Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 32 caliber Pic and Discussion Thread

Friends,

I figured we could start a thread and repository in the same manner we did for the .44 Magnum and .44 Special. Only here we concentrate on the .32s. The 327 Magnum, .32 H&R, .32 ACP, or whichever you like.

In the last year or so I have been hit up with a good number of requests for .327 Magnum and .32 H&R ammo. The only problem was I didn't make any. Plus didn't own any guns chambered in such cartridges. The same thing happened previously in reference to the .41 Magnum. One of the guys here, RJM1952 ended up sending out a gun and after a lot of waiting for components and other delays I was able to start making ammo.

Kind of the same thing happened here. I didn't own anything in .32. Along comes Bob and someone in the gun industry. Bob shipped out a 4" Ruger GP100 in .327 Magnum. Another person shipped out a Ruger LCR. So I bought a bunch of stuff to load with and the appropriate components.

After some testing, the final load was low recoil .32 H&R, 100 grain poly-cote full wadcutter.

At 25 yards with irons it shoots quite well, though I am going to have to out a red dot on to really get the most out of it, as my eyes just don't see iron sights like they used to.




Recoil is pretty much non existent in the GP100.

Switching to the LCR I was not as accurate with the tiny sights, but for 25 yards I won't complain.





I have been looking at some Single Sevens on Gunbroker and elsewhere.

I recall reading about Idaho 1945 plugging Rockchucks, and maybe a badger (not 100% sure on my memory on the badger part) with a .327 here.

Lot of cool stuff out there on both ends of the spectrum. You have very low recoil, 6 shot pocket guns with .32 H&R wadcutters, and some smoking fast .327 mag loads that are getting some pretty impressive numbers on the other end.

I've been a fanboy of .32's for about 40 years now. Currently have, shoot, and load for: 2 Colt Police Positives, one 1960's vintage Colt Police Positive Special, a S&W M1903 Hand Ejector 4th variation, and a pre-war Colt Officer's Model is on its way here - all in .32 S&W Long. Add to that a 1922-vintage Colt Army Special 6" .32-20 which I feed the same bullets to.

I've owned but one .32H&R Magnum, in an early Ruger Single Six. It was ok but more "sturm und drang" than I like in a little carefree .32, so I horse traded it for an Orvis bamboo fly rod.

I cast a range of bullets from wadcutters to RN's and SWC's, 90-115gr. and always relatively soft - 1:20 tin:lead mostly, and 1:30 for the wadcutters. The .32-20 gets its bullets shot a fair bit hotter than the others but still with 1:20 alloy. (The trick is to match bullet diameters to throat diameters regardless of bore groove diameters, and pray that your throats are the larger dimension of the two. Do that and "hard cast bullets" are irrelevant.)

H&R

I only have one that I actually shoot. But it’s a dandy, S&W 16-4 32H&R.

I load it with either a 95gr Cramer SWC that is very blunt and would probably be a great hunting bullet due to the big flat nose, or the RCBS 98gr SWC. The RCBS shoots great to way out there, but lacks the large flat on its nose that I like in a hunting bullet. The Cramer seems to drop off in the accuracy department past about 75 yards, could just be me but I seem to get random flyers with it I don’t get with the other bullet.

I cast both out of wheel weight metal, size .314, and lube with White Label BAC. Whatever SPP I have on the rack under either 5.5gr of AA5 or 6.0gr of Power Pistol. Been a while since I checked velocity but I seem to recall the AA5 load going around 1100 and the PP load doing a hair over 1200 out of my 6”.

The 16-4 is a fantastic revolver, K frame size so comfortably packable, smooth action, accurate with loads it likes, and the recoil of a rimfire. I would have no issue shooting a deer with it under the right conditions.

Here are a few of my 32's, 327's & 32/20's. These are great guns, low recoil, very accurate & a pound of powder goes a long way. I shoot nothing but powder coated cast & it works well for me.

I only have one .32, and it's the .32 S&W, NOT the Long, the older one. It's an Iver Johnson that I inherited, never shot it, didn't even know Mom had it. I think it's an old blackpowder-framed gun, at that. It's kinda neat, but not worth a dollar a shot for factory ammo to try it out. Seems pretty fragile, but it's intact and it functions in dry fire.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/B84EuSVh.mp4[/img]

Always had a soft spot for the 32 caliber. Had a nice accurate Ruger Single Six 32, shot the 32 in the centerfire legs of Bullseye matches in my Euro guns and still have a little early S&W model 31 I-frame 32 long and a never fired S&W model 16 unfired in box. Why the 32, other than the early 32-40 and 32-20’s lost favor I really don’t understand cause the 32’s are accurate, low recoil and at around 100 grs have enough weight to take rabbits, in close coyotes etc. My experience and others who shoot them love them. Did I say they aren’t loud.

Rick

Someone's ferret?

LOL! He blew the ears right off that kitty cat!

With full bore 327 ammo, the handguns are pretty obnoxious. For SD loads, I load down to 32 H&R mag velocities. I have loaded some full bore Swift A-Frames for the rifle. I have yet to do any kind of expansion and penetration testing with them, but I have a hunch they will do well at both at rifle velocities. For plinking I have landed at loads that fall in between the H&R and S&W pushing a Sierra 90 grain JHC. The lead in that bullet is soft and deforms during seating, but the loads are as accurate as I am, so I am not worried about it.

Ha! Was suppose to be another photo of Bob, don't know how it ended up being my tailgate!! He's real handy in double action mode, trust me.

Dick

I need more action shots, but this is the King sighted Colt dirty, at the range.

I don't think I have ever seen him shoot in SA with a revolver. Bob informed me, "If you are going to learn to shoot a handgun, you have to get a DA. A few weeks later, I came home with a 6 inch 657.

Two single sevens in 4 5/8 inch, One of which now lives with my oldest Grandson. An LCR, a 4.2 inch SP101, and the Henry big boy. The SP and one SS are tuned. That SS has been fitted with a front "Firesight".

I load a 120 gr PC cast over as much H110 (12.3 gr) as I can fit under the bullet without compression. Bob's advice, which has held well for me, H110/W296 works best with the bullet sitting right on the powder. No air space.

This load is unpleasant in the LCR. It is stiff in the SP 101. The single sevens tame this load well. The Ruger Blackhawk would be a pussycat to shoot with anything you can put in a 32 caliber case.

There are some great guns pictured in this thread. As well as the picture of the guy who led so many of us to water and smiled as we drank.

Are you selling those 32 loads?

Gotta get this little gem out and shoot it more. I love to shoot it, it's a tack driver and it spanks rabbits soundly.

Traded in the tailgate for the double action master, he was taking ground squirrels out to 50 yds. The fat ones are maybe 3" wide at the bottom.
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/B84EuSVh.mp4[/img]



Dick