Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire S&W Ultimate Carry J Frame 432

How many 332’s were made? I hear they’re rare, but how rare? My copy of the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson hasn’t appeared yet since this last move.

Nope it is 32 H&R Mag . It was a small un cataloged run . 3" barrel with adjustable sights and Hougue Combat Grips.

I’ve seen the 4” adjustable sighted and 2” fixed sight Model 631. The only 3” with adjustable sights I’ve seen was the 632 Carry Comp with the tapered underlug barrel, that was ported, it was in .327 Federal introduced in 2010.

If you have a 3” Model 631 in .32 H&R Mag with adjustable sights I’d love to see a photo of it. I’ve seen most every other variation but not that one.

It's the stainless one.

But I believe 4 inch. The 632's (fixed sight) were 3inch.

150 rounds through the Lipsey's Ultimate Carry 432 .32 H&R J Frame with Lost River Ammo 100 grain Poly wadcutters.



Finally have a few minutes to sit down and post about shooting the 432 UC for the first time before I have to get to work cranking out ammo!

On Sunday I went out and shot 150 rounds. Dang wind was blowing. Some times it was calm, but there were some gusts that made life difficult to say the least. I lost my final target in the end.


I had brought along my S&W 442 and G21.5 w/RDO as well. I figured I would see how the recoil was, shooting the 442 and 432, shooting them side by side, with the 100 grain and 148 grain poly wadcutter loads.









My first six rounds at 15 yards with the 432:





I shot six more for a total of 12 rounds then decided to adjust the rear sight. The rear sight is dove tailed in and has a set screw. I had a screw driver set, Brownell's brass hammer, along with a brass rod in case I needed to tighten any loose screws or whatever.

So I loosened the set screw and went to adjust the rear sight in the dovetail. Ha! That sucker is soo tight in there! Good news bad news (not really that bad). I tapped on it a few times with the brass rod while sitting on the tailgate. The good things is that the rear sight is so perfectly fit in there that the odds of you losing your rear sight if the set screw comes loose are extremely slim. After tapping on it a number of times and it not budging, and knowing my propensity for totally screwing up very nice things and totally regretting it, I decided I would wait until I got him and use proper tools and do it right! Sometimes I do learn from my own previous mistakes....

I may have a 1911 that still looks like a dog chewed on the rear sight from me adjusting the rear sight at a match with a Leatherman and a rock..
Not going to do that this time!

So I went back to shooting.


I shot my 442 with the old trough sights and there is just no comparison. So I cheated and used the CT laser grips. I will say that with 20 years of using CT laser grips, and thousands of rounds, the little 442 will stack them still. The laser grips are a definite advantage if the light is in your favor, like being indoors or on overcast days.



I might consider some CT grips for the 432. The sights on the 432 are the best I have ever used on a J frame, no question about it, but having both would really be exceptional. I was considering this, but I REALLY like the shape of the grips on the 432. They are the best grips I have ever used on a stock J Frame. By a long shot.

So the wind started really picking up and I was having trouble keeping the IDPA target even stapled down. It finally blew off and I was unable to recover it. You can kind of see on the paper behind it how pretty consistent at 15 yards the .32 H&R was. To the upper left are some .38 148 grain WC holes as well, but the lower left are the main group from the 432.




In the end I had 3 boxes of 100 grain wadcutters through the 432. Pretty comfortable gun to shoot. Definitely a home run for Lipseys.

I shot the G21.5 after that at some rocks that I lasered in the mid 80 yards out to about 120 yards . That gun is a freaking tack driver. I am going to take it out on a nice day and set some steel up at extended distances and see what it can do. The Marksman barrels in the 5th Gen .45 guns are pretty exceptional.

I would have put some .45 on paper but my target I set aside for the G21 is probably in Wyoming by now...

250 rounds total now. Lipsey's 432 Ultimate Carry J Frame Lost River Ammo
Yesterday's weather was far nicer than the wind storm I tried to shoot in last Sunday.

I took my 432 UC and my G21.5 out to the range.

After adjusting the sights at home (purely guessing) I was back on the range to give it a try.

The first six rounds at 10 yards:

Once again, the ammo was my own making, these, which have been immensely popular:





The first 6 rounds after the initial sight adjustment:

Obviously my guess was not quite on the money..

I ended up splitting the difference and getting it closer to the center...






The HKS Speedloaders came in too, so I used those while I was on the range. It is interesting to note, that even though they hold 6 rounds of .32 compared to 5 of .38, they are still a tad bit smaller. Aside from visually noticing the difference, I could tell just by handling them and slipping them into my pocket.






Went to 7 yards and put a bunch into the target, shooting two handed.



Backed up to 10 yards and shot strong hand only, then weak hand only:



I had a few rounds left that I shot at some distant shotgun shells that were littered on the ground, and watched them fly off. At least the one that I hit..

So now I have 250 rounds through the gun. The sights are miles above the old school design of the traditional J Frame. There is no question about it. The .32 is quite comfortable to shoot. The recoil makes putting one hundred rounds through the gun an enjoyable experience.

So that is it until next time. Going to load up the speed loaders and carry at least one of those in my pocket when I carry the 432 as my BUG pocket gun.

I shot the G21.5 with the CH enclosed emitter RDO after that, with some real powerhouse test loads. Shooting through the chrono and at the target. I have to say that the G21 and CH are a fantastic combo.


Cheers all!

Stopped in today at my local shop. They had the matte blue .38 spl. version in stock. They were packed, so I didn't bother trying to wait my turn to get a look at it.

This shop is usually pretty good on pricing. For those interested in gun shop pricing, they had $700 on it.

350 rounds of 100 grain wadcutters through the Lipsey's 432UC!


Friends,

Today I went out to do some more T&E on a .45 ACP 250 grain Poly Coat +P load I have been working on. Absolute Hammer!

It has been running like a sewing machine through the Gen 5 G21. I took along an S&W 4506, as well as an H&K USP to use those as test beds and get velocity numbers.

The G21 is the clear favorite just as far as shooting comfort and ease of making fast hit BTW, but that is for another thread.





Anyways, while I was out, I ran 100 rounds through the Lipsey's 432UC.

I was shooting the same ammo as before. The 100 grain Lost River Ammunition Company poly coat wadcutters.

Such a great little gun. Finally got the sights centered to when I want them.

At 10 yards I was putting them right above the green dot. It is clear these sights are oriented for closer range defense type shooting, which is perfect for thi style gun. My 50+ year old eyes are not doing the gun justice when it comes to the gun/ammo combo and true mechanical accuracy combination potential.

I fired my first 12 and knew I had the sights right where I needed them in terms of windage adjustment.



Then I fired the rest for a total of 30 rounds. This was offhand at 10 yards.



Next I backed off to 25 yards to see how I would do. This is where it was obvious that my eyes are struggling with the irons. I was having a hard time getting a crisp picture. This is really where red dot sights and even laser grips have a pretty notable advantage if the conditions are right for them.

It was obvious (to me) that the gun and ammo is capable of far better. I was definitely limiting the performance here. Normally with an RDO on a revolver and sandbagged it is pretty easy to shoot little groups, but I was struggling. I know this gun is capable of much better. It shoot well, but I know a person who can see those iron sights clearly like I did in my 20s would have shot a much tighter group.




More to follow...

With 60 rounds down, and 40 to go, I brought it in closer.

I practiced between 3, 5 and 7 yards.

I shot both hands, strong and wrong hand only.

40 rounds into the head box.



At such close range, the gun was extremely easy to shoot a ragged hole for the most part.

That brought me to 100 rounds.

I did note that the trigger has lightened up. I don't have a trigger gauge, but it feels lighter than when it started by at least a couple pounds. It was already smooth, and now is just a bit smoother. Simply a great action on the gun. Extremely hard not to like.

With 350 rounds through the gun, I would say it is starting to break in nicely.

On an interesting note.

When I was done shooting, I noted how quite clean the gun was. If I had been shooting regular lead, there was no doubt, I would have had to of been breaking out the toothbrush and scrubbing on the gun. But the 432 is quite clean thanks to the poly coat projectiles. They are really hard to beat.

This is after 100 rounds.






All for now.

How are you liking the grip? I notice you haven't altered it for fit.

I really like the shape of the grips. Nice and hand filling but not too large.

Remarkably close to the same shape and size of the ones that I have and modified on my 442.




I may end up getting some Crimson Trace laser grips, and would likely modify them to fit my hands. The only reason is that my eyes have a tough time shooting iron sights with the precision that I was once capable of, and I prefer to be able to drive tacks with smaller guns. Being able to be extremely precise can make up for a lot of things in some situations. With m 442 and the laser grips I can really stack the rounds if the environment is such where the laser is visible, such as indoors or lower lighting conditions.

This is 5 shots at 7 yards (I think) the other day. The dot really helps.





The .38 Special 148 grain poly coat wadcutter load is obviously an accurate one.

Friends,

I went out yesterday and got in some more shooting. Had to test some more of the heavy .45 ACP +P 250 grain poly coat loads I have been working on, so I figured that it was a great opportunity to shoot the 432 as well.

There have been a couple people that I have read their posts out on the interwebs who wondered how it would perform at 50 yards. So I figured I would take this opportunity to give it a shot. I set up my bags across the tailgate of my old Land Cruiser. Then I walked the target out along with my laser rangefinder and set it at 50 yards.

Here were the results of the first 6 shots at 50 yards:



I had used an old IDPA target that I shot on previously so I just stuck the big white paper over the holes. As you can see it hit pretty well centered, with one a bit higher up and one low and left. The one low and left immediately made me start questioning things. "Did I do that, is it a gun thing, such as one chamber slightly off?", etc. However, knowing how it had shot the previous 350 rounds I highly doubted it was a gun issue and like 99% of the time, it was likely shooter error.

For the ADD-ADHD crowd, I will skip ahead on this one. It was me. I suck.


So I pasted some dots over the holes and fired another 6 shots.




5 out of 6 pretty darn close, and one a bit high. I will take that group. Overall I was dang happy so far.

Next I fired another 6, but before I get to that I will tell you about a conversation I had with someone a couple days ago. It had been mentioned that just slight changes in how a person grips a gun can have a pretty significant change in the point of impact of the projectiles. They were spot on, in that observation. As strange as this sounds, when I am shooting groups with a DA revolver, especially standing, I will often shoot the gun all double action. Most people find that to be odd. But the thing is that you can pick up most DA/SA revolvers and cock the hammer back and fire it, all while holding it in a variety of ways. It is substantially harder to do that in DA mode due to the long trigger reach. It forces you to hold the gun very consistently each time, with it perfectly in line with the bones in your forearm. When I shoot long range with my Smith revolvers, I do it almost exclusively DA.

Back to the shooting of the 432UC. I decided to grip the gun differently (choking up a bit higher) and removed the soft cushion that I had underneath my hands. As it ended up, the gun was bouncing a good bit more. The results were very telling. At 3-7 yards you may not be able to tell much. At 50 yards is was dramatically different.

I got a bit ahead of myself and taped the target before I took a pic. But the orange stickers are from where I had gripped the gun differently. The wind had picked up and a couple of my blue stickers had blown off.




You will note that there are only 5 orange stickers. I think I pasted one of the last six shot string with a blue dot. But regardless, you can see how just changing your grip, and not having a proper rest can cause a rather significant change, both in group size, but also in point of impact.

More to follow..

Now that I knew I was on target and knew how to hold the gun to get the best results I fired and emptied the gun three different times before I walked down to the target. In spite of the fact that I struggled a little with keeping the front sight in focus, the Lipsey's 432UC really put the wadcutters right where they needed to be.



This gun just puts them right in there. The sights are exceptional. For a gun that is intended to be used in the role this one was designed for, one could not ask for anything better.

As mentioned earlier, I have been working on a .45 ACP +P 250 grain Poly Coat load. I had the G21.5 that is topped with the CH Duty enclosed emitter RDO as well as 5" Colt and 4.25" Colt 1911s, and a 4506, as well as an HK USP. In between shooting those I fired the 432 at a few different targets. I did not quite get to 100 rounds. I fired a total of 80 rounds. Was trying for 100, so as to makes things simple an easy to track, but it just did not happen, as I had kids to pick up. You know, that life stuff that pops up.

So right now the round count sits at 430 rds.

Loving the gun and now I know that with the 100 grain poly coat wadcutters, I can shoot out to 50 yards and be on the money.

We got a pair of the new Ultimate Carry revolvers, a 442 and a 432. Mackay, you make some awesome ammunition. The 100gr 32’s are fabulous. Accurate, more than adequate penetration and negligible recoil. My wife is not very strong, and has difficulties with operating autoloaders. We have tried the different flavors of S&W Shield EZ’s and she tried but she never looked comfortable handling them and they sometimes has issues with limp wrist malfunctions. She is very comfortable with her SP-101 so this 432 suits her perfectly.
I urge everyone to contact S&W and clamor for them to make these Ultimate Carry guns a regular catalog item.

Oops. Unintentional double tap

Tag

Mackay, you speak of a proper rest for handguns - what do you recommend?
I've not spent much time with a handgun rest. Do revolvers tend to tear them up?

Has anybody shot some sort of flesh&blood with either the .32 or .38 wadcutters? Like varmits or pigs maybe? Results?