Rebirth of the 32s?

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I’ve been thinking of grabbing one of those Bisely SS’s in .32 H&R before they’re gone. Primarily because of the bluing and adjustable sights. I’m a .32 fan. Not sure why I’m procrastinating.
 
32 worked well for LeRoy Brown!
I have a SW 327 Pro, No longer madeView attachment 944681
Until he messed with the wife of a jealous man. Then he ended up looking like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces missing.

I do love .32s. The first CF sidearm I ever shot was a Colt Police Positive Special .32-20.
I've been thinking about reaming the chambers of my 3" 31-1 to take .32 H&R.
It's a great shooting little carry piece that would be even better with a little more oomph.
I have a little I frame .32 Long that I may start carrying with Buffalo Bore's wadcutter load.
 
Frulk, are the birds head grip frames on those Rugers easy to shoot accurately? Do your hands slip and need readjustment a lot under the recoil of the .327/.32 H&R? I’ve only seen them in the shop cases, I’ve never held nor fired a revolver that had that grip style.

I ask this because the birds head looks to be much more compact than a SA Ruger standard or Bisley grip for packing about. I’ve shot lots with the standard grip frames on large and small frame Rugers, and I’ve found a new love with the Bisley Single Six .32 I picked up a few months ago, but the ease-of-packing look of your birds head guns sure is appealing :thumbup:.

Stay safe.
I've got a Heritage .32 3.5" w/ a Bird's Head grip and a 6.5" .22 standard grip and the BH grip is the most comfortable grip I've ever felt on a single action revolver. IDK how'd they'd feel with a heavy recoiling caliber, but for .22 and .32 it's an excellent grip and Ruger is not doing themselves any favors not offering the Wrangler or the Single 9/Single 10 with a BH grip.

Only downside to most revolvers with the BH grip is they're stuck with the traditional fixed sights that never shoot to the POA. The only one I know of that has adj sights is a .45 Blackhawk, but that thing looks front heavy with its 4.6" barrel.
 
I heard some early reports of the cases splitting and separation. I don't know if Hornady ever addressed the issues but maybe the lack of them on the shelves could be because of the issues.
That has much more to do with them focusing on cranking out as much 9mm as they possibly can and less do to any issues.
 
I’ve been thinking of grabbing one of those Bisely SS’s in .32 H&R before they’re gone. Primarily because of the bluing and adjustable sights. I’m a .32 fan. Not sure why I’m procrastinating.
I'd like to get one myself, but I just don't have a need for it. Ruger's done off/on runs of .32 Mag Single Six's, so I don't think they're ever going to go away forever. My interest isn't so much in power for a single action .32, it's accuracy and I know that Ruger holds the throats for their .32 Mags smaller than their .327's, so I can shoot lead bullets without any fear of gas blow by causing leading.

You know, if Ruger would make the Wrangler in .32 SWL, strictly for wadcutters (because I don't think the current frame is long enough) and put adjustable sights on it, I would probably buy that instead.
 
A buddy and I held a .32-Palooza today.

111620_32-Palooza.jpg

L-R:

  • My Beretta 81 .32 ACP,
  • My Cowboy Pimp Gun (Ruger Single Six Vaquero .32 H&R Mag),
  • My S&W 632 AirWeight .32 H&R Mag, and
  • My friend's Beretta 81 .32 ACP.

He got the G10 grips on his Beretta from Amazon. They really change the feel of the gun by making it slimmer. I think I'll be ordering a set. Likewise, I think I'm going to get a set of Ruger factory rosewood grips for the Single Six, because the plastic gets slippery.
 
Does the S&W CEO have an online suggestion box (like Ruger’s CEO) to take recommendations from customers? If so, I’d certainly be willing to write in as a good S&W customer to suggest reintroducing the S&W Model 431PD and S&W Model 432PD. Both were chambered in the 32 H&R Magnum and both would make excellent pocket pistols.
 
I saw this video after BOTH Brownell’s “GunSmyth” recommended it and likewise for Ken Hackathorn.



Is there a renewed interest in the 32s, especially as carry guns? That would be a good thing!

Wow Hackathorn! I am going to remember that. Us 32 guys save up every talking point we can find to justify our devotion to the despised caliber. Now I can tell people "Hackathorn says 32 is the best," and only be half-lying.

Those look like something I load myself, Berry’s plated 158 grainers + some light charge of Unique, usually 7 grains.

I think I’d really like the 32 H&R mag in a light weight scandium frame wheelgun. Just not Ruger’s plastic LCR. When it comes to wheelguns, I want 100% metal, except for the grips.
7 grains Unique in a 38 case is not a light charge. Probably not even a published charge.

Anyway, there is something about 32 that appeals to the hipster nerd in a man. There is even a Reddit forum (Reddit is where nerds hang out) called The One True Caliber that is strictly for 32ACP.

I hope that Charter or someone else fixes their 7-shot 32 H and R revolvers. I have several of those Charters, and they are all terrible. The nice thing is that even maxed out to near 327 levels, they have almost no recoil.
 
I did load 100 gr LSWC over 4.2 gr Unique for the .32 H&R. Lyman 47th has that as a max load for the small magnum. I’ll be shooting it in a Ruger Single Six 6.5”. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
Wow. So there is no consistency in loading info. I have been going past every published load I could find in my 32 HR, and I still never got up to 4.2 Unique.

I think that is what my 32s have been missing: enough gunpowder.
 
Wow. So there is no consistency in loading info. I have been going past every published load I could find in my 32 HR, and I still never got up to 4.2 Unique.

I think that is what my 32s have been missing: enough gunpowder.
Lyman #44 has 4.3 gr Unique listed for 93 gr .32 S&W Long. I would think 4.2 gr Unique for 100 gr H&R Mag would be fine, but I have no way of pressure testing to verify that.
 
Those look like something I load myself, Berry’s plated 158 grainers + some light charge of Unique, usually 7 grains.

I think I’d really like the 32 H&R mag in a light weight scandium frame wheelgun. Just not Ruger’s plastic LCR. When it comes to wheelguns, I want 100% metal, except for the grips.
I think you may be misremembering. 7 grains of Unique is more like a .44Spl load.
upload_2021-6-14_15-58-40.png
upload_2021-6-14_16-1-31.png
 
Wow Hackathorn! I am going to remember that. Us 32 guys save up every talking point we can find to justify our devotion to the despised caliber. Now I can tell people "Hackathorn says 32 is the best," and only be half-lying.


7 grains Unique in a 38 case is not a light charge. Probably not even a published charge.

Anyway, there is something about 32 that appeals to the hipster nerd in a man. There is even a Reddit forum (Reddit is where nerds hang out) called The One True Caliber that is strictly for 32ACP.

I hope that Charter or someone else fixes their 7-shot 32 H and R revolvers. I have several of those Charters, and they are all terrible. The nice thing is that even maxed out to near 327 levels, they have almost no recoil.
I don’t load 38 brass, just 357 brass. So call 7 grains of Unique a lite 357.

Now, someone get me the email address of S&W’s CEO so I can sent him a link to this thread:
Hey dude, BRING BACK THE S&W Model 431PD and S&W Model 432PD!!!
 
I kind of like .32 pocket pistols, too. And many of these were once military issue for more than a generation.

Beg pardon for the lousy photography. I'm a competent machinist but a lousy photographer.
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The first hi-cap civilian concealed carry pistol, the mighty 1907 Savage!
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Hungarian P-37
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German HSc (Hahn Selbstspanner Pistole, third and final design "C")
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Czechoslovak Model 70 pistol (I had it hard-chromed back when it rode with me on the BMW R-100/S regularly)
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Colt 1903 - I've had this pistol for more than 20 years and have yet to put more than a box of ammo through it. It's not that it's a "bad" pistol, I just don't really ever think about shooting it.

Hope you liked. Some of these designs were very innovative and keep recurring throughout time. Especially the Savage 1907 - 10+1 capacity in a pocket pistol! wow!
 
If 32 caliber was really taking off again then 32naa or something similar would be the rage for defensive guns. It’s not, so I can’t believe that it’s really taking off again. I would love for it to, but realistically it’s just not there. Give me a P3AT or a LCP in 32naa and I will open my wallet. In fact it’s a realistic need right now that I will be filling rather soon, but until it gets filled I will carry the g42. If I could find a reliable setup for that gun in 32naa I would be all over that as well but so far no luck.
 
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