Future .32 Snub Revolvers

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feldgrun

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Ever since I read the Lucky Gunner article “Why the Best Snub Nose Caliber is .32,” I’ve been intrigued by the idea of a snub revolver in .32 H&R Magnum. Why didn’t that caliber become more popular? S&W and Taurus used to carry snubs in that caliber, but they’re since discontinued. Used S&W snubs in .32 H&R Mag now run up to $1,000. Charter Arms is the only manufacturer making revolvers in .32 H&R Magnum.

Do you think .327 may be in the future for S&W? The idea of 6 rounds in a .327 vs 5 rounds in a .357 with similar performance seems like a “no-brainer.” Ruger’s .327 revolvers are the only option in that caliber. Regardless of supply issues, if there is demand, supply will catch up. Also, when .38 & .357 were flying off the shelf during the riots & pandemic, you could still find .32 in stock.
 
feldgrun said:
Ever since I read the Lucky Gunner article “Why the Best Snub Nose Caliber is .32,” I’ve been intrigued by the idea of a snub revolver in .32 H&R Magnum. Why didn’t that caliber become more popular? S&W and Taurus used to carry snubs in that caliber, but they’re since discontinued. Used S&W snubs in .32 H&R Mag now run up to $1,000. Charter Arms is the only manufacturer making revolvers in .32 H&R Magnum.

Do you think .327 may be in the future for S&W? The idea of 6 rounds in a .327 vs 5 rounds in a .357 with similar performance seems like a “no-brainer.” Ruger’s .327 revolvers are the only option in that caliber. Regardless of supply issues, if there is demand, supply will catch up. Also, when .38 & .357 were flying off the shelf during the riots & pandemic, you could still find .32 in stock.
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My opinion about why 32 H&R Magnum did not become more popular was that when it was introduced, it had no track record as a defensive round, was substantially more expensive than 38 Special, and was hard to find. Sure, the S&W or Charter Arms revolvers made for it held one more round than their 38 Special guns, but did you want to bet on an unknown round that might go out of production? (The 32 Magnum guns made by H&R held only 5 rounds, and so there was even less reason to buy them for self defense.) Sure, 32 Magnum was supposed to be better than 38 Special, but who really knew? As a result, it became a niche round, kind of like 41 Magnum but a lot easier on the wrist.

Yep, with good modern bullets it might make all kinds of sense, but bullets were not as modern 30-plus years ago when 32 Magnum was introduced.

It was too bad, but not many people were looking for an modernized .32-20. Some were, of course, and they were delighted, but the market was just not that big.

Personally, I think what would help 32 Magnum would be a 5 shot revolver chambered for it that is smaller than the existing 5 shot 38 Special revolvers. That would be compact but still a weapon with more punch (well, arguably) than 380 ACP. But maybe that's just me. I don't think it's going to happen any more than the new top-break revolvers we keep wishing would appear. A lot of younger people think revolvers are as dead as flip phones (which is what I carry, BTW).
 
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I keep seeing new lightweight revolver models introduced by S&W, in .22LR & .22 Mag. But .32 H&R has better performance & reduced recoil over .38. If women shooters are a new market for concealed carry, I think .32 in a snub is a great match.
 
Since I reload I can make any version of .357 Mag equal to any version of .32 (velocity, energy, bullet weight, etc.). So I just carry .357. Plus, I can reload to far higher levels than .32 ever had or will have. And, my components are much easier to obtain.
 
I’d love to see an adjustable sight, non heavy-barrel model 60 6-shot .327 4” as a modern day kit gun and another 2.5” or 3” for a bit more concealable package.

Whether or not a bunch more gun buyers do will mean the difference between a pipe dream…and reality. :)

Stay safe.
 
For revolvers I think .32 H&R Mag is the future because .327 is just too much in a snub revolver. Back in the day there were two different loads for .32-20: a reduced load for revolvers and a high power load for rifles. That's effectively what .32 H&R Mag and .327 Federal are today, but better in that you can't stuff a .327 into a .32 Mag revolver like you could a rifle load .32-20 into a .32-20 revolver.

The key is going to be the ammunition makers and so far Winchester has so no mas to anything .32 other than .32 ACP, Remington won't bother with anything .32 that has magnum in the name, and foreign ammo makers like Fiocchi, Magtech, PMC, PPU, Wolf, Tula, etc. are much in the same boat. They'll do .32 S&W Long (mostly for the wadcutters and the target shooting market), but .32 and .327 Magnum? Nope.

.327 is pretty much a Ruger only deal right now and if people continue to buy them then S&W will take notice. In the meantime I think .32 Magnum is much more likely to find support among the revolver makers because you can put it in any .38 or .357 currently made and it will work fine whereas .327 is... that's a lot of pressure you're asking a revolver to take.

I don't see why S&W doesn't put the .32 H&R Mag in an airweight J frame, Taurus too. I think it'd be a winner.
 
beag_nut said:
Since I reload I can make any version of .357 Mag equal to any version of .32 (velocity, energy, bullet weight, etc.). So I just carry .357. Plus, I can reload to far higher levels than .32 ever had or will have. And, my components are much easier to obtain.
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.327 is just as versatile and really for most has more than enough power for whatever needs doing and reduced loads close to .32 S&W levels will always have less recoil than .38 will.

The components (brass, bullets) I cannot disagree with you on, I can get .38 or .357 brass at the range for free whenever I want. For .32 of any kind I've yet to find a single piece of brass in the 4 years I've been a member at my club. Bullets is a different story, the variety isn't there, but you have good, cheap options like Speer's wadcutters, Berry's. I like the 94gr LFN that Midway sells, and if I can get the undersize Lee sizing die and Lyman .30 Carbine M die I plan to try shooting some .30 Carbine bullets in .327.
 
So it’s early and I’m feeling a bit wild before my coffee….

I’ve watched the Lucky Gunner vid several times and I am still trying to figure out if the points made for 32 Cal are even viable points at all and whether it really matters anyway when small 9mm pistols are outselling revolvers, 32 ammo is few and far between and expensive in the best of times, and the guns are uncommon. Then again, maybe the video was made only for clicks.

I get that all the 32 fans would like to see a paradigm shift and 32 revolvers would be more common and 32 ammo would be plentiful and cheap but I don’t see that happening without extreme external forces at play.

I think 35 Remington is neat and don’t care for 30-30. That doesn’t mean those two are going to flip flop in popularity anytime soon. Maybe if I made a video about how 35 Rem is so great I could drum up some interest.
 
I don't see much future in this, either.

New carriers not "into" guns and wanting revolvers will be happy with either the .38 Special or the .22 (LR or WMR.)

Those ready for small autoloaders will be fine with .22LR (think LCP-II Lite-Rack) or .380ACP. Ruger's LCP-MAX may start a run of similar, easier-to-shoot, pocket guns in that caliber with similar capacities.

The rest of us are spending so much on other, "more-mainstream" calibers that what we do spend on .32 is pretty much just a blip in comparison.

Incidentally, I'd love to come across one of the old Undercoverette six-shooters. Of course, I'd then have to source some ammunition once I found it.
 
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While I have a 327 with a 3" barrel and carry it often when I'm out and about on my property it's not my idea of a good self-defense gun. I like the 327 Federal Magnum and the 32 H&R Magnum and have spent considerable time sourcing brass and bullets for them. They are not good defensive calibers to me. I see them as "field guns" in that I can use them for pretty much anything from a squirrel up to a hog (at shorter ranges). When used in a carbine the range extends a good deal.

It's not that they cannot be used for self-defense as they certainly can, but if I'm carrying a piece with that in mind I reach for something between 38 Special to 45acp as I want more stopping power for human sized creatures.

As for why they never became popular that's pretty easy. Before the 32 H&R Magnum there was only 32S&W Long and 32-20. The former is pretty anemic in stopping power and the latter falling out of favor as all the old western bottle-neck cartridges were. The larger calibers were more effective and took the market. By the time the 32 H&R came along it was pretty much a case of "too little, too late." Now add in the considerable difficulty in finding ammunition, the expense of it if you could find any, and the fairly small number of firearms chambered in those cartridges relative to the enormously more popular 38s/357s and the auto pistols.

They're good cartridges for what they are, but they have been niche guns for decades now and will likely remain that way. I'm seriously considering picking up a longer barrelled 327 to stretch the legs of the cartridge a bit more than what a short barrel allows.
 
Here is a picture of my 32 snubs. Upper left is a 431PD in 32 mag. Fully loaded it only weighs 15oz. My dealer got it in used and called me because he knew was a fan of 32 caliber guns. I paid $330 for it at the time and thought maybe I over paid. Now not so much. The other two guns are model 30-1 in 32 long. I reload so ammo is no problem. I have thousands of cases along with lead and jacketed bullets plus a couple of bullet molds.

I don't know what the future is for 32 caliber revolvers. If more had a chance to shoot them I bet it would be better. They are pleasnt without too much blast except the mag version and you do know it went off. My 32 long loads are getting 850fps from the 2" barrel so much better than the weak factory loads. I do not feel undergunned with one of these in my pocket or on my belt.

002.JPG
 
I think a 9 shot n frame sized 327 would be a great home defence gun for people that want simple without tons of recoil.

4" barrel, not a snub though
 
I don't see a bright future for .32 revolvers and it's hard not to see why. Not very long ago a .38acp pocket auto was limited to 6 or 7 rounds, barely a step up from a j-frame. A micro-compact 9mm was about the same. But when you can fit 11 rounds in the same package why would new shooters even consider a small framed revolver? Not trying to start an argument on capacity or semi-autos as I myself carry a 6-shot k6s, but I think it's something most people new to conceal carry will look into and it's not going to be good for revolvers regardless of if it's a 5 shot .38 or 6 shot .32.

And that being said, if manufactures are concerned revolvers in general aren't something they can grow in sales, they aren't going to want to split up what's left between .357/.38 and .327/.32 with the added development and cost of new internals to add an additional round. And really that's the only benefit, as others have mentioned you can already get lower recoiling .38's.
 
I've only seen two sides to this: New To Me gun buyers and New To Guns gun buyers. New To Me gun buyers are looking for something other than what they already have OR more of what they like. I've only talked to a few New To Guns buyers and they are (sadly) looking for what the Reddit, Facebook and Google mobs tell them they "need to have"
 
I never wanted a 327 in a snub gun. But a Ruger single six 7 shot with 7.5" barrel might be another story. Heck even a 9" barrel to really get the most out of that round in a handgun. I am all for anything that turns guys on to shooting 32 caliber guns. And I believe the 32s offer good balance of power to recoil. The 32 mag snubby I posted earlier has very little recoil with top power 85gr loads. And 100gr lead bullet loads from the 32 Long revolvers are not much more than a 22 mag from an airweight without the blast of the 22 mag. Even my hotter loads.

But most now will never find out what a pleasure shooting 32 caliber handguns are unless someone at the range has one and lets them shoot it. They just aren't that common. The ones for sale on GB all get bid on by guys like me that think you can't have too many 32 caliber revolvers. I look for K-Frame S&W revolvers in 32-20 and always get outbid on them. A friend has a big stash of brass so that problem is solved. All I would need are dies and I would be in the 32-20 business.

Ross Seyfreid and Gil Sengal both wrote great articles in Handloader magazine on 32-20s that I still have and every time I reread them I go on the hunt for a 32-20 gun. So 32s aren't dead. They are just unobtainable.
 
A .32 snub (.32 s&w Longs or .32 acp) is far more pleasant to practice with than a .38 snub.

A hot .32 Mag snub can penetrate just as well, and perhaps more, than a hot .38 snub. With much less recoil and 6 shots instead of 5.

I see no downside. Especially when all rounds for these calibers are expensive. (Unless you reload)

People will say, "But I already have .38 ammo..." Fine. Shoot it or sell it and dont buy / load anymore. Start buying .32 Longs and mags or components and phase in .32.

That's how I did it. I dont miss .38 special or .357 one bit.

I'm talking about snub nose revolvers here, not hunting revolvers / rifles.
 
bassjam said:
I don't see a bright future for .32 revolvers and it's hard not to see why. Not very long ago a .38acp pocket auto was limited to 6 or 7 rounds, barely a step up from a j-frame. A micro-compact 9mm was about the same. But when you can fit 11 rounds in the same package why would new shooters even consider a small framed revolver? Not trying to start an argument on capacity or semi-autos as I myself carry a 6-shot k6s, but I think it's something most people new to conceal carry will look into and it's not going to be good for revolvers regardless of if it's a 5 shot .38 or 6 shot .32.

And that being said, if manufactures are concerned revolvers in general aren't something they can grow in sales, they aren't going to want to split up what's left between .357/.38 and .327/.32 with the added development and cost of new internals to add an additional round. And really that's the only benefit, as others have mentioned you can already get lower recoiling .38's.
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Once you get past the capacity in a similar size and cheaper pistol, the actual results in terms of accuracy are impressive. I have the LCP and Glock 27 and offhand I have trouble hitting at 25 yards, 50 is almost impossible. The Rock Island M206 snub .38, even the NAA Black Widow with the 4 inch barrel, I can hit at 50 yards with ease. I would imagine an LCR or a J frame I'd also have no issue.

The issue with lower recoil .38's is other than Hornady IDK who is making them and those 90 grain Hornady Critical Defense loads have penetration issues. I mean, I like them for home defense where I have concerns about overpenetration, but for carry I'd want something more, even if it was a .32 wadcutters in S&W Long.
 
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