Rebirth of the 32s?

I am a fan. I have (among others) a 6.5" Ruger Single Six in 32 H&R, a 4" S&W 32 long i-frame Hand Ejector, a 4" Ruger SP101 327 magnum, a top-break 3" H&R 32 s&w (it will shoot longs), an 2" NEF 32 magnum Model R73, and a 2" Charter Arms Undercoverette in 32 H&R.

The Single Six is absurdly accurate.

My wife and MiL have damaged wrists. They shoot the Undercoverette easily and well. My daughter was shooting it when she was eight. If I live to a ripe old age, it will probably be my SD handgun one day.

I have various 32acp pistols that I consider to be range toys, but the 32 magnum cartridges seem good enough for SD for me.

I can't understand why anyone would use 22lr for SD instead of 32 S&W short or long. Their recoil is minor.

My minimum for feeling armed would be my NEF 32 H&R magnum revolver. It goes bang every time. It's not at all my preferred weapon, but I would take it over a fancier 22 or 25.

Yeah, 32 revolvers are cheaper than 22's or 38's. My fully-functional (if ugly) Hand Ejector was won for a bid of $120-something,

jski said:

I do wish S&W could see fit to resume production of their Model 332Ti !
View attachment 945000
Scandium frame and titanium cylinder chambered in 32 H&R Magnum.

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In a 4” Kit Gun style, that .32 Mag titanium/scandium combo would make the ultimate backpackers/camp gun! Man I wish S&W was as responsive to distributor exclusives as Ruger is...there are a ton of cool gun/caliber combos Smith could put together that would easily sell a bunch of units.

Stay safe.

I really enjoyed shooting the Bisley .32 yesterday.

The Bisley grip has a great feel, a bit thicker at the top and more upright than the standard SA grip on the old model Vaquero and Blackhawk I own, to me it’s sort of a combo of a DA S&W and a Ruger SA grip.

The gun has a non fluted, half-rollmarked cylinder. I’ll freely admit I like fluted cylinders, they just look right to me. I think I only have two non fluted guns, both of them are Rugers. While they do put more steel around the chambers, in this case I wish it was left plain. The rollmarking on the small Single Six cylinders is hard to decipher and just doesn’t lift my keel.

The 6.5” barrel is plenty long enough for distance shots and gives the small-framed Single Six a bit of a nose heavy feel. Offhand one and two hand shooting was easy to do, as cocking the Bisley is a cinch with the lower hammer spur and the .32 H&R recoil felt like a Wadcutter target load in a K-frame .38.

These are cool little guns. I wish I would’ve joined the .32 party sooner, I’m sure I’d have more than one...as like it so much I just may add to the flock, soon.

Stay safe.

Have you had an SAA style revolver before, Riomouse911? If not, what do you think of the loading/unloading process? I had one of these Rugers, and that was what I did not like about it.

I like 32s. Have a number of em. Recoil is mild and they are very versatile. Many a deer has been taken with the 32-20, albeit mostly out of rifles.

An NAA Guardian in 32NAA (necked down 380)
Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless in 32ACP
Ruger Single Six Bisley in 33 H&R Mag
Colt Police Positive Special in 32 Colt N.P.
Colt New Navy in 32-20, unshootable at this time
Erma-Werke KGP68 Luger copy in 32ACP

The Guardian has quite a pop because of its small size, but is easily carried. The 1903 shoots smoothly, but is a bit too pricey for me to carry. Plus its 115 years old. The Erma, like my other semi auto 32s, is a bit small for my larger hands.

I shoot the Bisley most often. Once you adjust to the grip, it points and shoots nicely. Ive carried it on traplines before too. It dispatches critters well. I enjoy the single action loading too.

Monac said:

Have you had an SAA style revolver before, Riomouse911? If not, what do you think of the loading/unloading process? I had one of these Rugers, and that was what I did not like about it.

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I first started shootings single action revolvers in the mid-1990’s, when I would fumble around SASS matches trying to keep up with the fast folks.

I owned a Uberti Cattleman SAA clone in .45 Colt, and I paired it with an old Vaquero in .45 Colt, for shooting the SASS matches. I still have the Vaquero, along with a Blackhawk flat top in ,44 Spl, a Single Six 22 LR and Mag and a Wrangler .22.

I will freely admit that loading the larger .45 Colt and .44 Spl. rounds through the loading gate is easier for me than the smaller .22 rounds are... and with the smallish .32’s it is also sort of tough to find the charge hole and load than the biggies are. (I still occasionally use .45 ACP 230 gr RNL bullets in my .45 Colt loads to make reloading the single action a bit easier .)

It takes some practice to get used to loading and unloading a gate-feeder like the Ruger Blackhawks or SAA’s, but it’s not awful once you get the hang of it.

Stay safe.

The Taurus M731 in TT with a 2" barrel has been my choice for carry for a long time already. It is in .32 H&R Mag.

Not a fan of the 327. Prefer the 32 H&R.

The 327 operating pressure is simply too high, resulting in guns that are excessively heavy for pocker guns. It should have been set at the same as the 357 Magnum. Not 10,000 PSI higher.

this revelation is brought on by a gradual acquirement of common sense: that a small caliber gun you can shoot faster, more accurately, and practice more with is generally a better choice than; a larger caliber gun that you cannot shoot faster, as accurately, and fatigue more during practice.

I like the idea of the .32 revolver that can eat anything.... in practice, almost all of the .32 rounds are scarce on the ground. There’s a few choices in .32 H&R and .327 Fed, basically nothing but expensive wadcutters and target ammo in .32 long, and .32 (short) I haven’t actually seen on a shelf in a long time. I’m not sure a .32 snubbie, in reality, does anything a .38spl does not, with a lot more off the shelf options.

Gotta post my .327 Rugers again...
I have 700 rounds of .327 FM and 400 of S&W .32 Long, but no .32 H&R.

Mosin77 said:

I like the idea of the .32 revolver that can eat anything.... in practice, almost all of the .32 rounds are scarce on the ground. There’s a few choices in .32 H&R and .327 Fed, basically nothing but expensive wadcutters and target ammo in .32 long, and .32 (short) I haven’t actually seen on a shelf in a long time. I’m not sure a .32 snubbie, in reality, does anything a .38spl does not, with a lot more off the shelf options.

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I roll my own using 327 brass. Loading anything from 32 Long power levels to full-house Fed Mag. No having to change the brass.

Much, much easier to get what one wants that way since as we've all seen factory ammo is hard to come by now.

Dunross said:

I roll my own using 327 brass. Loading anything from 32 Long power levels to full-house Fed Mag. No having to change the brass.

Much, much easier to get what one wants that way since as we've all seen factory ammo is hard to come by now.

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Do you have issues with accuracy related to the twist rate, loading down the .327? I love the idea of the LCRx in .327 but what I really want is something like a hot .32 long. And most revolvers actually chambered in .32 long are 100 years old or more.

Rule3 said:

32 worked well for LeRoy Brown!
I have a SW 327 Pro, No longer madeView attachment 944681

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Me too. It's in my pocket right now!

Mosin77 said:

Do you have issues with accuracy related to the twist rate, loading down the .327? I love the idea of the LCRx in .327 but what I really want is something like a hot .32 long. And most revolvers actually chambered in .32 long are 100 years old or more.

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No, but then I don't go with the lighter weight bullets.

If you want a hot 32 Long why not a 32 H&R?

Perusing this thread I was not much taking with the 32 idea until I saw Armybrat's Single Seven. Something about that silly little gun appeals to me. I don't need another gun right now but that sure is cute.

Dave

Dave T said:

Perusing this thread I was not much taking with the 32 idea until I saw Armybrat's Single Seven. Something about that silly little gun appeals to me. I don't need another gun right now but that sure is cute.

Dave

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+1

Ditto, thats a SWEET little pistol

I consider the Single Seven my trail gun, displacing the Single Sixes in .32 H&R which held that designation previously.

It really is a nifty and compact firearm that’s capable of packing a significant punch when required to.

Here it is on far right with a couple of Single Six .32 H&R's and 2 New Model Vaquero .45 Colts on top.

Crosshair said:

Not a fan of the 327. Prefer the 32 H&R.

The 327 operating pressure is simply too high, resulting in guns that are excessively heavy for pocker guns. It should have been set at the same as the 357 Magnum. Not 10,000 PSI higher.

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I don't see how a cartridge rated at 35,000 psi would result in a lighter gun than one rated at 45,000 psi. Can you explain that?

Ruger uses steel frames for their LCRs that shoot 9mm, 357 mag and 327 Federal. They only use aluminum frames for their 38 Special, which does reduce weight considerably.

Also, reducing the 327 Fed pressure to 35,000 psi would reduce its speed and it might not achieve what the designers have in mind.

Dave T said:

Perusing this thread I was not much taking with the 32 idea until I saw Armybrat's Single Seven. Something about that silly little gun appeals to me. I don't need another gun right now but that sure is cute.

Dave

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I needed it like another hole in the head, but the cute little 7 shooter was too hard to resist. The SP101 6 shot is a practical option for wheel gunners.