.32 H&R questions

[BigSlick]

Hi guys,

I finally got aSP101 32 H&R in a 4" waiting on me when I get home to pick it up. :drinks:

Long, long story but one of my buddies recently (this week) bought the same gun in a 3" barrel.

I've been walking him thru slugging the barrel and throats and he has gotten thru it. Looks like the groove diameter is .312 and the throat diameter is .311+ but not quite .312.

He wants to shoot cast, since he fell into a deal where he ended up with a goodly amount of the Hornady 85gr lead bullets and he knows I am going to pick up a RCBS 98 SWC and probably a Lyman .311008 for moulds.

I'm not experienced enough to make the call on the throat size vs groove size on his gun. My initial thought is it is probably close enough to get by without leading.

From what I read, Cylindersmith will true the throats to .314 for a few bucks and quick turn around.

$64,000 question is, should he send it to be worked over by Cylindersmith, or give it a go with the .311+ throats and .312 groove diameter ?

I know a .313 sizer is available, and it is probably what I will end up with myself. If I drop .314's I will probably shoot them as cast just to see what that gets me. Eventually I would like to make sure my 32 is dimensionally as optimal as possible so if I get leading I can look elsewhere. Plus, if mine turns out to be the same it will probably bug me until I get the throats trued to at least .313.

Can some of you guys point me in the right direction here ?

Thanks in advance for the help ;)
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[Lloyd Smale]

ruger 32s are notoriously small in the throats. Most will shoot fine but all of mine have been opened to 3125 and i use 312 bullets. It will make a good shooting gun into a tack driver.

[Mohillbilly]

Ya mite try a fire lap as you don't have too go much bigger.You already got the boolits.abrasive can be had from midway,or maybe tumble lube with car polish compound.....I,ve hand lapped my cylinders with a clean'n rod and 320 wet-r-dry and fire lapped with car polish on a single six 22.....Worked well....

[9.3X62AL]

Slick--

Lyman has .314" sizers as regular-production items, in case of need. My S&W Model 16-4 has .313" throats and .312" grooves (as best I can tell), so .314" boolits get the call and do very well.

Before taking tools to things that aren't broken, I would run some rounds through the revos to assess what you have "as is". Those measurements are pretty close, he and you might be all right. My 45 Colt (Ruger BisHawk) had .449" throats and .452" grooves--and shot one boolit REALLY well (#454490). Nothing else would run worth a damn, but that Thompson SWC/GC would. I opened the throats to .453", and run .454" boolits through the revolver now. MUCH better.

[Larry Gibson]

I'd shoot it first too.

If the "Hornady 85 gr lead" bullets are the 90 gr swaged SWCs try them over 3.2 gr Bullseye (magnum cases with sandard small pistol primer). If they are the 90 gr Hornady swaged WCs try them ove 2.1 gr Bullseye

Larry Gibson

[Harry O]

My suggestion is to get the throats right, then size and load correctly sized bullets. You are probably going to have this gun for a LONG time, so why live with a problem. I have had several Ruger reamed out. They have notoriously tight throats.

As far as the .32 Magnum, each manufacturer has their own dimensions. Check it out and load accordingly. My H&R's take 0.314" sized bullets. My old style Ruger Single Six can take 0.313" (just barely), but will work well with 0.312" bullets. That is good because my S&W 631 won't take anything larger than 0.312". Most jacketed bullet I have measured are 0.311". They work well in anything.

I have tried several types of cast bullets and all work reasonably well, but the RCBS 98gr flat-nose is what I will be using exclusively in the future. Most quick powders work well (Red Dot, Bullseye, WW231) for light loads. The slower Unique and SR4756 do OK for stiffer loads. I was given some SR7625 recently and see that Ken Waters recommends it for the .32 Long. I will be trying it soon.

[trooperdan]

Does Ruger chamber the .32H&R in a six inch barrel? Single or double action, either one. If not Ruger does anyone?

[leftiye]

Big, I'd (if it were mine) put some 400 grit, then some 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper on a dowel sized for a medium tight fit (including sandpaper) and hand lap them out a thou. or two. Did it to my Colt Officer's Model, shot ground squirrels at 60 yds (and yup, hit 'em too!). Test them for a snug (reads a little tight) fit with a boolit sized the size you want the chamber mouth to be.

FWIW, I like the chamber mouths a thou over groove dia., and the boolits to be a thou over chamber mouth size. Idea is to keep them straight, tight, and sealed in the chamber mouths while going into the barrel.

[C A Plater]

Does Ruger chamber the .32H&R in a six inch barrel? Single or double action, either one. If not Ruger does anyone?

Dan Wesson did when they were making the smaller frame. Now that CZ owns them they have not brought any of the smaller frame offerings. You can occasionally find one on the auction sites. The older Ruger Single Six was offered with 6-1/2" barrels but they too are out of production along with the Smith & Wesson long barrels.

[BigSlick]

LLoyd,

Who did the work to take your throats out to .3125 ?

I've got a buttload of .312 bullets that I would like to use if possible.

I see lots of cast bullets sold for .32 sized to .312, in a perfect world, I can see how that might work.

I have given some serious thought to lapping mine if they turn out to be the same. I can't imagine they will be any different, since the mfr dates between our guns is about 3 months.

The only issue I have with lapping the throats out is how to get them all uniform and how to accurately know when to stop.

I called Ruger, and they say the dimensions are all 'within spec' and recommend I shoot .314 bullets thru the <.312 throats if I can't find or drop and size any bullets in .313.

They did however remind me that I shouldn't shoot reloads.

I'm going to shoot it as is with the .312 bullets and see what that gets me. Then visit the issue more in depth.
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[ktw]

LLoyd,

Who did the work to take your throats out to .3125 ?


I'm pretty sure he sent his to CAS at http://cylindersmith.com/

I had one lapped out to .312 by Stillwell. Try http://www.sizingdie.com/

Both do good work. I too was concerned over getting them even when doing it myself.

-ktw

[BigSlick]

Thanks ktw !!

I completely forgot about Stillwell. They are just south of me about 5 hrs, or a day by USPS.

I'm almost positive they can do .313 since they do custom size dies.

I'm going to shoot up all the .312 stuff I have and get the throats done to .313.

That makes my day !!!
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[Lloyd Smale]

CAS did my 32s and 45s.