H and R 732 ?

A

alfredr

New member
Local pawn shop has two (count 'em 2) Harrington and Richardson model 732s, 6 shot, .32 S&W Long revolvers. One is a 4 inch square butt, the other is a 2 and a half inch round butt. What can you all tell me about them and the cartridge? .32 is not one of my calibers (yet) (maybe).

He says they did not come in together, but they look like they should be a set. Serial numbers start AR and AZ; so I assume there are several years difference between them. The small one has more wear and is priced at $220. The bigger one looks much better and is priced at $200. I know this place; they will deal. So, what do you say?

Thanks, alfredr
 
I had a 732 made in the 1970's, without checking a chart I believe those guns to be similar age. They are good shooters, and solid, but have a heavy trigger pull. They aren't worth that much. I think both are priced a bit high, even for excellent condition. I sold my 732 six months ago for $150. I bought it about 5 years ago for $86 at a pawn shop. Mine was in very good condition.
 
Knowing this pawn shop, I would think the two of them could be bought for somewhere close to $300 for both. I think they would make a neat pair, but that might still be a little high considering the wear on the smaller one and I'm pretty sure I don't need another caliber/cartridge
 
Under $200 would be more in line. I was surprised to see a couple of theses sell for $150 on gunbbroker. The last time I checked a few years ago they were selling for $80-$90.

I have one and like it. In expensive design but surprisingly decent quality of manufacture. Mine is the snub. Wish I had a 4" with adjustable sights. Not sure they made this model with adjustable sights though. Decent gun and I like the caliber.
 
Can't help you on the price, but I took up the .32 S&W Long this year. It used to be a common police cartridge, and has been used as a target round for years. Commercial ammo is available. I load my own, and brass and bullets are also available. Should send a 95 grain lead bullet at 700-750. If you would carry a .22 revolver in the woods, you'd carry a .32. Fun to shoot.
 
There are discussions on this board about shooting 32 ACP from these guns. The 32 ACP is semi rimmed, and I can vouch for them seating and firing in an H&R 732 chambered for 32 S&WL, with no indications of over pressure or damage whatsoever. I wouldn't do that in just any 32 S&WL revolver, but a 732 in VG condition is a tank. Current 32 S&WL cartridges are fairly low power/pressure because there are old top break revolvers that can't take higher pressures. I would never fire 32 ACP in a top break gun. Now, there will be people coming out of the woodwork telling you the pressure differences, and how they'd never do this and only a dumb @$$ would try it, but do some google research and make your own risk decision. Best, however, if you get these to just load your own 32 S&WL, but 32 ACP will work in a pinch.
 
^^^ As I've written in past threads, my main concern with firing .32ACP in a modern .32 S&W Long swing-out cylinder revolver isn't pressure; most such revolvers are plenty strong to take it.

My main concern is potential damage to the ejector star caused by the very thin case rims lodging in the chambers when the round is whacked by the firing pin. Most .32 Long revolvers have been discontinued for decades; it could be very difficult to replace the ejector star if you manage to break a prong off. :(

.32 S&W Long ammo isn't much more expensive than .32ACP anyway, particularly if you mail order it (although as I write this, many mail order houses are still out of everything... but I digress). Also, its limited popularity causes it to linger on the shelves longer than other handgun cartridges, so you may have an EASIER time finding it at your LGS. (It's often wedged in a corner, near the 9x23 Winchester, 7.63 Mauser, and .30 Luger. ;)) In terms of availability, IMHO its main disadvantage compared to .32ACP is that it's not readily available at Wally World or many big box sporting-goods discounters, but IMHO it's wise to maintain a supply of ammo that's not dependent on going to a big-box store on short notice. :)

That said, my local Academy Sports stores strangely have plenty of .32 S&W Long; I believe they stocked up on it during the shortage so their shelves would still appear full, as it was all their distributor had. :rolleyes: (They ordered an abnormal amount of 6.5x55 Swedish and .300 Savage around that same time.) FWIW a lot of it is in Fiocchi boxes with odd non-standard .32 WAD CUTTER labels; however, it's .32 Long, I checked the headstamps. :)
 
Modern .32 S&W Long swing cylinder revolvers will probably handle .32 ACP easily, but that may not be true of old .32 S&W revolvers; the difference beween .32 S&W pressure of 12k pounds and .32 ACP at 20.5k is enough to cause a problem with weak guns.

Jim
 
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