Info Request: .32 H&R Magnum

[nero45acp]

Can anyone here provide a link(s) on ballistic info on the .32 H&R Magnum? I'd really like to find a website that has info on how the .32 H&R Magnum does on ballistic gelatin, and on how the .32 H&R Magnum has performed in actual defensive shootings. Thanks.


nero

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I don't have a link to gelatin tests, but consider that the .32 H&R Magnum achieves about the same velocity as the .38 Special, with lighter, smaller caliber bullets. It would be safe to assume it would be inferior to the .38 Special for defensive uses.

In addition, you will find that bullets specialy engineered for self-defense are not often loaded in .32 Mag ammo.

 

[71Commander]

the .32 H&R Magnum achieves about the same velocity as the .38 Special, with lighter, smaller caliber bullets

Not so. The .32 breaks 1000 fps whereas the .38 is around the 750 range. The .32 mag is real close to the .380 in ballistics. Yes the hole is smaller

Cheaper than Dirt has Hydra-shok's for it

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/...gid=&mscssid=LN2D3P69S2JA9MQLFTU0AWMH5H2679H3

 

[nero45acp]

I have 3 boxes of the Federal .32 H&R Magnum. They have a ballistic chart on the box that says their 85gr JHP .32 H&R Magnum does 1100fps and 230ft.lbs at the muzzle, though I suspect that is with a 4" or > length barrel, not a 2" like my 432PD.

Another gentleman on this forum told me about Georgia Arm's 100gr JHP .32 H&R Magnum, which is listed as doing 1100fps and 268ft.lbs (again these numbers probably came from a >2" barrel).

These energy numbers are in the standard pressure .38 special range. That doesn't mean the .32 H&R Magnum is as effective a cartridge as the .38 special in real world performance though, which is why I'd like to find a website that provides info on the .32 H&R Magnum's performance on ballistic gelatin, and in real shootings.

Thanks.


nero

 

[71Commander]

I agree about the stats being based on a 4" tube, but that holds for the .38 data as well.

I'm not saying that a .32 is better than a .38. They're both minimal protection IMO. I don't see a .38 spl being far superior to the .32 mag. .32 spl yes.

 

[71Commander]

Here's 1/2 of the data. No .32 though.

http://stevespages.com/page8f.htm

 

[nero45acp]

Thanks, Tenn Tucker.

While not Thor's hammer, the .32 H&R Magnum is a step up for me. I used to carry a Seecamp LWS .32acp.


nero

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Not so. The .32 breaks 1000 fps whereas the .38 is around the 750 range. The .32 mag is real close to the .380 in ballistics. Yes the hole is smaller

Thirty-eight Special loads with 125 grain bullets break the 1000 fps mark. With +P loads, the .38 Special can can drive 125 grain bullets over 1250fps and break the 1000 fps mark with 158 grain bullets.

 

[Sharps Shooter]

Interesting that a thread about the .32 H&R Magnum should come up right now. Off and on, I've been working at reloading for my little 2" Taurus .32 H&R Magnum for the past couple of weeks. I too have a couple of boxes of those Federal 85 grain JHPs that have the ballistic chart on the back showing a muzzle velocity of 1100 fps. Across my chronograph though, when fired from my 2" snubby, they average 926 fps. The Federal 95 grain SWCs ballistic chart indicates a muzzle velocity of 1030 fps, but from my revolvers 2" barrel, they only average 851 fps. The SWC load is the one I've been working to duplicate. I'm using a Western Nevada 95 grain, hard cast SWC over a maximum (as listed in my manual) charge of HS-6. I'm getting 850 fps average, which is closer to factory than I thought I would ever get, they shoot to POA, and pressures seem okay - no stuck cases anyway.

 

[nero45acp]

Forgive my ignorance, but how many ft.lbs of energy is achieved with an 85gr bullet doing 926fps? Thanks.



nero

 

[mfree]

The thing to remember here, is that .32 Magnum isn't a magnum per se, only in that it's longer than a .32 S&W long. It's still on the low end of medium pressure rounds due to some iffy revolvers that chamber it.

If there was a .32 H&R Mag +p, it'd be a little fireball and likely up in the std 9mm equivalencies.

There's a lot of fudge room in the federal loading, i can tell you for certain. Why? Because 7 times i fired that in a Nagant pistol (testing) and with that little support, to the point that the cases bulged out more than a sixteenth of an inch radius, nothing split, and the primer looked great.

Magsafe has a loading too that seems interesting, a very "flying ashtray" looking 50gr load running up at 1400-1500fps, IIRC. Energy in the three hundreds but probably iffy penetration. Would likely be an excruciatingly painful hit though...

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Forgive my ignorance, but how many ft.lbs of energy is achieved with an 85gr bullet doing 926fps? Thanks.

About 161 ft lbs.

Kenetic energy isn't everything, of course.

 

[nero45acp]

Thank you.



nero

 

[P. Plainsman]

The Georgia Arms 100 gr SJHP is the briskest commercial .32 Mag round -- hotter than Federal's stuff or the (superior) Black Hills ammo. The leading edge of the Georgia Arms 100 gr hollowpoint is soft lead. I believe the bullet is from Speer. The round, rated at 1100 fps, would probably pull a healthy 950-1000 fps from a 2" barrel. Whether or not this counts as a "bullet specially engineered for self-defense," it is a sensible design.

Loaded with such, S&W's feather-light 14-oz .32 Mag six-shooter strikes me as a superior pocket carry option to most of the little .380s out there, though not superior to a good .38+P snubby with the FBI load.

On the more recreational side, my .32 Mag Ruger "kit gun" is at the gunsmith being slicked up now, and I miss it dearly. A fun round.