Getting back in the 32 caliber game

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Agreed the 327 can get quite noisy!! I classify as a DOUBLE EAR PRO caliber.

But I tend to skip past the 32 H&R to the Long. It just works best for me for most all Id use the caliber for.

CW
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Once past 900-950 FPS, all of the 30/32 caliber pistols and revolvers have a pretty shag-nasty report. In my 32 Magnum and 327 Federal revolvers, the RCBS 32-95-SWC bullet run at 900 FPS is wonderfully accurate and not such an eardrum drill as the full-snort loads in those calibers. Not having a "strong" 32 S&W Long on hand, I load most the the Mags and 327s as "32 SWL +P" as above.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
UPDATE:
The weather has been rather unpleasant, but I did manage to get a little trigger time in with the 32’s the other day.

I’ve got the 32ACP load dialed in and I will be adding this load to my permanent list of “Standard Loadings”.

Bullets are provided by the Accurate 31-075H mold (brass, 4 cavity). Sized .311” and White Label 50/50 lube. With my alloy those are running about 76 grains. Seated to an OAL of roughly .965” over 2.2 grains of Bullseye with a little taper crimp.
DSCN0011.JPG
DSCN0018.JPG

The Beretta Model 81 runs like a Swiss watch with that load and shoots to P.O.A. with almost monotonous regularity. The credit goes to Outpost75.
DSCN0121.JPG

I have long been a fan of Beretta pistols and the Model 81 is only serving to reinforce that respect. That caliber would not be my first choice for self-defense and the gun is too big to be a pocket pistol, but it sure is FUN!
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
My carry gun is a .32 acp loaded hot with Michael's 75 Grain Ranch Dogs!
10 yards and less it is excellent out of a cheap JA-32!
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
My carry gun is a .32 acp loaded hot with Michael's 75 Grain Ranch Dogs!
10 yards and less it is excellent out of a cheap JA-32!
When the 32 ACP, AKA 7.65mm Browing Short, is loaded to its full potential, it can work rather well.
For me it's just a fun plinker but I knew a man that carried a Colt pistol in that caliber and he could put those bullets exactly where he wanted and he could do it very quickly, every time. He could have carried any gun he wanted and he was an excellent marksman. Despite all of the options, he was perfectly happy with the 32ACP.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
UPDATE:
The weather has been rather unpleasant, but I did manage to get a little trigger time in with the 32’s the other day.

I’ve got the 32ACP load dialed in and I will be adding this load to my permanent list of “Standard Loadings”.

Bullets are provided by the Accurate 31-075H mold (brass, 4 cavity). Sized .311” and White Label 50/50 lube. With my alloy those are running about 76 grains. Seated to an OAL of roughly .965” over 2.2 grains of Bullseye with a little taper crimp.
View attachment 28672
View attachment 28673

The Beretta Model 81 runs like a Swiss watch with that load and shoots to P.O.A. with almost monotonous regularity. The credit goes to Outpost75.
View attachment 28674

I have long been a fan of Beretta pistols and the Model 81 is only serving to reinforce that respect. That caliber would not be my first choice for self-defense and the gun is too big to be a pocket pistol, but it sure is FUN!
My shooting buddy and I both bought them when they were $200 and the LGS ordered six more and sold then in less than a month. I wonder what they are bringing now?
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
My shooting buddy and I both bought them when they were $200 and the LGS ordered six more and sold then in less than a month. I wonder what they are bringing now?
I missed the rock bottom $200 price and paid a bit more. It was still a good deal and the pistol was in excellent condition. Maybe even unfired.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I missed the rock bottom $200 price and paid a bit more. It was still a good deal and the pistol was in excellent condition. Maybe even unfired.
Mine wasn't that nice, but very good. I watched the video of them being uncrated, just dumped into a container with a couple of hundred in each. I always like to have one spare magazine and that was $50.
 

todd

Well-Known Member
my dad had a spanish ruby in 7.65 browning (32 browning) given to him by his dad when he died. it was heavy for a little pistol and luckily it had the same magazine type (the same manufacturer). he traded it for another gun tho.
 

Walks

Well-Known Member
For A lot of years I carried a PP in .32ACP. But that was 35yrs ago. These days it's a #311252 over some Bullseye, just for paper punching and plinking. It was only about $125 back then.
I do like that Beretta M81
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
The gun used to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand was probably a FN model 1910 chambered in 380 Auto, not 32 ACP as is commonly reported.

From the following source:
"...The four pistols that Dimitrijevicˇ purchased in Belgrade were all in .380 caliber. Tracing the firearms used in the assassination indicated a link between the Serbian government, the Black Hand and the conspirators: A Serbian official was personally involved, which lead to the assassination being considered an act of war.

Pistol No. 19075 was present as evidence during the trial. It was also noted that Cˇabrinovicˇ’s pistol was not present. A period photograph taken at the trial shows only two pistols with magazines and ammunition. There is no conclusive period information that confirms which pistol Princip used, although this too has now been sensationalized with some authors listing one number as the definitive gun that fired the fatal shots...."




In any event, it worked.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
That article will not open.

At the time of the event, the gun was widely reported to be "A Browning". At that time in Europe, the generic term for ANY semi-auto pistol was "Browning". Since the model 1900 was hugely successful and widely distributed, it was often assumed the pistol was a model 1900 and therefore a 32 ACP [7.65 Browning short]. However, it does appear tbe assasssins were in fact armed with newer model 1910 pistols, all chambered in 380 Auto.
Considering that Princip was arrested seconds after the shots were fired and the pistol used was recovered, it's likely the news reporters simply got it wrong when they identified the gun as a 32. The press has NEVER been known to get gun details correct, even in those days.
 
Last edited:

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
OK, shifting back to the 32 S&W Long, I continue to tweak the details and its paying off.

The 31-095W mold has proven to be a winner. This wadcutter bullet runs about 96 grains with my alloy and lubed with White Label 50/50.

Sized to .313" and seated to the crimp groove over 2.4 grains of Bullseye.

DSCN0040.JPGDSCN0041.JPG

Out of a 4" barrel S&W Model 31-1 it's right on the money.

2.2 grains of Bullseye was shooting a bit high (too slow) so I bumped up the powder charge slightly. I'm still well within safe territory for my revolver.

Had a small issue with the rotor for the RCBS "Little Dandy" powder measure that turned out to be completely my error. I put a #1 rotor in and the chart shows that should drop 2.5 Grains of Bullseye. I weighed the charge and it was 2 grains. It was a new rotor and I had wiped it down but overlooked the cavity. There was some oil in there and the powder stuck to that oil, effectively reducing the size of the cavity. After some head scratching, I found the problem. Cleaned the rotor, including the cavity, with some alcohol and reinstalled the clean & dry rotor.
It still was dropping a charge slightly below the stated amount (by 1/10 of a grain). But that turned out to be where I wanted it.
Learn something new every day.
 
Last edited: