.32 caliber cast bullet for deer

[pacecars]

I just bought a S&W 16-4 .32 H&R Magnum and plan to have the chamber lengthened to.327 Federal Magnum. I plan to use it for deer, pigs, coyotes and turkey. I would like to find a cast bullet that would work on all the above. Our Florida deer are anywhere from 100 - 200 lbs. Does anyone have a good mold to recommend?

[Mk42gunner]

You might want to find out just how few of those S&W actually made before you go to altering it. I'm going to guess they actually made more K-32's in .32S&W Long than the 16-4 in .32 H&R magnum, and those are very rare these days.

Bottom line it is your gun, do as you wish.

Robert

[trapper9260]

For what is said and do what you want , for me I would get a 327 mag to cover what you want to use it on, I seen a post sometime ago that someone use there 327 mag on pronghorn with out any problems. I did found a mold for 121 gr for the 32 cal. and work it on my 327 .

[Wheelgun]

Yeah sell it to me and go buy a couple 327s!!

In my Rugers I use the NOE 315-118 swc and Arsenal 313-115rf RanchDog clone and Arsenal 311008 clone. It’s sized .314 and weighs around 125gr. I use these in 32 s&w Long, 32h&r Mag and 327. Ive used them on varnmits, pest, small game and coyotes. I have also taken a couple medium sized hogs with the SWC and 311008 copy. For the larger stuff I push all of these rather hard.

[Outpost75]

By rechambering the gun you are turning a collectible piece into an expensive paperweight. And I'm sorry I don't consider the .327 revolver an effective deer gun even for small Florida deer. It's no better than a hot loaded .32-20 rifle or M1 carbine. A .357 Magnum with full charge loads would work well, or large flat-nosed bullets in the .44-40 or .45 Colt if you want to play like you are a cowboy.

I DEARLY LOVE my .32s, but I don't hunt deer with them.

[megasupermagnum]

Either the MP Sledgehammer hollow point at 135 grains, or the Accurate 31-148CG converted to hollow point, about 144 grains, are as good as it gets.

[pacecars]

I appreciate the concern for collectibility but I didn’t buy it as an investment. As for its use on deer it will be for close range and broadside shots otherwise I will use a 10mm or my .480 Ruger. If I can find another cylinder I may have it rechambered and keep the original in .32 H&R. I had a Ruger Single Seven in .327 Federal and someone liked it more than I did. This one is a bucket list gun but I want it my way. I may have it engraved too

[bigted]

I have no comment on a cast boolit to answer your quest in the 32.

I do however have a comment on your revolver ... it is yours ... engrave, re-chamber or any other thing that you feel will make it yours. The revolver is yours to play with and nobody should give advice on your choice of alterations ... UNLESS ... what you describe sounds unsafe ... then it becomes our responsibility to share a concern for a brother shooter.

Your decision is yours to make as it is your money that bought the revolver and unless your plan sounds unsafe to me ... I support you in your pursuit of your perfect revolver.

Do keep us posted on your progress and decision in what to do with your revolver.

[MT Gianni]

I would buy a Ruger before I put enough money in to a model 16 to loose $500. I love my S&W's but and not sure about a K frame and 45,000 PSI. If I wanted to hunt deer with a 327 Fed, I would use 115 gr + @ 1500 fps.

[pacecars]

I don't think Hamilton Bowen or Andy Horvath would rechamber it if it wasn't safe.

[ACC]

I just bought a S&W 16-4 .32 H&R Magnum and plan to have the chamber lengthened to.327 Federal Magnum. I plan to use it for deer, pigs, coyotes and turkey. I would like to find a cast bullet that would work on all the above. Our Florida deer are anywhere from 100 - 200 lbs. Does anyone have a good mold to recommend?

That is a very valuable gun you have there. My brother had a complete collection of every K frame pistol Smith made and his Model 16 was the most valuable. Get it appraised before you go doing any reaming. My brothers was appraised at over 3000 dollars.

ACC

[ACC]

By rechambering the gun you are turning a collectible piece into an expensive paperweight. And I'm sorry I don't consider the .327 revolver an effective deer gun even for small Florida deer. It's no better than a hot loaded .32-20 rifle or M1 carbine. A .357 Magnum with full charge loads would work well, or large flat-nosed bullets in the .44-40 or .45 Colt if you want to play like you are a cowboy.

I DEARLY LOVE my .32s, but I don't hunt deer with them.

I'm with you. My brother had quite a few .32's but he never used them on anything bigger than rabbits and such. Never considered them deet guns. Even with his own designed flat nose boolits.

ACC

[roverboy]

A heavier boolit in .327 should work great.

[samari46]

Yeah,You had the K-38,then the K=22, and then the K-32. Very expensive and rare.Dedicated match shooters would give up their firstborn to get a K=32.And the 45cal portion of the match was fired with either 45 revolver or 1911A1 suitably accurized.Frank

[contender1]

As noted,, it's your gun.

Collecting & value aside,, the question was about a cast bullet for deer. And the comment about re-chambering the gun to .327. One thing NOT mentioned,, was the length of the cylinder,,, and once re-chambered, would it handle a bullet capable (heavy enough) to take a deer humanely. There are some excellent heavier (also they are longer,) .32 caliber cast bullets.

I do know of a deer killed with such too. HOWEVER,, I am a Hunter Safety Instructor,, and part of my classes is "Ethics" and hunting. An animal deserves a quick & humane death. If a hunter does anything that might not allow that,, are they being truly ethical? The .327 is a sweet caliber,, and I own a few of guns chambered as such. I also own molds that throw heavy slugs for me. And I hunt deer almost exclusively with a handgun. My 2 allowed bucks this past season were both wounded deer. One was a very bad, low rearward gut shot,, by a poacher, that would have resulted in the deer dying a slow & painful death. I took him on the opening morning, early, with his wound being 1-2 days old. He was shot prior to gun season. I took pics & shared with the local warden. The second one was limping badly,, so I took him,,, only to discover a cut pad on his hoof. He could have survived. But I practiced ethical hunting. I use enough gun, with a bullet that will work, even with a bad hit, and will take shots I feel will make a quick, clean kill. I feel that not many people can use a .32 caliber handgun to do this. I DO NOT KNOW YOU, NOR YOUR ABILITIES. But I want you to ask yourself,, will my choices allow for a quick, clean, ethical kill?

So, before I'd spend the money re-chambering,, and getting a good bullet,, I'd study the OAL of a loaded round FIRST. As this would be the first step.

If all this will work,, (longer & heavier bullet, and a re-chambering,) than due to the potential value of such a rarer model,, I'd invest in a spare cylinder to re-chamber,, and keep the original one "as is" to allow the value of the gun to stay higher.
And yes,,, it is your gun,, but remember,, we are all only temporary custodians of them. Someone in the future could possibly do something that MIGHT make it dangerous to shoot,, not knowing the gun's history.
Sadly,, many times we say; "If this old gun could talk,,,,!" Or,,, "I wonder why someone did this because it really,,,,,,,,!"
Think of your heirs, or a future custodian. There are ways to enjoy what YOU want,, AND preserve the gun "as is"

[pacecars]

Thanks for the answers. I have killed a lot of deer with handguns in .22 Jet, .357 Mag, 10mm, .41 Mag, .44 Mag, .45 Colt and .480 Ruger and a lot of different calibers in Contenders, Encores and Savage Strikers in a lot of different rifle calibers. With the right bullet I believe the .327 will work fine. I know my limitations and the guns limitations. I am at the stage in my life that I can pass on iffy shots based on the gun I am carrying.

[megasupermagnum]

Thanks for the answers. I have killed a lot of deer with handguns in .22 Jet, .357 Mag, 10mm, .41 Mag, .44 Mag, .45 Colt and .480 Ruger and a lot of different calibers in Contenders, Encores and Savage Strikers in a lot of different rifle calibers. With the right bullet I believe the .327 will work fine. I know my limitations and the guns limitations. I am at the stage in my life that I can pass on iffy shots based on the gun I am carrying.

If you had good results with the 22 jet, likely anything in the 327 federal will work great. The above mentioned bullets are about as good as it gets. One thing to keep in mind is cylinder length. For ideal performance you need a cylinder that will chamber a .400" long bullet nose.The bare minimum would be about 1.560" long cylinder, 1.610" if recessed.

[sixshot]

Pacecars, I'm the one mentioned who took the antelope with a 327. Mine was my Ruger Blackhawk 8 shot using the Miha 135 gr HP running over 1300 fps. The shot was 73 yds with the bullet taking out both lungs & exiting, she jumped, got turned around & maybe 3-4 steps & down.

Your 16-4 is yours to do as you please, if I had it I would do the same thing, I'd enjoy it & it's still going to be worth plenty. That Miha 135 gr HP has a long shank & penetrates like crazy, you won't have any trouble with correct bullet placement. Enjoy your gun!

Dick

[Jtarm]

I don't think Hamilton Bowen or Andy Horvath would rechamber it if it wasn't safe.

Speaking of Andy does he have a website, or still a snail-mail proposition?

[jonp]

You sure you want to use that on a whitetail even the smaller Florida ones?