H&R .32 Mag Revolvers, Good or Bad?

[CWLONGSHOT]

Ruger also makes there lil half syn revolver the LCR in 327. But Id like to see a lil longer bbl.

Charco is supposed to re release a 327. But I dont know id trust one again.

If ya got deeper pockets a Freedom Arms makes a BEAUTIFUL REVOLVER.

 

[Bret4207]

I wish Ruger would make a 32 on the Bearcat frame, even if it was a 5 shot 32 Long, with an adjustable sight. THAT would be a peach!!!

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have seen one of those too!!


Jeff and Bode Quinn had a custom bearcat some years back too. Pricy!!

CW

 

[CZ93X62]

My thoughts, as a Mid-Caliber Maniac.......

Go 327, and go Ruger--unless S&W loses their snubgun fixation and puts out a serviceable K-frame or L-frame 327 variant in 4" and 6" barrel lengths. I have an SP-101 in 327 with the 4.25" barrel, and it is a peach. Just be aware that ANY 30-32 caliber handgun running bullets past 900 FPS will be VERY LOUD. With full-snort 327s, that 4.25" SP-101 is louder than my 30 Carbine Blackhawk. I cannot imagine the Donner und Blitzen an LCR in 327 would provide--it might set off earthquakes in fault zones.

 

[Bret4207]

IMO it seems the gun makers produce handguns that are generally way larger than they need to be. Seriously, a 22, 22Mag or 32 on a J or Bearcat frame is plenty big enough. Put some decent sights on it, offer it in at least a 3.5 -4" barrel and there ya go. Smith made a nice J frame 38 spec with adj sights and a 5 or 6" barrel some years (decades?) back, I saw and handled one, lovely field gun. Ruger is probably the worst in this respect. The Security Six was great, the GP100 is too freakin' heavy, even if it is about indestructible.

I'll have to get a pic of my Iver Johnson 6" 32 Long. There's a great start. Use modern metals and get some real sights on it and you'd have a peach of field gun.

I know, I represent a tiny, tiny portion of the gun buying public and what I want probably wouldn't sell. But a guy can dream!

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Unless Im mistaken Ruger made or is making a longer barrel bear cat now. 22 lr only but I tend to agree. The 32 is a natural for many "22" sized guns and the svelte feel and look is very pleasant.

The 327 is top pressure magnum so its no slouch and as stated very very loud. I found some 70g xtp bullets made for the 32 acp and a load that seemed quite excessive. I approached with caution and it was fine but WOW the noise was just sharp loud and cracking velocity from my 5.5" was more then Id like to post. Surprisingly accuracy was also good.
Id love ta see what it would do to a coyote.

CW

 

[Bret4207]

About what a hot loaded 32-20 will do- DEAD coyote, provided you hit them in the vitals. I shot a coyote with the Mini-14 using soft points 20 years ago, hit him way back sadly. Hit them wrong and they just wrong off, even with a 223.

 

[CZ93X62]

I haven't had much time with H&R handguns. One that I recall fondly was a Model 999, a nine-shot top-break 22 LR. That critter was rock-solid in lock-up and accuracy. A variant of that model was made for a time in 32 S&W Long, and don't you know it--I would snag one (with 4"-6" barrel) in a hot second. I think they were 6-shot top-breaks, though I only saw them in catalogs in the early-to-mid-1970s. The one I fired belonged to a friend I worked with at the feed mill (c. 1975), and we banged away with it after a deer hunt in Cleghorn Canyon east of I-15.

 

[Bret4207]

999's are collectors items these days. They were 12-15 years ago, the older ones especially. I think they ended production in the 80's. Seemed like every trapper and woods bum I knew had a 999.

 

[CZ93X62]

Lalo's H&R 999 was a very nice revolver.

I was invited on a hunt with Lalo and his brothers over a 3-day weekend in October 1975. The 4 of them were HUNTING FANATICS, and they were afield from dawn to dark--all three days. That trip was the ONLY time I saw two deer taken in one day by a party I hunted with. Those guys hunted hard, mostly drive hunting, pushing deer off their beds all day. 4 deer in 3 days between us--another "First & Only".

 

[John]

I had a Charter Arms 327 Patriot Target and decided the 32 Single Six Mag was all I needed in a 32. I bought a 32 H&R CA Professional a while back, 3" Black nitrate and sent it back after the first range trip. It wouldn't cock n DA mode. I got it back 6 or 7 weeks later and have no problems with it. President of CA is on record that they will not make another gun in 327 Fed.
I agree that the H&R guns are too soft. I like the 32 Long with a lee swc and 2.5 gr Bullseye. If I got a screaming deal on an H&R I might boost that a little but not go full 32 Mag. I really see the efficiency of a 100 gr bullet at 750-850 fps vs a 22 lr from a handgun.

 

[Bret4207]

Well said. Trying to turn a 32 into a 357 is wasted effort IMO. The 32 S+W Long was plenty for anything IMO. If I'm carrying for SD it's probably going to be something else entirely. People seem to have forgotten a handgun is more than just a SD or Rhinoceros hunting gun these days.

 

[CZ93X62]

What Bret said in #32. Here comes the heresy.......

The 32 S&W Long is a fine field and small game/small varmint caliber. It is far more humane than the 22 LR for this purpose, IMO. (I REALLY DISLIKE round nose bullets for animated targets). I like to run that 98 grain RCBS SWC at 850-950 FPS for this use, the OEM 98 grain RN @ 700-725 FPS leaves much to be desired. This is relatively light work for the 32 H&R Magnum or the 327 Federal. Such loads are likely safe in Colt or S&W 32 S&W Long revolvers made after WWII as well, in small or medium frame examples. In some ways, the 327 Federal is rather superfluous, but if down-loaded from its Donner und Blitzen factory load levels it can be a very tractable field cartridge. Henry makes their leverguns in 327 Federal, and by doing so they have re-invented the 32/20 HV from the era of Win 1892s and Marlin 1894s. Back To The Future we go.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I cast up a couple hundred of this Lyman 85g Wadcutter (type three)



Its a darn cute lil booger too!



CW

 

[Bret4207]

What Bret said in #32. Here comes the heresy.......

The 32 S&W Long is a fine field and small game/small varmint caliber. It is far more humane than the 22 LR for this purpose, IMO. (I REALLY DISLIKE round nose bullets for animated targets). I like to run that 98 grain RCBS SWC at 850-950 FPS for this use, the OEM 98 grain RN @ 700-725 FPS leaves much to be desired. This is relatively light work for the 32 H&R Magnum or the 327 Federal. Such loads are likely safe in Colt or S&W 32 S&W Long revolvers made after WWII as well, in small or medium frame examples. In some ways, the 327 Federal is rather superfluous, but if down-loaded from its Donner und Blitzen factory load levels it can be a very tractable field cartridge. Henry makes their leverguns in 327 Federal, and by doing so they have re-invented the 32/20 HV from the era of Win 1892s and Marlin 1894s. Back To The Future we go.

A 32 cal SWC, WC or FN at about 900 fps is about perfect for a field gun for anything this side of deer. I love my 38's, 357's, 44's and 45's. I love my 22's and 22 Mag. But a light 32 revolver will do all I want while wood cutting or haying or whatever and it won't give me ringing ears or weigh me down. Way more than a 22LR, less than a 357 or big bore, funner than a 38. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Love, love, love my 22 Magnums.
My woods stomper was a S&W 651 for a long time. I dont know why I sold it.... But a Single Six 32 H&R replaced it. I found it lacking, but it sure killed Snow Shoes well enough. I enjoyed the gun its size and how it carried.
I was late to the party in '08 when the 327 Super Mag made its debut but today I have two and they are a dandy!!

CW

 

[Bret4207]

I have a Smith K frame 22 Mag, M-48 maybe? Missed it once and grabbed it when it came back to the same shop a few years later. Gorgeous piece, I'm afraid to carry it out in the field.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have a Smith K frame 22 Mag, M-48 maybe? Missed it once and grabbed it when it came back to the same shop a few years later. Gorgeous piece, I'm afraid to carry it out in the field.

Yup thats a good one!! Never owned that model.

 

[Bret4207]

I wouldn't have it but for some stars aligning once in a trillion years! She's a sweety.

 

[Snakeoil]

I suspect that the .32 got a lot of attention when the gamers that eventually entered Cowboy Action found the game and were looking for a way to fire quickly and with rapid recovery, meaning low recoil. I'm sure that is why Ruger initially jumped into the game. Up until CAS came along, .32 was a dying caliber for good reason. The .38 could be loaded down and the .357 delivered the goods when you needed it. The .32 was an also-ran with no practical purpose. A .22 served as well as a .32 for much lower ammo costs when it came to plinking or a sidearm for walks in the woods and fishing where dangerous critters were not a concern.

That all said, there is something to be said for a break-top pistol. Not sure why, but I always wanted an H&R breaktop in .22. Just something about them.

regards,
Rob