.32 H&R Mag Single Six

[jrayborn]

I am awaiting delivery of a new to me 4-5/8" Ruger Single Six in .32 H&R Mag. I have been loading for .327 Fed Mag for a few years and am really in love with them. I am not normally into maxing out my handloads but is the Single Six considered a strong enough revolver for some of the top end 32 H&R loads?

The thing I like best about my GP100 and SP101 are the brute strength of both of them. Is the single six similar in strength relative to the chambering?

[dougader]

Brian Pearce wrote an atricle for Handloader and had loads for 32 H&R mag and 327 Federal.

In a Single Six, 32HRM, he had loads like 11.8 grains WW296/H110 with a small magnum primer and the Hornady 100 grain xtp-hp. I have loaded this in my Single Six and it shoots great, with no high pressure signs. Cases fall out of the cylinder.

There are a couple guys who have simply reamed out their SS cylinders to accept 327 Federal ammo, with no reported problems except that some ammo - like the Federal 100 grain SP load - is a bit long for the short SS cylinder.

While I am not brave enough to try the 45k psi loads of the 327 Fed in my SS, I have no problems loading around 36k psi (same as 357 mag).

I also like a 94 grain swc with 3.0 - 4.2 grains WW231 for a mild to snappy little cast bullet load. The 4.2 grain load gives me about 1,000 fps in my 3-3/4" Single Six.

The 100 grain xtp load above, IIRC, gives about 1270 fps in the same Single Six.

[MT Gianni]

4.0-4.4 gr Unique and a 98 gr swc is a nice comfortable load. My accuracy load with H110 was 10.7 gr with the same RCBS boolit.

[Green Frog]

You might want to go over to the Ruger Forum,

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/index.php?sid=f12baa9adc0c4ca4bcb1f569b74f1868

and have a look around the revolver threads. My e-friend and co-conspirator Hondo44 has had a lot of stuff there recently about doing just what you propose. He seems to be having great success, but you will have to read what they're saying in these threads and judge for yourself. At least you will have access to real data from guys who have done it. :coffeecom

Froggie

[bedbugbilly]

jrayborn . . . ahhhh . . . you are indeed a lucky man! A 32 H & R is on my "must have" list and that Ruger you are getting sounds like an ideal shooting' iron! Makes me drool just thinking about it! Congrats on your "new toy" and enjoy! :-)

[Harry O]

I have had a Ruger .32 Mag Super-Single-Six for many years and have shot it with higher pressure loads than factory for the entire length of time. It is just as tight as when I bought it.

I have gone up to 8.5gr of 2400 with a 100gr Hornady XTP or a 115gr 311316-GC. That is very accurate in this gun. It is a little difficult to eject at that pressure, so I eventually reduced it to 7.5gr. No problems with ejecting now. This is not as powerful as the .327, but it is faster than factory loads.

Keep in mind that the opening for the case is just barely larger than the cartridge rim and if you have to push very hard on the ejection rod, even a little movement will catch the rim and prevent it from ejecting. It does not take much drag on the cylinder to get it misaligned.

[Green Frog]

If you really want to test the max resistance that SS can stand (with 32 H&R) you should go back to the "Shooting Times" issue that Skeeter wrote in when the caliber and gun were introduced. He blissfully loaded it as though it were a full sized single action, and blazed away with no apparent ill effects. Then somebody thought to pressure test his loads and the editors nearly had a cow! :shock: The next issue of the mag had all kinds of denials and disclaimers and warnings not to use those hot loads. :brokenima I always wanted to try some of them in my Model 16-4 or my Buckeye Special 32 Combo Blackhawk, but sold both too soon. Maybe I should try them in my Blackhawk 327 FM Eight-shooter or my custom stainless S&W "Model 616." :mrgreen:

Froggie

PS As an aside, lots of folks had problems with the original 32 H&R brass (from Federal) cracking and splitting. It may have been improperly annealed. Anyway, if I were going to load any hot rounds in the 32 H&R, I'd use modern Starline brass... or better yet just load the real 32 magnum, the 327 Fed Mag, but that's what dougader talking about when he suggested altering your SS in the first place, isn't it? I'm a little hesitant to do that, but Hondo44 who I mentioned in post #4 made it work for him. :D

[jrayborn]

Guys, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to drop a line. I am seriously anxious to get this revolver and try it out. I already have 1000 pieces of Starline brass and 8lbs of WC297 ready to go together!

[Green Frog]

Just like any other new cartridge and gun combo... start with a bottom end low load and work up. With that amount of brass and the tiny charges of powder you will be working with, you'll have plenty to play with there if you'll do some casting. I kinda envy you. :mrgreen:

Froggie

[Larry Gibson]

I've had an original run Ruger Single Six .32 H&R for years. I have the 118 gr GC'd 311316 and the 313631 105 GC'd SWC for it along with the 311227 and Lee TL314-90-SWC for it currently. I have shot a lot of the 98 gr RCBS SWCs and 311008s through it also. While I've shot a few healthy magnum loads with it using the 2 GC'd bullets I've found I use the PB'd cast at around 1000 fps most often. Figured out if I wanted a really blast'em Magnum the .357 is a much better choice.

The .32 H&R Single Six cylinder walls are on the thin side so keep that in mind if you want to try to shoot some really hot magnum loads in it.

Larry Gibson

[Mk42gunner]

Figured out if I wanted a really blast'em Magnum the .357 is a much better choice.


I have one of the SSM's that is almost a twin to Larry's gun. I have in the past used large amounts of LILGUN behind the group buy 314-120, but am leaning more to using a ~100 gr Ballisti-cast 665 as my standard load projectile. That way I can get away with using the original front sight, with the 120 grainers it is too short.

I have thought about this a lot over the years and the big problem I see with the .32 H&R Magnum is that H&R and Federal developed the round for the H&R revolvers, (which weren't the strongest things out there) and consequently set the pressure low, while still naming it Magnum. IIRC they were envisioning the round as a lighter recoiling personal protection choice than the .38 Special, not a hunting or field use round.

The problem really began when Ruger and S&W brought out stronger guns chambered for the round, suitable for hunting and general purpose use, i.e. the Ruger Single-Six in SSM guise and the S&W K-Frame Model 16-4. People began to hotrod the round, with no idea as to what kind of pressure they were loading to.

Maybe I am getting overly cautious as I near the half-century mark, but I have come to believe that if I think I need more power than a 100 grain boolit at 1,000 fps; I need to move up in bore size and boolit weight, not just velocity.

Robert

[DLCTEX]

I agree that if you want the magnum hot rod, buy a 357 or larger. The SS is a fun gun in it's intended use and does an adequate jod for what it was intended.

[Harry O]

If you really want to test the max resistance that SS can stand (with 32 H&R) you should go back to the "Shooting Times" issue that Skeeter wrote in when the caliber and gun were introduced. He blissfully loaded it as though it were a full sized single action, and blazed away with no apparent ill effects. Then somebody thought to pressure test his loads and the editors nearly had a cow! :shock: The next issue of the mag had all kinds of denials and disclaimers and warnings not to use those hot loads. :D

Yep. I have those issues and got my Super-Single-Six after reading them. After Skeeter published them, they were tested by Federal at nearly 39,000psi. You are right that the magazines lawyers had a fit. Some people have since said that he was getting old and senile, to be shooting those loads. However, he shot a lot of them, had been handloading for years, and still had all of his fingers so he must have known something.

This is what he said in his retraction, "I believed, and still believe that the Ruger Single-Six will stand up to these loads with no problems, but I cannot -- and will not -- recommend them to others until I can prove through long experience that they are completely safe. The little Ruger is an exceptionally strong revolver -- and the ONLY one in which I would fire such loads. My work with this gun/loads combination was purely for my own edification, and anyone else who tries them does so entirely on his own responsibility."

Mine are not loaded quite that high, but they are probably halfway between the factory loads at about 23,000psi and Skeeters loads. I cannot tell others what they should do, but like Skeeter, I am perfectly comfortable with those loads in this gun. I have shot a few thousand of them. They are very accurate and do not have excessive noise or muzzle blast as others (who have obviously not shot them) have claimed.

On the other hand, I would NEVER shoot those loads in my S&W J-frame. You have to know what your guns limitations are if you intend to do much handloading.

[canyon-ghost]

Thirty Two Magnum, hmmm....102165

[leftiye]

Pressure isn't a religious term. There's nothing sacred about the words "factory" or "manufacturer". Certainly, in many cases, going above say SAAMI pressures can be dangerous. And in many more - standard pressures just indicate that there are old and/or weak guns in existence for that caliber. In the present case, I suspect Skeeter's loads were just fine in a Ruger single six. Though the gun is a smaller version of a blackhawk (I know vaquero, etc), the .32 case is proportionately smaller in diameter. As a hole gets smaller, it requires even less metal to contain a given pressure. Plus, Ruger metal is known for being hi-test alloy, tough and strong. Would I load to 40,000 psi.? Probly not, as was said previously, I would probly go to a 327. Were I gifted a single six, I'd load some HOT loads fer sure. Factory .32 Mag loads are ridiculous. It should be called a .32 special. I went and looked at some .32 revolters in response to this thread, but decided I already have several guns in .30 or .32 caliber cartridges that will do the same thang or better. The size of the single six is attractive though.

[jrayborn]

USPS Tracking says that the revolver tried to be delivered Saturday but my dealer wasn't home. :( Now I have to wait another week. Oh this isn't easy at all...

[Green Frog]

Pressure isn't a religious term. There's nothing sacred about the words "factory" or "manufacturer". Certainly, in many cases, going above say SAAMI pressures can be dangerous. And in many more - standard pressures just indicate that there are old and/or weak guns in existence for that caliber. In the present case, I suspect Skeeter's loads were just fine in a Ruger single six. Though the gun is a smaller version of a blackhawk (I know vaquero, etc), the .32 case is proportionately smaller in diameter. As a hole gets smaller, it requires even less metal to contain a given pressure. Plus, Ruger metal is known for being hi-test alloy, tough and strong. Would I load to 40,000 psi.? Probly not, as was said previously, I would probly go to a 327. Were I gifted a single six, I'd load some HOT loads fer sure. Factory .32 Mag loads are ridiculous. It should be called a .32 special. I went and looked at some .32 revolters in response to this thread, but decided I already have several guns in .30 or .32 caliber cartridges that will do the same thang or better. The size of the single six is attractive though.

There's a good reason I refer to the "32 H&R semi-Magnum" or the "32 H&R Mag Wannabe." Like you, I plan to use my remaining supply of 32 H&R brass to make some sort of 32 Spl +P for my 327 FM revolvers, but I foresee loading mostly 32 S&W Longs with 95-100 gr WCs & SWCs and good solid target loads then loading a couple of heavier varieties of 327 Fed Mag since those are the brass sizes I have the most of. I've got a little TruLine Jr set up for the S&W Long and a full sized All American press set up for the Fed Mag, 'cause I really hate the 5 minutes it takes to change calibers! :mrgreen:

Froggie

[Larry Gibson]

Having pressure tested Federal 32 H&R factory loads I'm not quite sure I would refer to them as "ridiculous". SAAMI's MAP for the cartridge is 21,000 CUP. The Federal 85 gr JHPs I pressure tested ran 22,700 psi(M43). The LSWCs ran 18,900 psi(M43). One of these days I'll load up some of my own "magnum loads" of the 118 gr 311316 over 10.5 gr H110 (sound familiar?) or the 105 gr 313631 over 6 gr of Unique and see what they do pressure wise.

It's hard to get much more powder in the case and the bullet to. Anyone want to give me the "Shooting Times" Skeeter loads I'll see what I can do about duplicating those and pressure testing them also. BTW; the pressure testing is done in a Contender, not the Ruger Single Six.

Larry Gibson

[Green Frog]

Larry,

Does that Contender barrel have a .308 " bore or .311"? I've heard that the former was pretty common, but of course that will effect the pressures you get. I wanted one of the 32-20s that came out at that time, but in one of his last public appearances I got to chat with Skeeter and he turned me on to the then-new 32 H&R. I still can't call myself to call what the factories made for H&Rs a magnum, but he sure made it into one!

Froggie

[dougader]

I'm pretty sure Handloader pressure checks their loads before sending them to print, but I can't swear to it.

IIRC, there's more meat in the cylinders of a Single Six, in relation to the 32 HRM, than there is in a 357 mag GP100 or an old model Blackhawk in 357 mag. But then again, I don't have those measurements in front of me either...

All I can say is, the loads I have fired in my SS showed no signs of excessive pressure.

I still shoot a lot more rounds with 3.0 grains of WW231 and the little 94 grain cast bullet than I do of the 11.8 grains WW296 with the 100 grain xtp.

I'll say, though, that zippy little 32 gives you a bit of range if you're after jack rabbits 'n such.

[Larry Gibson]

Green Frog

The Contender bore pins out at .301 and the slug measures .309. Of course with such the psi will be higher a tudge higher when .312 bullets, especially jacketed bullets, are used. However, given the fact the bullets all become .309 in the first bearing length of travel, the increase comes very early in the time/pressure curve. Many times any actual increase is well with in the shot to shot psi variation and is very difficult to detect. A careful study of the time under the pressure curve (some of the data the Oehler M43 provides) seems to give the best indication but is not always enough of a difference to make any determination.

With identical cast bullets sized at .312, .311, .310, and .309 I could determine no psi increase with the same load.

Of course a Revolver will give somewhat less psi also because of the longer cylinder throat and barrel/cylinder gap we must realize most of the difference is actually in a bit longer time pressure curve. Most peak psi's with magnum loads (in the .32, .357 and .44 Magnums) occurs before the bullet is into the barrel or very, very shortly after. That is with the slow burners such as 2400, H110 and 296. Some powders a tudge slower have bad reps for forcing cone erosion and top strap cutting because they hit peak psi after the bullet passes the barrel/cylinder gap and the forcing cone.

The 32-20s that Ruger made back then were on the Blackhawk frame and some came with a convertible cylinder in 32 H&R. Those were definitely loaded up and I wonder if we don't confuse the capability of those larger framed Rugers with that of the smaller Single Sixes in 32 H&R? The cylinder thickness of those larger Blackhawk cylinders was considerably thicker than the cylinders of the Single Sixes. The cylinder walls of my Ruger Security Six and S&W M19 are .005 - .008" thicker than the Single Six 32 H&R cylinder.

Larry Gibson

[BAGTIC]

4-4.4 gr Unique over a 98 gr swc is a nice comfortable load. My accuracy load with H110 was 10.7 gr with the same RCBS boolit.


Is that load for one of those Polish revolvers that shoot backwards?

[MT Gianni]

Is that load for one of those Polish revolvers that shoot backwards?

No I load upside down for relaxation.

[jrayborn]

If the stars align tomorrow evening I will be picking it up!

[jrayborn]

http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy261/jrayborn32/IMG_3561_zps3d277c45.jpg (http://s798.photobucket.com/user/jrayborn32/media/IMG_3561_zps3d277c45.jpg.html)

http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy261/jrayborn32/IMG_3560_zps47b7de19.jpg (http://s798.photobucket.com/user/jrayborn32/media/IMG_3560_zps47b7de19.jpg.html)

Got it!

Bore pin's to .303
Grooves slug out at .314
and cylinders pin out at .312

Even with the small cylinders it shot Lee TL314-90 pretty well. I shot Dave Manson an email about a cylinder reamer to open up the throats and have since learned I can open the throats and lengthen the charge hole to allow the use of .327 mag... Not likely to do that, but it is not unheard of.

I really do love Rugers!

[Uncle R.]

Sweet!
I have wanted one of those for a long time but can't get myself past the asking prices.
Enjoy!
<
Uncle R.

[44Vaquero]

I purchased mine in July of 1987 and never looked back! It's a sweet cartridge and the SS is a perfect match for it! My grandfather and I purchased one each that year his being Bisley 6.5 inch and mine the standard 6.5 inch model. We endured the issues with federal brass for years, on average losing 3 or 4 cases out of every 50 due to vertical splitting below the bullet on the case! We were ever so happy when Starline began making .32 H&R, I am still using the original 500 I purchased!

My biggest regret is not having purchased a matched set of Birds Head Grips in Stainless Steel when they came out!! UGH!

103431103432

[NLS1]

Oh how I would love a SS in 32! Nice thread, good info, and fun guns to look at.

Dan

[Smoke Jensen]

4gr. of Unique over a 90gr. TC and a Federal small pistol primer = one ragged hole at 50' in my hands (yes off a sand bag) from my 5.5" Ruger Single Six.

[kingstrider]

I picked this one up recently from a dealer that also had a used SP-101 in .32 H&R Magnum. In retrospect, I should have bought both guns but that's life I guess.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/kingstrider/gun%20stuff/IMG_6534.jpg

[Fergie]

There are several of the single sixes for sale around me right now, but they aren't the .32 H&R mags that I'm looking for!

I've been searching for a good 6 months or more for a Charter Arms .32 H&R mag with a 4" barrel and haven't been able to locate one at all!

That SP you mention would be good in the .32 H&R...the one I have in .327 is decent enough.

[Pumpkinheaver]

I love Ruger single six revolvers. Here are my 2 .32 H&Rs. I have shot heavy loads consisting of H-110 and the 100gr XTP but I have since decided it would be prudent to use a bigger gun if I need more power.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w170/pumpkinheaver/Hunting/009Small-1.jpg (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/pumpkinheaver/media/Hunting/009Small-1.jpg.html)

[Green Frog]

I like the little Single Six platform, but I really want to use my SA Ruger as more of a "test mule" so for now at least, I'm holding onto my RBH 8-Shooter so I have plenty of margin of strength. It's a shame that gun was discontinued so quickly. :???:

Are any of you 32 H&R Single Six lovers comparing them to the new 327 FM Single Seven? Sorry if this is thread drift, but all of these high performance 32s are interesting. :coffeecom

Froggie

[Fergie]

I like the little Single Six platform, but I really want to use my SA Ruger as more of a "test mule" so for now at least, I'm holding onto my RBH 8-Shooter so I have plenty of margin of strength. It's a shame that gun was discontinued so quickly. :???:

Are any of you 32 H&R Single Six lovers comparing them to the new 327 FM Single Seven? Sorry if this is thread drift, but all of these high performance 32s are interesting. :coffeecom

Froggie

For what it is worth, as soon as my LGS called me about an RBH 8 shot in .327, for less than a new SP101, I ditched the Seven.

I did not like the fact that the cylinders were short compared to the .327 and that OAL tolerances were too tight, thus limiting my bullet selection.

[Smoke Jensen]

My every day working load for my NM Single Six is a 90 gr. TC over 4 gr. of Unique. Shoots one ragged hole at 50' from a rest. I can shoot a bit over one inch and a half. I also load a 100 gr. SWC over that same 4 gr. of Unique with the same results. Does everything I could expect from a .32 mag. Does well on foxes and coyotes.

[Earlwb]

I really like the .32's. I still have my H&R .32 Magnum revolver. it has a 7.5 inch barrel on it and it is the only one I have ever seen with a long barrel. It actually shoots really well. I used it for rabbit hunting many years ago. I hadn't seen anyone selling the .327 Magnum in any gun with a longer barrel on it. It seems they went with snub nose revolvers for the most part.

[KenT7021]

My only .32 H&R Magnum is a Ruger Blackhawk .32-20/.32 H&R convertible.I've only used the .32-20 cylinder.I just ordered some Starline .32 H&R Magnum brass.The brass will arrive tomorrow.I"ll have to load some rounds up and give it a try.The Blackhawk will definitely handle heavy loads.