.32 H&R Magnum... a realization?

M

mfree

New member
I was thinking about this today... SAAMI spec for the H&R is 21,000 CUP, mostly due to the prevalence of the H&R revolvers out there.

I have a 432PD... which is a reasonably strong revolver, given the availability of .38+p and .357 versions. I need to remind myself to measure the chamber thickness....

Anyways, if I'm not mistaken that's a .312 diameter bullet. 7.62x25 runs ~.310. .32H&R at standard spec should push a 90gr FMJ at 1100fps or so. 7.62x25 pushes a 90gr FMJ at 1400fps.

Can you hear the wheels cranking?

.32H&R +P..... Admittedly not out of my snub, but a revolver pushing a 90gr, .312 bullet at 1200-1300fps, maybe 1400 if the pressure allows. A sixgun that is the equivalent of a CZ-52?

A small revolver that'll violate IIA armor? *evil grin*

I wish I reloaded... then I could actually try some of this. I'd need a longer barreled revolver though, to really push the speed. Know of a "kit gun" style steel J-sized revo in .32 out there, 4" barrel or so?
 
New Old?

Hello, most everything we can imagine has been done before regarding "hot" performance ammunition combos.
I've run 71gn (.32acp) bullets from a 4 3/4 Ruger Single Six in excess of 1700fps. Yes the old .32 H&R can be hotrodded but you still can't equal a warm 9mms ballistics :)
 
Yup, but you can't fit 6 9mm's in a J-frame and still have a round that'll work through a lever-gun too.
 
It's an interesting thought.

The all-steel sixgun you're describing is the .32 Mag Ruger SP101, available in 3 1/16" and 4" barrel lengths. They are sturdy, appealing little guns that come with a semi-adjustable rear sight (windage but not elevation). I have the 3" version.

If you want an all-steel double action .32 Mag "kit gun" with enough barrel length to really hot-rod the cartridge, then the SP101 is your only choice among currently produced revolvers. Mine needed a Wolff hammer spring and some dryfiring, but the action is now pleasant and it is easy to shoot accurately.

I recently picked up some of Georgia Arms's feisty 100 gr .32 Mag hollowpoint load. I am very curious about the velocities produced by these babies. It makes me want to pick up a chronograph.
 
Yeah, and I'd like to know in what barrel length. I assume it was a 4" or 4 5/8" (such as the Ruger .32 Single Sixes). That's still a good number -- it should comfortably reach .380 ACP territory out of the 2" Smith or Taurus snubs.

But if they're getting that 1100 fps out of snubbies -- hot dang.

Either way, can't wait to take the GA rounds to the range this weekend.
 
It certainly has been done. 32 Magnum is a nice little round.

From Gun World, March 1986, pg. 50-53. Skeeter and Dean Grennell cowrote an article exploring what they could achieve with the round and a 6.5" Ruger Single Six. They came up with a max load of 9.4 grains of AA #7 behind an 85 grain Horn. XTP JHP. They called it .32 Magnum +P. The chrono said it was running 1500 fps.

I tried to duplicate that load. Looking back, I think my problem was the Federal brass. That stuff just wants to split at the case mouth. I should go back and try again with Starline brass. Anyway, I got pressure signs before I got to their level. Too many split cases and pierced primers. That was at 8.5 grains of #7. So I settled on a load of 8.0 grains. That is still my "standard" 32 Magnum load except I switched to the Sierra 90 grain JHC bullet. (It was more accurate out of my SSM.) Wait, let me clarify what I just said. I started getting split cases with 8.5 grains of #7 behind the _90 grain_ Sierra bullet. I had given up on the XTP before that. So I'm sure I could go up at least half a grain if I went to the lighter bullet. But the Sierra bullet is a real sweetheart and I don't see a need to change.

I use that load in my SSM as a sort of "super rimfire." I carry it around when I think I might shoot a skunk or something. Works great. Sharp crack and a little kick. Neat little round. I sure wish I could find (and afford) one of the nice S&W M16's. Those are sweet looking guns.

Gregg
 
I've got a Freedom Arms .32 H&R Magnum. Obviously, the revolver can stand most any load that you care to shoot.

I can drive the 85 grain XTP to over 1300. A load for the 85 @ 1000 fps out of a 4" is 4.5 grains of W231, suitable for J frames. That is a tenth or two above most loading manuals recommendations, so approach with caution.

The 115 grain hardcast can be driven to 1200 out of Rugers, FA, and probably S&W K frames.

Lil Gun seems to be a good powder for the cartridge in a strong revolver, runs less pressure than H110 at same or higher velocities.

Starline brass is the way to go, but case life will suffer at those pressures (30,000 psi).

The Sierra 90 grain is a really accurate bullet, perhaps the best in the caliber. Around 10 grains of H110 makes it a screamer.

For something a little less, in factory ammo I like the Black Hills 90 grain hard cast cowboy load. It doesn't lead (like that swaged junker that Federal hawks).

The .32 caliber seems to go with small game. Vastly underrated as a varmint cartridge too.

I'd like to see Speer make a Gold Dot (85-90 grains), similar to their new "short barrel" loadings for the more common revover and semi auto cartridges.

S&W did manufacture a .32 H&R Magnum 4" barreled "Kit Gun", still a few around on the used market.
 
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The 3220 has a little thinner brass at the neck so if fact you would be fireforming the brass and being that the brass is so thin to start with youd probably be working it to much reloading it over and over. The sp101 is a fine gun i love my 4 inch its one of the most accurate guns i have but it doesnt like hot ammo. It flattens primers well before you get into that range.
 
radom,

I don't think the Single Six Ruger or the S&W Kit Gun cylinders are long enough for the .32-20. FA offers a .32-20 cylinder as an option for the 97. Ruger did offer (through Buckeye IIRC) a standard Blackhawk with both the .32 H&R Magnum and .32-20 cylinders. The S&W Model 16 could be converted, I'm sure.

One thing to consider, at 21,000 psi the .32 H&R Mag is operating above +P .38 Special pressures.

Regards,
JB
 
Something to think about: The surface area that the pressure works over is much larger on a .38 special than it is a .32 H&R Magnum. If you think of it as 21,000 p"SI" then you have less case head pressure, less wall pressure, all of that. 21Kpsi over .5 square inch is 10.5Klbs, 1 square inch 21Klbs, 3 square inches 63Klbs, etc.
 
If I understand it correctly, SAAMI psi is a measurement of how much a piston (in a hole in the chamber) is pushed by the case (when the cartridge is fired) against electronics (piezo, I believe) that produce a reading. In that manner, it is easy to compare pressures from cartridge to cartridge, regardless of the volume of the case.

I may be wrong, but that's the way I understand cartridge pressures are derived.
 
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if the hole is always the same size, then the pressure reading would always be the same, true.

But I'm talking the overall strength, which would lead to things like whether or not the chamber will hold up, or primer flow, case head smearing, etc.
 
As far as the chamber itself, I would imagine it is dependent upon the cylinder/frame strength (revolvers).

Sloppy chambers can indicate what we historically think of as being pressure signs, even though the pressure is not at maximum. Primer flow can be attributed to several factors other than excessive pressure; excessive headspace ie.

On the other hand a cartridge case can show no historic pressure signs, yet be in the stratosphere.

I am sure that the .32 Magnum was never intended to be run at .357 pressures, even the most adventurous limit it to 30,000 psi.
 
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