No. If I understand correctly, the Ackley Improved cartriges were designed in such a way that the standard versions would headspace properly and safely be fired in the improved chamber. And, until fairly recently, that was the only way you could obtain the improved cases. Perhaps the best examples are 280 Remington to 280 Ackley Improved, and 257 Roberts to 257 A.I. And then there is the 30-30 Ackley Improved which is a little closer to our subject at hand. Since these things have been done safely, I'm not seeing why you couldn't fire a 32-40 in a 32 Special. But perhaps I'm overlooking something. I know that now there would be no reason to do so as the 32 Special is so much more readily available. But when the 32 Winchester Special was a new cartridge, the 32-40 had already been well established for some time. Perhaps in some remote northern mining camp there may have been a newcomer with the latest 32 Special. There in the Alaskan gold fields he should have brought a tried and true 45-70. But being a young forward thinking chap, he fell prey to the latest advertising and wanted to go modern. Once he gets to the far North he does some hunting and his 32 Special performs admirably. Of course he only brought so much ammo and eventually runs short. And no one up there has even heard of the 32 Special yet, his is the first they've seen and there is no ammo. But, by golly, a few boxes of 32-40 just happen to be on the shelf at the trading post. In a pinch, he finds that they will chamber in his rifle and when fired, though not as powerful, will still bring venison back to camp. Now that, my friend, IS pure fiction. But I don't see any reason it couldn't have happened and I doubt I'm the first to think of it.