.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?

[Texas by God]

Lots of deer have been killed with the 32-20. Bullet placement and close range. My money's on you.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[jban]

I'm kind of surprised at some of the answers that were given to you. I had to double check to make sure I was on this board.
It's YOUR gun, and YOUR money, do what you want with it, and enjoy it. I might say that it may not be my first choice. But I don't know how you hunt. I have no doubts that the 327 could take a deer, with the right load, and shooting conditions.
It really doesn't take that much to kill a deer. It's when the deer's adrenalin kicks in, that it becomes a problem.

[jonp]

I'm kind of surprised at some of the answers that were given to you. I had to double check to make sure I was on this board.
It's YOUR gun, and YOUR money, do what you want with it, and enjoy it. I might say that it may not be my first choice. But I don't know how you hunt. I have no doubts that the 327 could take a deer, with the right load, and shooting conditions.
It really doesn't take that much to kill a deer. It's when the deer's adrenalin kicks in, that it becomes a problem.

It's a pistol which has a much smaller margin of error. As for the gun, it's yours as others have said. I wouldn't do it myself but if you want to then that's your business.

[pacecars]

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

No email or website. Phone or mail

[kgb]

My only .32 caster is the Single Seven Mjolnir which would seem to be a great option but I've been having less than fantastic results with it in an H&R Ruger and .32-20 Marlin. Have been working in a fairly limited range with it though and my initial thought of it being too heavy for the twist rates/speeds is probably wrong---one individual has found success with it that I know of. The design seems right for what you want to do, maybe one of the Accurate versions would work out better and I hope you'll have success then post results down the road.

Your plans have brought out some pretty entertaining hand wringing here, no surprise. I intend to end up with one of those revolvers some day and at an auction looked hard at one that had been converted to .32-20. Nice revolvers either way.

[Rodfac]

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. Plus one in spades....and with no "entertaining hand wringing"...Rod

[pacecars]

Thank you all for your responses. It is going to Andy Horvath for rechambering and an action job!

[megasupermagnum]

Why not get a .327 Henry Rifle.
That gun will perforate deer and likely down it.
So you kill a deer. What's next?

Rifles are not allowed everywhere, and the question of what bullet to use is still a valid one. I'm guessing once he kills a deer, he would go after another. That's what I do.

[cwlongshot]

I’m a big fan of a WFN design for hunting. In this 32 I would lean to a HP and spend sometime finding a alloy that’s expands penetrates yet shoots well.

But my choice is a Accurate 31-135S. Mine is a S7 and it shoots lights out! I’m so hooked I’m buying a second!

I have been working up loads going slowly. Just recently I am at mid 1200’s and excellent accuracy with this bullet powder coated. Using Blue Dot powder.

256260
256261
256262

CW

[ACC]

I’m a big fan of a WFN design for hunting. In this 32 I would lean to a HP and spend sometime finding a alloy that’s expands penetrates yet shoots well.

But my choice is a Accurate 31-135S. Mine is a S7 and it shoots lights out! I’m so hooked I’m buying a second!

I have been working up loads going slowly. Just recently I am at mid 1200’s and excellent accuracy with this bullet powder coated. Using Blue Dot powder.

256260
256261
256262

CW

That looks like a bullet my brother designed for NEI and was picked up by Accurate. If it is more power to you. It shot very well out of his Ruger .327.

ACC

[pacecars]

Why not get a .327 Henry Rifle.
That gun will perforate deer and likely down it.
So you kill a deer. What's next?

Kill another two or three, some pigs maybe a turkey or two. The Henry rifles just don’t trip my trigger. I like the Marlins and Winchester 92s in the pistol calibers but not really looking for a .327 chambered rifle. I had a Browning Model 53 .32-20 and it worked well. The .327 Fed is not going to be my primary deer gun but should an opportunity arise I would like to use it. A feeding relaxed doe inside 25 yards would be the most likely scenario that I would use it in.

[DHDeal]

Pacecars,
When I first saw your thread, I skipped it for whatever reason. When I read it this morning I thought it was just to early for popcorn, so I had coffee instead. I personally balanced myself on top of the fence as I could see both sides of the issue. I can tell this ain't your first Rodeo....

Man that it one pretty revolver (I saw your pic of it on another thread)! As you're gonna do what you're gonna do, I say it'll be a lot of fun! I'm curious as to the cylinder length as that'll give you an idea of how long you can go (which you already know).

I'm a fanboy of heavy for caliber GC molds and PC'd bullets. I'd get something like the MP Sledgehammer (if it fits) and roll on. I wish my Sledgehammer mold was plain base now, but it's what I have.

[Drm50]

32cal from handgun is not a practical choice for deer. It is marginal at best in a rifle. Yea it will kill them under idea conditions, so will a 22rf.

[Hickory]

People need to write S&W and ask them to build a stainless steel K or L frame 327 magnum in 4-5 and 6 inch barrels w/o the heavy underlug.
I write 2 or 3 times a year asking for such a gun. Crickets on their end. Maybe with more voices they will hear us.

[megasupermagnum]

Pacecars,
When I first saw your thread, I skipped it for whatever reason. When I read it this morning I thought it was just to early for popcorn, so I had coffee instead. I personally balanced myself on top of the fence as I could see both sides of the issue. I can tell this ain't your first Rodeo....

Man that it one pretty revolver (I saw your pic of it on another thread)! As you're gonna do what you're gonna do, I say it'll be a lot of fun! I'm curious as to the cylinder length as that'll give you an idea of how long you can go (which you already know).

I'm a fanboy of heavy for caliber GC molds and PC'd bullets. I'd get something like the MP Sledgehammer (if it fits) and roll on. I wish my Sledgehammer mold was plain base now, but it's what I have.

Considering you can get 1500 fps from the 135 gr HP, a gas check is a good thing.

[MNruss]

Cylinder length 16-4 including rim = 1.608
That’s what mine measures anyway.

[megasupermagnum]

Cylinder length 16-4 including rim = 1.608
That’s what mine measures anyway.

Edit, I missed the part where you said rim, so I'm assuming these are not recessed. I beleive a 32 sledgehammer has a .400" crimp to nose. I load to 1.600" OAL, so this should be just enough cylinder.

[Rodfac]

People need to write S&W and ask them to build a stainless steel K or L frame 327 magnum in 4-5 and 6 inch barrels w/o the heavy underlug. That, Sir, is one heck of an idea. I have a Smith Model 16 with a 4" bbl. and it's just too heavy to tote around as a woods/meadows trail piece.

Beautifully accurate with SA & DA trigger pulls that'll bring tears to your eyes, it's just too heavy. Given my ultimate druthers, I'd opt for a Model 60 with a 5" bbl. in .32 H&R....a good bit lighter, but with enough weight in that 5" tube to facilitate good offhand use at wood's ranges (25 yds and beyond).

I had one of the now rare Model 60's with a 5" bbl. in .357 for several years but gave it to my #1 son who's put it to some use up in the Adirondacks of NY. It was a pleasing revolver to shoot up to 1100 fps or so, and would have been the Zoot Capri had it been offered in .32 H&R.

Best Regards, Rod

[RJM52]

As said, before rechambering you may want to measure the cylinder length and the bullets available for what you want to do.

Also recently traded into a 16-4. A LNIB 4"...they sell in the area of $12-1400 on the action sites. I've considered having mine rechambered to .327 but since I have a custom Model 53 that is now a .327 that does have a Magnum length cylinder and a 6" barrel I'll probably just leave it as is. That and a 6.5" FA 97 would take care of the hunting anyway.

As to taking deer with the .327. The last Pa. doe I shot was with a .350 Rem. Mag. 125 yard shot low in the shoulder. Broke the femur, took the bottom off the heart and left an 1x2" hole going out...and the deer still ran 80 yards. A friend shot a doe with a Single-Seven 5.5" with the American Eagle 100 grain SP and it dropped after a few steps...

Hunting ethics has nothing to do with a specific caliber...it has to do with the shooter knowing his firearm, caliber and his ability to put an ethical shot into his intended target at his self-imposed maximum distance. I'd have a lot more respect for a hunter with a .327 who can put a round in the kill zone out to 35 yards and would never take a shot past that than a bozo with a .44 who takes a 100 yard shot who never practiced past 50...

Bob

[pacecars]

I shot a 115 lb doe with a Model 53 .22 Remington Jet using 45 gr factory loads. I will admit that it is not the best load for deer and I wouldn’t recommend it but I happened to be using it while trying to call in a bobcat. The doe responded to my woodpecker call and walked up and stopped at about 10 yards and stopped. I had a doe tag in my pocket and shot her in the neck and dropped her on the spot. The conditions were perfect or I would have let her walk. When I am hunting a specific buck with a handgun I will either be carrying a Ruger SBH Bisley .480 or a Fusion 10mm with a red dot sight or I will use a Shiloh Sharps 1874 rifle in .45-70 with paper patch bullets over black powder. At this point in my life I enjoy the challenge that comes hunting with handguns and my buffalo rifles. I have plenty of modern scoped rifles but rarely take them hunting. I asked the question because I figured someone out there has probably shot deer with a .32 H&R, .32-20 WCF, .327 Federal or some other .32 caliber and could tell me what bullet they used and how it worked. I know that it is on the light side but this ain’t my first rodeo and I won’t take a marginal shot on game no matter what gun I am using. I practice at the ranges that I will be shooting at and don’t take chances on live animals. The only thing I hate worse than missing a game animal is wounding one.

[pacecars]

Well said Bob

[Rodfac]

I practice at the ranges that I will be shooting at and don’t take chances on live animals. The only thing I hate worse than missing a game animal is wounding one. Exactly.... Rod

[sixshot]

The 135 gr Miha HP that I used on the doe antelope is a very good bullet, not one that I normally use on big game but a doe antelope probably only weighs 70 lbs. That 135 HP is going to give you some expansion, I've used it a lot, and that long shank is the key, it's going to penetrate very well. So, the last thing is bullet placement, if you do your part on that size of game you will not have a problem. Shooting that doe was like shooting a water melon, very little resistance & she covered maybe 10 yds.

I've shot many Badgers with that same bullet & they are extremely tough, that bullet puts them to sleep if I do my part. It's all about using the right bullet & putting it in the right place. A wounded animal is still wounded, whether it's with a small caliber or a big caliber.

Dick