[Puncha]

If due to unfortunate circumstances, you are left with only 2 choices for a double duty (home defense AND CCW) piece and they must be chambered in either .32 Magnum or .22WRM, which would be the better choice? Which revolver model is best recommended for the chosen caliber?

To elaborate on the above, please assume that you are in a gun-unfriendly location/country with a high crime rate and the only pieces available to you "under the table" are revolvers in the above calibers.

[bakert]

Would have to go with the .32 mag although in a pinch either might do the job. Ammo might be a problem in some areas though with both of these. I really have zero experice with either but believe bigger is always better! Would also try to get at least a 4" barrel.
Baker

[Old Fuff]

The .32 H&R Magnum would be a better choice of cartridge, IF IT WAS AVAILABE in whatever local you have in mind. A revolver chambered to use this cartridge will also fire the .32 S&W Long and .32 S&W cartridges, which are shorter and less powerful, but sometimes easier to find. Smith & Wesson and Taurus both make double-action revolvers.

The .22 WRM is lethal, but fires a very small, light bullet. Therefore precise marksmanship is required to stop a determined attacker. However Taurus at least makes compact guns that hold 9, not 6 cartridges in the cylinder, and at least in the United States the ammunition is much more available and less expensive.

Take you're choice ...

[GaryP]

A Ruger SP101 in .32 H&R Mag with 3 1/16" barrel is a good choice!


:evil:

[jame]

If handloading is an option, the .32 Mag wins hands down. The little maggie can be loaded pretty warm if you do it right.

[Sharps Shooter]

I'd go with the .32 H&R Mag in the Ruger SP101 if you can get it. If not, Taurus builds a couple of pretty nice, lightweight models too. However, if you get a Taurus .32 H&R Mag, I'd stay away from the ported ones. The little .32 H&R Mag is noisy enough without a ported barrel and it doesn't have much recoil anyway. Besides, I've heard from people who own those ported Taurus .32 H&R Mags that shooting cast bullets through them is just plain painfull. It seems the ports through a lot of lead particles back in their faces.

[BluesBear]

.32 H&R magnum

IF a suitable amount of ammo could be had.


If not then I'd take the .22WMR

[nero45acp]

I bought a S&W 432PD .32 H&R Magnum last week for my carry gun. I guess you can tell which way I'd go. :D


nero

[kjaniak]

"A Ruger SP101 in .32 H&R Mag with 3 1/16" barrel is a good choice!"

I second this choice. I have one and love it. Carry it all winter and don't feel under-gunned at all. It will drive tacks if I do my part.

[P. Plainsman]

The only thing that concerns me about responding to your hypothetical is that it is contrary to THR rules (and my rules) to advocate or support disobedience of U.S. law, and at present some U.S. jurisdictions (unconstitutionally) prohibit handgun ownership.

So I will assume I am addressing a non-American context, such as contemporary South Africa, or a similar dangerous society.

Now. As long as ammo were sufficiently available, then the best choice would be the Ruger SP101 in .32 H&R Magnum.

It launches a bigger and much heavier bullet compared to .22 WMR. With the .32 Mag, your chief goal is enough velocity to assure hollowpoint expansion. (I assume that hollowpoint ammo can be obtained in the benighted place in your question.) That is the .32 Mag's (potential) big edge over .32 ACP, .380, and like competitors: it is the fastest centerfire mousegun round.

The SP101 is the only double action .32 Mag handgun in current production that is available in regular barrel lengths of 3" and 4". The Smith and Taurus guns are all 2" pocket snubbies. That difference will put extra oomph behind the Ruger's bullets. I have also read that Ruger DAs tend anyway to clock in slightly faster than comparable Smith or Taurus revolvers, even of same barrel length.

If you are going to CCW this piece, the 3" barrel version, technically 3 1/16", is the best all-around compromise. That is the gun I have.

The Federal 85 grain .32 Mag JHP is the most widely available defense round in the caliber. It has been criticized by others here as loaded too lightly for good defense use. I can't speak to that, but I can report that the Federal JHP does not shoot as accurately in my gun as the competing Black Hills 85 grain .32 Mag JHP. (By the way, the Black Hills soft-shooting lead nose cowboy .32 Mag round, 90 gr FPL, is very accurate. I use it for practice ammo.)

Finally, the Black Hills JHP seems -- I said seems -- to be loaded slightly stouter than the Federal JHP. I do prefer Black Hills' .32 Mag offerings and choose them over the Federal ammo when possible. However, as Federal is a big company that is part of an even larger company, its products are more likely than Black Hills' to be available overseas, for example.

Another option is the 100 grain .32 Mag JHP load from Georgia Arms, a small mail-order ammo house that also sells their wares at gun shows. It is listed at 1100 fps on the box, which is impressive. It is said to be notably stouter than either the Federal or Black Hills ammo. The Georgia Arms round is actually a semi-jacketed hollowpoint rather than a full jacket. The soft lead leading edge should promote better expansion. This is a very intelligently designed round that I can't wait to try out. However, GA is a relatively small company.

I've rambled on like this because the issue you've raised is so relevant to me now. My 3" .32 Mag SP101 is an accurate, sweet little sixgun. (Action was rough at first. I put in a Wolff hammer spring and had my gunsmith do a little work to fix the cylinder hand, which was burring the case rims. Now the gun is 100%.) My mother, a petite and recoil-sensitive shooter, has taken a shine to the little .32 and is thinking about trading me for it and using the SP101 as her house gun. Thing is: she shoots it better than any other handgun she's tried, including the .38 Special that's her current house gun.

I am cautiously in favor of this trade, if I can feel confident in the defensive ammo she would use. Naturally I'd prefer my mom to defend herself with a 12 gauge and a .45 ACP+P, but that is not on the cards right now. Better a hit with a .32, ... as the saying goes. She's said she likes the gun and would feel more comfortable using it; that's crucial.

Someone needs to hit the range and chronograph the major .32 Mag factory loads (Fed, BH, GA) out of a 2" snubby and an SP101, so we truly know what we're talking about when questions are asked about this round.

[Standing Wolf]

...the only pieces available to you "under the table" are revolvers in the above calibers.

I hope you'll be careful down there: you wouldn't want to stand up suddenly and end up with used chewing gum on your head—figuratively speaking, that is.

[pezo]

I agree with Gary P

[Ranger61]

I've got a Ruger SP101 and a Taurus 731 both in 32 H&R Mag. Both are very good guns. I bought the Taurus first then when my wife fired it she fell in love with it, now its her carry gun. That when I got the 3" SP101. It balances well and I like the grip on the gun. I reload almost exclusively so I load the Hornady 100 grain JHP to 1100 fps out of the 3" SP101. Its a good defensive round for me. I don't own a 22 Mag except my S&W model 48 with a underlug 6" barrel but I have shot a new S&W 22 Mag of the airweight variety the exact model escapes me, it was an OK gun but being so light, and the funny 'ting' noise it made when I fired it, just makes me think I'm firing a cap gun and I could shake the impression. So I'd get the 32 and load my own :)