.32 H&R as Carry Weapon?

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kymasabe

New member
I was at the gun range/store a few days ago and saw a nice wheelgun chambered in .32 H&R. Was told it's got the balistics of a .38 but alot less recoild and holds 6 rounds instead of 5. Does anyone have one? Would it be worth considering as a carry weapon?

Here is my dilemma...I bought a small Kel-Tec. 380 as a carry weapon, and after 3 days and 80 rounds, it's back to the factory for repair/replacement. I'm beginning to doubt whether I want to bet my life on it's un-reliability so am considering a revolver for a carry weapon. I've always considered revolvers "fat" and was afraid they'd be harder to conceal but at this point I'm looking into wheelguns as possibly more reliable than an auto...

I'm open to suggestions. If I were to consider a revolver, would have to be hammerless...
 
While the 32 H&R Mag is one of my favorite rounds (I have 5 of them) and is a flat-shooting recoil friendly round I still would carry my snub nose 38spl with 5 rounds of +P rather than 6 rounds of 32 H&R Mag. You can see the ballistics here.
 
Nothing to detract from a 32 H&R Magnum. I suggest a good quality revolver. Taurus, H&R, Ruger and S&W have made such revolvers. A functioning 32 H&R Magnum beats a Kel-Tec that might (probably) stop functioning.
 
In semiauto, a Glock 19 (9mm) might suit your needs, in revolver, some suggestions are a S&W model 10 or model 64... Ruger SP101.
 
I feel the same way as JBP. I love .32 Mag., a sweet, accurate, soft-shooting trail gun and plinking round. Defensively, in a snub, I would treat it as a backup gun. One of those little, featherweight six-shot .32 snubbies like the S&W 432PD (hammerless, 13.5 oz) tucked in a coat, pants pocket or ankle holster as a backup to a larger .45 or .357 handgun -- that seems like a decent idea.

For sole carry I'd prefer a .38 snubby with five quality +Ps.

EDIT TO ADD: An interesting question is whether the same strictures should apply to a longer-barreled .32 Mag. I don't know. Take the 3" or 4" Ruger SP101 -- that's a nice sturdy gun with a healthy supply of barrel and a grip big enough to get a comfortable hold on. What sort of ballistic numbers do people get out of those guns?

Thinking about it from the standpoint of a "mother-in-law gun" -- i.e., nightstand defensive piece for a recoil-intolerant shooter. I hope the mothers-in-law out there who shoot hot-rod .41 Mag for fun will forgive my imprecise terminology.
 
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Sweet guns, all of them. Check out several recent (last month) threads about the .32 Mag...lots of discussion. www.georgia-arms.com gets the following out of their 100 grain new loads (followed by three .38 Sp samples of theirs); don't know shooting conditions.

32 M
100gr Jacketed Hollow Point 268 ft lbs 1100 fps
.38 Sp.
125gr Jacketed Hollow Point 250 950
158gr Plated Semi-Wadcutter 224 800
.38 Sp +P
158gr Lead Semi-wadcutter 284 900

It is true that the factory ammo available (all of them lighter bullets) generally does not have as much zip as GA's.

Echo thoughts on the SW hammer'd or hammerless. I own a Ruger 4" "Mini-Vaquero" bridshead and it is a great popper as a camp/trail gun (purpose of purchase); just wish CCI would see the light and make snakeshot (shotshell) for--after 21 years of the round! The SW DA 431/432 is about the slickest little package to come along in a long time for CCW.

For a "functional" (i.e. where the round really meets its ideal function) firearm I think if CC is the point, the .32M particularly excels - it is the epitomy of the genre--.38 like pop with less recoil and a full 6 rounds (we haven't seen similar since the Colt DS .38 Sp) in a small package. There is nothing, revolver wise (and maybe not a lot of decent .32+ autos) more concealable than S&W's hammerless.

I don't disagree with the 5 shot .38 comments, but any .38 snubbie is a handful to shoot--esp with +Ps--so if true (meaning even you hardly notice it's there) concealability is the point you are inherently giving up some oomph regardless of what you do (you're giving up a lot of calibers and all other 6 shooters) -- so go .32M. The titanium version of the SW is pretty pricey; the blue-black alloy one much better deal and adds a little heft actually where you'd want it without ever being accused of being too heavy.
 
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I like my S&W 432 "Centennial" .32 H&R Mag quite a lot. In size and weight it compares very closely with the S&W model 42/042/642 guns in .38 caliber.

Now if I'm going to carry something light, the Model 042 (Airweight .38) is probably the gun I'll have. Where the 432 excels is that it's recoil is so mild that one can quickly put two shots on target and be halfway to the third before recovering from the recoil of a 125gr +P .38 special out of an Airweight snubbie.

Is the .32 H&R Magnum an adequate defense load? I don't know the answer to that, although it's about like a 380/9mm Markarov round ballistically. Most importantly, though, the light recoil and light weight means I'm more likely to fulfil the first rule of a gun fight -- have a gun.
 
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