So my wife will be getting her handgun carry permit in the near future, and I am trying to steer her towards a revolver. She has been a casual shooter for some time, and last year she picked out a Bersa Thunder .380 as being her ideal carry weapon. She wanted to practice with it for a while before taking her permit class, and she really likes the Bersa. The problem is her skill level if things go wrong. Before every shooting session, I need to go over the basic operation to include how to decock, charging the weapon, etc. She has worked on some malfunction drills, but I really don't think she would be up to the task if the SHTF.

Knowing her limitations, I feel she is probably a revolver candidate. She shoots my K and L frames well, but they are not suitable for her to carry. (She is 5'3" and 110 lbs. Any K frame would be huge on her.) I have a 642 and she loves the size, but hates shooting it due to recoil.

While looking for J frames with less recoil, I came across the 632 Pro Series with 2.125 barrel, night sights, and six round capacity of .327 magnum. It intrigues me because a) she can practice with .32 long rounds to control the recoil, and b) its an extra round over the .38 J frames. Of course she would carry the .327 magnum load on a daily basis.

Which leads me to my question. Does anyone have any experience with this model? If not this model, any experience with the .327 magnum round, and how its recoil compares with say .38 +P or .357 magnum, etc? Also, does anyone know if it comes with the internal lock? I'm hoping this could be a good carry compromise for a recoil sensitive shooter. Any advice/ experience would be appreciated.

i have a 632. nice gun. no lock. nice sights. the recoil of the .327 to me is in the neighborhood of 38+p. 115 gr speer above that level, 85 gr federal below. she could also use 32 h&r magnum which might be a better choice for someone who is recoil sensitive. buffalo bore, reeds and georgia arms have potent 32 h&r magnum self defense ammo. the .327 itself might be too much but 85 grain might be ok if you work her up to it from 32 long through 32 h&r magnum then to 85 gr .327. the 632 also has a little weight to it compared to a 642 which helps. it is comparable in weight to a model 640.

I've had .327's since they came out back in 2008. A Ruger 1st, then the
S&W 632-1, after that came a Charter Arms Patriot then another
S&W, the 632-2, which is the one you are inquiring about.

My wife is the same height & weight as your wife and the 632-2 is her carry
gun. Like you mentioned, she practices mostly with the lighter rounds
then carries the 632-2 with 327's.

When we got the Ruger back in 2008 my wife was first to give it a try.
She went through 50 of the .32 S&W Longs before I pulled out the .327's.
With our "ears" on the .32's sounded like, poof, poof, poof.

When she dropped the hammer on the first .327 we heard, wham!
She turrned to me with a big grin on her face and said,
"That's what I'm talkin' about!"

To me recoil isn't that bad. I can one handed point shoot any of our
.327's, with .327 rounds, for as long as I like with no problems.
With that said, I would compare the .327 to a .38 +P, recoil-wise.

__________________
Ogy

I have a 632 Pro - it finally arrived after last Labor Day. I enjoy shooting it - except with 115gr Speer Gold Dots - it's carry ammo. They are stout - closer to real .357 Magnums from a J frame than +P's. It hits coincident POI/POA with the front sight's circle superimposed over the target and centered in the rear notch - a 'combat' target picture I am told - with the 115gr Gold Dots at 7-12 yd. The milder 100gr SJHP American Federals - and the softer recoiling 85gr variant - hit progressively lower - lower still for 94/96gr LRNFP .32 S&WL. Do not shoot shorter case rounds, ie, .32 S&WL or .32 H&RM, before .327 Federal Magnums - always clean those chambers first. They are higher pressure rounds than .357 Magnums - even to the point of using small rifle primers. The 632 Pro is a nice looking revolver - so is the 640 Pro - and feels better with the 60 Pro style grips.



My suggestion - and this is from 7+ months of ownership - would be to get a J-frame .357 Magnum - and load it with +P's . If that's too much, try target ammo - 148gr wadcutters - it's effective and presents a mild recoil - even from a 642! There is a great 'test' - have your wife try the 642 with some 148gr wadcutters. My bet is that she'll be able to 'enjoy' shooting them from a 642. My 5' 10" wife hates those .327 Federal Magnums in the 632 Pro. She shoots the +P 158gr LHPSWCs like target/plinker loads from her 2" 10, her bedside gun.

One other aspect to consider: availability. Both Charter Arms and Taurus dropped their such offerings last year - leaving just S&W and Ruger in the marketplace. Ammo has never been falling off the shelves, either - certainly isn't now. Reloader? Starline doesn't make the brass - only Federal seems to currently make it. Don't forget - small rifle primers, too. I'd get a 60 and some .38's!

Stainz

For a .38 special I would get the 158 gr SWC from Ammoman.com. It is quite a nice flat point with very moderate recoil. And as a defense round a SWC flat point will seriously discommode someone bent on wrongdoing.
I have a couple .327s, S&W, Ruger, and Charter Arms. For the .327 you need the HP rounds and the 85 gr and 100 gr will expand. The difference in POA/POI is pretty much a non issue at SD ranges, if the BG is far enough away that you have to start worrying about it, he is probably far enough away not to worry too much about-unless it's a gunfight.
I really like the 632 Pro, my wife favors the Ruger 101 as it really damps the recoil, but the only really practical way for her to carry is an OWB holster. But the Ruger makes even the hottest 115 gr loads manageable without too much stress. She also had a 3" 631 so the slightly longer Ruger barrel was more familiar to her.
I don't load anymore, so I laid in a pretty much lifetime supplyof .32 Mag and .327 Mag. Although I am tempted to start loading again only for those 2 as everything but case length will be the same. And I could load down for training rounds.

My wife is 5'3' 125 lbs. We decided to use a 351C for conceal carry and a 351PD for open carry, both with crimson trace laser gripps. She can handle the 22 mag, I just wish she would pay for the ammo once in a while--she loves to shoot 22 mag S&W's.

I've had a 632-1 Carry Comp Pro since 09/2009. With 327 ammo this is a snappy little bugger; I'd rather shoot my 686+3" with 357 ammo, but the 632 is lighter and easier to conceal. It's a pleasure to shoot with 32swl and 32HRmag, and the 327 85grain Hydra Shocks aren't bad, it's just the 100 grain Federals that bang you up. When I first shot it, everyone was wondering what the heck was making all that noise! It also sends out a pretty strong percussion field with those rounds (likely because of the power port). The only other weapon I really feel that with is my 460V, which has the compensators. It was impossible to find ammo for quite some time, but it appears to be readily available these days and there are more choices than ever; in the beginning there were only 3 - 327 ammo choices, now there are a half a dozen varieties. It's my first revolver, a good practice weapon and useful to teach young folks with because of the available ammo choices, and manageable weight and size. I'll pass mine on to one of my kids one day.

The 632s are nice little J frames and the 327 Magnum chambering gives you 6 shots. My wife who is a novice shooter weighing in at 95 pounds really enjoys shooting my 632 with 32 S&W Longs. After she gets more and more comfortable with those I'll let her try some 32 H&R magnum rounds. I prefer the 3" version because of the adjustable sights, either version though is a great choice. With full house 327 Magnum loads like the Speer Gold Dots you'll know you're shooting a true magnum. With the 3" ported barrel it very controlable. This is one of the neatest revolvers S&W has produced recently but sadly I think it's been dropped from the line with only the 2" 632 remaining.

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Same old story: My wife is a first time shooter, chose a 3" 632 after trying various revolvers. She started with S&W longs. After 200 rounds she's graduated to H&R .32 Magnum. She's lovin' it.

Last year there was a glut of the 3" 632 on a certain auction site, seems like the distributors were closing them out. I along with 3 friends paid $479 apiece for ours.

I bought a 632 for the wife as well. She loves it...nothing beyond .32 mags so far and .32 long for practice. Love the .32's.

I have 632-1 for a month now and this is a great revolver. My wife and daughter like it (they are shooting 32 S&W long and 32 H&R). Since it used by 3 people gun has quite a load (150 rounds per session). What is durability of those revolvers? How many rounds they can last?

Being fabricated entirely in steel I would guess several lifetimes with proper care.

I bought this pistol for my wife as her carry gun - same reason as you state. It's very unpleasant to shoot with .327 mags but perfect with the 85 grain JHP .32 H& R mag Black Hills load. Great pistol too - really good sights and smooth easy trigger much better than my Airweight. In my opinion the 327 Mag is wasted in a J frame snub nose and it stings at least my hand quite badly. But, my wife loves shooting it in .32 H&R and she practices with CHEAP .32 S&W Long ammo. I rechambered my .32 H&R 6 inch K frame to .327 Mag and love shooting that! I am a fan of .32s.

Just looked at the S&W website and I was happy to see the 3" 632s still there. They omitted the 3" version in their print catalogue so I thought it may have been dropped.

I bought a 632 Pro Series last fall and sold it this spring (here on the Forum as a matter of fact). I loved the concept and the factory night sights and especially the lack of an IL, but I just didn't take to the 327 mag round. To me it had WAY more recoil in a J-frame than 38Sp +P does and it just wasn't as much "fun" to shoot as I expected. I did not try it with the lesser 32 calibers. I'm sure that would have made recoil much better, but I felt that would defeat the purpose of BUG/self defense, so I moved on.

You say that she practices with "CHEAP" .32 S&W Long ammo? The lowest price I can find is $28 for a box of 50.

This is why I started reloading for .32 H&R Mag. I can now afford to shoot my 632 Pro. without breaking the bank!

15.95 for a box of 50 at Midway USA -- Ammo 32 S&W Long 98 Grain Lead Round Nose Box of 50

And I can find cheaper at my range - $13 a box of 50.