Friends!

It has arrived!







After carrying my ever present and faithful companion, S&W 442 for almost 25 years, I picked up a new J Frame. The 442 is not going anywhere, and is still going to get carried and shot, but it has a new, easier to shoot younger brother.

My 442 definitely has some miles on it. I finally exceeded roughly 6K rounds through it, but I am not sure exactly what the round count is. Suffice to say, it is still rocking along, but looks a little worse for wear (kind of like its owner).




 

Last year I was asked if I wanted to be involved with a project with Lipsey's, who are the distributors who worked with S&W to bring out the Ultimate Carry J Frames. Naturally I said yes! Long story short, I developed a load that would shoot to right to the sights for the gun. As it ended up it also shot to the sights on a Ruger LCR that I had on hand for product development.

(For those who don't know, I have a small custom handgun ammo business.)

The ammo (a 100 grain poly coated full wadcutter) ran right at about 800 FPS for me, and 794-796 for the guys down in Louisiana when they did their product launch. Pretty darn consistent.

Anyways, the gun came out fantastic. Besides the truly excellent grips, the sights are the first thing that really stand out. The front sight just Pops. It immediately catches your eye.

I kind of had a hard time getting a pic of it with my phone, but it is exceptional.

 


The front and rear sight combo is such a night and day difference compared to what we have worked with for decades on your typical J Frame. It is just truly impressive. Wish they would have done this 30 years ago! The rear sight is a big U shaped trough and it is very easy to line up.

The grips, I was a little amused. They are almost identical in size to what I had built up with vet wrap and hockey tape on my old 442. Obviously these look a whole lot nicer!

Here is a pic of my old 442 grips and the new 432 grips. You can see how close they are. Needless to say, they are great.

Nice to get a set of factory grips out of the box that are done right. Plus they are relieved for speedloaders.








More to follow....

Cool! Good luck with it.

Once you shoot it, please let us know what kind of difference in recoil and snappiness you notice.

Thanks for the pictures and narrative, M.S. . Aside from that Smith looking "very handy," I really like those sights.

L.W.

I have to agree, like the sights, on the new one!

Your 442 looks like the gun Michael used to gack Sollozzo.






P

So after working with and doing development on the .32 H&R, there was no question about which caliber I was going to get. The recoil characteristics were just night and day different. I carry 148 grain full wadcutters in my .38 Special 442 and have for years. They make the gun quite manageable and do great in terms of penetration.

What surprised me with the .32 H&R was just how light the recoil was. It was like shooting a .22 Magnum. Super light recoil, and as a bonus, you get 6 rounds instead of 5. Some have mentioned just carrying a rimfire, but it has been my experience that rimfire revolvers have always needed much heavier springs, which equates to much heavier trigger pulls to make them reliable. The .32 H&R eliminated that issue.

The real surprise for me was the penetration. I honestly did not expect much in that department. I figured it would go 14", maybe 16" I was way off base. Multiple people tested the 100 grain poly coated wadcutters. One report gave 22"s, and another came back at 24"s.

In fact, Jeff "Tank" Hoover, a writer for American Handgunner shot one of the .32 H&Rs with a bunch of different ammo, including the 100 grain poly coat wadcutters, and he got 24"s of penetration.

You can read about that in his article here:

https://americanhandgunner.com/our-experts/sw-ultimate-carry-ballistic-testing/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ


It really has proven to be a "Goldilocks" load. Super light recoil, and good penetration. Pretty hard to beat.

I decided that since I got my new 432 BUG that I really needed to familiarize myself with it, and the only way to do that is shoot it, and shoot it a LOT. When I was working on the Job, I used to shoot my 442 quite frequently, all the way out to 50 yards. In fact I cannot tell you the number of people who told me that snubby revolvers were only good for "bad breath distance" and you can't hit anything with that past arms distance, etc, etc. Only to show them on the range how very wrong that thinking was.

So my idea is to shoot the heck out of this gun over the next year or so and post up the results here. See how it does accuracy wise and how the gun holds up. Not so much a torture test, but to get used to shooting a J Frame a good bit once again. Plus using one with such dang nice sights will be a very nice change of pace! Plus I will take my old 442 Centennial along with some 148 grain poly coated wadcutters and see how they do as well.

It will give me an opportunity to shoot the Old School along side the New School and see how it all shakes out.

Very cool!

Hmmmn?

Gotta check and see if that is allowed on our "roster" here, which we're hoping disappears in the not too distant future.

What caliber is the new one?

Mackay….Your posts are always insightful and informative. In your “carrying a handgun you can fight with” thread I recall the .380 got less than favorable endorsements but now with the .32 it’s something worth carrying? I’m curious why a 32 is a “fighting” handgun but the 380 isn’t?

With firearms there are plenty of opinions out there and that’s not going to change any time soon but I’m curious what makes the 32 worth carrying while the 380 gets snubbed (pun intended)?

Thanks 👍🏼

Be nice

S&W numbering system is not "always" easy to figure out.

a 625 is not a .25 caliber

Had not clicked link.
I would rather have the 2 extra rounds with my 317.
But I carry Kahr CM40 that is better than either other than leaving evidence behind.

Ted, sweet little revolver!

Quick side-note here...

Couple days ago I tried your .38 Short Colts in my S&W 340PD and they were quite tolerable if not downright fun! They were more accurate than me and shot great, very happy with the results.

This new gun of his isn't just a standard .32 caliber ...it's a .32H&R Magnum...

Sam,

Gald you enjoyed them!

So I made up a whole bunch of those, as once people try them , they usually come back for more. I thought I made enough to last for a while. Boy was I wrong. They did not last 24 hours. Mostly because I had 2 repeat customers and one more. They literally bought every single round in stock. Totally wiped me out. I ended up ordering more brass, as I have had a dozen or so emails from guys saying they went to order more and they were out of stock..

They really do make shooting a J Frame a Whole Lot more fun, that is for sure!

I know it’s a “magnum” but a 100gr bullet going 800fps or a 90gr 380 at 1000fps is what matters…not the marketing term magnum. I’m wondering why a a 32 is worth carrying, even with 6 rounds, but a 380 with better ballistics and 8 rounds isn’t considered powerful enough to carry?

Nice 😎👍

Are the grips available somewhere?

Already customized a J frame (Cylinder and Slide)

Where can I find one of those?

Lipsey's maybe Paul?

Aces,

Very simple.

Penetration and low recoil.

The .380 is in the same caliber family as 9mm, .38 special, etc. Its performance has never been great.

The .32 has very minimal recoil and out performs a lot of the .38 Specials when fired from the same platforms (J Frames and similar) in terms of penetration.

You just are not going to get a .38 special that kicks like a .22, but penetrates 2 FEET of ballistic gel.

That is just hard to beat.

Still,

Lets bear in mind, keeping everything in context, that this is a pocket gun/BUG type gun. Everyone has to choose what they carry as a primary. Some will choose to carry a 6 shot revolver as their primary day to day gun, depending on their environment, and lifestyle, and some will choose something else.


I see J Frames as BUGs and not primary fighting guns. On a rare occasion I may carry it as a primary gun, but I don't make a habit of it personally. It is however, what I call my "always" gun. The gun I always have on me. Even when I come home, or may be fiddling around in the garage, yard, etc. I always have a J Frame in my pocket. When I take my suit coat off at a restaurant, I always have a J Frame in my pocket. etc, etc.

It is not an accident that my old 442 is so well worn. It did not get that way from sitting in the safe!

I have been watching for one of these since they came out. Thought a .32 in one of these as a summer walk to mail box, or yard work gun along with a pocket gun while bow hunting. I’m hoping to find one here before long.

I have been shooting an LCR in .32 while doing the ammo development.






Plus each time I go out and shoot the Gen 5 Glock 21, I tend to shoot a few rounds through the LCR .32 H&R. The thing has such light recoil. I was talking about this this morning with a gal who is going to be buying one her girls a J Frame for when she sends her off to college. I told her that they are really a perfect gun for girls, but then I told her in reality the cartridge makes sense for guys too as the light recoil makes them so dang easy to shoot well, who wouldn't like that?

The LCR I have been playing with, doing the ammo development is kind of a cool gun. Very fun to shoot too. Ugly as sin, but I kind of warmed up to it after shooting it. But it is just not the same.

The Ultimate Carry J Frame is really basically an example of someone taking a standard J frame Centennial, then adding a series of very well thought out custom features. Then going to the manufacturer and convincing them to build it. That is exactly what Lipsey's did. If you started from scratch with a bone stock 442/432 and sent it off to a couple of custom gunsmiths to have this kind of work done, you would likely be looking at spending close to $2,000 by the time you got everything done and shipped it back and forth a few times.

This is really quite a well thought out package. From the chamfered charging holes in the cylinder :




To the awesome sights.




I really like my old 442, having carried it for more than 20 years, but the new gun is looking pretty darn promising.

I wish ruger made a 3" lcrx in 327 mag. I just picked one up in 38 and it's pretty handy weight and size wise and I like the adjustable sights. A had a 3" sp101 in 327 that I liked but someone talked me out of. The 327 still got decent speed from a 3" but the 101 was a little heavy and didn't have adjustable sights. A 6 shot 3" lcrx 327 would make a nice trail gun or carry gun.

Bb

Ted, can you tell us what the MSRP is on the UC 432 in 32 H&R?

Thanks,
Tim

Yeah, thought certain they were VZ but their wraparounds add length to the bottom as well, not wanted. OK, maybe Hogue. But can't find these particular ones there either, cover the backstrap at the top, & not extending the GF at the bottom.

OK, they are VZ's. found the Lipsey's add. But apparently VZ doesn't show them or I was unable to find them on their sight, but I'll make a call. They seem they might cure this model naturally pointing high for me.

I have a friend that picked up the .38 Special model a few weeks ago. Overall he is very happy with the gun but the front sight was not glowing at all. S&W said mail them the sight then they will send him a new one....

I could see "maybe" buy a new sight and we will refund the purchase price when we get the dead sight back... but their offer means 2 trips to the gunsmith. Not top shelf customer service IMO.

The friend also says he has read other complaints about non functional night sight on another forum (S&W forum IIRC). Sounds like a good idea to double check the sight before accepting one of these.

I’m looking forward to my 442 and 432 Ultimate Carry guns getting here. Hopefully it won’t be long. There’s an unfired 332 Airlite coming my direction in June.
This is going to be a fun spring!

You need a razor in your shoe.




P

🤭

You must be kind of old.

Ah crap, tripped me up for a sec. "he had a 32 gun in his pocket for fun & a razor in his shoe. Bad Leroy Brown.

Tim,

I looked it up on the Lipsey's site here:

https://www.lipseys.com/crm/ultimat...campaign=2024-1-22-ultimate-carry-launch

It showed an MSRP of $759.

Don't have any idea what the gun stores or dealers will charge.

A 6 shot 3" with adjustable sights would be a pretty darn handy and lightweight trail gun.

Thanks Ted, saw that it even has no internal lock….. will have to order me one.

It's in the OP.

Double sheesh, with fingers.

My thoughts exactly. I want one, stainless or nitride.

I emailed them and asked earlier this week…. “Not available for retail purchase and cannot comment if they will or won’t be in the future” per Stephen at VZ.

Mackay…I appreciate your reply and as always I appreciate your posts.

All my best.

Thanks hardway!


Maybe whacking the bottom off the wraparound they do sell might not be that challenging come to think of it.

Maybe some ammo manufacturers will start making 32 HR mag ammo. I haven’t seen a box of it on a shelf in a lgs in probably 10 years. I picked up several boxes a year or so ago and it went for bank. Always sucks to buy a new gun and not find any ammo to shoot it.

Yep,

I initially dismissed them as being just plain ugly. Plus a revolver that is partly built of polymer just had zero appeal to me. But after I got my hands on one, I have to say, it really grew on me. It will never win any beauty contests, but there is a very practical nature to it. Sort of like a Glock. The .32 H&R in the one I have is like shooting a .22 mag.

This 432 UC however is a dang fine looking gun.

Nice Mackay and great report as usual!

I’ll be finally buying another 32 revolver this year when Ruger finally releases there long awaited (nearly 10 years) LCR Revolver in 327 Fed Mag with the 3” barrel and adjustable sights.
Won’t really be a “pocket gun” with the 3” barrel, but I think it will be the perfect little “kit gun”.

If I was looking for a pocket revolver, I think your new choice would be hard to beat.

Anyhow, since 32 factory ammo is hard to come by these days, and I don’t want to start loading for another caliber, your new Wadcutter offering should be just about the perfect plinking / varmint load, IMO.
I’ll be ordering some of your highly recommended Ammo, as soon as I can find one of the new Rugers.

Congratulations on the new S&W 32 ! Looks to be a fine little revolver with a lot of great features.

Maybe one of these day you can offer an “Outdoorsman” type hard cast load in .327 Federal Magnum to your fine lineup.

They are finally releasing one this year with the 3” barrel and adjustable sights.
Ought to be the ultimate “kit gun” IMO.
I’ve been suggesting this very model to Ruger for YEARS.

I hate to burst any ones bubble but Smith had a Stainless J Frame 6 shot in 32 H&R Mag over 25 years ago. I have one.

Oder some from Mackay!

Sorry for the thread hijack. 😬

I took a couple of low light pics last night, which was harder than I thought with a cell phone. The camera was very slow to take the pic and it took a bunch of tries, trying to get it focused, as well as holding the gun still while doing so.







The sight is Very bright in low light.

Sometimes.

A lot of interest in the .32 H&R as of late. Why is that? I don't believe its a new caliber?


Oops, didn't realize I was reading page three. When back and read first two pages. Interesting gun. I have a PD351 (.22mag) with that grip style; very nice grip for a person that has big, fat hands, like me.

I think people have just discovered that it is pretty practical in terms of recoil and capacity. Plus there are more and more manufacturers that are supporting it, in spite of what the Campfire complainers are saying.

The H&R 32 mag has been around a long time. I think it came out when everybody was into big stuff and many still are.

Ogives also.

A full 32 wadcutter doesn't rely on a round or coned shape to feed or the iffy proposition it may or may not open up.

A few bunnies or some prairie dogs will illustrate the comparison weighed on paper is deceiving.

The 32 load, like Mackay stated, penetrates. Because of this, it also maintains its velocity as distance increases, since its not as wide as it is long.

I found it interesting that, on the promotional flyer, Lipsey's mentioned the loads and distances the sights are regulated for.

my old 442 does not have the round count that Ted's does, but I like it and carry it often. I don't believe I will bother to get one of the new Smiths though, certainly not in the smaller caliber.

Yes though I recall the 632 , which I think you refer to, is chambered in the 327 federal , of course one can shoot 32’s in. Bought one for my wife, I carry it more than she. I like those J frames , have several in 22 through 357 mag.

You ole farts are behind the times!

Move up into the 21st Century.......Sig P365!

Got one of those to buddy, old fart at 85, maybe

Yep, priced one lately? They only made 190 in 2”.

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?