I actually witnessed a similar occurrence involving a rabid raccoon on my front porch and a .38 S&W.

One morning there was a commotion on the porch in which my brother had stepped outside, saw the rabid raccoon and hurriedly scrambled back inside the house.
Worried that it would attack/infect somebody else in the neighborhood, my brother grabbed an old Iver Johnson top-break .38 S&W revolver off the mantle above the fireplace, went out the front door, circled around the house to the back porch, took aim and shot the raccoon in the torso. The raccoon barely flinched, it just stood up and started shambling away, so my brother emptied the whole 5-shot cylinder into the raccoon, then retreated because it still didn't stop it.

Later that day we found that it had crawled under a tarp we had over a pile of firewood and eventually succumbed to its wounds.

The most shocking part though was the state of the raccoon and the porch where it had been. We noticed that it had bled very little despite the fact that every shot was a hit, (although that could partially be due to dehydration) and also that all of the bullets had stopped inside of it because there were no exit wounds on the raccoon, nor were their any holes on the porch. And this wasn't a particularly large raccoon, mind you.

For reference, the raccoon had been shot with a total of 5 .38 S&W (not to be confused with .38 Special) lead round nose bullets, all of which stopped inside of it's body. I've seen .22LR pass straight through raccoons before.

So yeah, if anybody ever wonders why certain older cartridges such as .32 S&W or .38 S&W fell out of favor, it's because apparently they were so absurdly week that they can't even drop a raccoon with a full cylinder dump.
In addition, this is way caliber wars regarding the effectiveness of modern Self-Defense cartridges are so stupid. Because cartridges which were actually ineffective no longer have firearms chambered for them.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I recently found the Luckygunner gel tests. I also know that gel is not humans yada yada and etc... but gel tests do show something. A .32 S&W Long wadcutter does indeed penetrate enough to be trusted for self-defense. I especially like the Buffalo Bore 32 S&W Long wadcutter as it moves pretty fast.

A .32 wadcutter penetrating 15-17 inch competes with a good number of name brand .38 Special hollow point rounds that bearly expand (.35-.37) and penetrate 11-13 inches. For the reduced recoil and 6 rounds in a j-frame I DO carry this combo.

I would never carry round nose in 32 Long.

If I had a gun chambered in .32 S&W Long, I would choose anything else that was close at hand.

Using the gun itself as a bludgeoning instrument would be more effective than shooting it.

In the three years since this was posted has anyone found a good YouTube LAWS rocket gel test?

I mean sure, a 28,000 grain, 66 mm explosive projectile at 475 fps sounds like it will be effective but without a slow motion video of it hitting some clear ballistics gel how can we expect anyone to bet their life on this working effectively? If the factory rockets do not live up to their rated velocity do Underwood or Buffalo Bore make a real, full-power version?

Without such testing Charles Bronson should have stuck with the 32.

I'm sure some of y'all have seen this:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/poc...-test-results/

32 Long really isn't all that bad in gel, and 32 ACP with 73gr Fiocci reliably meets FBI standards from a P32.

Thirty two caliber revolvers? They’ll never catch on. Everybody knows they’re puny and inaccurate... nobody would ever want to carry or depend on one of these. (Except guys like me... my 32 HE in post-War transitional I-frame gets the nod for EDC.)

Froggie

PS I’ve never done a gel test, but put blind faith in Georgia Arms’ JHP rounds for social work.

You'll shoot your eye out kid!

The problem with the "mouseguns" is that they can lack penetration. Bullets are light and slow, and can be deflected by the sternum, rib, etc. They simply don't get to the vitals. If they do,they work just fine. The service calibers, by contrast, do have the mass and velocity to reliably penetrate.

I have a model 31-1 and reload for it. I also shoot it some. My impression is 32 Long is too light for a SD cartridge although it was a police cartridge for many years. These days people want a larger caliber with 1100 fps velocity for SD. The 32 Long was designed for about 750 fps. with a 100 gr bullet. That's not my idea of a SD load. If you have slow you need more weight like 230 gr 45 ACP.

My 31-1 stays in my safe. It's a range toy/bunny shooter.

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That's just somebody talkin.

So in conclusion, if you buy a 31-1 or a 30-1, ream the chambers out to 32 H&R Magnum for maximum efficiency.

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SWCA 3563
10mm aficionado

Pistol calibers...

I recall ions ago when a raccoon came out of nearby brush close to our front door step, grabbed my leg and bit me through my jeans

I got my Browning Hi-Power 9mm with 115 gr fmj and shot the varmit three times and it walked away! Looked in the brush and finally dispatched the thing with a close up head shot.

Needless to say, I’m not very fond of the 9mm.

After going through treatment in the ER, I spent the next six weeks getting injections to preclude potential rabies...(once you get it, you die). The Health Dept checked for rabies on the raccoon but such proved inclusive.

Wished I opted for the 30-30 instead of the 9mm!

I don't think it will work. Better check the cylinder length first.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I've worked three .32 a.c.p. (71gr. fmj) shootings. all were single hits, all were deceased quickly, one instantly. shot placement is what did it, not caliber. I have no doubt that a .32 caliber 98gr. lrn @ 750 fps would have been just as effective.

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I'm only allowed 30 characters

I put 4, 22 LR Hi Power HPs from a S&W M41 in a big old momma Raccoon that was staring me down in my porch. It stovepiped on the 5th round (M41 doesn't like anything but standard velocity). It was about the size of a medium-large dog. I had to buy a special LARGE size live trap (it was too big for the standard size raccoon trap that works on every other raccoon that ever walked into it. One time i caught 3 youngsters in the same, regular size, trip.

When I first saw that big old momma raccoon it at a distance, she put her paws up on the top rail of a 3 rail horse fence (with chicken wire stapled to it to try to keep them out). She was as tall as the top rail on the fence when on her hind legs and seemed to just float over the top rail.

Then I caught a few of them hiding out in the coconut palm trees, too. That's when I went on a full scale varmint war. No more calling the trapper to take them away after I caught them at $50 a pop. One of my buddies got fairly well cut up by a raccoon when he tried to chase it out from under his car. Then my medium size pit bull (a real sweet girl) just hates raccoons and cats. She was a rescue dog at about 2 years old when I got her years back. She was sliced up pretty well which I figured was a swipe from an animal's paw during a fight, figured later it was likely a raccoon because of the instinctive hatred she had for raccoons. She would play with cats before she'd kill them if I didn't catch her in the act but she'd take a raccoon to its final breath no matter how bad she got hurt in the process. I was forever bringing her to the vet to get checked for rabies, just in case. I wasn't sure if the required rabies shots prevented her from getting rabies or what it did but I didn't want her to catch it. This dog, till today, is as sweet and kind as can be UNLESS she sees a raccoon !

My children used to think they were so cute calling them the hamburglars (like McDonalds) when they are nasty buggers, especially when cornered.

Only way to kill a raccoon without making a mess of chopped meat out of it is a nice .22 LR HP behind either ear facing forward toward the eyes. They go right down with a almost no after twitching.

About 10 years ago I was overrun by raccoons on my 5 acre ranch. They would raid the porch almost every morning at about 5 AM. They love the twilight hour. Some opossums, too. But other than being gawd ugly the opossums don't bother anybody or anything around the ranch.

Like a good citizen I purchased 4 traps. I was trapping them and PAYING to have them taken away at $50 each until I figured the trapper was likely letting the same raccoons I just caught, loose again right up the block instead of 50 miles out west like he was supposed to.

Once dispatched, I had been burying them a few feet deep only to find something had been digging them up and eating them. Since then I just tossed them into the heavily wooded area, between my back fence and the canal that borders it. The next morning, without fail, there was only a ball of fur and some odds and end bones but no stink from decaying body rot ... just GONE !

Unless they eat each others' flesh I don't know what type of varmint eats the whole raccoon. I figured a snake would leave NO trace of it. Yes, I have those too, but only smaller pygmie rattlers and cottonmouths. The body is way to narrow to swallow an entire raccoon, I think.

Your .32 should have been more than enough to dispatch a raccoon, if bullet placement was correct. No matter how big or small, body shots don't seem to effect raccoons with a .22 LR. County ordinance here states I cannot use anything larger than a .22 for varmint hunting on my own property.

Try the .32 H&R Magnum if you're in love with .32s. I have a ported .32 H&R magnum lite-weight, the same size of a J-frame S&W. The only Taurus I own. It fires .32 S&W long as well as the .32 H&R Magnum. Both rounds are getting hard to find, the H&R mags a bit harder than the .32 long.

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ANTIQUESMITHS
LM1300 SWHF425

I wouldn't carry it.

that's nothing. I once shot a deer with a 30.06 and it ran about 50 yards before it even fell down. then, after it fell it tried to get up and run again. took a few more seconds before the tail stopped twitching. it was a through and through shot that took out both lungs. now, are you saying that a 30.06 is as worse as the .32 Long?

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I'm only allowed 30 characters

9mm FMJ has a long and well-earned reputation for ineffectiveness. Even the hot 124gr NATO loads used by the Military don't have a great reputation as man-stoppers, hence why operators still pack .45s. The only 9mm rounds which seem to have a decent reputation are the 147gr +P+ JHPs which are currently used by Law Enforcement, and even then it wouldn't surprise me if they either went back to .40 S&W or decided to experiment with other cartridges sooner or later.

Regardless, FMJs just don't work out well in handguns. I don't know if JHPs would have made any difference when it comes to something as small as a raccoon, (they might just pass right through without expanding regardless) or even a larger caliber handgun bullet like a .45, but it can be random, my brother once killed a rabid groundhog with a single shot to the stomach with a .22 Short. One thing is for sure though, a headshot will take care of anything.

If it was out during the daytime and just attacked you completely unprovoked, then it was most likely rabid, regardless of what the tests had to say. Raccoons are nocturnal and in my experience aren't particularly aggressive. I actually knew a few people who kept them as pets, and according to them they behave similarly to cats.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

if you're taking out rabbits with a pellet rifle and your buddy can't do it with a .32 Long, I'd say he's lacking shot placement. ~122 kinetic foot pounds of muzzle energy is plenty to kill a rabbit quickly.

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I'm only allowed 30 characters

I usually carry a alloy 45acp or 44 special myself. But, during her morning walk/jog my wife carries a older 3 1/4" I frame 32 S&W long. Why size and recoil. She can use anything in my safe, she has short my 500 and sometimes carries a 640 with 38 specials, Keeps a 4" 15 on her side of the bed.

Why the 32? Size and recoil. She will carry it on her walk, she shoots it well. If she does deploy it it would be up close. I would rather it was something larger. I have a model 37, but she hats the recoil. Maybe someday. But, hey it is better than nothing and crime is extremely low in our little town.

It isn't the cartridge rather the RN which tends to slide through rather than disrupt flesh. I have found this to be true with the 38 LRN as well. I used a 32 long for more than a few years as a trapline gun. A decent SWC with a flat face will put critters under 50 lbs down quickly when hit correctly. It is not the answer when trying to penetrate thicker bone.

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Front sight and squeeze

Did your buddy manage to retrieve the dead rabbits?

If he didn't, I'm betting they took off running because he missed.

If he did, I'm betting they were really poor hits.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

Is ineffectiveness a plus? If not, there has to be some other compelling reason why the vast majority of the world's militaries have adopted it.

Handguns aren't the primary weapon of a soldier, they're a backup, a last resort, the thing that you use when you run out of ammo for your rifle or it is somehow rendered inoperable.
In other words, handgund aren't relied upon by the Military for their effectiveness, nor should they be considering that handguns in general, regardless of what they're chambered in, aren't known to be very effective.

Also, logistics. If the majority of your allies are carrying a specific cartridge, then it makes sense to adopt it yourself so that ammo can be shared between allies.

Frankly, it wouldn't make any sense for any military to adopt a new pistol cartridge. They obviously have a huge stockpile of 9mm FMJ, and switching to a .40 or .45 wouldn't make any difference as long as expanding bullets are prohibited. FMJ just isn't very effective in handguns, and a bigger bullet won't really help with that.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

...these animals, as do most wild animals, have a much greater propensity for survival. Not unusual for a deer to run a bit after getting hit with a high powered rifle unless CNS is severed.

It was early evening, in the dark. Yes, very unusual behavior for raccoons, another reason I went though battery of injections. It was during this timeframe where many raccoons became rabid and distempered, and practically disappeared from this region (southern New England) during the 1980s.

well dar dardy dar. you failed to recognize the snark in that response.

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I'm only allowed 30 characters

Must be our regional differences in our sense of humor.