Why not .32H&R Mag?

W

Wasteofmoney

New member
I don't understand why this round doesn't enjoy more success. I have yet to fire it but whenever I'm in the buy mode this caliber always makes it to the final cut and then loses.

The ranges near me that rent guns never have a revolver in this caliber and I've never seen anyone using one at the range. Guess I'll just have to go out on the lam and buy that little S&W 332 AirLite TI.

With the published ballistics, this looks like one sweet little pop gun round.

:confused:
 
I shot that gun a few weeks ago and it shot real well - much easier to shoot and more accurate (for me at least) than my 642 in .38. Made me wish I had one. I think the problem is that the round really isn't as powerful as the .38. We shoot IPSC at my club, so we tend to look at "power factors" as opposed to energy, and the .38 beats the .32 based on power factor. (Not claiming I know for sure whether or not the .38 really has better stopping power, just relaying what the consensus at my particular gun club is.)
 
the .32 is fine to play with. Even a good small game round.
The .38 is little enough for defense. anyone suggesting otherwise either does not know any better or does not care.
 
I dont think there is more potential in 32 H&R mag than people realize. One of its big problems is crappy factory ammo choices.

Part of its problem is a bunch of fairly weak junky guns were made for it, and so I ammo companies dont want to supe up the round too much.

But, I think if you took a 32 mag JHP, pushed it to 1300 fps, and put it in a J frame sized revolver that held 6 rounds, it would be a hoot.
 
I, too, have long liked the idea of the .32 mag. Even had the chance to play with the Buckeye Sports Ruger .32 mag/.32-20. Tons of fun. When I questioned Ruger about a long barreled SP-101 or a GP-100 sporter, the response was a polite "we will consider it", the underlying message was "who are you kidding?" Sleeving the barrel of a GP-100 and fabricating a new cylinder can be done, but at too great a cost. Talk about reconfiguring to a 7 shot cylinder and that becomes WAY, WAY too great. Sigh!!
 
32 mag

I agree with what lonegunman said, I have read an old Handguns article penned by Terry Murbach (Feb 1995), he took some 32 mags and pumped the velocity to 1000-1200 fps. He said that accuracy was very dependant upon bullet/gun combination. I still wonder why this cartridge hasnt "caught on" and become more mainstream, very accurate and has very managable recoil.
There was also an article written in July 95 by Terry (Handguns)
in which he took some 32 long and essentially loaded them so they reached magnum velocities.
The 32 mag is a fine handgun especially if you reload for it, I think there is a Ruger birdshead vaquero with my name on it!
Claypigeon
 
I quite by accident once turned my circa 1920 .32 Regulation Police into a .32 Mag.

I just about shat when I saw that the 90-gr. Hornady bullets I had reloaded with Unique were pumping out around 1050 fps across the chronograph.

Fired 6 rounds, used a hammer puller to take the rest apart.
 
With 230 ft/lbs of energy in a 85 gr bullet it approaches .38 Special +P performance. It leaves behind all the other mouse gun rounds:.22, .22 mag, .25, .32 auto, .380 and even standard .38 special!
Sure it's not going to be me main SD gun but I'm sure there are folks who would feel better armed with this than their other diminutive caliber rounds.
Almost looks like a no-brainer for a women who doesn't care for a large frame or who has trouble racking a semi.

Thanks for your thoughts....
 
Here's why not from my skewed point-of-view

Why bother with a small handgun round when there are so many .38 spcls out there that are utilizing cutting-edge technology and sophisticated ammo choices? I mean the platforms that launch the .32 H&R and .38 spcl are identical in size.

There are many-many more choices in .38 spcl, both in handguns and ammo, AND the .38 spcl round is a more potent stopper. Handguns and ammo for the .38 spcl are common, universal, and plentiful.

I wouldn't give the .32 a second glance.
 
I don't 'roll my own' ammo, but I think the .32Mag would be at least a decent "fun gun" round. I saw that Ruger offers the SP-101 in .32Mag in both the 3" & 4" barrels.

Could be a real "fun gun", but my smallest centerfire handgun is a .357 Vaquero.
 
Many years ago I fell for Terry Murbach's hype of 4" S&W 631. I love the handgun but I have mixed feelings about the cartridge. It is a joy to shoot but very expensive to buy shelf ammunition. So why not reload? My experience way back when told me the case life was short. When I reloaded 32 Magnum cases I had a lot of split lips on the cartridges. I understand this is longer a problem and that I should give it another try. Regards, Richard
 
At the International Revolver Championship in 2000 one gentleman had a .32 mag set up for 9 shots. The next year he came back with a 10 shooter. Did'n't see himthis year, but I was not able to see everyone.

He shot power factor 120.
 
I own two .32 H&R Mag snubs...

The first one was a Taurus 731UL. Tamara and Lendringser spoke so highly of their's, I went out and bought one. I like it a lot. Less recoil than a .38 Special, at least as much energy as a non +P .38 Special (and even some +P's), and finally it holds six rounds instead of five.
The second one was a S&W AirLite Ti that had been purchased by a man who hadn't learned the EXTREMELY important lesson of letting his wife pick her "OWN" carry pistol. :) She wanted a Sig P232 and he had "surprised" her with a model 331 Airlight Ti as a birthday gift. She was not happy. (To say the least!) "Just TRY it, Honey", it'll fit perfectly in your purse"! She fired it three times, laid it down and said, "There, I tried it and I STILL want the Sig". I was right there and I bought it from the same gun shop where it was traded in on a new Sig P232. :p You DO get lucky sometimes. Anyway, I'd be just as happy with a .32 H&R Magnum on my belt as a .38 Special. I keep the AirLite stoked with six MagSafes. It's on my hip at this very moment.
I've also just received a new Georgia Arms catalog and they offer new .32 H&R Magnum, 100gr JHP ammunition for $22.50/100 rds.


KR
 
the main drawback of the .32 mag is the lack of vareity in bullet choices and the lack of economical reloads. the .32 is as inherently accurate as the .38 (remember the k32 member to the k22 and k38 clan) and you have the added advantage of the extra shot out of a J-frame.

i've seen the results of two local shootings with the .32 (one .32 acp, one .32 long) and both were instant stops (for what its worth). it is all about placement and the mindset of the target
 
IHMSA shooters use this round (at least some, this is definitely a wildcat-freindly sport), in Contendrs. They generally use a .308 barrel for the increased bullet selection. It is in the top pick list of field pistol cartridges.

I assume you could get a revolver, say a 12" barrel, with a long cylinder, set up for .308 bullets out of the 32 H&R case.

What I would like to see, though, is a levergun in 32 H&R. Think about it ;)
 
a marlin lever gun (carbine lenght) would be a great companion for the ruger single-six vaquero in .32 mag...might even be cooler with the birds head gripframe
 
I have two, a Ruger Single Six and a Taurus 731UL. I like the 95gr Federal LSWC loads for the range, and I've kinda grown fond of Georgia Arms' new 100gr JHP's for when I carry the Taurus.
 
One of my favorite rounds along with 10mm and 41 Magnum. Like Tamara I'm partial to Georgia Arms 100gr JHP's especially since ammo is non-existent here. The long barrel is an H&R 586. The short barrel is a NEF R73.
 

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Texas Ammo has a new .32Mag "Express" load involving a Hornady XTP 85grain JHP pulling 1,000fps or more from a 2" snubby barrel. Those in a small six-gun of some sort would be a superb defense setup.

All of the J-class six-shooter .32Mags can feed out of the same speedloaders, available from HKS and others. Including the SP101 in .32Mag with 4" barrel and adjustable sights. That's one HECK of a good gun.
 
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