32 H&R Mag

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I once shot a cylinder full of .327 Feds from a S&W J-frame ultra light, Ti Cyl and all, IIRC. It
was nice, didn't notice any particularly obnoxious noise or flash, but it was not my gun and I
it was a guy's carry load, not sure what it was. Shot nicely, good group at 12 yds in a hurry.

Yeah, here it is... OH, wait...it is .32 H&R Magnum, not .327 Fed Mag.


Bill
 
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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
That is a huge difference Bill. The 32H&R “magnum” is loaded to around 38 Special +P loading while the 327 Federal is well over 357 Mag pressures.

I am sure the 327 Federal is an ear buster with no plugs.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
My wish list is for the J frame field guns to return. At one point Smith made J frames with 4" and I believe up to 6" barrels and adjustable sights. I saw one in 38 Spec once, just once, with what I was told was a 4" barrel but it looked like a 5 to me. And yes, adjustable sights and yes, it was blued as I prefer. In a moment of major stupidity I walked away from it! Not a fan of stainless at all. A 4" Kit Gun in 32 Long or Federal would suit me fine. I don't need the 327 and I imagine it would need a longer cylinder, but if it was my only choice I'd take it. I've been looking for a Smith 30 or 31 for decades to slap an adjustable sight on but the sole example I've seen was a 2 incher. My K32 isn't bad to carry in a holster but it's not like my little 22 Kit Gun. Some guns are just handy and the J frame fits the bill in my book.

Actually, if Smith came out with new guns like I want I'm not sure I'd buy one simply becasue the latest Smiths I've seen have been "techno-ed" out into heavy, somewhat crude for the price monstrosities. Maybe as was mentioned, if some big wholesaler had a special run of field type guns made, sans safeties and green sights, etc, I'd spring for one. But a stainless, under lugged, heavy barreled, drilled and tapped for scope mount with fixed glow in the dark, neon green front sight Frankengun doesn't appeal. Light and easy to carry, that's the ticket. Smith knows or knew how to build them accurate, now they need to dispense with the "bling"!
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Ask and ye shall receive, Bret....if you lay down enough Benjamins.
In this case about seven by the time you pay shipping to your FFL.
If you can stand the bump up to .38 Special/.357. I wouldn't be shooting
many magnums in it, for sure.


These days, that is a pretty reasonable price, actually.

Bill
 
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CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
The operating pressures for the 32 H&R Mag are in the 21K PSI ZIP Code. The 327 Federal runs at 46K PSI, topped out. They are VERY different animals. In a heavier 32 H&R Mag like my S&W Model 16-4 you can probably bump the pressures up a bit; that 21K PSI ceiling was meant for the H&R variants chambered in the caliber. Once you actually own and shoot either caliber, it doesn't take long to figure out that 1) you won't be hunting deer with it and 2) with 9mm and 38 Special belly-guns made in some depth the 327 as felon repellent is kind of silly. I can only imagine the effects of one of the Ruger LCRs getting used as a goblin stopper--whether the target lives or dies, he will be deafened and his eyebrows and eyelashes will be singed off.

The 32s of all intensities are sports guns. The Kit Gun concept as described by Bret is semi-met by the SP-101 x 4.2", but I DEFINITELY need to do something about that green Ray-Bar Rooney-gun front sight. If I could locate a 4" Model 31 or 30, the SP-101 would be sold in a Detroit second and the brass and ammo given away to some deserving Henry rifle or Ruger revolver owner. I don't see S&W ever wanting any part of the caliber, other than as a belly gun.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
The Ruger has caught my eye more than once Al. But I keep coming back to the sticking points- crappy sights, a platform sized for a 357 and it weighs a (relative) ton. Same problem I've had with all Ruger DA's since the end of the Security Six. Put a Jframe adjustable sight on a 31 with a standard 4" barrel and then you have a field gun.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
........................I am sure the 327 Federal is an ear buster with no plugs.

Without making a whole story of it, in a 5.5"(?) Blackhawk, I thought it was rather shrill. Shooting it for any length of time would put me in a really foul mood.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Without making a whole story of it, in a 5.5"(?) Blackhawk, I thought it was rather shrill. Shooting it for any length of time would put me in a really foul mood.

A 9 1/2" Single Six Magnum with 32 Mags at warp speed darn near deafened me. It was right on the heels of a hot loaded 32-20 IMO. I imagine the 327 is more of the same.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Pretty much a close race between the 30 Carbine Blackhawk and the 327 Federal full-tilters with 4.2" barrel. Given the SP-101's shorter barrel and slightly higher working pressures, I think the 327 cops the prize. Both calibers tame nicely at the 850-900 FPS level, though.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I would have to look to see what I loaded my 32 H&R with but it wasn’t over 1000 FPS. No need to go fast, it wasn’t gonna matter to a tin can.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
One mould I have used a bit with 32 H&R and 327 Federal is Lyman #313631. I think its nomenclature was meant to correspond to the nice little S&W Model 631 Kit Guns made in 32 Magnum in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s. It would not hurt my feelings one bit to run across one of these at a fair price. The bullet is a 100 grain SWC with a small meplat and gas check base. Gas checks seem kinda costly/decadent and superfluous with the fine RCBS 32-98-SWC that shoots so well at varying velocities, but what the heck--the mould was reasonably-priced.

The bullet's initial test drives were not promising--sized @ .314" for the throats, velocities of 900 FPS produced mediocre accuracy, using the same powder/weight that shot so well with the RCBS. GMBTA. I continued with stair-stepped loads with the WW-231 that the Manual stated should produce 1000--1100--and 1200 FPS. The short version--the faster I ran these Lymans, the more accurately they grouped at 25 yards. GMBTA. again.
One of those quirks of the combination that I filed in the back of my mind--The Lymans Like It Warmed Up Some--in the 16-4 x 6", at least.

A number of years go by, and the SP-101 joins the herd. The RCBS bullet behaves as well as it has in every other 32 caliber wheelgun and rifle I have run it in--delightfully. I put together 100 rounds of stepped loads in the 327 brass with the Lyman bullet. I was in terra incognita with the 327 at that time, but I just did "32 H&R + 15%" with Herco to see what would happen. I actually guessed it pretty closely, and the first 25 rounds ran about 1050 FPS and grouped pretty well. 25 each at 1125 FPS, 1225 FPS and 1300 FPS followed, and the accuracy was decent regardless of velocity--as long as it ran pretty fast. So this bullet trait "held" in a second gun by a different maker. And were those high-order loads ever LOUD.

What's it all mean? I dunno, apart from the bullet behaves better going faster. When I stop and ponder that 100 30 caliber gas checks for Lymans #313631 or #311316 run close to $4 these days, I momentarily bate my breath--but soon recall that I am no longer living on Top Ramen and iced tea 4 days before pay day, and my pulse rate lowers a bit. Thrift is a hard reflex to overcome.

For my uses in a 32 revolver, one of the post-war S&W Models 30 or 31 x 4" would be just as useful as the SP-101. The postwar models can manage loads running 100 grainers at 900-950 FPS without strain or decreased service life. This will likely be my load range for the 32 H&R and the 327, so the Lyman bullet will get relegated to July 4 celebrations in the desert or attempts to set off earthquakes in fault zones. There might be a time and a place for 1400 FPS loads from 30 and 32 revolvers, but small game and small varmints don't need all of that fuss, bother, and eardrum drilling.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
The 631 Smith is one of those unobtanium guns I've only seen in pictures. Like so many other myths, I'm not really sure they have any foundation in fact. But, as with so many other things, I continue to hold out hope that one day I'll stumble onto one. No doubt I will have just spent my very last sheckle on a Happy Meal or another tool to replace the one I lost and will find in 3 days and I will go home empty handed!

I believe I have a 311631 in the herd here. I don't think I've ever even warmed it up, another of those "I'll use it someday." purchases.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Not unobtanium, Bret, just SS. :)
Probably very few actually manufactured, and folks hanging on to them.

If you can stand fixed sights there are a few out there in the airweight 332 or the
SS 632.


This is actually a cheap price, but will certainly go higher.


Bill

Bill
 
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Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Even 3" is too short for a field gun. I have a 3" 44 Spec and it could stand another inch or two to make sighting easier. Why the idea that a 32 should be a belly gun just doesn't click for me.

I won't even touch on the apparent belief that all guns must be stainless now...
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Even 3" is too short for a field gun. I have a 3" 44 Spec and it could stand another inch or two to make sighting easier. Why the idea that a 32 should be a belly gun just doesn't click for me.

I won't even touch on the apparent belief that all guns must be stainless now...
Darn, and I lusted after a friend's Model 60-4 for years and just this late Winter he relented in an effort to garner some cash to go to Tulsa with. 3" adjustable sights, round butt, stainless .38 special. I thought I'd found the perfect little field companion. Now I find out that 3" is too short and stainless is superfluous. Oh well, I'll just muddle along with imperfection.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Have several short barreled handguns, all in .4X, and all suitable for carry and self defense purposes. Can't see a .32 anything in a short barreled SD gun since I can get a .38 or even 9mm in an equally compact package. I would love to have a 5" .32 something on a J-frame size gun - a few years back S&W offered the same thing in .357 mag, the platform could handle it. I do like stainless guns for lots of reasons but offer me a blued gun for free and I'll take it.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I line up behind the 4" barrel idea for a field and sport revolver. S&W is WAY GONE on the belly gun concept, that niche is the only one they fill comprehensively. I get that--CCW is expanding, it sells. But so too are other handgun venues, and not every sideiron is intended to go in harm's way.
Nor should they. Self-defense and home defense are serious matters, and the 32 S&W Long and the 32 H&R Mag are not serious calibers for stopping 2-legged predators. Placing such marginal calibers in short-barreled platforms adulterates their power even more. NO--just NO. 38 Special needs to be a "floor" caliber for goblin-stopping. The 38 Special is marginal enough already. ENOUGH with the 2"-barreled 22 LR, 22 WMR, and 327 Federal S&Ws and Rugers--put some usable barrel lengths and decent sights on your wares, and start serving the sports and field shooters again. And make the arms from blued carbon steel and stainless steel--NOT some ultra-lightweight uber-metal of dubious parentage.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
My bet is that for new handgun purchases, CCW weapons are by far the largest current market
segment.
They build what sells. And some older/smaller shooters need a CCW gun and cannot handle much in the
way of recoil. I have seen this in training classes. A .22 WMR in your pocket beats harsh language
by a lot. Esp since about 90% of all self defense gun "uses" involve zero shots fired. Perp
sees the error in his victim selection process writting on the muzzle and instantly butt cheeks
and elbows disappearing in the distance are the view. In those cases, number of rounds in
the gun, caliber, velocity and bullet design are all irrelevant.
My bet is now there are 25 CCW or home defense pistols sold for every 'field gun' being sold.

Bill
 
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