“The sweetest shooting revolver…I have ever handled…”
Julian S. Hatcher, Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers, (1935)
(This article previously appeared in the Cast Bullet Association's Fouling Shot magazine.
The black powder version of .32 Smith & Wesson Long was introduced in 1896 and was soon followed by a smokeless version in 1903 for the Model I, Hand Ejector revolver, adopted by the New York City Police Department. The Regulation Police, as it was also known, was the first service revolver standardized by the NYPD. Until the 1930s when law enforcement officers were faced with heavily armed criminals driving metal automobiles, the .32 S&W Long was the smallest revolver then deemed adequate for police use.
Old references give differing accounts as to its ballistics, due to use of various barrel lengths, and listed catalog velocities being obtained from solid test barrels, rather than revolvers, or vented test barrels, as are used today. Hatcher’s Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers (1935) stated the original charge as 13 grains of black powder for 790 f.p.s. from a 4-1/4 inch barrel. Hatcher said that the .32 Hand Ejector was “the sweetest shooting revolver at fifty yards I have ever handled,” and that it was the “ideal home defense gun for women.” Which … “should be used when possible with the flat-point .32 Colt New Police, which nearly doubles its stopping power.”
A Western Cartridge Company catalog table in Sixguns by Keith (1955) shows the smokeless powder 98-grain. Lubaloy roundnose at 820 from a 4” barrel, the 100 grain flatnosed .32 Colt New Police at 795 f.p.s.and a wadcutter at 770 f.p.s. from a 6” barrel. Keith said, “of the .32s only the Smith & Wesson Long and the .32-20 are worthy of mention.” Of the S&W Long Keith said, “the #313445 with 4 grains of Unique is a wonderful small game cartridge… it works nicely with solid bullets on small game, but lacks killing power on anything larger.”
The Ideal Handbook No. 34 (1943) recommended either the standard roundnosed bullet #313226 or the flat-nosed 100-grain Colt New Police bullet #31357 with 2.5 grains of Bullseye for 707 f.p.s. from the 3” pocket gun. <Today I handload the 94-grain Meister flatnosed .312 cowboy bullet with this same charge of current Alliant product for almost identical ballistics.> The 1964 Gun Digest describes the .32 Long as the “most popular of .32s for revolvers… a good small game cartridge… as accurate as the .38 Special, but less versatile.”
Today’s factory ammunition for the .32 S&W Long is listed as 705 f.p.s. with a 98-gr. round-nosed lead bullet. <Chronograph tests in my S&W 1905 Hand ejector with 4-1/4 inch barrel and 0.008" cylinder gap gave 661 f.p.s. for the Winchester load, 690 for the Remington and 592 for the Fiocchi wadcutter> SAAMI pressures today are kept under 12,000 cup in deference to the many old Colt Pocket Positive and S&W Eye-frame revolvers in which cylinders weren’t heat-treated, but which are still around. Stronger post-war revolvers such as the Smith & Wesson Models 30 and 31, and postwar steel Colt D frames (the same size as used for the .38 Special) can safely handle pressures approximating the .38 Special +P enabling velocities of around 900 f.p.s. with 85 grain jacketed or 100 grain lead bullets.
I reload for several .32 S&W Long revolvers, enjoy shooting them, and use them for the same purposes that “normal people” would use a .22 rim fire for. If you buy your powder and primers in quantity at discount and enjoy bullet casting and reloading for their own sake, shooting these center-fire popguns costs no more than a .22. That can of Bullseye powder which now costs $25, will load 2800 rounds at 2.5 grains per pop.
In about 30 years of playing with the .32s I feel it is a much more effective small game load than the .22 LR, especially since I now have a handy single shot rifle too. In fixed sight guns zero is affected more by bullet weight than velocity. Lighter bullets shoot low, and heavier bullets shoot high. Most fixed sight .32 Long revolvers shoot close to point of aim at practical small game ranges from 25 feet to about 25 yards with 85 to 100 grain bullets. Heavier 115 grain .32-20 slugs shoot 3” high at 25 yards, enable a 6 o’clock hold at fifty yards and shoot to point of aim with fixed sights at 100 yards.
In the pre-1957 S&W revolvers which don’t have the model number stamped in the yoke cut, don’t attempt to load over 850 f.p.s. with a 98-grain lead bullet. A charge of 2.5 grains of Bullseye is maximum with the 94-grain Meister, grain RCBS 32-90CM or the Saeco #325. These provides a useful, but modest improvement in performance over the factory loads, and have ample penetration for small game. Of all the cast bullets fopr the .32 S&W Long I prefer the Saeco #325 98-gr. SWC for hunting because it has the largest meplat to best let the air out of bunny wabbits.
The Meister is almost dead ringer in shape for the factory flat-nosed bullets once loaded in the .32 Colt New Police. It has a long ogival nose compared to the Saeco #325’s short SWC. When seated to the cannelure it leaves more airspace in the case, so it takes about 2.5 grains of Bullseye powder with the Meister to reach the same velocity obtained with the Saeco #325 using 2 grains when it is seated deeper in its crimp groove. So, for older pre-war Colts and the S&W I frames correct loads are 2 grains of Bullseye with the Saeco #325 and 2.5 grains with the Meister.
For dual-use rifle and revolver ammo to share with the Marlin 1894CB in .321 H&R Magnum use the heavier 115-gr. NEI #82, or Lyman #3118 or 120-gr. Saeco #322 LFN .32-20 bullets. DO NOT use these heavier bullets in older S&W Eye frames, because deep seating them to fit into the shorter cylinder will dangerously increase chamber pressure. For use in the Ruger Single Six HRM, modern post-war .32s and in the Marlin 1894 Cowboy chambered in .32 H&R Magnum load 2.5 grains of Bullseye and seat the heavier bullets to 1.32" OAL, crimping in the top lubricating groove. This longer overall cartridge length protrudes out the front of older Eye frame cylinders, preventing you from doing something stupid~!. Velocity is about 750 f.p.s. from a 4-inch revolver and this load is nearly silent at 900 f.p.s. from the Marlin rifle, which steadfastly refuses to feed factory-length .32 S&W Longs.
Heavier field loads are useable in the Marlin rifle, the S&W Models 30 or 31, and postwar Colt D-frames. A charge of 3 grains of Bullseye with the NEI #82 LFN at 1.32" OAL, or with Hornady 100-gr. XTP crimped in its normal cannelure, provides about 900 f.p.s. from a 4-inch revolver and 1200 from the Marlin. It shoots flat to 50 yards or more and approximates factory .32-20 energy. This is my standard working load for the Ruger Single Six and the Marlin, approximating .32 H&R Magnum levels. I use it only occasionally in the S&W Modells 30 and 31, as it exceeds H&R Magnum pressure and excessive use would increase wear on the guns.
Cylinder gaps vary in old revolvers you find in shops and have a dramatic effect upon velocities obtained. As a general rule you can expect about 10 f.p.s. decrease in velocity for each 0.001 increase in cylinder gap above the maximum industry tolerance of 0.008" You can also expect an increase in velocity of about the same order of magnitude with a tighter gap. As a matter of good engineering practice it is prudent not to attempt to fit a revolver used with lead bullets with a barrel-cylinder gap tighter than 0.003", as accumulations of lead and powder fouling will cause binding of the cylinder. However a tight 4-inch gun with minimum gap willl produce velocities which compare closely to a 6-inch gun with larger gap. If your used gun has a cylinder gap greater than 0.010" it should not be fired, due to increased risk of a "bullet-in-bore" or BIB malfunction. Caution must be exercised in attempting to load jacketed bullets in the .32 S&W Long to ensure that a safe load can be assembled within normal pressure which attains an average velocity at least 700 f.p.s. to be sure that the bullet exits the barrel.
If you attempt to shoot jacketed factory loads such as the CBC 100-gr. hollowpoint in older guns with cylinder gap larger than 0.008" you can reasonably expect to "stick" a bullet in the barrel sooner or later. The safe way to remove one is to flood the barrel with Kano Kroil and tap the bullet out with many tiny taps using the Brownell's Squibb rod and a dead blow hammer.
