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

[LouisianaMan]

9.3x62AL,
Been terrorizing local critters with your .32 rayguns lately? That's what your scoped revolvers remind me of!

[9.3X62AL]

No, none of my handguns wear glasses. All iron-sighted. Only a minority of my rifles have glassware, as well. I like the failure-free nature of the primitive ironware......very much. Trusting one's life or hunting trip to something battery-driven is foolish in my view.

[LouisianaMan]

Well I need to look back a few pages and check--must be Dale 53's collection I'm thinking of.
Yep, that's it: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-32-quot/page2

[dougader]

I like the 32's, but don't have a 32 Long. I have the 32 H&R mag in a S&W 432 and a customized Ruger Single Six, and a S&W 632 in 327 Federal. I have been looking at I- and J-frame S&W 32's but just haven't found one for the right price. Too bad about bending the crane on your 32, Molly. They are sweet little revolvers.

I have no problem carrying a S&W 432 or the 632 for SD, but the 32 mag is handloaded pretty hot and is nearly always carried as a backup to a G26, G21 or 1911 in 9x23 Winchester. I have arthritis in my wrists now, but funny enough the little G26 hurts more than even the 45 auto with Fed HST 230 +P, and 9x23. For me, it's the muzzle flip, not the amount of push, that hurts the wrists.

The 32 mag with Hunters 115 grain rnfp and 4.2 grains W231 is pretty zippy, and the 100 grain xtp with 11.8 grains W296 is stout for a little 32. The xtp load is taken from a Handloader article by Brian Pearce.

I shoot quite a few water jugs, too, but never laid them down flat, just stood them up about 6 deep to catch the bullets. The xtp goes through 4 gallon jugs and dents the 5th; the same as a 250 grain 270 SAA hollowpoint in my 45 Colt Montado at about 1,000 fps.

The Sierra 90 grain jhp went through 3 gallon jugs and lost it's soft lead nose in the 1st and 2nd jugs when loaded with 11 grains 296.

The old collection


The 632


45 Colt 270-SAA hollowpoint


32 Sierra, 124 HST +P from G26, 45 Colt Gold Dot 250 @ 1k fps

[dakota]

I gave my wife a 32 S&W Long. She likes the mild recoil and she shoots it very well. I let her try heavier shooting calibers and she does not like them, not even a 38 Special. We don't live where there are many two legged varmints. But when we are hiking I expect that she could diswade a wild dog, coyote or even a wolf since she puts all the bullets in the black on targets. Not being afraid of the gun makes a huge difference.
A friend was attacked by a Mountain Lion in the Hills a few years ago. He dropped it with his deer rifle (a major legal case followed and he won -- eventually) - I'd rather have a 32 than a big stick if the situation called for it. But I usually carry a 357 or 44 special for kiking where these varmints live.

[9.3X62AL]

Sorry to read of your friend's legal entanglement over self-defense with a predator intent on having him for dinner. I'm sure a similar drama sequence would result if I tried that move here in CA. I still feel badly about NOT dispatching a gravely-injured black bear along U.S. 395 that Buckshot and I encountered north of Bishop while enroute to NV some years back. When doing the RIGHT thing and doing the LEGAL thing aren't the SAME thing.......the law is deeply flawed.

I did get back my old but good Colt Pocket Positive x 6" in 32 S&W Long recently. It had several issues in need of gunsmith attention, and I got those addressed. Hoping to run the little critter next week after returning home from a multi-stop multi-task absence spanning the first half of May.

[LouisianaMan]

9.3,
I think your comment about "right" and "legal" hit the nail on the head. Kinda like the difference between the "facts" and the "truth." I wish that legal beagles who can't approve of shooting the cougar in question could have the chance to face one, alone, and see how long their frosty detachment would take to thaw.

On a different note, a Pocket Positive .32 followed me home recently, and I'm looking forward to see how she does. Seems to be mechanically sound, only missing an ejector rod head. Any idea where I can find such a thing? I still owe y'all some pictures of the "family" of .32's that adopted me

[9.3X62AL]

I should take some family photos of my mid-caliber sideirons, too. Maybe Buckshot could rassle them onto this site, a project of that complication level surpasses my puter skills by several furlongs.

[sw282]

Molly, Al Capone wore ''silk'' undershirts..You reckon he knew what the Knights knew? Also, l have heard Mormon men wear silk under garments too. When l went to lraq in 2003 the US Army issued us silk underwear as part of our cold weather gear..

282

[Outpost75]

Molly can't answer your reply unless they've got wireless Internet in heaven. He is missed.

[Pepe Ray]

"Molly can't answer your reply unless they've got wireless Internet in heaven. He is missed."

Amen, brother,
Pepe Ray

[9.3X62AL]

We are truly diminished by Molly's loss. Good man, indeed.

[dougader]

Very sorry to hear about Molly's passing.

[Paul5388]

I bought a .32 rimfire Stevens Favorite with the express intent of converting it to center fire. Since I had one piece of .32 Long Colt and many of .32 S&W Long, it was easy enough to check the chamber size. The rimfire chamber is the same as the .32 Colt, so I rented a reamer and reamed it to .32 S&W Long. The next step was a trip to the local gunsmith to get the firing pin configured for center fire.

I have mostly shot factory loads to get brass, but I did clock some MagTech .32 S&W long 98 gr LRN at 776 fps out of the 21" barrel at 15 ft. 2.8 gr of Red Dot gives me 977 fps with a 100 gr Lee LRN with LLA tumble lube. I have also shot .32 ACP, but didn't clock them, but I did note the pressure handling abilities for the converted rimfire. 3.1 gr of Herco, 3.0 gr of Universal and 3.5 gr of Unique functioned well, but I don't know that I'm gaining much, they're still subsonic.

I have 1000s of .22 LR, but every time I shoot one, it's not replaceable. With lead, powder and primers available, I can shoot this gun for a long time and cheaper than shooting .22 LR!

[Paul5388]

Here is data from Phil Sharpe, so I'm going to load some 100 gr with 2.4 gr of DuPont #6, just to see how it shoots.


They shot as expected, just as well as the other loads I've shot.

[sw282]

This thread keeps drawing my interest as l have a 32Colt Pocket Positive that warms my bedside as the name implies. lts the '32' part that's a headache.. .299 @ 80gr makes the ammo it a bit hard to find. The size of the gun is true perfection for me and l don't feel a bit under gunned.
As for ''one shot stops'' l can say l heard first hand from a man who carried one. John, my father in law and friend, was a Marine in WWll Pacific lslands and a Bazooka man.. He said shooting Japs with a Bazooka always produced a one shot kill. He said he once got a whole ''covey'' with one

[9.3X62AL]

To me, the "32 New Police" I have is TINY, even with its 6" barrel. Its fit in my hands is like a second marriage, a triumph of hope over experience. I'm glad its recoil is mild. Its serial number dates it to 1901. Its direct descendant--a Police Positive x 4" in 38 S&W--was made far more tractable to fire by use of a slightly-modded set of Pachmayr Presentations in place. This little roller will need the same grip set, I believe. That nickel-plated knife-edge front sight is another challenge to accuracy, also. The nice thing is that it chambers the 32 S&W Long cartridge, so ammo supply is simplified.

[Javelin Dan]

Sorry...Long Post!

Greetings all! Sixty three year old new shooter here. Shot a couple of .22‘s early in life and never touched a gun again until a few years back when I found the “Deutsch Works” Ortgies 7.6 mm my father had liberated from a German prisoner in WW II. I had no plans for it until I began to witness the devastation to society unleashed by the dufusses in Washington in the last few years, and began to really understand the squandering of blood and treasure sacrificed to defend the basic rights of too many citizens who surrender them too readily. In short, I began to understand that the second amendment was never about hunting, it was always about tyranny and anarchy. Even my wife, gentle, God fearing soul that she is, began to notice and asked “What will we do if some of the lawlessness we see on the evening news comes knocking on our door?” We talked it over and decided to get armed.


I took my Dad’s 7.6 to a gunsmith to have checked out, while she picked out a Ruger .22 LCR with crimson trace. Small gun I know, but it made her utter the words I never thought I’d hear her say - "That’s the gun I want!” Done. We took our CCW class in October, and though life got in the way a little, we applied for and received our (Ohio) CCW licenses this week. At the range, I had no trouble qualifying with Dad’s gun, while my wife had a little trouble doing so with her gun. I think it was a mixture of nerves and the hard (double action only) trigger on the LCR. After we had all finally qualified, our instructor said “Now let’s have some fun!” He instructed us to load the guns and at his signal, to fire as rapidly as possible at the target while he flashed the lights on and off (indoor range). However, whereas you couldn’t use a laser during qualifying, you could here if you had one. Rosemary scored six of eight shots center mass using her laser. The other two still hit the paper. When it was my turn, I was blazing away, dispatching bad guys in my mind much like Ralphie with his BB gun in “Christmas Story”. When the lights came on, I hadn’t put a single bullet on paper! Anybody know of a laser that will fit an H&R 732? I also think a little more training is in order...



I’ve been laid off all winter, so had plenty of time to research and think. I began to realize that while fun to shoot, the Deutsch Works wasn’t really a good SD gun for a newbie due to no safety and an awkward mag release. However, I liked the caliber as an entry level gun for a dumb old fart. Light recoil and an extra bullet or two in a small, light gun fits right into my wheelhouse. I spent a lot of time researching on-line, and finally set my sights on an H&R 732. Got me one! (I also since scored a JA .32, but that’s fodder for a different thread.) My plan is to get good and comfortable with the .32‘s, then move myself up to a .38 and move Rosemary up to the .32. We’ll see... One problem with all this is that I suddenly want every gun I see. Is there a cure for that?


Another aspect of all this is that factory ammo availability sucks! Not much of any caliber of mouse gun ammo on the shelves, and what there is is expensive! Price and availability are just a little better on-line, but when you add shipping, it’s about a wash. It may be a bit above my pay grade here, but I was starting to wonder about rolling my own. Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread. How do you get started...is there something like “Hand loading for Dummies?” I’d like to learn to load both the .32 long and .32 ACP. I read that they can be tricky to get right as they’re such small loads. Any thoughts? Or am I wading into a shark tank with chum in my pockets?


Sorry if this post looks like a hijack - it sure wasn’t meant to be. I’ve read this thread from cover to cover, and probably learned more about guns and ammo here than anywhere. Got wrapped up in the personalities - was saddened when Molly’s marriage failed, devastated when I learned he died. Too bad he was never able to complete his ultimate .32 long ballistics tests. Nevertheless, this has been a fascinating physics lesson! There’s sooo much more here than just a study on the .32 long as a man-stopper. Though I’m just a beginner, I hope I can find a home here. Thanks to all who participated!

[35remington]

No trickiness in loading is involved. They load the same as any other straightwall revolver cartridge, and are miserly in powder and lead.

The first thing you need to do is decide if loading your own is for you, then simply go out and do it. The fun of shooting is sort of a compensation in itself. Buying factory loaded 32 longs will curtail the amount of shooting you are able to accomplish, due to both availability and price.

[olafhardt]

I started reloading with the 32SWL. I think older, low pressure revolver cartridges may be the best to start with. Be sure you get a new reloading manual or three. In the 32 calibers particularly I find confusing and inaccurate data in several older manuals. Lee makes a starter kit for reloaders that is very good and cheap. Boolits above 90 grains at 6-900 ft a second are reported to be able to shoot through a person. I have a H&R 732 and several other 32's. Once the only handgun I had was a 22. I have shot lots of critters with various 22's. They invariably either run off or die. A 32 should do as good.