32 S&W long, A Cult Following ?

[Petrol & Powder]

When did this happen?
I played with the 32 S&W long and 32 H&R mag years ago but got out of that game. A friend of mine recently inherited a pristine S&W model 30 and I started noticing S&W models 30 and 31 again.
Holy Smokes ! People are asking insane prices for those guns even when they are in in pitiful condition.

When did the 32 DA revolvers get a cult following ? It reminds me of the 44 Special cult following.

Thanks to Ruger, we have new DA revolvers chambered in 32 and 44 calibers that don't require a second mortgage.

Brand new Ruger SP101's chambered in 327 Federal Mag are selling for less than pitiful looking S&W's chambered in 32 S&W Long.

[Outpost75]

The Obama .22 ammunition scarcity really drove demand and the cost of used .32 revolvers up. Many of us in the rural south have been using heirloom revolvers for generations, but the supply of nicely turned out pre-WW2 revolvers was finite and supply and demand is what it is. The postwar Colt D-frame and S&W I- and J-frames have also appreciated.

[Petrol & Powder]

It's shocking how much they go for now and I'm talking about prices they sell for, not just asking price.

As much as I would like to get back into that segment of revolver shooting, I don't think I can justify the cost.

The new Ruger SP101 with a 4" barrel and chambered in 327 Federal is running around $625 and that's starting to look like a good price.

[Outpost75]

Recent SP101s I've examined needed work and had minor defects which wouldn't have been allowed to ship when I worked for the company. Inspect any new gun carefully! Old guns that work are worth more than new guns that don't.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm with you !

[EMC45]

My favorite

[35remington]

I was fortunate to get my Regulation Police and Police Positive when I did. Of the two I like the Colt better as it is somewhat more tolerant of varied bullet types. Now I have to fix the fact that it shoots considerably left at fifty yards but I will get there.

I just don’t have enough use for a really loud 32 that I want some hotted up version. I wish I could get a decent adjustable sighted four inch 32 Long Smith or Colt of new make minus any Hillary hole.

[Mk42gunner]

... Inspect any new gun carefully! Old guns that work are worth more than new guns that don't.

Very true statement.

[GhostHawk]

YES!

Mine started with a 120$ H&R 732 2.5" barrel dbl action in .32sw long.

Shoots more like a .22lr than anything else. My hands and wrists love it, AND IT FRICKIN SHOOTS!

So that led to a desire for one with better sights and a longer barrel. Enter a Ruger NM single six in .32H&R mag that has only ever shot
.32sw long. The word that best describes its shooting is "laser", or "IT FRICKIN SHOOTS!"


And that led to the desire for a semi-auto. Enter the Beretta model 81 in .32acp. AND IT FRICKIN SHOOTS TOO!

Yes, its a cult. Probably the ol fart cult. And yes I am a proud member.

[putnro01]

I suppose my love affair with the 32 SWL started when my subscription to the Cast Bullet Journal kicked in circa 2015 or so. Some fella going by the name of Ed Harris (a nom de plume if I've ever heard one) can't seem to go a month or two without kickin' up dust about this little cartridge. Prior to that, the .327 had my interest, primarily because the guns that shot it were Rugers (my favorite). I hadn't picked one up until this year, mostly b/c I wanted to run .32 SWL through it.

But Ed had some logic to his tales from the back creek. I spend a lot of time chasing varmints out of my corn crib (yep, still pick ear corn in SE Iowa, we haven't all converted to modern tech), and a single six pushing a .22 has done the trick for many years. But my father's eyes are getting tired so he needs a larger bullet to make up for that "margin or error". A nice slow .32 with a wide meplat in a handy sized revolver just about sounds perfect to our needs. It'll knock out raccoons and not travel on through the tin shed (well, not too far at least). So we picked up a few this year in all the popular chamberings (.32 SWL, .32 ACP, .32 HR, .327 fed). The latest issue of the CBA journal had an article on the Beretta 81 (32 ACP), that article cost me a few dollars.

So what do I need now? I'd love a set of 310 dies to load these little rounds. And an SP101 sounds handy too. What prices are you seeing on the models 30 and 31? Oh shoot, how could I forget, a rook rifle, or at least a handy single shot in that caliber. (I'm secretly hoping that Ed reads this, decides he needs to part with his bunny buster to build funds for the Bodacious Bunny Buster, and sells me his.)

So why are folks jumping on the .32 bandwagon? I'd love to say good writers and smart shooters. I'm not sure the true cause, but I like that .32s are seemingly gaining traffic and traction. Hope the manufacturers of arms and ammunition catch on.

Ooh, .44 special now there's a round...
Yeah, I've had the .44 special kool-aid too.

[35remington]

Just be aware that the 32 will easily outpenetrate a 22 on critters. Maybe not such good news for your tin shed!

[putnro01]

Seems it'll pierce through hyperbole for sure!

[Thundarstick]

I use to load a dead soft 100gr Hornady sweagged target bullet over a minute amount of red dot for plinking and close in varmints. If I remember correctly it was running about 800fps, push it harder and you where scraping lead, but you could turn the hollow base to the front and make a real dumdum round.
Every revolver I have is a 327 now days, but I still do light loads in 32H&R cases for my wife.

[trapper9260]

When the 327 BH first came out I got one thinking that one might need to use it for the trap line if anything where to not work for the 22lr supply I love that gun and also for all I can shoot in it. then I got a handi rifle made for the 327 and now got a SP101 4" one . It all works for me now. Like was stated for when zero was in office is when it change things on the 32 .

[Mk42gunner]

The Ruger SSM's are very accurate, wish I had bought several when they were still in production and affordable. The S&W I frames are sweethearts, but so small I will not push them hard.

In the "I really wish I had some sense when they were making them" dept is the S&W Model 16 in .32 H&R Mag.

I would like but cannot afford either a Pardini or IIRC Walther .32S&W Long semi auto.

Robert

[gpidaho]

32 S&W long is a fun plinking round. Easy to load and very economical as to powder and lead. Gp

[GhostHawk]

I'm running 90 gr cast which means 77 cast boolets for my pound of lead around a dollar. Just 2 gr of Red Dot. 3500 loads per pound really stretches the dollar. Primers are the biggest expense, brings total right about a nickle each. Hard to beat.

[Earlwb]

I think the .32 SWLwound up being popular during the ammo shortages in the past. You could reload them but you couldn't reload .22 rimfires though. I think that they are quite fun to shoot. Heck I used a .32 revolver many years ago as a teenager for small game hunting too.

[Larry Gibson]

While I occasionally shoot 32 S&WLs in my 32 H&Rs [original run Ruger SS and 10" Contender] I mostly shoot 32 H&R reloads through those. The 32 S&WLs I shoot mostly in my M31 S&W chambered in 32 S&WL. It is a sweet gun to pack when fishing and hunting and most often is the revolver I carry these days when also packing a rifle. It is very accurate, fun and easy to shoot, economical to reload for and I have potted a few small game for the pot with it too. I have a 6 cavity TL314-90-SWC mould so I mostly use that bullet over Bullseye.

[Green Frog]

Why in the world would anyone want such a small diameter, puny round when 50 caliber super blasters are out there? Are you people crazy? Just send all those 32s to me for proper disposal so you can make room for more of those real he-man guns!

Froggie