.32 H&R

CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Thumbcocker said:
I, for one, am proud to enable another .32 addict.
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We do like to share The Kool-Ade, for certain.

Given all of the weird mods S&W has given their J- and L-frame offerings over the past couple decades, the absence of 5 shot 327 Federal J-frames and 7-shot 327 Federal L-frames is a poser for me. A 4.25" J-frame and/or a 6" L-frame would be right nice in the gun safe, and at indoor ranges they drive off the wanna-be mall ninjas and vatos with the reports. That 4" SP-101 is unexcelled at such recreations.
 
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hporter

hporter

Active Member
Watching the prices for Smith and Wesson .32 H&R mag J-frames on the online auction places really makes you wonder why S&W doesn't make a few small runs every now and again. They would sell out instantly, and I would be one of the first in line.

A K-frame or L-frame would be nice too. I have a Ruger GP-100 blued with a 5 inch barrel in .327 Mag, and it is a hoot to shoot. I also have one of the original run of .327 Mag GP100's with a 4" barrel. It is one of my favorites.

It doesn't make much sense, from a logical perspective, why someone would want such a small caliber in such a large gun. Until you handle and shoot one.....
 
Rally

Rally

NC Minnesota
I started with the sp101 in the .32 mag, traded that away on a deal for an outdoor wood stove. Can’t say I miss it with any heavy loading, just plain rude! Then came the Single Six, 4 5/8” bbl, which I still have but I always ended up shooting .32 S&W long loads,again because the heavy loads are just rude. I discovered the .32 SWL loads at around 700 fps, with the RCBS 32-98-Fp, does a great job of killing snared beaver and rarely exit, which is my primary target. I’m primarily a S&W fan and not crazy about single actions, but the Ruger sa served it’s intended purpose. Recently I purchased a pair of S&W 31-1’s in .32 SWL that should fill that slot for the rest of my days, and my wife’s who claimed the 3” 31-1.
I have never been a fan of rude calibers in handguns, and believe that .32 mag, .357, and .327 are better suited in rifles.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Rally said:
I started with the sp101 in the .32 mag, traded that away on a deal for an outdoor wood stove. Can’t say I miss it with any heavy loading, just plain rude! Then came the Single Six, 4 5/8” bbl, which I still have but I always ended up shooting .32 S&W long loads,again because the heavy loads are just rude. I discovered the .32 SWL loads at around 700 fps, with the RCBS 32-98-Fp, does a great job of killing snared beaver and rarely exit, which is my primary target. I’m primarily a S&W fan and not crazy about single actions, but the Ruger sa served it’s intended purpose. Recently I purchased a pair of S&W 31-1’s in .32 SWL that should fill that slot for the rest of my days, and my wife’s who claimed the 3” 31-1.
I have never been a fan of rude calibers in handguns, and believe that .32 mag, .357, and .327 are better suited in rifles.
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I would love to find a 4.25" SP101 chambered in 32 H&R Mag. I agree that the 32 H&R Mag can be rude when loaded to its full potential, but it is a very useful cartridge when downloaded to somewhere above 32 S&W Long and below max H&R mag levels.

I share your views on SA revolvers - I don't dislike them but I don't gravitate towards them. I did have the Ruger Single -Six in 32 H&R Mag and foolishly let it go.

The 32 S&W Long is a very good cartridge when expectations are aligned with its capability. With the right bullet and realistic expectations, it performs very well. A flat point, lead bullet around 95-100 grains is where you want to be. I really like the full wadcutter in that cartridge but the RCBS 32-98 SWC would be a close second for me.

The 32 S&W Long is a great plinking/informal target round and is a very useful small game round at appropriate ranges. The 32 H&R Mag, also with a 95-100 grain flat point bullet, corrects the minor deficiencies of the 32 S&W Long.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I too have a Ruger SSM. It wears the 9 1/2" barrel and, honestly, I've never been able to shoot any good groups with it. I ended up scoping it some years, (decades?), back with an old Bushnell Phantom 1.3X in a Weaver mount that took months to locate on Ebay. I still can't seem to find a load it likes. Or maybe it's the guy behind the trigger! I keep saying I'm going to lop the barrel off at 5" or so and put the irons back on. It was supposed to be a tractor/woodlot/trapping gun in the first place, something with more oomph! than the Smith 22lr Kit Gun. It was also the only SSM I've ever seen up here!
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Rally makes a good point about the 32s being eardrum drills once the velocities exceed 900 FPS. Rally's postwar Model 31-1s can very safely run the RCBS #32-98-SWC to 800-900 FPS; those remain polite and won't strain the J-frame 32s The I-frame pre-war and pre 1950 32 SWL models should not exceed 800 FPS.

Most of my 30 Carbine Blackhawk--32/20 revolver--and 32 SWL/Mag.327 loads run castings at 850 FPS or so. These remain polite and don't require plugs & muffs to tolerate. Every once in a while it is fun to light off some Lyman #313631 SWC/GC 100 grainers at 1550 FPS from the Carbine BH will AA-9 ball powder. It's like climbing Everest--WHY?--because it's THERE, and because I CAN. All the fuss & bother of the 44 Magnum and minimal recoil taxation and component consumption.

But rally has a sound point--the mid-calibers are RUDE, revolver or autopistol. 30 Luger and 30 Mauser/7.62 x 25 Tokarev are the way. Any hobby that turns money into noise and speed attracts me; I'll never grow up.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I've been reading old volumes of the Rifleman. Several articles on the 32-20 and getting the, to quote Marvin the Martian, "earth shattering boom" toned down. Everything from duplex loads to wadding to other weird stuff was tried. In the end it all appears to come down to how much powder you stuff behind the bullet. A mild load mimicking a 32 S+W Long just isn't going to be a loud/sharp as an Elmer Keith type load. The hard part, for me at least, is loading stuff down instead of trying to gain some yardage with velocity. The 32-20, 32 Mag, etc just aren't fun to shoot with out ears on. Of course I'm the dummy who took a shot at a crow with a 357 from INSIDE a field truck! My ears are still ringing!!!!!!!
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I do enjoy the 32/20 WCF cartridge. Once you accept its quirks and address them it can do some good work.

That a 140 year old black powder cartridge is still alive and kicking is saying something. Like many black powder cartridges, the 32/20 did not make the jump from The Holy Black to the smokeless fuels seamlessly. I could write for hours about this subject, but I'll summarize my experiences.

The late Ken Waters gave me my first 'Leg up' in dealing with this cartridge in revolvers. He wrote a column in Handloader entitled "The 32/20 WCF in Revolvers'. I consider this article to be the single-best guide to success in dealing with this cranky cartridge in a wheelgun. It goes into great detail about its quirks and inconsistencies, and I guide anyone who wants info about making this caliber behave itself to that very text. It is available in Mr. Water's tome Pet Loads, available at one time from Wolfe Publications.

Mr. Waters' 'Pet Load' for the 32/20 WCF revolver was 6.0 grains of now-out-of-print Dupont/IMR SR-4756 underneath a 115 grain-class lead bullet. SP primers were the spark plug; I have used both W-W and CCI SP primers with this load, and I see no significant difference between the two. At the time I set out with the 32/20 wheelguns more than 30 years ago I owned two of them--a Colt Bisley Model S/A x 4-3/4" and a Colt Police Positive Special x 4". The Bisley yielded about 925 FPS with this load, so I dialed back the load in the PPS to 5.5 grains; those clocked about 825-850 FPS. The lighter load was less obnoxious than the full-snort concoction.

I have swapped in Alliant's Herco for SR-4756 in 32/20 revolver loads now--reduce the max charge by 5% (from 6.0 x SR-4756 to 5.7 by Herco. These clock a similar 925 FPS from the Bisley and almost 1200 FPS in my Marlin 1894CCL using my 118 grain flatpoint 32/20 revolver bullet--the "MMSFT" design that drops at a few tenths over .315". (Mountain Molds Short Fat Thirty)

ETA--The single biggest upgrade to 32/20 WCF reloading has been the intro of Starline brass in this caliber.
 
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Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
It was Ken Waters that first clued me into the 32-20's odd habit of SHORTENING brass instead of stretching it. Why? No idea, but it does happen and it did to me. Really an odd thing!
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
32/20 chambers are completely out of whack--I don't believe any two are alike. They are like Duesenberg motorcars in that respect. My 1920 Colt Army Special will blow shoulders forward .040" every firing. Case life suffers, even the Starline brass.
 
L Ross

L Ross

Well-Known Member
CZ93X62 said:
32/20 chambers are completely out of whack--I don't believe any two are alike. They are like Duesenberg motorcars in that respect. My 1920 Colt Army Special will blow shoulders forward .040" every firing. Case life suffers, even the Starline brass.
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I'm trying to recall how I dealt with that in an old Steven's Model 44 I had in .32-20. If memory serves I neck sized my annealed .32-20 brass in .32 S&W or .32 Auto sizer die partially threaded into my press. Inserting the case mouth up to the newly created shoulder and never pushing it back. Of course this was for a single shot rifle, but brass life became eternal after that.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
CZ93X62 said:
32/20 chambers are completely out of whack--I don't believe any two are alike. They are like Duesenberg motorcars in that respect. My 1920 Colt Army Special will blow shoulders forward .040" every firing. Case life suffers, even the Starline brass.
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If I had any intestinal fortitude at all, my Army Special would have it's hog wallow top strap milled out for a J frame Smith adjustable sight. Been saying that for 20+ years, still haven't done it. That would make it a much more usable gun.
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
L Ross said:
I'm trying to recall how I dealt with that in an old Steven's Model 44 I had in .32-20. If memory serves I neck sized my annealed .32-20 brass in .32 S&W or .32 Auto sizer die partially threaded into my press. Inserting the case mouth up to the newly created shoulder and never pushing it back. Of course this was for a single shot rifle, but brass life became eternal after that.
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I have a Stevens 44 32-20 with a shot out barrel. Plan is to line it now that I have a lathe that is stiff enough to actually handle the barrel.
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Bret, I wouldn't know how to act with a decent set of sights on my fixed-sight rollerpistolas. The thought of having a 22 K-frame cylinder modded to fit the Model 16-4 occurs to me once in a while, but I can make the M&P and A/S hit well enough with OEM sights--a thing which numerous jackrabbits, a couple coyotes and one shagnasty badger can attest.

The 32/20 rifle is a VERY useful tool--esp. if it can safely manage 1892/1894-level loadings.
 
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