LCR vs 38 special

D

Doc Holliday 1950

New member
what is The average speed of a 32 H&R 80 grain Hornady ammo vs. the average speed of a 38 special?
The same question is for Muzzle Energy ft.-lb. The 32 H&R Hornady is fired from a LCR 327 in magnum 1.87"

The 38 special is fired from any revolver of similar barrel length & weight.

I'm trying to discern which ammo has better stopping power.

I hope I wrote this post correctly.
__________________
Shoot well and be Accurate,
 
You can Google recoil calculators which, when you fill in the numbers, it will calculate energy besides recoil. Besides what 38 bullet are you using? 110, 125, 135, 148, 158 or something else?
 
Over the years, I have fired thousands of rounds of .38 special and (at least) hundreds of rounds of .32 H&R Magnum into all sorts of things. Those things include but are not limited to water jugs, soda bottles, cans, phone books, expired produce, pig parts, tree stumps, cinder blocks, and living varmints. None of that might be "science" but I haven't noticed a big difference between .32 H&R Magnum and standard-pressure .38 special. A good load in .38 +p will have the edge but .32 H&R Magnum has an extra round.

All else being equal, I'd choose .32 H&R Magnum.
 
Similar experience to Cosmodragon, but I favor .38spl at the end of the day over the .32 revolver cartridge offerings (.32 short, .32 long, .32H&Rmag, .327FedMag).

Neither is a slouch, and I own guns that chamber both.

.38spl has a larger performance envelope, though the .32 revolver cartridges can drop a smidge lower on the low end with 100gr target wadcutters vs .38spl 148gr target wadcutters n commercial ammo.

There is a large area where performance is similar, then the .38spl in +P guise keeps going nearly to light .357mag loading territory with loads from Underwood or Buffalo Bore.

To match .38spl performance, .32 revolver ammo will have to move faster and generally generate higher operating pressures and muzzle blast.

You can find more carry gun options in .38spl.

And lastly, .38spl has many more commercial offerings much more readily available than the .32s.

=========

1. Do you want (generally) one more round in your cylinder? Pick .32 revolver cartridge.

2. Do you want less muzzle blast for the same KE/momentum/terminal performance? Pick .38spl

3. Do you want the absolutely lowest posible recoil form a concealable centerfire revolver? Pick .32 loaded with 100gr tgt wadcutters.

4. Do you want maximum potential KE/momentum/terminal performance? Choose .38spl +P and pay Underwood or Buffalo Bore.

5. Do you want to buy ammo at Wal-mart or some such? Choose .38spl.

6. Do you want to buy your concealed carry revolver shiny & new? Ruger LCR is the only option at the moment. There are used S&W J-frames as likely used Tauruses.

=============

Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.
 
There seems to be a noticeable divide in reaction types on a lot of those kinds of targets. The .38 special and .32 H&R Magnum are on one side of the divide with .327 and .357 on the other. Once you move up to either the .327 or .357, at least in usual weights, hollow-points start having more dramatic effects on fluids. Containers rupture more violently. Damage to solids increases too. I don't have a chronograph so I can't give you a magic number. It's just a generalization based on what I've experienced.

Of course, as jfruser said, muzzle blast increases too.
 
And that's a "deal-maker" for me.
Click to expand...

This might just be an artifact of when I grew up but I have this deeply rooted notion that six-guns are "enough". I realize the value of emotional comfort versus actual safety but that's something.

Compared to the round counts of a lot of double-stack semi-autos, six is not impressive. If restricted to guns that fit in a pocket though, six is okay. It's definitely more than five. After watching lots and lots of real defensive encounters on the Active Self Protection channel, that extra round feels more valuable. Comparing .32 H&R Magnum to standard-pressure .38 special, or .327 Federal to most anything else in a small revolver; you really don't give up much for the extra round.

Well, you do have to accept lower selection and potentially higher prices for commercial ammo. I accept that. This is my defensive selection and I rely upon it for emergencies during warm weather. I don't usually take it out for major plinking sessions but I do keep a budget for practice and it does get some recreational use.
 
It's a "deal-maker" when comparing the six-shot over the five-shot in the same size revolver. 20% more ammunition might make a difference in a gun fight and there's no downside to having an extra round on board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top