Range report: .32 S&W Long

[AZAndy]

I picked up another .32 Long yesterday, so I thought I'd do an accuracy comparison between the three I now have. These are all with S&B wadcutters, single action, at 10 yards. For reference, the black part of the target is 4" diameter. Each target shows 12 rounds.
#1: ~1957 S&W Regulation Police (pre-Model 31) 2.75" group



#2: ~1924 S&W Regulation Police 3" group



#3: ~1916 .32 Hand Ejector 2.5" group



Considering that I was sitting down with my elbows on a table, none of these is particularly fabulous. The tighter group with the oldest one may be due to the almost invisible, very narrow front sight, as I had to concentrate harder to shoot that one.

The tearing you see isn't from keyholing; there was a breeze that was pulling the target out from the cardboard it was mounted to.

I keep reading in various places that the .32 Long is an exceptionally accurate cartridge, but I'm not seeing it here. I do reload this chambering, so I guess I need to do some fiddling with loads. Today I was trying to use up some of the commercial stuff I got before the new dies and components arrived.

 

[bannockburn]

Andy

A fine trio you've got there of S&W .32 revolvers! While not the greatest of groups they are all in the black at 30' and all of them are fixed sighted guns (you even mentioned that the narrow front sight on the 1916 Hand Ejector was very difficult to see). Maybe things will improve once you dial things in better with your handloads. Let us know how things go next range visit.

 

[kscharlie]

Actually, the last picture with the target shot with 1916 HE is pretty decent. Keep in mind that none of the revolvers used were made for "target shooting". Also, the fact that the revolvers had crude sights AND the S&W revolvers you used are I-Frame guns, which are even smaller than J-Frames. I have several .32 S&W revolvers and all but one shoot quite similarly to the groups you show. The one gun that shows the potential of the .32 S&W Long is my Model 16-4. The K-32 Masterpiece, which evolved into the Model 16, was designed and built as a target gun. It was also built on the much larger K-Frame.

Here's a pic showing the "group" shot from my ca. 1953, Improved I-Frame .32 S&W Long Regulation Police.


Here's a pic of two cylinder's worth shot from my 16-4, same day and conditions as previous picture. The first 6 shots were scattered a bit, coming from a clean gun. Once it got a bit dirty, the second 6 shots were all the small cluster seen within the marked circle just to the right of the X.


The .32 S&W Long is a very accurate cartridge. The gun being used has much to do with fulfilling the accuracy potential of the cartridge. The older fixed sight Hand Ejectors are a pure joy to shoot and have fun with. Target guns they are not, but I enjoy shooting them much more than I do shooting my Model 16.

Edit: Groups shot at 10 yards...

 

[Walkalong]

Regulation Police .32 Long. I have to wear readers to see the tiny fixed sights, but it is very accurate.

 

[cfullgraf]

The K-32 Masterpiece, which evolved into the Model 16, was designed and built as a target gun. It was also built on the much larger K-Frame.

An S&W Model 16-1, 16-2, or 16-3, all chambered in 32 S&W Long, is on my wish list but they are about as rare as hen's teeth and expen$ive.

My J-frame Model 30 shoots nice groups but with the fixed sights, the groups vary a little from point of aim.

It is too bad 32 S&W Long is not more popular than it is.

 

[joneb]

Very cool thanks for sharing.

 

[Tallball]

Nice revolvers! I really like the 32 S&W long cartridge. My old Hand Ejector is fun to shoot.

 

[AZAndy]

The .32 S&W Long is a very accurate cartridge. The gun being used has much to do with fulfilling the accuracy potential of the cartridge. The older fixed sight Hand Ejectors are a pure joy to shoot and have fun with. Target guns they are not, but I enjoy shooting them much more than I do shooting my Model 16.
Edit: Groups shot at 10 yards...

I have never seen a 16 in person. Very nice! What barrel length is that? Looks like you could put a rifle stock on it.

 

[AZAndy]

Regulation Police .32 Long. I have to wear readers to see the tiny fixed sights, but it is very accurate.

Oooh, that's a nice oldie. 1910's? Those grips are worth more than any of my .32's. Thanks for the photo!

 

[AZAndy]

My J-frame Model 30 shoots nice groups but with the fixed sights, the groups vary a little from point of aim.
It is too bad 32 S&W Long is not more popular than it is.

A 30 or 31 snubnose would make a real nice carry gun, I think. Buffalo Bore even makes a defense load with a 100gn wadcutter at 900 fps, which is pretty close to .380 territory. Maybe the .32 will make revolvers cool again!

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Andy

Any chance the ivory grips on your 32 Regulation Police are original? I don't believe I have ever seen one with Ivory grips.

I have a couple of them with the standard walnut grips.






A Model 16 or a K-32...........gonna have to keep dreaming about that.

 

[Tallball]

"A Model 16 or a K-32...........gonna have to keep dreaming about that."

Me too! I have a K22 and a Model 14. It sure would be nice to have a 32 caliber to round out the collection. That Model 16 is gorgeous.

 

[AZAndy]

Andy

Any chance the ivory grips on your 32 Regulation Police are original? I don't believe I have ever seen one with Ivory grips.

Looks like some kind of heavy plastic to me, and they don't actually fit-- there's a gap at the top. I've got a set of hard rubber repros on the way from Vintage Gun Grips. I wish they had wood, but I didn't see any. I reckon somebody will eventually put some real ones for sale on the S&W forum, so I'm waiting...

 

[kscharlie]

I have never seen a 16 in person. Very nice! What barrel length is that? Looks like you could put a rifle stock on it.

The barrel is 8 3/8"....and heavy! A 4" or 6" would be a bit "nicer". This is the only 16 I have ever seen in person too. Yes, they are a bit scarce. I was able to obtain this gun at an estate auction not quite two years ago, for considerably less than it's value.

 

[cfullgraf]

I've seen two 6" Model 16-4 in the metal, one of which followed me home. A nice 32 H&R revolver that shoots, well, like a good K-frame.

They are more reasonably priced than the K-32's or the Models 16-1 through -3 but still priced high enough to make many folks gasp.

S&W made about 8800 Model 16-4's in the 1990s and about 3300 for entire run of K-32's and Model 16-1 through-3. Any wonder why they are hard to find?

 

[Monac]

Looks like some kind of heavy plastic to me, and they don't actually fit-- there's a gap at the top. I've got a set of hard rubber repros on the way from Vintage Gun Grips. I wish they had wood, but I didn't see any. I reckon somebody will eventually put some real ones for sale on the S&W forum, so I'm waiting...

In my experience, any grip that will fit a round-butt J-frame revolver with also fit any S&W I-frame revolver. This is very handy for getting grips that allow you to shoot the gun well. I like the old S&W "Target" style J-frame grips, but they are getting hard to find and pricey. BTW, the same thing is true of S&W 38 Perfected Model revolvers, and some of the Spanish I-frame knock-offs. (Some of the knock-offs had square butt frames unlike anything S&W ever made, so those are out, of course.)

Also in my experience, all revolvers prefer particular brands of ammunition or bullet styles, so I would keep trying to see what your revolvers like best. I used to have a Colt Police Positive Special 38 that was far more accurate with 130 grain FMJ loads than with anything else, for instance.

There are a number of imported brands of 32 Long that are not too expensive. I would particularly suggest trying Fiocchi's 98 grain FMJ 32 Long load, because it is quite different from anything else and is reasonably priced. It USED to be loaded hotter than US 32 Long loads, but I don't know if that is still the case.

 

[cfullgraf]

The top revolver is my 6" Model 16-4. The second is a Model 30-1 and the bottom is a Model 31-1.

The main difference between the Model 3x's is the frame, one has a round butt, the other has a square butt. The Model 30-1 shoots very well, I have not yet put a round through the Model 31-1.

I've been casting 98 grain wadcutters and 98 grain semiwadcutters for my 32 caliber revolvers. They have been easy to reload and shoot well including in my 327 Fed Mag guns. Starline has all three types of cases and the ammunition is economical to reload.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

In my experience, any grip that will fit a round-butt J-frame revolver with also fit any S&W I-frame revolver. This is very handy for getting grips that allow you to shoot the gun well. I like the old S&W "Target" style J-frame grips, but they are getting hard to find and pricey. BTW, the same thing is true of S&W 38 Perfected Model revolvers, and some of the Spanish I-frame knock-offs. (Some of the knock-offs had square butt frames unlike anything S&W ever made, so those are out, of course.)

Howdy Again

The Regulation Police models were a bit different. That's why I asked it the 'ivory' or plastic grips were original. The 32 Regulation Police and 38 Regulation Police had a grip that was extended and specially cut to be longer than the standard I frame round butt.








S&W even obtained a patent for this style of grip.







Because the grip covered the bottom of the butt, the Regulation Police revolvers had the Serial Number marked on the front of the grip frame, rather than the bottom of the butt. Sorry, I don't seem to have a photo of that.



The 38 Regulation Police (38 S&W, five shots) had the same arrangement with the grips,

 

[Monac]

Thanks, Driftwood. I originally said that I thought the Regulation Police grip frame cut did not prevent the use of J-frame round butt grips on I frame revolvers, than I noticed you said the RP grip frames were extended as well, and I realized I no longer had a genuine S&W Regulation Police any more to check, so I edited this post.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

I have a .32 Hand Ejector that required extensive rehabilitation, but it's a fun shooter. Not that my accuracy with it is any better than the OPs post; I attribute this to my shooting rather than the gun though.


My Colt Detective special is another story, though this was shot at 7 yards-

I would love to find an I-frame snubby in .32- did they even make such a thing?

 

[AZAndy]

I would love to find an I-frame snubby in .32- did they even make such a thing?

The shortest was 3.25", which is sorta snubbish, but I haven't found one of those yet.

 

[AZAndy]

There are a number of imported brands of 32 Long that are not too expensive. I would particularly suggest trying Fiocchi's 98 grain FMJ 32 Long load, because it is quite different from anything else and is reasonably priced. It USED to be loaded hotter than US 32 Long loads, but I don't know if that is still the case.

I was shooting the Fiocchis before I had the idea to mark and keep some targets for a post here. They shoot about the same as the S&B. Fool that I am, I neglected to take my chrono along, so I don't know what kind of velocity either the S&B or Fiocchi were getting. I've done up a batch of 98 grain wadcutters with 2 grains of HP-38, but haven't chronographed them yet. I've been scouring the internet to find a range of weights for Unique, since that should give me more variety to play with. (None of my books mention a Unique load.) For HP-38, the spread between starting and max is three tenths.

 

[heyjoe]

I have a .32 Hand Ejector that required extensive rehabilitation, but it's a fun shooter. Not that my accuracy with it is any better than the OPs post; I attribute this to my shooting rather than the gun though.
View attachment 792189

My Colt Detective special is another story, though this was shot at 7 yards-
View attachment 792190
I would love to find an I-frame snubby in .32- did they even make such a thing?

yes they did. here is mine.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

View attachment 792229 View attachment 792230
yes they did. here is mine.

Very nice!

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Cool guns!