Given hope for .32 Magnum lovers

You can always cut down the more common .327 brass and roll your own.

You'll save money and have better ammo.

Ammunition sales drive handgun development. Companies look at this. Hopefully steady interest will spur a few makers to offer new revolvers. Not hard really, just adaption of existing designs but it has to be worth the expense. The .32 is a good option to have.

wcwhitey said:

Ammunition sales drive handgun development. Companies look at this. Hopefully steady interest will spur a few makers to offer new revolvers. Not hard really, just adaption of existing designs but it has to be worth the expense. The .32 is a good option to have.

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Yes, this is a good point! And manufacturers seem to have abandoned this cartridge. Does anybody other than Charter (not that I dislike Charter) even still make anything chambered for .32 Magnum? My last new .32 Magnum revolver is actually a .327, so that works okay, but it'd be nice to have the "real thing." I guess there just aren't enough of us in the world, despite the occasional love letter to the cartridge that appears in gun publications.

AZAndy said:

Yes, this is a good point! And manufacturers seem to have abandoned this cartridge. Does anybody other than Charter (not that I dislike Charter) even still make anything chambered for .32 Magnum? My last new .32 Magnum revolver is actually a .327, so that works okay, but it'd be nice to have the "real thing." I guess there just aren't enough of us in the world, despite the occasional love letter to the cartridge that appears in gun publications.

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I like the whole family from .32S&W up to the .327. I understand why the Magnum was invented in order to keep guns over 100 years old from chambering a .32 Long that lived up to its potential. The .327 not so much, never resonated with me. I appreciate the .32 as a really sweet shooting accurate cartridge. Kudos to Charter Arms for their Magnums. But a nice 3” or 4” Adjustable sighted J Frame size Kit Gun is what the Magnum begs. The perfect field or range companion. Colt could do it, so could Smith. Taurus made some really nice .32 Longs back in the day. No reason a Taurus 3” Model 85 cannot be chambered in the .32 Magnum. Not every cartridge needs to have pressures exceeding 30 K. Just my humble opinion.

wcwhitey said:

I like the whole family from .32S&W up to the .327. I understand why the Magnum was invented in order to keep guns over 100 years old from chambering a .32 Long that lived up to its potential. The .327 not so much, never resonated with me. I appreciate the .32 as a really sweet shooting accurate cartridge. Kudos to Charter Arms for their Magnums. But a nice 3” or 4” Adjustable sighted J Frame size Kit Gun is what the Magnum begs. The perfect field or range companion. Colt could do it, so could Smith. Taurus made some really nice .32 Longs back in the day. No reason a Taurus 3” Model 85 cannot be chambered in the .32 Magnum. Not every cartridge needs to have pressures exceeding 30 K. Just my humble opinion.

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I don't have any interest in the .327 either; it seems like overkill to me. If I really need ear-deafening, eye-blinding shooting, I have .357's already.

The .32 H&R strikes me as the .38 of the slightly smaller bullet world-- it has the .38's wide variety of load possibilities from "did the gun go off?" wadcutters to hard-hitter hand-pummeling defense rounds. I think a 100 (or 85) grain XTP going over 1000fps would do just fine for defense purposes (great overview of the cartridge and a lot of load data here), and carry just that pretty regularly.

If S&W brought back one of their many previous models for the cartridge (especially the 331), I'd be delighted, and would go shopping. In the meantime, just looking at the photos on Charter's site for the 3" 7-shot "Professional," it looks like they may have straightened out the front-sight issues that so many of us have had. Barrel meets frame more evenly at the top, and there seems to be a lowered area where the sight is mounted. Not going to buy another to find out; I worked out a way to shoot mine accurately the way it is, but I'm glad to see that it looks like they've addressed the problem. But you're right, an adjustable sight model from somebody, anybody, would be really attractive!

Steel Hayes said:

I’ve been emailing Fedral for the last 4 months(only got automated greetings) about lack of .32H&R magnum ammo.
Yesterday I received an email back from their customer service(an actual person), this is what I received-
View attachment 1061785
It’s certainly a step in the right direction, hopefully production will start.
I don’t mind reloading my own, but it would be nice to just buy a box off the shelf.

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Thanks for doing the work of getting a response from Federal! I like their .32 H&R stuff and look forward to seeing some around.

AZAndy said:

it looks like they may have straightened out the front-sight issues that so many of us have had. Barrel meets frame more evenly at the top, and there seems to be a lowered area where the sight is mounted.

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EDIT- auto correct inserted mahatma instead of What.

What have you seen to lead you to believe that Charter has addressed the sighting issue on the Professional? Was it something written or just looking at pictures of what they are currently selling?

I followed your thread on the Professional with great interest. I resolved to not buy one unless/until they fixed the issue. I’d still prefer to have one with adjustable sights and Wouldn’t mind the extra cost, but I couldn’t justify fixing a design/manufacturing issue.

wcwhitey said:

I like the whole family from .32S&W up to the .327. I understand why the Magnum was invented in order to keep guns over 100 years old from chambering a .32 Long that lived up to its potential. The .327 not so much, never resonated with me. I appreciate the .32 as a really sweet shooting accurate cartridge. Kudos to Charter Arms for their Magnums. But a nice 3” or 4” Adjustable sighted J Frame size Kit Gun is what the Magnum begs. The perfect field or range companion. Colt could do it, so could Smith. Taurus made some really nice .32 Longs back in the day. No reason a Taurus 3” Model 85 cannot be chambered in the .32 Magnum. Not every cartridge needs to have pressures exceeding 30 K. Just my humble opinion.

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I love 32 cal in all of its flavors so when I got a chance to get a 327 and a pile of ammo in a lopsided trade that favored me I jumped all over it. I don’t regret doing it by any stretch because I learned a lot. Rifle pressure with a very short barrel is unpleasant. That’s the reason I traded off the AR pistol to get the Taurus 327 but 327 has basically the same pressure and a 2” barrel. Recoil was notable but not extreme. I found it to be quite pleasant to shoot but only with doubled up ear protection and outdoors where sound wasn’t coming back at me. I fear the same issue with 30 super carry which I have already nicknamed the 30 tinnitus. I got rid of the 327 pretty quickly. For another lopsided trade too and then I just cashed out on the deal after I decided to get rid of the Rhino I got when I let the 327 go.

Johnm1 said:

mahatma have you seen to lead you to believe that Charter has addressed the sighting issue on the Professional? Was it something written or just looking at pictures of what they are currently selling?

I followed your thread on the Professional with great interest. I resolved to not buy one unless/until they fixed the issue. I’d still prefer to have one with adjustable sights and Wouldn’t mind the extra cost, but I couldn’t justify fixing a design/manufacturing issue.

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I'm just going by the new photos on the Charter site. There looks to be a depressed area on the barrel rib where the front sight is mounted, which wasn't there before, and the top of the barrel meets the frame more gracefully than it used to. Here's the photo I'm talking about:

If I hadn't just bought a new model Taurus 327, I'd be tempted to order one just to see what's what.

Now that I've figured out to just use the front sight like a Big Dot, where the bottom of the optic fiber rests on the bottom of the rear notch, it hits where I'm aiming. I also slapped some Crimson Trace grips on it, which makes me feel a little better about carrying something I might need in less than full sunlight. I have it on me as I type, 'cause I'm breaking in a new holster (the Galco one that Charter sells, with "Professional" stamped on it so I can feel extra cool and hip).

Thanks Andy,

I'll talk to my local shop and see if they can order one with some sort of assurance it is of the new manufacture with at least a chance of it hitting where I'm aiming.

Midway had Black Hills 32 Mag in stock recently.

AZAndy said:

Yes, this is a good point! And manufacturers seem to have abandoned this cartridge. Does anybody other than Charter (not that I dislike Charter) even still make anything chambered for .32 Magnum? My last new .32 Magnum revolver is actually a .327, so that works okay, but it'd be nice to have the "real thing." I guess there just aren't enough of us in the world, despite the occasional love letter to the cartridge that appears in gun publications.

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Cimarron has a Model P Jr. in stock (Uberti single action). I have 5 boxes of Federal 85 gr that I don't really use because I reload too. Other than roll over carry ammo, shooting it off, I don't feel a need for much factory ammo and the cost.

Black hills 32 Mag still in stock at Midway. More pricey than it used to be and limit of 2.

I bought all of the reloading components before I purchased a 32 S&W long revolver because of the non-availability of commercial ammo. 32 Mag is even more uncommon than 32 Long so yeah, reload it or do without.

SteadyD said:

Black hills 32 Mag still in stock at Midway. More pricey than it used to be and limit of 2.

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A buck every time you pull the trigger. Got to love those ammo companies that invent a new cartridge and convince a firearms manufacturer to build something that shoots it.

wcwhitey said:

I like the whole family from .32S&W up to the .327. I understand why the Magnum was invented in order to keep guns over 100 years old from chambering a .32 Long that lived up to its potential. The .327 not so much, never resonated with me. I appreciate the .32 as a really sweet shooting accurate cartridge. Kudos to Charter Arms for their Magnums. But a nice 3” or 4” Adjustable sighted J Frame size Kit Gun is what the Magnum begs. The perfect field or range companion. Colt could do it, so could Smith. Taurus made some really nice .32 Longs back in the day. No reason a Taurus 3” Model 85 cannot be chambered in the .32 Magnum. Not every cartridge needs to have pressures exceeding 30 K. Just my humble opinion.

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LCRx, 3" barrel, .32 magnum six shot. Perfection for a modern kit gun.

.327 Federal would be the next best thing.

wcwhitey said:

But a nice 3” or 4” Adjustable sighted J Frame size Kit Gun is what the Magnum begs.

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Oh, Yes, Brother....I've got 5 .32's: 3 Single Sixes (5-1/2", 4-5/8", & a Birdshead); a Smith M-16-4 and a Colt Police Positive 4" in .32 Long.

They're all great...superb really, but...I've got 6 grand daughters and those little Single Sixes or better yet Smith model 632's would really light up their Christmas's. Mine too, truth be told. YMMv but you oughta get a .32...it's like a reloadable .22 lr!!! Rod

I hope to own a 32 one day. I got my cart ahead of my horse and bought dies, bullets, brass, powder and 5 boxes 32 SW Long Ammo. I would love a SW or Colt or Ruger SA. Not sure what order of preference.

That is good that 32 H&R Mag should be more available in the coming months.

I only have one 32 H&R Mag revolver, a 6" S&W Model 16-4. I load only target level wadcutter loads in 32 H&R Mag cases for it as the revolver is only used for range fun plinking.

I have a Ruger Single 7 , SP101, and GP100 chambered in 327 Federal Magnum if I want higher power 32 caliber rounds. Currently, I keep the SP101 at the ready incase a ground hog shows itself around our hobby horse farm.

Back in the day, I bought a large quantity of Starline 32 H&R Mag, 32 Fed Mag, and 32 S&WL cases so that I'd have a supply of cases on hand should they become hard to find.

I hope Federal is not just pulling your leg. I too would like to see some plain ole lead swc or other " affordable" H&R. I am finding Fed .327 for my SP101 for .85 per rd so I'm not 32less yet.
Heres my 3, and still lookin for others.

Steel Hayes said:

I still have plenty of Starline magnum shells that I reload, but it would be great to have factory production of .32H&R again.

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If you reload why do you want factory ammunition? I started reloading so I didn't have to depend on factory production. And because I reload and have a very large store of supplies this and other shortages have not affected me in the least. I got my first 32 mag from my dad. It came with two boxes of Federal 32 mag ammo. Nearly every case split when fired. It was a common complaint too. I thought the Federal ammo was the worst factory ammo I had ever fired.

I do like the 32 long and 32 mag. I felt the 327 was a better rifle round but way too much for a short barreled gun. The 32 mag does all I want from a 32 caliber gun and I like it best in My 5.5" Ruger single sixes. I can those up to where get just over 1300fps with an 85gr bullet but normally just load those to around 1100+ or lead bullets to around 1000fps. The lead bullet loads are my favorites to shoot. Not too much blast but a real step up over my 32 long loads.

I can live without practice .32 H&R Mag factory ammo as most people who shoot at a range would probably rather use the cheaper and more common and accurate .32 S&W Long, but for defensive ammo the .32 Mag needs more support and options that aren't all a buck a round. Unfortunately, I do not see a day where Winchester starts making 50 round boxes of .32 Mag JHP for under 30 bucks.