What are the differences between .32 W.C.F , 32-20 Winchester and .32 S/W long pistol ammo? Except for the charge, are they interchangeable ?

To the best of my knowledge, the .32-20 Winchester and the .32 WCF are the same cartridge. The oddity in names is similar to the .30-30 Winchester and the .30 WCF, which are two names for the same cartridge. The .32-20 Winchester/.32WCF was originally designed for use in rifles. Colt later chambered it in their SAA revolver. It was originally loaded w/ 20 grains of black powder... thus the .32-20 description.

The .32 S&W Long is an entirely different cartridge. It was originally designed for use in S&W revolvers using a plain 98 gr. lead bullet. It is not interchangeable with the Winchester round. HTH. Sincerely. brucev.

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The .32-20 Win is considered a bottle necked/tapered case ctg and the .32 Long is a straight walled revolver ctg.

Thanks for the info. It affirms my original thoughts about them. Thansk again.

there used to be two loadings for the 32-20. one for rifle & one for handguns. hth.

A 32 S&W Long will shoot in a 32-20 but not vice versa. Larry

Well, it might fire but it will certainly swell and possibly split the smaller diameter 32 S&W Long case. It shouldn't harm the gun though as it is a much lower pressure round than the tapered 32-20 (which is noticeably larger at the case head).

Some people have been shooting 32 Longs in the Russian Nagant revolver which use a case dimensionally similar to the 32-20 and split or swollen cases are common. Some recommend putting a wrap of tape around the 32 Long case to tighten up the fit.

I don't recommend shooting the wrong round out of a gun myself but it's a common topic on the Nagant section at Gunboards. At least with this substitution there's little chance of blowing the gun up.