.32 ACP in a .32 Magnum revolver: Ever tried it?

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WVGunman

WVGunman

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I've heard about this here and there, and always wondred about it. The pressure of the .32 ACP isn';t far off from the .32 Mag, and definitely less than the .327 mage. In theory it should work ... in theory! Any first-hand experience? Is there any real practical reason for this, such as ammo availability or cost?
 
Tried it in a 327 Fed magnum with mixed results. The .32 Automatic has a thinner rim, which means that the primer is effectively about 0.010” farther away from the firing pin which can cause misfires. Also, the .32 Automatic is semi-rimmed and might not be engaged by the ejector forcing you to push them out one-by-one with a pencil. The only possible practical reason might be ammo cost if you can get the 32 Auto cheaper, but if the gun misfires, and mine did, it's not worth it.
 
fxvr5 said:
Tried it in a 327 Fed magnum with mixed results. The .32 Automatic has a thinner rim, which means that the primer is effectively about 0.010” farther away from the firing pin which can cause misfires. Also, the .32 Automatic is semi-rimmed and might not be engaged by the ejector forcing you to push them out one-by-one with a pencil. The only possible practical reason might be ammo cost if you can get the 32 Auto cheaper, but if the gun misfires, and mine did, it's not worth it.
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Agreed.......
Lucky Gunner just put out a video on this subject.

 
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I should also mention that since the 32 Auto will be farther away from the breech face, you effectively have more headspace. Excessive headspace can result in pierced primers. Pierced primers can, and will, erode your firing pin and possibly your breech face. A damaged firing pin will itself cause pierced primers, making the problem worse. At some point, and it doesn't take that many shots, the firing pin will be ruined and require replacement. Now ask yourself if you want to go down that road.
 
I've shot plenty of .32 auto through .32 S&W, .32 Long and .32 H&R guns. Never had any issues with light/no primer strikes, but you definitely want to hold the gun so that the rear of the cylinder is facing at least somewhat downward, especially with top breaks; the small rims will let the ejector slip past and then get caught in it.

If you don't reload, .32 auto is definitely more cost effective and easier to find than any of the rimmed .32 cartridges. If you do handload, no good reason to use it.
 
MachIVshooter said:
If you do handload, no good reason to use it.
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I respectfully kinda in a roundabout way disagree. 32 long brass is not super plentiful but it’s around. 32sw brass is unobtainable for me without making a special order from an overpriced online outfit, besides I don’t shoot 32 short much, so when I get 32 auto brass I just pretend that it’s 32 short brass and load it up.

I absolutely would not advise shooting factory 32 auto through anything “less than” a 32h&r mag and see no real reason to do it at all unless your down to Walmart scrounging. Any decently stocked sporting goods store will have a box of SOMETHING 32 that’s meant for a revolver, and it’s likely not going to be 32-20
 
WestKentucky said:
I respectfully kinda in a roundabout way disagree. 32 long brass is not super plentiful but it’s around. 32sw brass is unobtainable for me without making a special order from an overpriced online outfit, besides I don’t shoot 32 short much, so when I get 32 auto brass I just pretend that it’s 32 short brass and load it up.

I absolutely would not advise shooting factory 32 auto through anything “less than” a 32h&r mag and see no real reason to do it at all unless your down to Walmart scrounging. Any decently stocked sporting goods store will have a box of SOMETHING 32 that’s meant for a revolver, and it’s likely not going to be 32-20
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.32 S&W for 17¢ per case
https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/32--SandW-SHORT/

.32 long for 16¢ per case
https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/32-SandW-Long-Brass/
 
I don't think it's safe but I have also never seen it done. Why not just shoot either 32 S&W or 32 S&W Long ammo which is safe?

Magtech 32 S&W $21.99/50
Fiocchi 32 S&W Long $18.99/50
Fiocchi 32 Auto $14.99/50 Magtech 32 Auto $19.99/50
 
WestKentucky, 32 S&W brass is shorter than 32 ACP (.605 vs .680), so unless you are shooting your "32S&W loads in ACP brass" in a 32 Long or bigger gun, I don't see how you do it.

As to the question, I've shot ACP in 32HEs (I don't do that any more, 'cause I've discovered that ACP is hotter than 32Long), Single Six 32 H&Rs and some J frame 32 H&Rs. Never had a problem with misfires, brass sticking, or cases falling off the ejector star.
 
.32 ACP can be shot in .32 Mag and .327 revolvers safely, but it's not something worth doing often. I've tried it in a .327 SP101, firing pins can get stuck in primers being forced back against the pin when the case gets blown back from pressure and this effectively jams a revolver. You have to pry the case off the breechface with a wedge, I used my knife.

Have tried in a .32 H&R SAA and no issues. Accuracy is surprisingly good too.

If your life depended on it and all you had was .32 ACP ammo, shoot it. If you want to test reliability, go ahead, different brands and primer hardness yield different results. Personally, I'm not bothering shooting it in .327 again, but will do so on occasion with the .32 SAA.
 
I've shot a handful through a .327 SP101. Felt like a starter pistol going off, but short of having nothing else to feed the gun, I didnt see any performance over any other .32 round besides being quiet and barely making the gun move. I actually liked. 32 S&W out of the gun best.
 
the Real Alpo said:
WestKentucky, 32 S&W brass is shorter than 32 ACP (.605 vs .680), so unless you are shooting your "32S&W loads in ACP brass" in a 32 Long or bigger gun, I don't see how you do it.
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A lot of the old .32 S&W gun's chambers are reamed longer than the brass, and have a soft shoulder. .32 ACP has fully seated in the chambers of every old top break I've had.

I'm actually surprised we don't hear about more problems resulting from it. I was at the local shop who distributes my cans on Friday dropping off and invoice and another demo, some old fellow was standing at the counter with his S&W hand ejector atop the case. Of course that caught my attention. He tells me about how it was passed down by his dad, and then "this one too" as he pulls out an Iver safety hammer 1st model (single sided latch) that he had loaded with Winchester .32 ACP. I explained to him that the .32 Auto was generating about twice the pressure the old black powder gun could handle, got the retort "been working fine for me". Yeah, so do rotten old twist steel shotguns, right up until until the day they explode. At any rate, I'm sure a good number of the old black powder guns have been subjected to it.
 
the Real Alpo said:
WestKentucky, 32 S&W brass is shorter than 32 ACP (.605 vs .680), so unless you are shooting your "32S&W loads in ACP brass" in a 32 Long or bigger gun, I don't see how you do it.

As to the question, I've shot ACP in 32HEs (I don't do that any more, 'cause I've discovered that ACP is hotter than 32Long), Single Six 32 H&Rs and some J frame 32 H&Rs. Never had a problem with misfires, brass sticking, or cases falling off the ejector star.
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I’m not real sure why it works in my gun either. It’s an old H&R topbreak. I always assumed it was just reamed really deep from the factory, I suppose that somebody could have teamed the cylinder deeper to accommodate 32 auto cases, but I see no evidence of the cylinder being reworked and I’m relatively sure a full power auto load would blow the thin cylinder walls out. My biggest issue with loads in that gun is that I have to watch OAL pretty close or bullet starts to impact the forcing cone. 32 long wadcutters work in that gun too if I seat completely flush with the case mouth and rollcrimp over the end of the bullet. I don’t like that load in anything though.

I need to get that little gun out and mess with it. I haven’t touched it since I moved 2 years ago, and hadn’t shot it since a few years before that.
 
Little does not mean safe! You should NEVER attempt to shoot .32 ACP rounds in any top break revolver. Top breaks were developed back in the 1880s, and were chambered for the .32 S&W (short version). The .32 S&W develops around 13,000 psi pressure. The .32 ACP develops over 20,000 psi pressure. This equates closely to a "Proof" round for the .32 S&W Long. That is a good formula for blowing up guns. "Modern" solid frame guns developed around the .32 S&W Long can be safely shot using .32 ACP. I see no reason to do so.
 
MachIVshooter said:
A lot of the old .32 S&W gun's chambers are reamed longer than the brass, and have a soft shoulder. .32 ACP has fully seated in the chambers of every old top break I've had.

I'm actually surprised we don't hear about more problems resulting from it. I was at the local shop who distributes my cans on Friday dropping off and invoice and another demo, some old fellow was standing at the counter with his S&W hand ejector atop the case. Of course that caught my attention. He tells me about how it was passed down by his dad, and then "this one too" as he pulls out an Iver safety hammer 1st model (single sided latch) that he had loaded with Winchester .32 ACP. I explained to him that the .32 Auto was generating about twice the pressure the old black powder gun could handle, got the retort "been working fine for me". Yeah, so do rotten old twist steel shotguns, right up until until the day they explode. At any rate, I'm sure a good number of the old black powder guns have been subjected to it.
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I mean, I can understand if you used the .32 ACP brass because it's cheap and easy to get compared to .32 S&W short and made a blackpowder load using the .32 ACP brass, but I wouldn't be shooting smokeless .32 ACP in a top break, whether it was made for smokeless or not.
 
"I absolutely would not advise shooting factory 32 auto through anything less than a 32 h&r mag..."

Me neither. It develops way more pressure than 32 S&W or 32 S&W long. I have shot 32acp through various 32 H&R and 327 magnum revolvers occasionally. It was six revolvers total.

Two wouldn't ignite it at all.
Two would ignite it about 50% of the time.
Two ignited it every time.

It didn't hurt anything for the few boxes of ammo I used up that way, and the accuracy seemed okay as far as I could tell, but I don't see a good reason to do it regularly.
 
TTv2 said:
I mean, I can understand if you used the .32 ACP brass because it's cheap and easy to get compared to .32 S&W short and made a blackpowder load using the .32 ACP brass, but I wouldn't be shooting smokeless .32 ACP in a top break, whether it was made for smokeless or not.
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I don't as a matter of practice, have plenty of .32 S&W and .32 long. But the pressure in and of itself has no bearing on the stresses induced to the top break frame. That's cartridge thrust, and it's actually closer than you think between .32 S&W or .32 long and .32 ACP. This is a product of the smaller rim diameter & chamfered rim of the .32 ACP. Bolt thrust of a 15 KSI .32 revolver round (.375" rim dia) is 1,656 lbs, while the thrust of a 20,500 PSI .32 auto round (~.330 dia after the chamfer) is 1,753 lbs.

Cylinder is another story, and an untreated steel cylinder meant for ~10 KSI black powder loads is definitely not safe with 15-20 KSI smokeless ammo.
 
I fired some .32ACP from a 4 inch barreled H&R revolver in .32 S&W Long. The rounds fired, but the groups doubled in size.

Jim
 
.32acp works well in my .32 H&R , or at least a couple cylinders full did . I do not shoot them normally, just wanted to know
 
I’ve done it with splendid results in my Ruger Single-7 .327FedMag.

However, DON’T EVEN consider shooting.32acp in an older .32S&W either short or long.
The .32acp works at much higher pressures and many S&W Hand-Ejectors have been damaged shooting the .32acp. I was give a beautiful old Smith, that was horribly out of time from firing.32acp. Still looking for a new hand to replace the badly peened one.

The biggest problem with using the ACP, is that there is a lot of European Ammo with thin, narrow rims that might cause ignition problems in some revolvers.
The Rugers are ok, in my experience. Since I load the acp for my Keltec K32 with cast bullets, I occasionally shoot them through the S7. It’s like shooting.22 high velocity shorts in a .22lr revolver...
But, I also load a considerable amount of .32 SWL for my little hand-ejectors, so those get shot a lot in the S7, also.
 
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