The .32 H&R Magnum is more than adequate for self-defense. As is so often my response to those who claim that [insert cartridge here] is insufficient: "Let's find out: go stand over there."

Mostly, when I judge a cartridge to be a poor choice, it's because of the following reasons:

--Guns that fire it are the same size as those that use a larger, more powerful cartridge.

--The guns that fire it are too small and hard to use, so going to a larger cartridge (and thus, a larger gun) buys you a more capable gun, and a better cartridge. Yes, yes, comfort and conceal-ability and all that, and if that's all you can carry then that's all you can carry, but at least try to put some effort into it.

--The cartridge simply doesn't have enough energy to reliably cycle in the real world (for instance, .25 or .32 Auto is a bit like this). They pretty much all suck to be hit with.

.32 H&R Magnum is none of these things. Aside from one extra shot, it's quite powerful by itself. In fact, just tonight I was bemoaning that Smith and Wesson never produced a .327 FedMag K-frame--it's really quite an intriguing possibility. And then...

http://smith-wessonforum.com/136610520-post2.html

Might have to give it some thought.