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

[Frank V]

I have a copy of the Colt 1851 .36 cal pocket pistol 5 shot with a 6" barrel use to shoot it quite a lot in BP target matches it would hold the 9 ring at 25 metres
if I did my part, A few times I hit the steel frame holding the turning targets the pure lead ball would flatten out to the diameter and thickness of a 50 cent coin
I can understand why Wild Bill hung on to his .36 Navy Colts those lead balls are very nasty and accurate and real easy to hit your target with,
Read some of Evan P Marshall's work on stopping power quite interesting,
We don't carry in this part of the world, not really necessary Chicago has more shooting in a weekend than we do in a year, if I did need to I would carry
my .357 mag.

The .357 Mag loaded with a good 125gr JHP used to be the cartrige everything else was judged by on the street. It gained an awesome reputation for stopping fights. Carry a good .357 with say the Rem. 125gr SJHP & you are well armed against BGs.

[Certaindeaf]

I don't know about "manstopper" but I'd think a 120gr LFN going 1200fps out of a .32 S&W Long handgun would go clean through an elk.. sideways. lol

http://www.castpics.net/project2/Cas...recperpage=ALL

[Earlwb]

That is pretty impressive, it makes me think it is more of a .327 Magnum load for that velocity. Of course it would have been nice if we knew the barrel length too.

[9.3X62AL]

120 grain-class bullet at 1200 FPS in the 32 bore.......about blackpowder 32/20 ballistics from a rifle right there. In a revolver, 900 FPS would result. In my 32 Magnum, I have run a 120 grain flatnose to 1200 FPS (6" barrel), and such a load intensity has no business being used in any normal 32 S&W Long of any vintage. I could probably run this bullet a bit hotter in the S&W Model 16-4, or could order up a 327 Federal for this usage. That 327 is an intriguing little critter, for certain. I know that the 32 Magnum load I described was louder than Dante's Drum Line, and got a lot of stares at the range site. About the same as my 30 Carbine Blackhawk, which comes close to setting off earthquakes in fault zones. The higher-order 30s and 32s are eardrum drills like few other combinations of sidearm and ammo.

[CULLEN357]

Old men in bucket hats with a 32 loaded with wad cutters just may know a thing or 2 we dont. Grandpa also carried a well worn Barlow knife a cotton picker spindel and a stick with a piece of rope thru it.

[LouisianaMan]

Late to the party with this comment, but perhaps "leisurely" is a better word choice for a retired guy like me ))

I like to play with lots of firearms, but some aren't much fun and they head on down the road before long...I got the Ruger SP-101 in .327 Federal Magnum a few years back, and although everything performed just as designed, every shot kinda felt (sounded) like I'd uncorked a lightning bolt! An interesting experience, but it was hard to convince myself I was really having fun...!!

Had felt the same way with my first magnum, a S&W Mod. 66 .357 with 4" barrel back in Germany in the late 1980's. Had to shoot whatever the Rod & Gun Club had available, and I remember 170g Israeli FMJ, 158g LSWC, and some 125g flash-bangs. The gun had a failure before long, fixed free at the factory, and I loved the gun...but not the ammo.

That was long before I knew anything about handloading and revolver mechanics, so I don't recall what the failure was (in retrospect, I imagine it was a broken or ill-fitted hand or recoil slide).

Anyway, I could have downloaded the .327 to taste and still had a good gun, but out the door it went. Cartridge was better suited to a different size gun and role, I think.

The Army sent me to get an M.A. at Rice Univ. in 1990, where I found out (too late) that I lived near Ground Zero for gangs of so-called "kick-robbers," now called home invaders. At 0325 on a Sunday morning, a (malfunctioning) alarm bounced me off the ceiling, and I found myself clearing the house after waiting breathless and barricaded while the alarm howled. And what did I have but the Mod 66 loaded with .38 SPL standard velocity LSWC handloads I'd bought! Not the worst thing to be armed with, of course, but a few minutes of trying to look in about 4 directions at once aged me a bit, lol. It also recalled my acquired taste for suppressive fire, if necessary!!!

That week the Mod 66 went towards a Beretta 92 (last sidearm I'd carried before rotating home in 1990). Also got an AR-15, which I could manipulate in my sleep if necessary.

I've mostly stayed away from magnums since, although I do use a Security-Six with loads that approximate .38/44 power, rather than the ear-shattering magnum blasts. (I have the hearing aids to prove my inability to withstand anything ear-shattering anymore!!!)

I did have a nice S&W Mod 30-1 snub in .32 SWL, which I had loaded with a LFN at 770 fps. Wish I'd kept it, but it was sacrificed on the altar of the .38 S&W not long afterwards....Part of that saga will be on display soon, after I do some chrony work.

120 grain-class bullet at 1200 FPS in the 32 bore.......about blackpowder 32/20 ballistics from a rifle right there. In a revolver, 900 FPS would result. In my 32 Magnum, I have run a 120 grain flatnose to 1200 FPS (6" barrel), and such a load intensity has no business being used in any normal 32 S&W Long of any vintage. I could probably run this bullet a bit hotter in the S&W Model 16-4, or could order up a 327 Federal for this usage. That 327 is an intriguing little critter, for certain. I know that the 32 Magnum load I described was louder than Dante's Drum Line, and got a lot of stares at the range site. About the same as my 30 Carbine Blackhawk, which comes close to setting off earthquakes in fault zones. The higher-order 30s and 32s are eardrum drills like few other combinations of sidearm and ammo.

[Frank V]

Louisianaman, I discovered a long time ago that the good old .38 Special loaded with a 148gr wadcutter at about 750fps was VERY accurate, easy & pleasant to shoot, would kill small game very reliably, & was a LOT of fun. This load in a .357 mag was just as fun & accurate. I suspect a .32 loaded the same way would be just as pleasant, fun, & accurate.
Good shooting.

[Mackay Sagebrush]

Louisianaman, I discovered a long time ago that the good old .38 Special loaded with a 148gr wadcutter at about 750fps was VERY accurate, easy & pleasant to shoot, would kill small game very reliably, & was a LOT of fun. This load in a .357 mag was just as fun & accurate. I suspect a .32 loaded the same way would be just as pleasant, fun, & accurate.
Good shooting.

Yep, .38 Special 148 grain wadcutters do a great job on critters are are quite pleasant to shoot.









Wadcutters in a J Frame are pretty fun too, and really add to the challenge.

[Frank V]

Mackay Sagebrush, I agree I don't even have a close count on the number of muskrats I've taken with a J frame, a good WC & 2-1/2grs of Bullseye. It's a light load, but takes small game reliably & doesn't beat up a J frame.
Enjoy!

[LouisianaMan]

Sagebrush,
What's all that white stuff around your rabbits? Some sort of outdoor freezer?

We got 90.54" of it in 2016, but all in liquid form!

[Frank V]

Sagebrush,
What's all that white stuff around your rabbits? Some sort of outdoor freezer?

We got 90.54" of it in 2016, but all in liquid form!

I'm not Sagebrush, but we have the same kind of outdoor freezer here. Snow on the ground & -10 temps.
put it outside & it'll last till about March!

[RJM52]

My .32 list keep growing for some reason...

Started out many years ago with one of the then new KelTec .32s...then a few years ago added a Walther PP ex-LE gun from Germany... Had several Ruger Single-Sixs in .32 H&R Mag but none ever stayed long enough to be loaded for... But finally when Ruger/Federal came out with the .327 that got my attention...

Problem was I could not justify another caliber and passed over all the great guns like the S&W 631-1, SP-101, GP100, Blackhawk until they were history...

Funny thing was I got turned on to .327 revolvers not by the cartridge but by a boolit... Friend asked for a recommendation for a cast bullet and I happened to see the Accurate 31-120S. For some reason I liked the bullet so much I wanted to get a gun to try some.





When Ruger came out with the Single-Seven was going to buy one when I came across a deal on a Freedom Arms 97 with a custom ordered 6.5" barrel...that gun I could not pass up... With 8.5 of AA#7 it runs 1400 fps from the FA.





Then came the used like new LCR that a shop had priced less than a LCR .22.... And a few weeks ago came across a like new first generation SP-101 3" for not much more than I had paid for the LCR...




...and for the ultimate in insanity... Tonight I packed up the S&W Model 53 .22 Jet with its original .22 rimfire cylinder that I have owned since 1975 to be transformed into a K-frame 6" .327 Federal...


As to Man-Stopping with a .32...would not hesitate to carry the 3" SP-101 or any longer barreled .327 Federal with any factory load clocking over 1300 fps...

Bob

[9.3X62AL]

Even with MIM parts and glory hole, S&W needs to build a K-frame 4" and 6" offering in 327 Federal.

[Nueces]

Even with MIM parts and glory hole, S&W needs to build a K-frame 4" and 6" offering in 327 Federal.

Yes, and with the barrel profile and long cylinder of the M-53 22 Magnum.

[LouisianaMan]

My .32 list keep growing for some reason...

Started out many years ago with one of the then new KelTec .32s...then a few years ago added a Walther PP ex-LE gun from Germany... Had several Ruger Single-Sixs in .32 H&R Mag but none ever stayed long enough to be loaded for... But finally when Ruger/Federal came out with the .327 that got my attention...

Problem was I could not justify another caliber and passed over all the great guns like the S&W 631-1, SP-101, GP100, Blackhawk until they were history...

Funny thing was I got turned on to .327 revolvers not by the cartridge but by a boolit... Friend asked for a recommendation for a cast bullet and I happened to see the Accurate 31-120S. For some reason I liked the bullet so much I wanted to get a gun to try some.





When Ruger came out with the Single-Seven was going to buy one when I came across a deal on a Freedom Arms 97 with a custom ordered 6.5" barrel...that gun I could not pass up... With 8.5 of AA#7 it runs 1400 fps from the FA.





Then came the used like new LCR that a shop had priced less than a LCR .22.... And a few weeks ago came across a like new first generation SP-101 3" for not much more than I had paid for the LCR...




...and for the ultimate in insanity... Tonight I packed up the S&W Model 53 .22 Jet with its original .22 rimfire cylinder that I have owned since 1975 to be transformed into a K-frame 6" .327 Federal...


As to Man-Stopping with a .32...would not hesitate to carry the 3" SP-101 or any longer barreled .327 Federal with any factory load clocking over 1300 fps...

Bob

Those look great, and the 120g WFP bullets look like cannon shells in the .327 cases! That gun & ammo must be fun to shoot and certainly potent medicine for both field and woods.

[Frank V]

RJM52, That .22 Jet is a great find they are pretty scarce.
Congratulations.
I may be in the minority here, but I'd have trouble trusting my life to a .32 when I had bigger ctgs available.
Ok ok don't shoot anyone.

[9.3X62AL]

The 30-32 handgun rounds aren't my idea of counter-hairball calibers. They are SUPERB small game and varmint harvesters, though. I love the work done by my S&W Model 16-4 in 32 H&R Mag. I run the RCBS 32-98-SWC to 950-1000 FPS and it does a great job on everything I've tackled with it--ground squirrels, jackrabbits, possums. I haven't yet taken a coyote with the combo, but would not hesitate to do so when the chance presents itself at reasonable range. I did THWOCK a coyote with a 30 Carbine factory softpoint once--these get about 1400 FPS loudly​ and bang-flopped the song dog from about 50 yards away. I suspect the 32 Mag's bullet at reduced speeds would have similar results--the 110 grain SP went through and through. Sure glad the earplugs were in place.

[Frank V]

I think the Ruger .327 would be a great field/trail gun. Though a bit light for defense in my opinion, it'd really shine for field applications & small/medium game hunting.

[Mackay Sagebrush]

Sagebrush,
What's all that white stuff around your rabbits? Some sort of outdoor freezer?

We got 90.54" of it in 2016, but all in liquid form!

Grin,

I just spent the weekend in Salmon, and it was 17 below when I went to start my old land cruiser. The wind chill made it a bit more brisk as well. Then I spent 4-5 hours outside shooting with a group of friends. You want to keep moving when it gets that cold!

[Geezer in NH]

This thread needs to be un stickled IMHO. It has gone beyond in the last 6 years.