I parked it in the safe.

 

+1 on Gazzers comments.
I have a few old top breaks. Most don't shoot very well.
But an old Iver Johnson 'hammerless' shoots great for me and to point of aim.
If it shoots well for you and you cast your on bullets and reload it is really cheap shooting.
Also great for 'one downsmanship' at the range.

 

I did a little researching. From what I found they started making these things to handle smokeless powder in 1905. The combination of patent dates indicates its the second variation which was made from 1906-1908 so I think it's safe to shoot smokeless powder ammo. I'll be sure to let everbody know how it shoots. Thanks for checking out my post.

 

This is my Iver Johnson from 1910. They look almost the same, but the Iver Johnson is in .38 S&W.


I just bought one of these H&R's too. It is also in .32. Very pretty little things. Mine probably can't be shot, it doesn't lock up too well, and the top latch does not close all the way. It is currently at the gunsmith to see if anything can be done.

 

Here's a better photo of the Iver Johnson.

 

have you fired that pistol yet?