Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Would like to discuss .32 S&W Long, shorts, 32 H&R, etc.

In my 20s ( 25 years ago) i inherited a s&W revolver from my father who was going through a divorce. It was blued, built in 60s or 70s, 3 or 4” barrel, i believe a 6 shot and most unusual I believe it had a factory adjustable rear sight. It had cheap Pachmyar rubber boot grip on it. The single action function did not work when cocking the trigger, it would not hold back the hammer. I stupidly took it into gun grange on a Friday night and traded it in to a gunsmith for him to do a trigger and ction job on a Marlin 882 ssv stainless bull barrel .22 mag bolt action rifles. Single Biggest regret in all my firearm transactions in the past 30+ years. I recently picked up a model 31-1 3” barrel to fill the void, hoping it will work well for me.

I am curious what people have and use in this caliber. I am specifically NOT trying to hot-rod the 32 S&W Long, that would be the 32 H&R, and beyond that the 327 Federal. I do like the idea of a model 16 in 32 H&R or the 631 in 327 Fed so I can shoot all three.

I’m expecting a Ruger Single Seven Convertible model with .327 and .30 Super Carry cylinders to show up eventually, or less likely, a S&W with moon clips for the auto round. The .32s have a lot of utility, potentially anyway. Downside is the noise from the hot ones.

Both of those sound like they would be loud barkers. I am catering my 32 shooting to a more civilized endeavor, target practice and small game hunting. If i feel the need for some violence of 1,200-1,300 fps i plan to step up to .38s and .357s of which I have many choices to reload for at that point

Buffalo Bore makes some pretty hot loads in .32 S&W Long that won't blow up the gun.

We found an old Ivor Johnson .32 Owlhead in my late mother's stuff, when cleaning out her house. We have no idea whatsoever where it came from. 5" barrel, nickel-=plated, kinda neat, not in too bad shape, but the nickel plate is pretty rough around the cylinder, where no doubt black powder ammo was used. It's a relic, I have no plans to shoot it, but I've no doubt it would be fun if I could get past the $1/round ammo cost. That's a might steep for something that old. My Single Six will do just as well, frankly.
It's not a .32 Long, either, just the older, shorter .32 S&W, and brass is hard to find, as are dies. I just don't think it's worth the work to accumulate such stuff, and load for a BP framed old five-gun.

I have a S&W mod16 in 32 long and love it. Also have a Savage mod 1917 in 32 short. Semi auto and cases are hard to find so very seldom shoot it! Handy little gun just a bit hard replacing lost brass. Shoot all of my handgun's with cast bullet's.

I generally use the 32 Long strictly for target shooting, except for the 32 Dick Special, which doesn't get shot much.

A 115 NOE Keith, 2ish grains of 231 from a 0 little dandy rotor. I've used Bullseye, but I don't think it makes much difference. It runs a little over 700 fps..
I've also used 90gr. Lapua wadcutters with a grain and a half of Bullseye, but those have been hard to come by.

The 32 H&R gets the same or similar bullets, 115 Keiths, LBTs ans 125gr LBT's. I don't lean on it heavily either. 4 grs. of Longshot makes for an accurate, flat shooting load in the 900fps range. It's pure fun, not loud and kicks the crap out of the 38 Special/158 loads as far as trajectory is concerned,

The 327 is a bit of a conundrum. It likes case filling loads. Position insensitive powders don't seem to fix the squirrely way it shoots at targets on the ground.
I'm still trying to find a mid range load that it agrees with 100%, even with the heavier bullets I like. It can have wide extreme spreads that show up on the target. Sure, its fun letting off the blasting boomers, but not if your with friends trying to shoot near you.

I wouldn't turn a good 16 into one; Ruger makes or made several DA tanks that shoot good and single actions, if you can get the ES under control.

The 32 ACP is semi-rimmed and will also work in the above chambered 32 revolvers if a "32 Short" is needed or desired.

The lighter the bullet or a shallower seating bullet is obviously going to make more noise, especially with slow pistol powders like LilGun, H110/296. 2400 is slightly more pleasant in the 327. None of these powders are needed in the 32 H&R unless absolute speed is wanted, but its kind of like a +P 38 versus a full house 357. The noise and racket and speed doesn't translate on the receiving end unless up very close.

I would steer clear of loading for any old top break or Spanish version of the Smith solid frame revolvers. Even if they look nice or "lock up" tight.

I've got a couple in .32 S&W Long. One is a very nice H&R and the other is a very nice S&W I-Frame. That latter is a pre-war.

In the old days, .32 S&W Long was considered a fine police and self-defense round. Hard to believe, but true.

I have an S&W 16-4 in the magnum and an old I frame 32 Long that I don’t shoot.

Basically the only loads I use are 98gr RCBS SWC or 95gr Cramer SWC over 5.5gr of AA5 in the Mag and 4.0gr of the same in the Long cases. Both loads shoot incredibly well out of the 16-4.

This is my faithful daily companion for 30 years. It either rides in the center console, in a belt rig on my side, in my jeans pocket or in a jacket pocket in cool weather. It is always in my hunting pack during deer season and has administered the Coup De Grace to numerous deer over the years. It has also potted quite a few rabbits. A .38 is surely more practical, but I'm sticking with the lowly .32.

.32 H&R Magnum?

Yes sir

I have an I-frame in 32 S&W with a 6” barrel that is really fun to shoot. I bought it last year for less than $300 because someone had coated it with Cerracote or something similar and it looked pretty ratty. The bore is perfect and with a pinch of Bullseye and a 94 gr cast bullet at 700-800 fps, it’s almost like a 22 rimfire.

If I want a 32 with more pop I just pull out the Ruger Buckeye with the 32/20 cylinder.

My pre-war I-Frame .32 S&W Long "Regulation Police" revolver was cheap, too, despite being in really nice shape. I don't think I paid more than $400.00 for it. They're cheap because there's not a lot of collector interest in them for some reason. Maybe interest is lacking because of the caliber.

My Regulation Police looks exactly like this (same grips and everything, roughly the same condition, too):



The name of the model is today considered laughable, due to how little favored the .32 S&W Long cartridge is nowadays as a manstopper.

PS I can't shoot it well, at all, due to the tiny grips.

PPS Looks like prices on them have picked up since I bought mine about ten years ago: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/101236110

Its not the caliber that creates the lack of interest.

People today buying a 38 or a 32 generally want decent sights on a gun, no matter what they pay for the gun.

My only.32 revolver is a nickel, 5 shot top-break that I inherited from my grandmother. I can’t remember without looking if it’s an H&R or IJ. About a 2” barrel. The only “reloading” I’ve done for it is knocking out primers and replacing them and pushing a #1 buckshot pellet into the case by hand (no powder.) These loads would go bang and smack into the side of the barn pretty well from 40 yards away.

Cool.

If you can get past the name engraved on the revolver, Ruger makes a couple of DAs in 327. The six shot LCRx is a very compact weapon and easily carried in a pocket. It is quite comfortable to shoot with all but the stiffest of loads.

The SP101 is also a six shot double action. It has been made with 2 1/4", 3 1/16", and 4.2 inch barrels. I have the 4.2 inch model. It is very comfortable to shoot with any ammo. My local gunsmith tuned the trigger to compare with either of my two S&W revolvers.

That’s a rare one, I passed on a .32 Magnum Kit Gun when it was introduced years ago….regretted that decision.

Yes, I'd love to find a 631 4" but ain't paying the stupid $ they're bringing...