32 ACP in a 327 magnum revolver?

F

frolic1

New member
I'm looking to purchase a Ruger SP101 in 327 magnum for my wife. For range shooting light load like S&W long offer minimal recoil. However the price of 32 ACP on line can be much lower. Has anyone tried these in a SP101? Any problems? I know they might not extract well but I want to make sure they don't cause any damage. Also, what is the best online site to purchase 32 cal ammo?
 
As the 327 Federal Magnum is the 4th iteration of the 32 S&W after 32 S&W Long and the 32 H&R Magnum you should have plenty of load options available for any kind of recoil without having to deal with the 32 ACP and its tiny half rim in a revolver.
 
You can shoot them, it is not a safety risk, but know going in that it will not be a matter of "yeah, ejection can sometimes be tricky"

Rather, it is a matter of "ejection will not ever work, not once, and if you attempt to use the ejector rod as normal... they WILL get stuck under the ejector and it goes from total annoyance to horrendous pain in the butt"

If you choose to try .32 ACP, do yourself a favor:
1) bring a pencil & eject each piece with a pencil and never touch the ejector rod
And
2) start with a single box of .32 ACP, not a case of it

It works, it is possible, it is far less than "ideal"
 
Reports have been mixed with 32acp in the SP101. The issue with 32acp is the rim is .010 thinner than the 32 revolver cartridges, so the primer sits farther away from the firing pin. They MAY OR MAY NOT work. Shooting 32 acp in the SP101 will not cause any damage that I am aware of, and its common to shoot 32 acp from 327 Federal, and 32 H&R Magnum revolvers. I don't have the 327 SP101, but my Single Seven, and Taurus M327 both fire 32acp just fine. I have shot 32 acp in these revolvers, because I have a bunch of it, and the 32 S&W cartridges are very hard to find in my area. I have a Kel-Tec P32, and stocked up on 32acp before the panic.

Sevens said:
"ejection will not ever work, not once, and if you attempt to use the ejector rod as normal... they WILL get stuck under the ejector and it goes from total annoyance to horrendous pain in the butt"
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32acp ejects just fine from my Taurus 327 Federal revolver. Are you speaking about the SP101-327 specifically?
 
"...for my wife..." She pick it? If it's for her, she should be deciding everything about it.
.327 Mag ammo isn't currently available from Federal. Except for Grafs, who list 20 round boxes of 100 grain Speer only.
In any case, forget the ACP's. She'd have 17 thou of rim holding the ACP in place and 10 thou too little rim thickness. .32 S&W Long would do nicely though.
 
If you are at the "looking" stage of the purchase, and ammunition price, and availability are an issue, why not go with a 357 magnum that she can then shoot 38 Special in. Or just a 38 Special model to begin with?
 
I have five 32 magnum revolvers right now.

Two will shoot 32acp just fine 100% of the time.

One will shoot them sometimes - probably depends on the ammo.

Two won't fire them at all.

I am guessing that it has to do with tiny variations in the lengths of the firing pins. In the past I owned two seemingly identical revolvers (same manufacturer and model) such that one fired them just fine and the other not at all.

I haven't had any major difficulties in ejecting that I recall - they normally just fall out.

The 32 h&r magnum and 327 magnum generate significantly more pressure than the 32acp, so it is perfectly safe to use that caliber in those revolvers.
 
Weblance, good call -- my experience with .32 ACP is specifically in the GP-100. I have a lot of hands-on with the SP-101 and Blackhawk also, but admittedly not with .32 ACP. So your clarification is quite valid.

Tallball, .327 Federal is indeed FAR higher pressure, but .32 H&R (to SAAMI spec) isn't crazy hot over .32 ACP. It probably runs around 25k PSI. If there were any justice in the world and we were treated to a little more reality and a little less marketing... the .32 H&R Magnum would have been named the .32 H&R Special from day one.

It is not my intention to offend fans of the .32 H&R Mag or to slag the great little cartridge... but a "magnum" it is not.
 
but a "magnum" it is not.
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I guess 38 is not that "special" either, but it was Smith & Wesson's choice what to call it.. Is the definition of Magnum really all that rigid, especially in terms of the time when the 32 H&R Magnum was introduced? I think "32 H&R" is sufficient to distinguish the round. The Magnum part is an old kibitz.
 
As mentioned above, it's a crap-shoot. And the SP-101 has been found to be more prone to not liking .32 Auto, than other .327 revolvers.

---
As for my experience:

.32 Auto runs just fine in my Blackhawk and GP-100, both .327 Federal.

I haven't tried it in the new .327 LCR, yet.

It will not, however, run worth a crap in Crankylove's .327 Federal SP-101. (My brother, and a member here.)
He's fine with .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, and .32 H&R; but .32 Auto is nothing but an exercise in light strikes and difficult extraction. He gave up on it and gave all of his .32 Auto brass back to me.


If you were a reloader, I'd suggest putting together some .32 S&W Long loads, but it sounds like you stick with factory ammo.
 
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I've read countless threads on whether there is really any drawback to shooting .38 in a gun chambered for .357 magnum. The only thing I can really confirm is that it causes a ring of crud to build up in the gap. The same question hasn't been asked much about shorter cartridges in guns for .327 and I'm curious. The difference in length is much more pronounced when comparing .327 to .32acp or .32 S&W.

Barring an answer to that, I've got to concur with "why would you want to". Sure it might cost a little more but .32 S&W Long is a darling round that shouldn't pose the kinds of problems you might get with .32acp. I don't know if .32 H&R Magnum is much different price-wise but I do feel better about it defensively. It's got a little more kick but not much in the heavy SP101 and it gets you up into .38 special power levels.
 
I've read countless threads on whether there is really any drawback to shooting .38 in a gun chambered for .357 magnum. The only thing I can really confirm is that it causes a ring of crud to build up in the gap. The same question hasn't been asked much about shorter cartridges in guns for .327 and I'm curious. The difference in length is much more pronounced when comparing .327 to .32acp or .32 S&W.
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Carbon rings are definitely an issue, if you want to shoot a bunch of 'shorties' without cleaning before going back to a longer cartridge.

However, the biggest drawback with .32 Auto and .32 S&W in .327 Federal chambers, is the ridiculous jump to the throat.
When the bullet is launched from the casing, it ends up traveling completely unsupported through the chamber, until it smashes into the ball end at the other end of the chamber ('ball end' is the proper term for a revolver chamber throat). With .32 Auto and .32 S&W, you're looking at about 5/8" where the hot gases rush past the bullet on all sides, and the bullet can be tumbling before hitting the ball end.

Performance is significantly reduced, and often erratic (in my experience). Accuracy suffers greatly, and I can't imagine it being all that great for the cylinder.

That's one of the reasons why I prefer .32 S&W Long for light loads, and use it more than the shorter brethren. The jump is notably shorter.
When I do reload .32 Auto and .32 S&W, though... I load HOT. The .32 S&W cases get max pressure .32 Auto loads, and the .32 Auto cases get something more akin to .32 S&W Long loads. The loads are well within the limits of what the brass case and primer can handle; and they make performance a little more predictable and reduce the chances of a stuck bullet.
But non-reloaders don't really have that option.
 
I guess .32 ACP with cast lead bullets might solve some of the issues of long travel through the cylinder, but I doubt that anyone makes them outside of a reloader's room.
 
the .32 H&R Magnum would have been named the .32 H&R Special from day one.
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A substantial number of people call the .32 S&W Long the ".32 Special"... because they call the .32 S&W the ".32 Short." No sense confusing them any worse than they already are.

We need Clark to abuse an old topbreak .32 with .32 ACP which is a considerable overload. Assuming he can find one with tight enough headspace and long enough firing pin to fire them.
 
Or stop relying on local supplies for my ammo, getting better deals by mail order. You also stop buying one box at a time with just pocket money.
 
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