.32 S&W Long Fans?

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I will agree that the .32 S&W Long is a very fun cartridge. I, too, recently acquired a Colt Pocket Positive. After the first box of ammo, I was in love. This is my favorite cartridge to shoot to make sure I have my form and concentration correct before switching to a bigger caliber. The gun is so small and light that there is less room for error to make it punch a big hole in the target.

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My wife and I are .32 S&W Long enthusiasts. Can anyone tell me where I can get .32 shot shells (.32 S&W, .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Magnum)? None of the major ammo manufacturers produce them.
 
Say there ratshooter do you mean 32's are .312 (as .32 long)? As I remember .321 dia. is for .32 special rifle. Where can I get #12 shot? I have seen only one 25 pound bag of it in my life. Does this size shot come in 5# bags?
 
I read an article in the 2010 Gun Digest about .32 mag. For shotshells in .32 mag. use 2.0 grains of Titewad + one shoebox overpowder wad + 65 grains of small shot + another shoebox overshot wad then crimp. Has anybody done this? I have used .30 cal. gas checks myself. This shoebox wads should be cheaper. Good article just the same.
 
My wife inherited a 1960's vintage .32 long caliber, 3" barrel, round butt, S&W model 30 from her mom. It is still in virtually like new condition after 40+ years since her uncle bought it for her mom for her home protection gun. Cylinder lockup is tight as new, SA and DA trigger pull weight is just right, bore is perfect, and there are no wear spots or scratches on the old S&W style high polish blue finish. I don't think her mom ever fired it, although I'm sure her uncle did just to make sure it was working properly. But I do know that she always kept it lying in her lap while driving home alone from her job late at night. My wife uses it for her house gun to replace the .22 revolver she used to use. She has serious arthritis in both hands after failed carpal tunnel operations and can't tolerate much recoil, so the little .32 long 's "kick" is about the most that she can handle. For her practice ammo I load a 100 gr lead semi-wadcutter over 2.2 grains of AA#2, which chronographs at roughly 625 fps (give or take a bit if I'm careful with the powder measure), and for serious use I keep it loaded with Fiochi 98 grain FMJ ammo. Fiochi lists their .32 long round @ 835 fps, which is over 100 fps faster than the American companies load it. It's still a puny round, but probably a little more effective than CCI Stingers from the 2" barrel H&R .22 she used to use for her "house gun", and either one is 1000% better than a broom stick.

(no, she doesn't ride a broomstick, I just used that as an illustration)
 
You are correct Ratshooter, Ive only loaded 38 Special with shot.
Although the principle is the same for both cartridges.
 
Hello bangaway. I don't know how well cardboard would work for wads but gas checks work really well. A box of gas checks will make 500 snake loads. If your snake problem is that bad I would move. Thats just me though.:what:

Here is how I load 32 mag shotshells. First I bought a 10/32 all thread rod from the tool store. I cut it so I have a rammer to fit in an RCBS die plus I cut a slot on one end for a screwdriver just like the seating stems on RCBS dies. Cut it about the same length, nothing criticle here. I use a 357 die for seating the gas checks so it clears the 32 case.

I used 2.2grs of bullseye and use the rammer to push the gas check over the powder. I seated the GC to .695 from the case mouth using a dial caliper depth gage to measure the seating depth. Next add your shot, I used about 68grs of #12 bought from BPI in 10lb bags. Works out to around 280 pellets if I did the math right.

You need to be sure you bell the cases well or you will never get the .308 GCs in the case. Cap the shot load with another GC flush with the case mouth and then run the case into the seating die to roll the case mouth over the gas check.

Now my first run I didn't bell the cases enough and no matter how hard I tried I could not get the top GC to fit with the cup facing the shot. Thats how I know the 32/8mm GCs will never work. Anyway I ended up putting the flat side towards the shot. It worked just fine. About 60 snakes will tell you it kills like a daisy.

I guess you could do this with the 32 S&W Long but reduce to about 2grs of bullseye and lower the shot charge. I believe red dot and tite group in the same weights would also work.

BPI is Ballistic Products Inc. They sell lots of shotgun stuff and are real good folks.
 
Howdy to you Ratshooter and thanks a bunch for that heads up on the .32 shotshells. I will load some as soon as BPI sends me some shot. I used to deal a lot with BPI and I agree they are good people. Do you think size 10 shot would be more effective? Have fun and bangaway.
 
I don't know how bigger shot would be better. The #12 kills just fine and dead is dead. Plus the pattern should be a little better.
 
When I shot bulseye pistol I used both a Walther GSP and later a Pardini HP in 32 S&W Long for the centerfire stage. My scores were much better than with the 45 ACP.
Two years ago I purchased a S&W Model 16-4 in 32 H&R but mostly use 32 S&W Long reloads. It is fun to shoot - virtually no recoil, accurate and with enough knockdown power for the steel plates.
 
I've been daydreaming of the .32 s&w long as a candidate for a modern day 'rook rifle' cartridge in a Contender carbine.
A low noise cartridge with high accuracy and limited range for small game and plinking.
 
PO2 I agree 100 percent. I would love a rook & rabbit rifle and one in 32 long would do just fine. I have a Marlin in 32 mag and like to shoot light loads like a 76gr lead bullet with about 2grs of Titegroup. It gets just over 900fps and is as quiet as a CB22 round. Lots more punch though.

The closest I have to a R&R rifle is an H&R single shot in 357 with an 18" barrel. One of the Talo guns that was sold by R&R Arms. It has open sights on it. Just the way I like em'.
 
The closest I have to a R&R rifle is an H&R single shot in 357 with an 18" barrel. One of the Talo guns that was sold by R&R Arms. It has open sights on it. Just the way I like em'.
Click to expand...
I have an older Handi in .357 with open sights and ejector and a 22" barrel, with light loads it has to be pretty close to the old .360 #5 Rook cartridge, even if the bullet diameters are different.
I keep adding too much powder. I'm still around 1,000 fps with a 140 LFP. I need to drop it down some.
I figure the .32 S&W long would limit speeds to about 850-900 fps in a 22" carbine, and noise would also be far less than the .357 downloaded.
 
I too would like a .32 long R&R rifle. I shoot a H&R .357 with 4.0 grains of red dot and a 94 grain lyman 358212 head. This gets 890 fps for 161 ft pds. This dents a pop can before it chugs through. A .32 long would probably shoot better and I do not have one. It would probably be easier to get a .32 mag. barrel for a T/C then shoot longs in it. Does anyone know if Bullberry makes .32 long , mag, or 327 barrels? T/C makes a barrel in .308 bore .32-20. I would like a R&R rifle with .312 bore as a companion for the .32 handgun. What do you alll think? Have fun and bangaway.
 
bangaway, Match Grade Machine makes .312" Contender carbine barrels and I believe they chamber .327, .32 H&R mag or .32 S&W long. And with MGM, you don't have to wait six months to a year for your barrel to arrive.
 
PO2Hammer thanks for the info. I have never heard of Match Grade Machine nor seen any mention of them in print. Their name seems to indicate an accurate barrel. Have you or anyone either fired or know about their products? I will see their web site soon.
 
Yes, I've had two barrels made by them, both .357 mag barrels from Shilen .358" 1:14 twist blanks. Very high quality and quick service. I got one barrel in four weeks, another in five. They're well known over on the specialty pistol forum.
 
PO2Hammer I visited MGM's web page and did not see any .312 stuff. They did have a 32-40 barrel. I will look harder soon and visit their forum. There is a custom section that could work. Have fun and bangaway.
 
SW makes the 632 in 327 mag but it will, of course, chamber the SW Long round.
 
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