.32 vs .38

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Mr. Mosin

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The various .32 calibers (.327 Fed Mag, .32 H&R, .32 S&W S/L) vs .38 Spl/+P and .357 Magnum for self defense and a trail/kit gun.

Also, I have read in places that one can chamber .32 Automatic in a revolver chambered in .32 caliber (H&R, Fed Mag). Is this safe to chamber and safe long term ?
 
Yes, it's safe to shoot .32 ACP in the .32 Mag and .327 Mag revolvers, but not .32 S&W. The results on paper and in reliability varies depending on each individual revolver and ammo used, you can have one revolver shoot .32 ACP really well and have another that has nothing but problems shooting it.
 
The 32 Auto is a poor match in 32 revolvers (327 Fed and 32 H&R Mag) because the semi-rim is thinner than the rim of revolver rounds. This means the primer is a little farther away from the firing pin, and this can result in misfires. One of my 327 Fed revolvers appears to handle the 32 Autos ok, but the other has about 50% misfires. And accuracy with the 32 auto sucks in my guns. So, I don't recommend it.
 
If your at the point of shooting .32 ACP in a .32 or .327 mag revolver you should just get the .357 or .38. only reason I can see to shoot that is to have literally no other revolver ammo to shoot or societal collapse means using what ammo you can. .38 and .357 are the most used revolver calibers out there and you will find them much easier than any .32 even the .32 Auto. I am not doubting the abilities of the .327 but I don't see the point of using it when the .357 caliber guns are out there. If you really want that 6th shot Kimber K6 and the newly redone Colt Cobra, Taurus makes the 856 no reason for .32 if all you want is the 6th shot.
 
I feel okay using 32 H&R magnum for SD. 327 magnum is obviously good enough. I have a half dozen or so revolvers in those calibers. Some will shoot 32acp just fine, some will shoot it only semi-reliably, some won't shoot it at all. It is okay to shoot it in the 32 magnum revolvers because they were designed for more powerful cartridges than 32acp. I won't try to shoot it in my 32 S&W "short" or long revolvers because they were designed for cartridges that develop less pressure than 32acp.

My understanding is that 32 H&R in general is about the equivalent to a mild 38 special. They are easy to shoot. My daughter could shoot 32 H&R when she was eight years old, and even as a teenager she doesn't like much recoil.

327 magnum makes some fire. My understanding is that it approaches the "power" of a 357. In my 4.2" SP101 it doesn't have a lot of recoil, but it does make a nice little fireball.

 
The various .32 calibers (.327 Fed Mag, .32 H&R, .32 S&W S/L) vs .38 Spl/+P and .357 Magnum for self defense and a trail/kit gun.

Also, I have read in places that one can chamber .32 Automatic in a revolver chambered in .32 caliber (H&R, Fed Mag). Is this safe to chamber and safe long term ?

You can fire 32acp in a 32 revolver just don't expect anything like accuracy. The first 32s I fired were 32acp in a S&W model 31 my dad gave me. I didn't have any proper ammo and I had heard you could use 32acp. So I did. I made lots of noise but even from a few feet I couldn't hit anything. The S&W had .314 throats and a .313 barrel. The 32acp is loaded with a .311 bullet. So even more modern guns with a tighter .312 throat will still be a sloppy for for the .311 bullet. If you want to shoot a 32 caliber revolver the best bet is to buy ammo made for the gun.

My favorite trail guns are my Ruger Singe Six guns with 5.5" barrels and adjustable sights. With a max 85gr load I get just over 1300fps. That works out to 318 Ft pounds of energy. That would be a stout 38 Special load. And I have no qualms about using a single action for SD. Not my first choice of course but still more than enough. And that same load got 1250fps from an SP-101 with 4" barrel.
 
I shot some .32ACP out of my .32 S&W Long revolver without any problems. The results were not impressive. The group size doubled at 7 yards for the .32ACP.

Jim
 
It can work in a pinch but, as mentioned, accuracy (and velocity, to some extent) will suffer. It's a long way from the end of that bitty little case through the chamber to the forcing cone.
 
My 431pd in 32 Magnum chambers and extracts 32 acp just fine.

But I get lots of light strikes and failures to fire.

On the other hand, my 31-1 works just fine with 32 acp.
 
Both sets of calibers would make good trail or as guns. If you don't reload the 38/357 holds the advantage in terms of factory loadings.

I like the 3" Ruger LCRX in 357 as a trail and SD revolver. Lightweight but it's comfortable enough to shoot powerful loads with it
 
"My favorite trail guns are my Ruger Singe Six guns with 5.5" barrels and adjustable sights."

Me too. My favorite 32 caliber revolver is certainly my Single Six in 32 H&R magnum. It is as accurate as my 22lr version. When I shoot 32 S&W long it has about the same recoil. Actual magnum rounds are a little more spicy, but not very much. Like Ratshooter, it wouldn't be my first choice for SD, but I think it would do just fine if needed. It will certainly kill any snake or coyote or rat or whatever needs killing on my BiL's farm.

 
I can't say I own one, but I'm fond of the idea of .327 Magnum. But I want a 7-shot K-frame. If it has to be as big and heavy as a GP100 and isn't even an 8-shot, then it might as well be .357. But if it was smaller, like a K-frame or new King Cobra size, and 7-shot, then that would be attractive. Alas, we have the GP-100 and then step all the way down to SP101 with only 6 shots.

The situation with single-actions is more favorable to the .32's. I think the Single Seven is just-right. By comparison, the Vaqueros are a little heavy in .357 at about 44 ounces. Colts in .45 are quite a bit lighter. But a Single Seven is right there at about 36 ounces but with 7 shots and high-velocity. It makes a distinctive alternative to the 1873 SAA in .45 Colt.
 
If it has to be as big and heavy as a GP100 and isn't even an 8-shot, then it might as well be .357. But if it was smaller, like a K-frame or new King Cobra size, and 7-shot, then that would be attractive. Alas, we have the GP-100 and then step all the way down to SP101 with only 6 shots.
Only 6 shots isn't something to be discouraged by in something the size of the SP101, I think it's a great offering, I just don't like the SP101's trigger, ergonomics, or weight.

As for the GP100, yes I too detest that the .327 is only available in the same number of rounds as the 7 shot .357. The GP100 size revolver just doesn't makes sense being a .32 caliber unless it holds more rounds than the .357 does.

The situation with single-actions is more favorable to the .32's.
I agree and I'm not sure why exactly this is, but a single action .32 feels a lot more palatable than a double action .32 in a larger size frame. I can't say I trust Ruger to give me a Single Seven with properly sized throats tho, so I tend to lean more towards the .32 H&R Single Six as I have a strange feeling that Ruger makes those with smaller throats.

If anybody has the .32 H&R Single Six, what's the diameter of the throats?
 
An analysis of 32 revolvers. https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/why-the-best-snub-nose-caliber-is-32/

A fair number of national level instructors are fans of the 32 HR and 327 snubs as pocket guns. Reasonable round and an extra one in Js and LCRs. The SW 32 HRs and 327s are now out of production. I shoot a 327 revolver in matches, usually with 32 SW Longs. Easy shooter. However, to knock down steel I shoot the 327s. It was amusing as when I loaded the speed loader of 327s as I came up to the steel targets in a run, the order of magnitude boom scared the SO, score keeper and other shooters. It was funny. The 327s do have significant recoil.
 
I'm of the school that bigger is better. Always prefer the .44 or .45 caliber guns for serious social use. As to the small calibers being more efficient, or powerful, than the bigger bores, I think back on this report from the Army trials of 1907:

In every reported instance, the effectiveness of bullets increased with mass rather than velocity. As a comparison between the 9 mm Luger jacketed bullet and the caliber .45 lead bullet, the shock effect of both bullets in cadavers was rated at 80. In the experiments on live animals, the .45 bullet was decidedly superior. The animal shot with the .45 fell to the floor after six shots, but the animal shot with the 9 mm was still standing after being shot twelve times and had to be dispatched by stockyard personnel.

Bob Wright

 
I'm of the school that bigger is better. Always prefer the .44 or .45 caliber guns for serious social use. As to the small calibers being more efficient, or powerful, than the bigger bores, I think back on this report from the Army trials of 1907:

In every reported instance, the effectiveness of bullets increased with mass rather than velocity. As a comparison between the 9 mm Luger jacketed bullet and the caliber .45 lead bullet, the shock effect of both bullets in cadavers was rated at 80. In the experiments on live animals, the .45 bullet was decidedly superior. The animal shot with the .45 fell to the floor after six shots, but the animal shot with the 9 mm was still standing after being shot twelve times and had to be dispatched by stockyard personnel.

Bob Wright
...and they came up with this... Colt New Service Frame M1909 Chambered for .45 revolver (.45 Colt) a 250 gr projectile traveling 725 fps +/- 25 fps, with the standard 5 1/2 barrel.

ns1.jpeg
 
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The 357 is superior in every way to any of the 32's. You can use shotshells for snakes, 38 Sp. for cheap(er) practice, and magnums for defense from any 2 legged, and just about any 4 legged threat. And something that will fire in it is available pretty much anywhere that sells ammunition.
 
if we are discussing 32 vs 38, then i vote for 38 but wadcutters. i recently got an older rossi 32 long revolver after seeing a recent lucky gunner video on the merits of 32. 32 ammo recoil feels like 22wmr with less flashbang, 32 long like 38 wadcutters. since 38 revolvers and ammo are more available and cheaper than 32, i will move the rossi away and stick with 38, accumulating wadcutters as i can.
 
I've seen tons of reports that indicate that handgun cartridges have statistical similar performance in real world events over 9mm (or 380 depending on the report). With that in mind I went with 327 personally as the extra capacity is nice. Might be only 1 shot but that is also 20% extra. I'd also recommend the 32s if you want a kit gun as the 32 long (or short if you can find it) makes a nice small game round that doesn't damage much meat. In order to take full advantage of the 32s though a guy really needs to reload. If you reload get a 32, if not I'd probably go 357/38.
 
Don't kid yourself about shooting a variety of 32's in a gun with fixed sights. If you want to shoot everything from 32 Short to .327 Magnum, the point of impact could easily vary as much as feet at 10 yards. It depends on the bullet weight also, but wherever there is a wide variance in velocity and recoil, there's going to be a big change in POI. Consider that most .327's have fixed sights -- the LCR, and I think it's more common on SP101's than adjustable sights. The single actions are also offered with either. Of course, the same is true for .38.
 
Don't kid yourself about shooting a variety of 32's in a gun with fixed sights. If you want to shoot everything from 32 Short to .327 Magnum, the point of impact could easily vary as much as feet at 10 yards. It depends on the bullet weight also, but wherever there is a wide variance in velocity and recoil, there's going to be a big change in POI. Consider that most .327's have fixed sights -- the LCR, and I think it's more common on SP101's than adjustable sights. The single actions are also offered with either. Of course, the same is true for .38.

I have shot many 32s and 38s both from fixed sight and adjustable sighted guns and once an adjustable sighted gun was sighted in I almost never adjust the sights no matter what the bullet weight. In 38s I normally shoot between 140 and 158gr bullets and in 32s between 85 and 100gr bullets. I haven't seen enough difference in impact points that I needed to get out the screw drivers and start cranking screws. In 32s a 15gr weight difference doesn't seem to be enough to affect the POI.
 
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