The .32 S&W Long as a man-stopper

[BigAlofPa.]

Yes agreed on the ammo price could be cheaper. I bought 2 boxes to get started. They were around 25.00 a box. Been reloading them. Not a common range pickup brass either.

[RED BEAR]

Where are you buying ammo i usually pay between 12 and 17 a box.

[BigAlofPa.]

I got it at my one of my local shops. It was sellar and bellot wadcutters. or how ever it's spelled. It was all they had. When i wear my brass out ill get a bulk batch from starline. Bought the gun at one LGS he did not have ammo. So went to the next one. I also got some brass in the I can use it box exchange were doing here too.

[GhostHawk]

Personally I much prefer to load my own with a 90 gr cast boolit and 2 grains of Red Dot.

Shoots to the sights, no recoil, no muzzle blast, great accuracy. No complaints here.

[BigAlofPa.]

I agree loading your own is the best way to go. Some of my guns have not fired factory ammo.

[RED BEAR]

You might call brassman its not listed on his website but if you give him a call he might still have some. last time i bought from him he had a trashcan full of 32 sw long. All his prices include shipping. I get most of my ammo off the internet. I buy some factory ammo so i have something to judge my reloads by and i had a revolver that keep getting light primer strikes mostly with reloads. Had to send gun back three times but looks like third times the charm.

[BigAlofPa.]

Cool what is his site url? Im going to be needing 22 tcm brass and 45 colt.

[leeshall]

Can .32ACP cartridges be safely fired in a .32 Long S&W or Colt revolver in good condition?

[hockeynick39]

Can .32ACP cartridges be safely fired in a .32 Long S&W or Colt revolver in good condition?

If it's an antique or original, I wouldn't. I have a Cimmaron Model P Jr. (two cylinders) chambered in .32-20 Winchester and .32 H&R Magnum, and I shoot .32 ACP from the H&R Mag. cylinder with no issues. Here's a few links to read on the same subject:

https://www.defensivecarry.com/forum...ng-32-acp.html

https://www.thefirearmsforum.com/thr...-pistol.74977/

https://www.smithandwessonforums.com...ng-32-acp.html

Good luck and stay safe!

[dg31872]

Two night ago, I killed the largest hog that I have ever seen, and I killed it with a single shot from a SP101 with 32H&R with a RCBS wadcutter.
We live on a ranch in central Texas and I shoot hogs whenever the opportunity arises.
Thursday night I was in my truck checking the farm when I saw the largest hog I have ever seen. He was not in a hurry, nor disturbed by the fact that he was in full view of the headlights. He was slowly walking toward the woods and chewing while he ambled off.
I fumbled for the revolver on the seat next to me while I lowered the side window. He was not in a hurry and at about 15 yards I shakily put the laser on his rib cage.
One shot and he squeeled and took off into the night. I kicked myself for taking the 32 in stead of the 357. I knew I had a solid hit, but I thought it would not be fatal because everyone knows a 32 would not penetrate the tough hide and shield hogs have on their shoulders.
Yesterday afternoon, we saw the buzzards circling, and he ran about 50 yards before he died. Buzzards got to him first, so no since putting him on a scale. The only thing to judge his size is the 4" long lower tusks.
Yes, I have pictures, but I do not know how to post here.
I would not recommend anyone going after a 300 pound boar with a 32 H&R, but it worked in my case.
And I no longer consider myself under gunned when I put the revolver in the truck with me.

[RED BEAR]

The short answer as to weather you can shoot 32 acp in a 32 long is NO. the 32 long has the lowest chamber pressure of all the 32's . Not sure about pressure for the colt or rimfire. Brassman is https://brassmanbrass.com he doesnt list everything he has but if you call he is an easy guy to work with. Check out the price on 32acp if you need some doesn't always have them they go quick at $25 per 500 shipping included. I was very surprised when i found out that the 32 sw long operates at a lower chamber pressure that the old 32 sw ( short ).

[BigAlofPa.]

Awesome thank you.

[Outpost75]

The short answer as to weather you can shoot 32 acp in a 32 long is NO. the 32 long has the lowest chamber pressure of all the 32's . Not sure about pressure for the colt or rimfire. Brassman is https://brassmanbrass.com he doesnt list everything he has but if you call he is an easy guy to work with. Check out the price on 32acp if you need some doesn't always have them they go quick at $25 per 500 shipping included. I was very surprised when i found out that the 32 sw long operates at a lower chamber pressure that the old 32 sw ( short ).

Additional caution on doing this is that the semi-rim on .32 ACP brass is only .040-.045" thick, whereas the .32 S&W Long rim is 0.055-0.060" thick. This means that when you fire .32 ACPs in your .32 S&W you are driving the case back forcibly against the recoil plate, giving it about 0.010" free-run to accelerate and "piston" against the recoil plate, being driven by its higher pressure.

I have seen in my lifetime at least a dozen Colt Police Positive, Detective Special and Cobra revolvers chambered for the .32 Colt New Police, in which the firing pin bushing staked into the frame was actually set back below the frame far enough to cause misfires, necessitating gunsmith or factory repair to reset and restake the firing pin bushing.

The smaller diameter of the .32 ACP semi-rim being only .358" diameter, vs. .375" for the .32 S&W Long, is smaller in diameter than the Colt firing pin bushing, so its rearward travel is not arrested by the surrounding frame, which is why the bushing sets back.

Back in the 1980s we used to charge $100 to repair these. I once had to scrap out an alloy frame Colt Cobra where the frame actually cracked from the firing pin bushing through to the clearance slot for the cylinder latch. Shooting any significant quantity of .32 ACPs through your .32 S&W Long revolver is a good way to turn a collectible $500+ Colt Snake Gun into a non-firing $250 paperweight.

Amusement or curiosity is not a good reason. Acuracy is poor, and you lose velocity and may stick a jacketed bullet in a barrel if longer than 3" if you have a loose cylinder gap. Once rebarreled a nice 4-1/2" S&W 1903 Hand Ejector with the entire barrel full of 71-grain FMJs.

[one-eyed fat man]

Another Owl-head added to the fold. Iver Johnson, Safety Hammerless, third model, large frame. Six shots of .32 S&W long to fit your coat pocket in 1929.

[DB404]

I think there are better choices but if its what you have, do your best. It's all just speculation until you have to find out the hard way.

[shadowjames]

being that most gun fights are less than 15ft i would be comfortable with a 32 long and proper placement of rounds and no fear of using more than 1, law enforcement rules should be used by citizens,,,,,,,,,,,,,,shoot until there is no longer any threat, safe to use in defense in court, if someone is still trying to do harm you can legally fire

[Fotis]

Great thread!

[Riposte1]

An interesting, thoughtful and long thread. Lots of good stuff here. I suppose I should chime in as I wrote the article mentioned in the first post though I admit, I've slightly changed my method of testing since I wrote that (mainly turning the bottle around and adding some material I found that comes close to the penetration of bone).


I would say I've never used the terms .32 and manstopper in the same sentence but basically if it has enough penetration it could easily be one with a CNS hit. I'm actually sort of fond of .32s for small game and my first one was a Colt Cobra in .32 New Colt Police. It is very accurate with factory lead RN but my handloads with various bullets, including the Hornady HBWC don't seem to live up to it's potential - I likely need to try more.


A good friend in the 70s had a 2" S&W Terrier, he handloaded soft lead bullets to 1000 fps ! Barrel leading was a problem but it was accurate for a few shots.


The mention of the .30 Carbine in the first post was sort of interesting to me because it was the first centerfire rifle I every bought and handloaded for, also the first cartridge I cast bullets for. My Dad, who was a WW-II veteran liked the carbine but he didn't think it was really all that effective. I've talked to many more vets who said the same thing.


Our mold threw 130 gr round nose, sorta pointed. It turned out to be just about as poor as ball on woodchucks and I once shot one 12 times before "the Lord called the poor thing home" - however he was running and some of those hits were pretty poor. OTOH, the 110gr Speer Varminter dropped them like a rock out to 125 yards. It worked as well or better as my .222 though the latter was easier to hit with.


Still, effectiveness boils down to penetration (a friend on the Louisville PD recently told me of a victim who was shot near the eye (right side of the nose) with a .38 special snub - the victim walked to the ambulance! Reminds me of the story Jim Cirillo told in one of his books about the subject two of his guys shot 11 times with a .38 in the head - didn't work either.


So, while placement is important it is not the only thing - many a perfectly placed shot has not penetrated enough to get the job done.


Mind you, I'm not saying a .32 will not penetrate - I reckon it depends on the load.


Anyway, a thoughtful and useful thread I think.


Riposte1

[Alferd Packer]

For those who want to shoot the auto round in a revolver i would recommend either use a thin o ring from the hardware store rolled on the case up under the rim. I think raising the case so it is in sliding contact with the recoil shield when fired would prevent the hammering effect when the thin case rim is blown back. Have to experiment to find the right thickness.
Another fix is to get thin brass or steel washers . Electrical supply or hardware store will have them.
Another would be to punch holes in a thin tough cardboard paper disk cut to line up like the old cap guns that used disk ring caps. A little work to make one, I even think one made of tin from a heavy flattened tin can cut to shape with the center cut out and a ring with holes to line up with the cylinder holes, may be a double thickness, glued or film of solder. Need to be able to use a micrometer. You can make washers of any thickness by cutting copper pipe and tapping it flat, or even a cutoff ring of brass cartridge case hammered flat.
A gunwriter George Nonte spoke of things like this in his books.
Dean Grennel was another one for making "do" if you are handy with cutting tools and like to experiment.
The 32 is a flexible friendly caliber in a pistol round .
Just my 2 cents. If its beyond your capabilities or imagination, just forget you read this.
Probably this should be posted somewhere else, but it does pertain to the 32 acp cartridge case. I think its better to shim the rim of the 32 acp case rather than risk damaging the old guns.
I love this thread and even rereading it is fun too!

[Alferd Packer]

I agree.
Best is to buy a gun that shoots the acp cartridge.
I agree with The Schwartz.