.32 caliber "defensive" revolver....

I have carried a H&R 732 before. They are great guns that don't usually bring to much. Six shots, three inch barrel, and a little smaller than a j-frame.
 
My uncle was a Ft Worth Homicide detective and he gave his wife a S&W model 30 2" barrel for her house gun. And she carried it in her purse also. And that was way before CHLs were issued in Tx. But cops wives got a free pass on that. My uncle saw lots of dead people others that had been shot and felt like his wife was well protected with that gun. And he could have gave her something different if he wanted. He owned even more guns than I do. And I am getting close to 90 guns now.

I have carried the model 431PD I posted a picture of and now it stays in my nightstand. If I hear a noise outside its what I drop in my pocket to go with me. Its so light weight I sometimes forget its there.
 
I've found that the Speer 115-grain Gold Dots are a perfect match for the SP 101 and that the Federal 85-grain Hydra-Shoks are a perfect match for the LCR. I say that in terms of recoil, handling, control, etc. based on my experience with these guns in both .32 and .38/.357. That sixth shot is just gravy. :)
 
I own four .327 Federal revolvers.
I like them all for their own reasons.

While .327 Federal is at its best in a barrel of 4" or longer, I do carry a .327 LCR regularly (1.875" barrel, which significantly neuters the cartridge, in comparison to longer barrel lengths). Worst case scenario, it's in .32 H&R territory.
I have no reservations about it being more than enough to stop a threat.


The LCR is for concealed carry.
The SP101 (4") is for hunting/fun. (And damned bloody good at it!)
The GP100 (4") is for hunting/fun. (Best overall option for .327 Federal.)
The Blackhawk (5.5") is for hunting/fun. (Best target option.)
 
While .327 Federal is at its best in a barrel of 4" or longer, I do carry a .327 LCR regularly (1.875" barrel, which significantly neuters the cartridge, in comparison to longer barrel lengths). Worst case scenario, it's in .32 H&R territory.
Click to expand...

This often comes up in discussions of .327 but remember that most magnum loads lose a lot out of short barrels. The venerable .357 magnum is no different. Even though the magnums (or super magnums in this case) lose more from a short barrel, they are starting out with more. The .327 has plenty of energy coming from the LCR and will still come out ahead of the .32 H&R magnum.

BTW, that's not just theory talking. I've shot a few different factory loads of .32 H&R magnum back to back with .327 out of the LCR. The difference on water bottles, cans, overripe fruit, etc. is appreciable. :D
 
If you can live with something not S&W and the like take a look at this.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/576562896

A 32 long H&R revolver. They are cheaper made than the top tier guns but they work just fine. They are small in size and light weight. Plus they can for the most part be found in excellent condition for around $200.

Go to Gunbroker and type in H&R 32. Then select revolvers on the left column. There is a mix of all brands but several more like the one I posted a link to. I had one of these when they came out with them in 32 magnum. There wasn't a thing wrong with that little gun. I wish I still had it. It was a great pocket gun.
 
Just a point of interest

For many years the service revolver for "POLICE WOMANS BUREAU" NYPD was a .32 cal. 3" J or I frame revolver. There was a holster made into their uniform purse.

Just a bit more of the useless information rattling around in my head.
 
I have thoughts on this but my thoughts are no better than anyone else's.

I have carried a lot of different handguns over the 46 years that I have owned handguns. I suppose it could be said all were carried "for defense" ---- in that if my life were to have been threatened at the time I was carrying a K22 or a Cold Huntsman, I would have used the 22s for defense. But in all the years I did carry a handgun as a weapon specifically for threats from other humans I have only used 2 calibers. A 45 ACP and a 41 mag.

Any gun is better than no gun, when you need a gun.

A good hit is better than a miss with any caliber, and in most cases a good hit with a 22 pistol is better than a slight wound with a 308 rifle.

It is super common for some men (especially cops) to believe that they are experts on what is a good "defensive gun" because they carried guns for 30 years. But in the largest majority of cases, those ex-cops have never shot anyone, and those that have, have not shot lots of people with lots of different guns, and each one of them used with lots of different loads.


So coming back to my thoughts I would sum thing up this way;

Any gun will do if you can do a good job with that gun.

Bigger bullets are usually better than smaller bullets if velocity is the same.

More velocity is usually better than less velocity.

Bigger bullets going faster are louder and kick harder, so their advantage may be lost in the hands of someone that can't do a perfect job with that combination.

So it's is obvious that a 44 mag with a 240 grain hollow point to the belly is better than a 25 auto with a hollow point to the belly. A 378 Weatherby Mag Mag in the same place is "better" still.

As "gun-guys" we love to compare and debate, but we too soon loose track that it is the skill of the shooter that is far more important than what he shoots.
2 times in my life I have been shot at with 12.7MM Machine guns. I was 100% unhurt. Why? Because I was not hit! All that power didn't hurt me a bit. Wasn't even painful. (it was very scary however)

I would be very fearful of an enemy with a 32 revolver or auto who fired that gun 2000 a year for 5 years. He (or she) is probably going to make good hits. If I was to be fired at by someone that just went out and bought a 32 (or a 9mm, 45 auto, 44 mag, or a 500 Smith and Wesson) and didn't train with it, I would probably be a lot safer than if I were to be shot at by the person armed with the 32, who has fired it 10,000 times.

So if you can shoot a 32 well, and you like to shoot, if you will shoot it a lot, I am sure you will do quite well.

Is that a 100% certain way to win any fight? NO!
There is not such way to fight. All fights are dangerous.

I would always rather be lucky than skilled, but I can't make luck.

I can make skill. So can you.
 
Good post WYosmith. To quote a line from an article by Evan Marshall. "I would rather face the typical street creep armed with an Uzi than a PPC champ with a 38 snub".

So if the OP wants to arm his daughter with a small 32 because she has small hands and it will fit her better then I say go for it. I hope he lets us know what he gets for her.
 
It's going to be hard to put exact data down for recoil, velocity, power, etc, when comparing, but practically speaking, this will grind the .380 into dust. It may have better velocity than an equivalently sized nine, and with identical bullet weight and greater sd, it may give better, or at least equal terminal performance. It should be far better than a .38 in that weight, +p maybe even. I do expect that it's not a particularly pleasant gun in a snub, and maybe a .38 would have less blast. IDNK.

I simply believe that if a person is able to carry and use a revolver, this outclasses the .380. It is equal to light nine ammo. It is likelyequal to anything but heavy 158loads in .38. If you can handle a speed loader, the seven round capacity with a reload is good.

This thing would have taken off if there had been the current huge demand for SD weapons. There were no ultra compact semi autos like the lcp, iirc, the light alloy revolvers make this really viable. I'd not hesitate.
 
Briandg I have no idea what gun you are talking about. But the OP choose the 32 not for the power but for the small size of the gun because his daughter has small hands.

Maybe you are referring to the 327 magnum.
 
how did this devolve into a caliber war?

lets stay on track with the intended purpose of the opening post.

I'd like a S&W model 31 in either 2" or 3", round butt. the reason is for the extra shot in a J frame centerfire for my daughter.

a Ruger LCR .327 magnum would be just as nice because it can be loaded down for her.

anyone else within this plane?
 
I never saw this as a caliber war. I am all about 32 caliber guns. I like them. Thats why I have so many. And a 32 mag or 327 isn't needed for defense. Jean Harris the jilted lover of the Scarsdale diet doctor killed the doc with one shot to the chest from an H&R revolver in 32 S&W long. And I don't know for certain but I bet it was the standard round nose lead load.

http://murderpedia.org/female.H/h/harris-jean.htm
 
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Well, there were a couple of .30 carbine caliber revolvers... Ruger made a Super Blackhawk and Taurus made a Raging 30.

32136_1.jpg


For any of them though, look at the results from BallisticsByTheInch to see how changes in barrel length would affect the velocity.

There are 7 and 8 shot .357 magnums also. If you reload, you can get them to whatever recoil level you are comfortable with.
 
Ratshooter, I was referring to the.327,as the earlier posts did

I was pointing out that the .327 is better than pocket automatics in many cases, and that it is also powerful compared to a standard .38.

I was saying that a powerful.32caliber revolver is a good ideA.
 
At the risk of being told I'm not following the "instructions", as on another thread I thought I'd mention an interestinf story.
Back in the late 1960's I bought a S&W 32 "Lemon Squeezer" from a former auxillary police officer. He had carried it as his duty weapon!
My, how times have changed!!!
 
Navyvet that Raging Thirty looks like the perfect gun for a girl with small hands.:confused:

Briandg I figured out you were talking about the 327 round.
 
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