I've heard the .32-20 chambered revolvers, both Colt and Smith & Wesson were somewhat popular with lawmen in the mid-South and Appalachia. Pretty Boy Floyd was supposedly taken down by a .32-20 though this was fired from a rifle.


It's only anecdotal but seems that some thought the .32-20 was a hot number in a revolver compared with the .38 Special. Don't know if this is really true. If it was, perhaps .32-20 owners were resorting to using the .32-20 "rifle only" loading in their revolvers as an effort to gain effectiveness.

Would love to see more about the use of .32-20 revolvers back in the day.