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King of the 32s?
I'm starting to get the itch for a 32 cal revolver to carry around the homestead. Something that would be easy to carry, fast to shoot, and would be great for a little plinking. Not to mention dispatching the occasional snake, opossum, armadillo, or even coyote if one is ever ballsy enough to get that close.
There are four I'm looking into. The 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, and the 32-20 WCF. I feel all would be up to the task, but there can only be one king. I'm leaning towards the 327 Fed as it can shoot both the long and the H&R, while also outclassing even rifle only 32-20 in a much shorter barrel.
I have to say that a Ruger Single Seven in 327 Fed is very appealing, though a little pricey. What do you guys think?
https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/.../718002098.jpg
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.32 H&R in a 4-5/8" blue SSM is my favorite.32 of all I've owned.
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I have a single seven and have been pleased with it. Easy shooting revolver.
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If money were no object, I would track down a Ruger Blackhawk 8-Shooter in 327 so it could, as you say, handle all the straight sided 32 cases from 32 S&W through S&W Long and H&R on the way to 327, with the semi-rimmed 32 ACP thrown in for good measure. Or I would more likely hunt up a Buckeye Special 32 Combo Blackhawk and ruin some of the originality by having the 32 H&R cylinder reamed to 327, giving me 32-20 with one cylinder and all the rest of the 32s with the other. I had one of the latter and sold it before the 327 was invented (not one of my finest moments) but the 8-shooter probably isn't going anywhere until my body reaches room temperature.
Oh yeah, if you want to have a S&W, a Model 66 can be converted with a rebored 617 barrel and cylinder. My "616" is pretty slick even if it doesn't shoot 32-20s.
Froggie
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After doing a little more looking, The Ruger SP101 with a 3" barrel is tempting too. I'm a sucker for DA revolvers, and it's small/light enough to be carried but still well suited for pest control and plinking. :D
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I own the Single Seven in all three barrel lengths and the SP101. I hate the SP101 as it has the worse trigger pull out of all of my handguns. Ruger also did a poor job finishing it. So between the two it’s not even a decision. Buy the Single Seven and don’t look back.
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I like the new version of the SP101 overall except the sights, but it certainly will benefit from a trigger job, it's pretty bad out of the box. The Blackhawk and the Buckeye Special are great if you can find either at a reasonable price. Nice to have an interchangeable cylinder. Their biggest drawback is the weight and size. The Single 7 or SSM is probably the clear winner if your requirements are compact, accurate and relative cost. The SSM is a tad lighter and doesn't handle .327 which may or may not matter. For me, it doesn't, .32 mag is plenty good around the farm.
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I have shot the 327 and it is very impressive. It has the velocity for flat shooting out to 75 yards and beyond for varmint size animals. I use 75 yards as a distance that a lot of pistol shooters might be able to hit a pop can more times than not.
The drawback is the noise and muzzle blast when you touch off the trigger. This would not be a factor in a carry gun, because you might never shoot it. But, for using it around the homestead on a regular basis, you'd have wear hearing protection, because you might be using it several times per day and in a lot of cases you might not have time to put in ear plugs. Not good for your hearing.
My choice would be for the 32 magnum. In most guns it is only 150-200 fps slower than the 327 Federal and will dispatch varmints at the same distance as the 327.
The lesser mentioned 32's have their own nitch, but, with a shorter range to be effective.
My thoughs are, get the caliber that you can shoot well at 75 yards without flinching.
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I say the 327 because of all the other 32's you can shoot in it so it is 5 guns in one. I have the 327BH and it have the 8 rounds in it.I am happy with it. that I had a handi rifle made in 327 .
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32/20 for handgun and rifle. For over 100 yrs.
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I have the Single Seven that I stoke with 32 H&R and a Blackhawk 30 carbine that I load with 32-20.
Honestly, I find that I usually grab the Single Seven when going out at night to check our animals, but if I thought I might encounter a target of opportunity of the swine variety, I would chose the 32-20.
I have put more than my share of hogs down with the 32-20 and would feel under gunned with the 32 H&R.
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I have guns, SA, DA, blued, SS, Old, New; that cover all the cartridges listed and all the brands mentioned. Of the ones I own I would go with a Colt Army Special in 32-20. I've had 6 guns in 327, good, several in 32 Mag, good, a bunch in 32 Long, love them all. But if there was only one.....it would be a 6" Colt AS.
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I have been looking for a pistol with 6" barrel that would shoot either the .32 H&R or the .327 fed.
I have yet to find one that appeals to me enough to pry the cash out of my pocket.
I have a pair of H&R Revolvers, 732,733 2.5 inch barrels and I love shooting the .32sw long in both.
And if I did ever find that paragon of revolvers I would likely mostly shoot .32sw longs in it. Would love to have longer barrel, sight radius, better sights. But I have less than 300$ for both of those snubbies together. I just don't see spending 4 times that much for a 4 inch longer barrel. Call me cheap.
Someday something will come along and change my mind. Patience is a virtue.
For now I really love the .32sw long. Virtually no recoil, muzzle blast or noise. Just wish I'd gotten wise 30 years sooner.
I love ruger's guns but dang they seem to be pricey these days.
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The S&W model 16, K32 is the king of .32 Revovers. Myself I am looking for a 1905 HE Target
in 32/20wcf.
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I have had a bunch of 32H&R pistols that eventually went down the road for something new and sparkly I thought I wanted worse. Two I wish I had never traded, a Taurus target revolver that was a factory rebore 32 S&WL, and a Ruger Bisley with adjustable sights. When the 327FM hit the streets I jumped on a big ole Black Hawk 8 shooter, now I own a Taurus snub (that's my wife's), both the SP101 variants, both the GP100 variants, the 5 and 7 inch Single Seven, a S&W 632 stainless (my carry gun), a Henry carbine and just brought home yesterday a Bisley Single Seven! So that makes 11 327FM firearms, so of course I will have to vote 327FM. Any of these will handle any of the 32 straight walled rounds, unlike the 32-20 (that you can't stuff 7 of into a 22LR size handgun), if your a reloader you can go mild to wild with the same brass as well. I put the new 327FM Bisley up next to my old 22LR Bisley and other than the roll markings and the 22LR having an inch longer barrel there almost twins, but with 6 rounds 22LR vs 7 rounds of 327FM in the same size gun! Shooting the Henry carbine you'd think you where shooting a 30 carbine lever action, and it'll almost field dress a raccoon at the same time! As mentioned, the draw back to the 327FM is the high pressure muzzle blast that is just short of a 357Mag. I've actually shot an opossum with one of mine, not having muffs at hand, thinking "this is gonna hurt me almost as much as you"! The 32-20 and 30 carbine is rite there with the 327FM in that respect as well, but you can't choose to go with a short case. IMO, the 32S&W wad cutters (as well as a 22LR) are plenty for most barn yard bandits, till you move up to coyotes, feral dogs, etc, and hogs will depend on there size and how close you are.
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The Taurus I traded was a copy of the 16 S&W, with the cylinders bored longer and the barrel stamped 32H&R Mag. Still kicking myself for that one 15 years later!
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Thanks for the heads up on the SP101 trigger. I'm not a gun snob by any means, but a decent trigger on a revolver is something I consider a necessity. I'm back to the Single Seven or MAYBE the GP100. Looked for a Blackhawk, but the only one I found was $700, and that was the STARTING bid...
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Mr 75 sir,
If I were going to get a 32 semi-auto, I’d look hard at the old Browning Model 1922. It looks kinda like a squirt gun, but seems to work really well. I’ve had a couple over the years and sure miss ‘em. :cry:
Speaking of oddball 32 semi-autos, I also like the Hungarian Femaru, but that chambering always seems to be “Nazi marked” and priced accordingly by the collectors’ market. :???:
Your friend the Frog
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The single seven is everything you are asking for. I just picked up one with a 4.6” barrel. It is a very accurate gun if you match bullet diameter to throat size. The sp101 has a lousy trigger. The blackhawk is too heavy. I also have a .32hrm bisley, while a great gun, it is just not as handy as the short single seven, and the .327 is even more versatile than the rest.