For the first time in many moons I looked through quite a few pages of the Brownells ammo sale and was very disappointed to see prices fairly high for the .32 S&W Long & the .32 H&R Magnum, I never found any .327 Fed. Mag. for sale but I only reached page 102 I figure it's also overpriced. I am aware that reloading is the answer but space for that is very limited or non existent so is there a reason for the .32 caliber to be so expensive? Maybe it's like gasoline prices, when the TV says gas prices are going up they take the cue and actually do.

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

It might be worth your while to hunt up an old Lyman 310 tool or Lee Loader in 32 S&W Long (unfortunately both are discontinued now ) and load on your kitchen table... I’ve even used mine in my room in a Day’s Inn. Everything you need stores away in a shoebox.

Froggie

Sam, I haven't looked at Brownells prices but last NC gun show I attended I purchased Georgia Arms JHP for $24 and PPU LRN for $17. It was worth the price of admission. I have the dies now to reload for .32.

Can't help you on the H&R Mag.

Dan

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Dan
Ps 96 SWCA 2930 SWHF 524

SGAMMO has pretty good prices:

Cheap bulk 32 S&W Long Pistol Ammunition for sale | SGAmmo.com

They only have SD ammo in H&R
Cheap bulk 32 H&R Mag Pistol Ammunition for sale | SGAmmo.com

Not much selection in 327 either:
Cheap 327 Magnum Pistol Ammunition | SGAmmo.com

Ammoseek:
.32 S&W Long (Colt New Police) ammo handgun
.32 H&R Mag (Harrington & Richardson Magnum) ammo handgun
https://ammoseek.com/ammo/327-federal-magnum

Thanks to all who replied and to those who provided links to some better pricing, going to check them out!

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

Any time I buy ammo on-line (which is pretty much all the time), I always start here: In stock ammo, guns, magazines, and reloading supplies This website constantly monitors ammo prices from many retailers/sellers and provides nearly instant updates. Right now, there are a good number of places selling .32 S&W Long under $15 per box of 50. Still not as cheap as .38 Spl, but that will never happen. After finding an attractive price, I then click on the item and it takes me to the retailer's website. From there, I can usually ascertain the price for shipping in order to make a more informed decision. Often, lower prices are offset with higher shipping, but not always. Over the years, I have found that total price is very often as cheap or cheaper from SGAmmo. But I still start with AmmoSeek.

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SWCA 3297 SWHF 583

The reason is economy of scale and competition. While at a quick glance you may see "small case, less brass, small bullet, less lead, small charge, less powder" (all of which is true...) the most important driving factors are often missed.

Comparatively speaking... there are hardly any folks buying .32 S&W Long ammo, so only a fraction of the active ammo makers produce it. And they certainly aren't getting a volume discount on their .312" slugs (compared to 9mm or .358") and whoever makes their .32 brass is also selling like 1.5% in .32 and some HUGE percentage in 9mm and .45.

And less ammo makers are making it, so it's not like there is a "Winchester White Box" or a "Blazer Brass" budget line competing with their price either.

Add all of it up and it keeps your retail price higher on cartridges/chamberings that don't sell in ultra high volume.

Handloading is still the answer, and I would argue your space concerns with my whole heart. You could set up a quality small bench in a space the size of a microwave cart and many do exactly that. Back in my younger years... I set up a "good enough" temporary bench at the corner of the foot of my bed when I was a freshman in college. I made .38 Special, 10mm Auto and .223.

Yikes! Thank goodness I reload all my .32 caliber ammo. I looked at those prices and gasped. I average 7 cents a round loading lead and 17 cents a round for Hornady XTP. No where near the 30-50 cents a round for commercial ammo.

I load .32 S&W Long (wadcutter) and .327 Federal Magnum, and in another couple of months I will be loading some .32 ACP too. And on the occasion where I do load with the (fantastic) Hornady XTP bullet in 85 or 100 grain weight, you can bet that those rounds are the most costly I build, and even those are a fraction of what factory ammo costs.

Above and beyond that... handloading is extremely enjoyable for me, for many (most?) of us and it's a whole new world/hobby and a way to do "gun stuff" at home without packing up, hauling out, setting up, shooting, cleaning up, packing out, hauling home, unloading, cleaning, and putting away shooting gear.

No... it isn't shooting, but it's doing enjoyable gun stuff at home and you get better ammo and you get it for peanuts. And there's many (MANY!) of us who love to help with advice and encouragement.

If a person has two handguns and both are 9mm, he is probably not the best candidate ever to handload for the cost savings angle. A box of 9mm range fodder is $10-$12. I make mine for about $5 and that's with a 124gr plated slug. But if you love to shoot .357 Mag, .44 Mag, .500 S&W or something odd like .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Mag then you will gain so much from handloading simply with regards to economics.

If you do it... the hobby angle may make you say "why didn't I do this sooner?"

They are high because they don't make a lot of them and therefore unit costs are higher.

Dan,

If you have dies for the 32 S&W Long you probably have what you need for the 32 H&R and even the 327 FM as well... you just back them out the appropriate amount (the difference in case length) for mouth belling and seating (the FL sizer is probably deep enough to size any of them... it was on my Lyman and Lee sets anyway.) My latest set up involves a Lyman All American press with a set of Lyman carbide dies labeled 32 S&W but adjusted for 327 FM. I use the carbide recap and FL Sizing station for all case lengths since that's the only carbide die I need. I then load 32 S&W Long on a little TruLine Jr which is scaled perfectly for them. Meanwhile I have the 310 tool (that uses the same size dies as the TLJ) for "away games."

Froggie

The .32 is a round not to often used and not shot by that many.

It is like the little .410 shotgun shell............selling volume is minimal.

In order for the companies to keep above water, they need to have a higher
price on this ammo that does not sell that well, so they can still
be able to produce it and not drop it from their sales line.

If one shoots "Specialty Ammo" they need to know that it WILL, cost more...........
or look into a 38 or 9mm for lower prices.

"It is like the little .410 shotgun shell............selling volume is minimal."

Maybe a better comparison is 28 gauge shotshells. Very few use .32 Long these days.

Several months back, Academy had Remington .32 S&W (which will work in any .32 Long revolver) for about $10/box. I bought all 5 boxes they had left. A couple of gun shows back, some guy had three boxes of Remington .32 S&W Long on his table. I offered $45 for all three and he accepted. Otherwise, I reload.

In my youth, I thought we were poor. Turned out my father was just cheap. But we got along, somehow. I worked and saved and finally got a Benjamin pellet pistol, but it wasn't nearly as much fun as shooting a real gun.

So one night my dad came down in the basement to help us shoot. He'd smuggled down his 32 RP. We set to work reloading for it. The factory ammo was loud, but our reloads were about as loud as my pellet gun. We never resized because there was no pressure at all. We decapped on a piece of hardwood over a hole. The dead primers just fell out with the ground down nail and a mallet. We managed to put a new primer in on the same board with the mallet and a bigger chunk of metal rod. Our powder measure was carefully crafted from a 22 short case with a copper wire soldered on for a handle and then the case filed way down to about throw a single grain of bullseye. The bullets were O buckshot, the stuff you almost can't get these days. On the plus side, if you get a 25# bag, you can shoot for a long time.

We just finger pushed the bullet on top of the case. I really don't remember it being flared but didn't need it.

Rate of fire was slow because you had to stop to reload all the time. But it was fun and when you know you'll be stopping after every few shots, you really concentrate on your aim. Anyone can reload with a minimum of tools and expense. It just matters how dedicated you are.

Our later experiments taught us that outdoors, at long distances like 25 feet, the O buck would kind of knuckle ball. You adapt to it by shooting shorter distances.

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Dick Burg

As far as apartment reloading goes, I did that, too. It was after a couple of buddies and I got together and bought a press, a Lyman Spartan. We mounted it on a broken chair. The back was broken off so it was really just a stool. We used that rig up into the 1970s even after we had a house. The advantage was you got to sit with your sons and watch television while doing it. The only critical part was powder and bullet seating, which was done at the same time.

You don't really need the huge deluxe reloading rooms some of our guys have here. Maybe its even a disservice to make the new shooters think they need that. Its like thinking you need a brand new luxury car to begin driving.

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Dick Burg

Wow, do I ever get to boost my post count! You know that you can fire 32 ACP in a 32 S&W long revolver don't you? Sure, all the cautions about only using a gun in good conditions. But if all you can find is 32 auto, just shoot them. You might mess up some cases, but you won't be reloading them anyhow. Something you might want to try some day.

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Dick Burg

...as little as possible. That's why I reload 9mm and if I shot .32 I'd load that, too.

It takes a manufacturer just as many steps to make a .32 long as they do a .38 special. But they don't sell nearly as many, so they have to make it worth their while.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

That is true, as far as it goes. However, the bullet diameter of the .32 ACP is slightly smaller than that of the .32 Long, so don't expect gilt-edge accuracy. Another point - the semi-rim on the .32 ACP case is thinner than that of the .32 Long which increases headspace, and you may experience occasional misfires. Also, extraction of fired cases may not be very reliable and you may have hangups. This is not supposition, as I have experienced both conditions. For that reason, limit the use of .32 ACP to recreational use only, never personal defense.

I just had two boxes of PPU 32 Long ($14 ea) and 2 boxes of 38 S&W ($17 ea) delivered from Sportsmans Guide with free shipping. I reload for both but when I find sales and free shipping codes I buy for the convenience and reloadable brass.

Funny you should mention-- I just ordered some from Graf's on Monday. I was there to get .32 dies to start reloading for my recently acquired pre-31, and saw they had Fiocchi 100gn wadcutters for 18.99, so I added five boxes to my order before heading over to Starline to get some brass for it. Lucky Gunner has some for a little less, but I was already at Graf's, so what the hey. It's still out there; a local store carries several brands too (J&G).

outdoor unlimited has some at reasonable prices.

Fiocchi 32 S&W Long Cowboy Action Ammunition FI32SWLL 97 Grain Lead Round Nose 50 rounds


Also, Franfort Arsenal has this stand for portable use .

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

I'm familiar with apartment reloading from many years ago. I bought a Black and Decker Workmate and was able to put a Rock Chucker press on it by opening the slat on top and using 2 elongated C-clamps to attach the press to the Workmate. I cranked those C-clamps down hard. Add a scale and a Belding & Mull powder measure and I was in business in my apartment's kitchen.