.32 S&W Long "+p"

[.455_Hunter]

I like that Fiocchi FMJ loading in my 3" 31-1. Perfect for carry.

 

[dickydalton]

I reamed my 31-1 to 32 H&R Mag. It is sweet.

 

[TTv2]

32 “short” vs .32 s&w long in top breaks. Frankly I really don’t know what these guns were chambered for and am not sure it matters much these days. Almost every old one I’ve encountered (dozens if not into the hundreds) is loose, and many have broken extractor or trigger mechanisms. Given that they were generally all budget guns with minimum-acceptable engineering for longevity and robustness, I’d advise erring on the side of .32 “short” levels when loading, even if the cylinder theoretically accepts a .32 s&w long cartridge.

Don't see the point in doing that, .32 S&W is a higher pressure cartridge and if the top break is going to break. The only thing the .32 shorties have is they use a lighter bullet (85 gr) than the .32 Long, but not that much lighter.

Frankly, the factory .32 S&W Long is never loaded to max specs, so the wadcutters and lead round nose may as well be used as the ammo is cheaper, more available, and more accurate in a revolver that they can be chambered in.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have an S&W 32 SW Safety Hammerless break top revolkver that I would not run any hot rodded ammunition through. Mine is from the 1930's. It i fun to shoot once n a while but it is mostly a safe queen. It was my wife's uncle's gun.

Swing out cylinder guns like the S&W Models 30 and 31 probably can handle a bit higher pressure than the standard 32 SWL guns but I do nit see the reasoning of putting the firearm under higher pressures than it was designed for.

But, for the efforts of famous gun writers and hunters, we would not have 357 Magnum or 44 Magnum rounds as they pushed the limits of the guns at the time to prove the value of the high performance rounds.

These days, 32 H&R Mag and 327 Fed Mag revolvers are available that give the shooter a higher performance 32 caliber cartridge.

We live on a hobby hirse farm and have troubles with opossums, raccoons and ground hogs. 22RF just does not have enough oomph for a clean kill so I've moved to hot 32 H&R Mag loads in a 327 Fed Mag case in an SP101 revolver. I'm waiting to see how these work.

 

[CajunBass]

Just something I noticed over the weekend. I went to the range with my Taurus 327 again, but this time I took along a box of Hornady Critical Defense, 327 Magnum, with the 80 grain FTX bullet, at a listed on the box velocity of 1475 FPS. No idea what barrel length they used to get that velocity, but that's the information provided. I had heard how the 327 is "snappy" under recoil and "Loud" and I was mildly concerned about the "Loud" especially. I know I take notice of it when someone starts blasting away at the indoor range with a really loud boomer, so I try to avoid it myself. To my surprise the 327 was not that big of a deal. A bit more recoil than the Fiocchi 97 grain FMJ 32 Long rounds (I fired a box of those too), and as far as the noise, it certainly wasn't as loud as factory 357 ammo. No one else even looked up I don't think. Once I figured out where it was hitting vs where the sights were looking, I shot it no worse than I do anything else.

But the Fiocchi 97 grain FMJ load is SWEET. The gun really seems to like that ammo. Soft shooting (of course the Taurus is an all steel gun and fairly heavy) and easy in the noise department (at least when wearing muffs), I think it will become my shoot for fun load, or at least I'm going to work toward an equilivant reload. I got my Lee dies in and prepped the cases (200) while watching the race on TV the other evening. Now I'm waiting on the bullets (85 grain RNFP plated) to get here from Everglades bullets and the right Lee primer tool shell holder which is still out there somewhere. Both are due in today.

I'm thinking I might order some of those Mag Tech JHP 32 long rounds and give them a try. I can always use the brass.

Oh, one other thing that surprised me. Out of that one box of 25 rounds of the Hornady 327 Magnum, I had two split cases. I know the 327 is a pretty high pressure round, but these splits were just like the ones I see on really old, often reloaded 38 stuff. I was surprised to see them on once fired factory brass. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence. I'll be watching for a third.

 

[TTv2]

Just something I noticed over the weekend. I went to the range with my Taurus 327 again, but this time I took along a box of Hornady Critical Defense, 327 Magnum, with the 80 grain FTX bullet, at a listed on the box velocity of 1475 FPS. No idea what barrel length they used to get that velocity, but that's the information provided. I had heard how the 327 is "snappy" under recoil and "Loud" and I was mildly concerned about the "Loud" especially. I know I take notice of it when someone starts blasting away at the indoor range with a really loud boomer, so I try to avoid it myself. To my surprise the 327 was not that big of a deal. A bit more recoil than the Fiocchi 97 grain FMJ 32 Long rounds (I fired a box of those too), and as far as the noise, it certainly wasn't as loud as factory 357 ammo. No one else even looked up I don't think. Once I figured out where it was hitting vs where the sights were looking, I shot it no worse than I do anything else.

But the Fiocchi 97 grain FMJ load is SWEET. The gun really seems to like that ammo. Soft shooting (of course the Taurus is an all steel gun and fairly heavy) and easy in the noise department (at least when wearing muffs), I think it will become my shoot for fun load, or at least I'm going to work toward an equilivant reload. I got my Lee dies in and prepped the cases (200) while watching the race on TV the other evening. Now I'm waiting on the bullets (85 grain RNFP plated) to get here from Everglades bullets and the right Lee primer tool shell holder which is still out there somewhere. Both are due in today.

I'm thinking I might order some of those Mag Tech JHP 32 long rounds and give them a try. I can always use the brass.

Oh, one other thing that surprised me. Out of that one box of 25 rounds of the Hornady 327 Magnum, I had two split cases. I know the 327 is a pretty high pressure round, but these splits were just like the ones I see on really old, often reloaded 38 stuff. I was surprised to see them on once fired factory brass. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence. I'll be watching for a third.

I did read from someone somewhere that Federal .327 brass, it may not split like the Hornady you had did, but it didn't hold up for long during reloading unless it was low pressure using stuff like Trail Boss. Starline brass seems to hold up very well to .327 pressures, but to get to the point since it seems Federal cases aren't all that strong it wouldn't surprise me to hear that Hornady .327 brass is also weak.

More evidence is needed to make that determination and with more ammo. We can't rule out the possibility that there's something up with your revolver causing split cases with high pressure .327, but is running fine with .32 S&W Lg.

 

[CajunBass]

From all visiable inspections, the charge holes look normal. Ejection was normal, primers looked normal. I didn't even notice the splits until I got home and was prepping them for resizing. I'll fire some more of the Hornady stuff the next time I go to the range though and see if it happens again.

 

[Biblethumpncop]

I reamed my 31-1 to 32 H&R Mag. It is sweet.

Me too!