I have a Ruger SS in 32 H&R Mag. Can I shoot the S&W 32 long as well? How about the S&W 32? Is there any interest in that older chambering or in old factory ammunition?
Thanks, Bimmer

Yes, you can safely use .32 SW and .32 SW long ammunition in your revolver. Both rounds are still offered as factory ammunition. Old top breaks in these calibers turn up at Cowboy Action Shooting side matches. Some people still carry .32 SW Long revolvers as these were offered in J frames until relatively modern times, as were guns made by NEF/H&R.

Old factory ammunition is collected by many people. Check Auction Arms and Gunbroker for examples of what boxes of old ammo sells for.

quote:

Originally posted by bimmer*tr:
I have a Ruger SS in 32 H&R Mag. Can I shoot the S&W 32 long as well? How about the S&W 32? Is there any interest in that older chambering or in old factory ammunition?
Thanks, Bimmer

Bimmer: If you look hard and long enough, you'll find some Black Hills Ammunition Cowboy Action Loads. These are loaded with 90-grain FPL bullets and are loaded to the power levels of the .32 S&W Long. These cartridge are superb when it comes to low-velocity shooting needs. If you shoot the 98-grain Federal S&W Longs, you can rest assured that you'll get about the same performance as you would with the Black Hills Ammunition.

I have been toying with the idea of loading some Bull-X 100-grain SWC with gas checks for both varminting and self-defense from my 4" barreled Charter Arms Police Bulldog chambered for the .32 H&R Magnum cartridge. If I could squeeze about 1075 fps from the Charter, it would make a formidable load for both feral dogs and two-legged varmints as well.

So many people sell the .32 H&R Magnum cartridge short. The .327 Federal magnum will surely supersede the .32 H&R, but the H&R Magnum will frequently see use as either a "subload" or "understudy" for the .327 Fed. Mag. likeley breathing new life into an effective, yet often ignored, cartridge. I enjoy the .32 H&R Magnum a great deal and respect the power that it provides.

Charter Arms is now producing a 2 1/2" barreled, fixed-sight revolver in .327 Fed. Magn and a 4" adjustable sight model of the same revolver. It is called the Patriot.

By the way, you can have the chambers in your .32 H&R Magnum Single Six "relieved" to shoot the .327 Federal Magnum without any harm, or negative consequences. I know of one man that had this work done, and he loves the results! He can load the new .327 to propel a 100-grain JHP to over 1600 fps from his revolver's 6 1/2" barrel!

There's a lot to like in this new, "stretched out" .32 Magnum!

Scott

Bowen Classic Arms, per their web site, is quite interested in doing 327 Mag conversions. Hamilton apparently really likes the new cartridge.

Their Ruger single six conversion appears to be more involved than just boring the cylinder as I believe they are fitting a new larger and longer cylinder. I got the impression from their site that the standard Single Six cylinder may be a bit short for SAAMI maximum length 327 Mag loads.

I have my personal S&W 16-4 cylinder packed and ready to ship to them. It is long enough so only a rechambering is required per Hamilton Bowen's email to me. Estimated cost is under $100 + return shipping & insurance. Using Bowen for the rechambering due to their excellent reputation for quality work from what I read.

See how long it takes!

By the way, you can have the chambers in your .32 H&R Magnum Single Six "relieved" to shoot the .327 Federal Magnum without any harm, or negative consequences. I know of one man that had this work done, and he loves the results! He can load the new .327 to propel a 100-grain JHP to over 1600 fps from his revolver's 6 1/2" barrel!

Scott has this man actually chronographed this velocity? The velocity listed by Federal for the 100gr bullet in a handgun is 1400fps. Impressive and maybe actually possible. If someone is obtaining 1600fps I sure would like to see the reload data. My own experience with the similar .30 carbine would allow me to believe that 1300fps would be about right in a 7.5" barrel.Claims for super high velocities should always be looked at carefully. Bruce

I thought I would share some more interesting info. Linked to a Gunblast page. Bruce
By Jeff Quinn/Gunblast
Handloading for the new .327 Federal Magnum presented a slight challenge, as there is yet no load data available. I used a set of Lee carbide .32 H&R loading dies, and crimped separately from the seating operation. The dies worked perfectly for all bullet weights tried, and all loading was done on a Dillon 550B machine. I based my powder choices upon what I have learned from loading the .32 H&R Magnum to higher than factory pressures, taking advantage of the .327’s greater case capacity. My powders of choice were H110, Lil’Gun, Accurate Arms Number 9, H4227, Accurate 1680, and Winchester 571. I found H110, AA # 9, and to a limited extent Lil’Gun to work best in this particular revolver. With H4227 and AA1680, I could not achieve velocities equal to the factory load with a 100 grain bullet, so I gave up on those. I tried no light target loads in the .327, as we have the .32 S&W Long and the .32 H&R Magnum for target and mid-range loads, respectively. The .327 Federal Magnum is a true magnum, and that is the area in which I concentrated my efforts. Using Winchester 571 was a mistake. It is an excellent powder, but not at all suited for my purposes here. I screwed up, and found out that the Ruger SP101 is even a lot stronger than I had previously believed. Brass flows at 75,000 psi, and I exceeded that. I would have badly wrecked a lesser gun. The best powders for the .327 Federal Magnum proved to be H110 and AA # 9 for most all bullet weights, with Lil’Gun performing very well with the heavier bullets. I tested many different combinations using 60, 85, and 100 grain Hornady XTP hollowpoints, 113 grain cast lead gas check bullets from Cast Performance, 120 grain cast lead gas check bullets from Mt. Baldy Bullet Company, and a 135 grain cast lead bullet that was hand-cast by my friend John Killebrew. John designed this bullet with the help of Jimmy Pilcher, and it is a dandy bullet for loading the .32 H&R, .32-20, and now the .327 Federal Magnum cartridges. I was able to safely achieve velocities equaling the 100 grain factory load using AA # 9 and H110. AA # 9 also proved to be the powder of choice for the 60 and 85 grain XTP hollowpoint bullets. The little 60 grain XTP screamed out of the little Ruger at over 1740 fps. Moving to the lead bullets, AA # 9, H110, and Lil’Gun did very well. One thing that I really like about lead bullets is that they give greater velocity, as compared to jacketed bullets, with equal pressures. In the Ruger SP101, with its long cylinder, I was able to seat the 135 grain Killebrew bullets out longer than usual, crimping in the top lube groove instead of the crimp groove, taking advantage of the case capacity of the .327 Federal Magnum. I was able to push the 135 grain cast lead bullet to over 1250 fps with Lil’Gun. I achieved significantly higher velocities than that, but extraction became a bit sticky over 1300 fps, so I backed off. I used CCI magnum small pistol primers in all loads tested, but I am deliberately not listing powder charges, as none of this data has been pressure tested. By the time guns and ammunition hit the dealer’s shelves by January 2008, pressure tested load data from reputable sources should be available. I will add that handloaders can safely reach factory velocities with jacketed bullets, and exceed them with lead bullets. Later, I will get into another article dealing with handloading the .327 Federal Magnum for hunting, but as for right now, the Ruger SP101 is a dandy little defensive revolver, but its barrel length precludes it from being a legal hunting arm in most states.


http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-SP101-327.htm

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bruce Lee M,

Thanks for the great write up, Bruce. A 60 gr. bullet at 1740 fps. has 403 ft. lbs. energy. I'm impressed. I can't wait until I get to see gelatin results from this stuff. Thanks for your honesty regarding your pressure boo boo. I'm glad you didn't have a ka-boom. You didn't chrono that super high pressure shot did you? I'm not familiar with 571 so maybe the velocity was unremarkable?

Flop-shank The article is by Jeff Quinn. So I can take no credit. There's more of the article if you just click on the link. About the worst thing I ever did was the Speer #8 .30 carbine load. 110JSP with 7.5grs of Unique. It was loud and the cases were stuck in the Blackhhawk cylinder. Obvious overpressure load.I just found the cases recently from that load. The primer was protruding from the rear and flowing toward the side. Major oops. Lucky the BlackHawk is so strong. I hope to see some reload data on the .327 so I can compare them to my experience with the .30 carbine. Bruce

Bruce;

Hodgdon has just released and posted their 327 Magnum reloading data for bullets from 77 to 115 grain weight. I just downloaded it, a page and a half of loads for Hodgdon/IMR/Winchester powders.

Gotcha, Bruce. I was reading too fast. I brainfarted, what can I say?

Thanks Rich! I just went to the site and downloaded the data to add to my book. They have really covered this round with 65 different loads listed. Bruce

It's ok flop-shank I have the same problem far to often.

I think that we can all conclude that this cartridge is one "mean motorscooter!" I was at a Portland, Oregon Sportsman's Warehouse (the one on SE 82nd Avenue) and was fondling a S&W Model 60 "Ladysmith" with a 5" barrel. I thought to myself, "What a platform for the .327 Federal Magnum cartridge!" That, and a rebarreled, recylindered "K" frame Smith & Wesson are the perfect solution for the "What should Smith & Wesson do for the .327 Federal Magnum 'dilemma.'"

Scott

Scott;

The S&W collectors are going to hate me but I just today shipped the cylinder from my 99% S&W 16-4 4" off to Bowen Classic Arms for rechambering to 327 Magnum. Rechambering and any necessary refinishing on the cylinder after the rechambering was estimated to be under $100, + the shipping both ways of course.

Should be able to handle anything from 32 S&W through 327 Mag once I get it back. A versatile revolver.

Hope that Ruger does a single action for it. A adjustable sighted 5.5" version on the New Vaquero size frame would be a fun gun IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Lee M:
By the way, you can have the chambers in your .32 H&R Magnum Single Six "relieved" to shoot the .327 Federal Magnum without any harm, or negative consequences. I know of one man that had this work done, and he loves the results! He can load the new .327 to propel a 100-grain JHP to over 1600 fps from his revolver's 6 1/2" barrel!

Scott has this man actually chronographed this velocity? The velocity listed by Federal for the 100gr bullet in a handgun is 1400fps. Impressive and maybe actually possible. If someone is obtaining 1600fps I sure would like to see the reload data. My own experience with the similar .30 carbine would allow me to believe that 1300fps would be about right in a 7.5" barrel.Claims for super high velocities should always be looked at carefully. Bruce

Yes. His work is on another forum (The Pro Gun forum, to be precise. His work is well respected by the members and The results he obtained appered safe in the Ruger Single Six that he had.) The man also has another Single Six chambered for the .32-20 and performed a comparison of the two, loading for maximum performance with both cartridges.

Scott

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gunfan,

Hodgdon now has reloading data posted for the 327 Mag and they list about 1525 FPS max for the 100 grain jacketed bullet load from a 5" barrel, probably their pressure test barrel.

Per my calculation that is a bit over 500 FPE, pretty impressive in my book for a 32 caliber handgun cartridge.