ammo for a 31-1 .32 S&W long

R

rfuerst911sc

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
60
Reaction score
13
Picked up a 31-1 yesterday at the local gun show, just bought it on a whim knowing nothing about the series. Also bought 100 rounds of .32 ACP. I did a search on this forum and it seems that some say firing ACP is fine while others frown against it. Has the opinion on this changed at all ? I'm going to use what I bought but may look for .32 long if that's what the experts feel is the right thing to do. This will be a target/plinking gun but I'll use in self defense if I had to but I have bigger guns for this task. The ammo I purchased is Georgia Arms 60 gr. jacketed hollow point ( 1100 fps )and 73 gr. full metal jacket ( 1000 fps ). The gun is serial # 818339. So what does the forum say about using this ammo ? The gun appears to be in excellent shape, tight and virtually no trace of staining on the chamber.
 
Register to hide this ad
I personally would feel perfectly at ease firing that ammo in that particular model for casual plinking or target use. I would not use that as my ammo for SHTF situations, however. It's fine ammo for what it is, and would probably be fine for all uses, but the key word is probably. I would go back and see the nice guys @ Georgia Arms and buy a bag of their 32 S&W Longs and keep a good supply of them for "social work." I fear that the current climate of litigation would cause further difficulty if you had the "wrong" ammo in your gun during an urban unpleasantness. JMHO, YMMV.

Froggie
 
Many years ago my father had a top-break revolver in .32 S&W Long. I don't remember the maker of the revolver. We shot it with some .32 ACP ammo that we had. All went just fine. Would have liked to have tried it w/ proper .32 S&W Long ammo, but at the time I was just a boy and could not buy ammo. Later my brother took the gun and sold it. Wish I'd have had a chance to buy it.
 
Magtech makes two defense loads in .32 S&W Long, look into them. .32 a.c.p. will fire in your gun, but the ejector may jump over the rim on the cartridge when you try to eject the empties. A.C.P. ammo is not going to shoot to POA out of your gun either.

I love .32's, currently have a Walther PP, S&W 30-1 and two 31-1's and a 331TI.
 
Aside from the first totally assinine remark made by someone with, obviously, no direct experience, it is perfectly safe to shoot .32 ACP in S&W revolvers chambered for .32 S&W Long.

There are some reasons why this isn't the best idea:
1) The ACP rim is thinner and there will be excessive headspace. In this case this isn't a safety issue, but it may result in inconsistent ignition or mis-fires since the firing pin won't indent the primer as deeply as it should. If you intend to use this as a self-defense weapon you don't want this handicap.
2) The lighter bullet will shoot to a different point of impact than proper weight (98 gr.) ammunition.
3) As a general rule only the ammunition a firearm is specifically designed for should be used. There are exceptions, such as .38 Spl. in .357 Magnum firearms.

While it may not be possible to exchange the .32 ACP ammunition, you will ultimately be better satisfied with the proper .32 S&W Long ammunition. This is one cartridge which falls in the category of obsolescent. You should consider investigating handloading if you expect to shoot it much.
 
rfuerst911sc said:
Picked up a 31-1 yesterday at the local gun show, just bought it on a whim knowing nothing about the series. Also bought 100 rounds of .32 ACP. I did a search on this forum and it seems that some say firing ACP is fine while others frown against it. Has the opinion on this changed at all ? I'm going to use what I bought but may look for .32 long if that's what the experts feel is the right thing to do. This will be a target/plinking gun but I'll use in self defense if I had to but I have bigger guns for this task. The ammo I purchased is Georgia Arms 60 gr. jacketed hollow point ( 1100 fps )and 73 gr. full metal jacket ( 1000 fps ). The gun is serial # 818339. So what does the forum say about using this ammo ? The gun appears to be in excellent shape, tight and virtually no trace of staining on the chamber.
Click to expand...

Why on earth would you start a new thread about picking up a new to you gun w/ammo and not even post the first pic for our enjoyment??? :confused:
RLee-1.jpg

This is a give & take proposition you know. :cool:
 
rfuerst911sc,

Ask any firearm/ammunition manufacturer and they will tell you: USE ONLY THE CARTRIDGE/AMMUNITION THAT THE FIREARM WAS DESIGNED AND MADE FOR. (There are the obvious exceptions such as using 38Spl in 357Mag chambered guns, etc.).

The .32 S&W Long has a maximum average pressure (MAP) of 15,000 copper units of pressure (CUP). The .32 Auto (ACP if you wish) has a MAP of 20,500 CUP. I'm sure you can do the math on that one. Any idea of what that Georgia Arms ammo might be maxing out at? It's a good bet that even GA themselves don't know what pressures their ammo tests out at.

You've got to ask yourself, is it worth damaging your gun, let alone your own personal safety and well being, by following the advise of someone who don't know you from Jack and could possibly care less if you blow up your gun along with your hand (and any other parts of your body you want to keep)?

Do you think that any person that gives you dangerous advise is going to voluntarily pay your medical bills and disability for losing a finger, hand, eyesight or whatever? You'll probably get a "Dude! Sorry, my bad. Hope you feel better soon" email or PM from the person who's advise you followed (or not).

If you wish to follow reckless and dangerous advise from those who state that its okay to shoot .32 Auto ammo in your .32 S&W Long chambered revolver, that's up to you. I just hope that you don't end up with your family and friends giving you the nickname "Lefty", "Stumpy" or "Cyclops" sometime in the future.

Best of luck.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to those that have replied, as you can tell by my question I am a newbie. I searched on the net and plenty of places carry the .32 S&W long in 98 grain and I probably should have asked the Georgia Arms rep if they had that specific caliber at the show. I'm going to try and pick some up locally and fire some rounds through the gun. If all feels good I'm going to use up the ACP I bought and go from there. Appreciate the feedback happy holidays. And yes I owe pictures !!!
 
Finally got my butt to the range this morning. I asked the clerk if they had any S&W .32 long and all they had was ACP. I already had that so off I went to my assigned lane. Loaded six ACP rounds in, pulled the hammer back and gently squeezed off a round. Went boom and all body parts remained in place. Went through 50 rounds with no issues to report. And I was quite surprised how accurate this little pistol is. I have another 50 rounds of ACP after those are gone I'll concentrate on finding/using .32 long but it's good to know I can use ACP in a pinch. It's funny I was also shooting a new .357 Talo and with the .32 I felt like I was firing spit wads through a straw !!! But overall it was a good man morning. Now to clean them both.
 
I use 32 sw long brass and a 100gr. flat tip hard cast cowboy bullet with 3.5grs of Unique for near 1000fps out of my SW M30-1 3" . Good shooting with plenty of power for defence. My wife carrys the same load in her Colt detective 2" 32 New Police for CCW.
 
rfuerst911sc said:
Went through 50 rounds with no issues to report.
Click to expand...

I am not a proponent of shooting other than the proscribed ammo for a firearm but I also believe that a j-frame 32 is not going to blow up with 32 acp.

My question is, how did they eject?

p.s. if you ever get into reloading, the S&W long is a breeze -- and is probably the least expensive cartrege -- to reload.

I find that I shoot them at every trip to the range.
 
jhvaughan2 said:
I am not a proponent of shooting other than the proscribed ammo for a firearm but I also believe that a j-frame 32 is not going to blow up with 32 acp.

My question is, how did they eject?

p.s. if you ever get into reloading, the S&W long is a breeze -- and is probably the least expensive cartrege -- to reload.

I find that I shoot them at every trip to the range.
Click to expand...

Ejection was a little sticky had to play around a little bit to empty a few. If I am correct the .32 long has more of a rim for the ejector to grab onto. But for the most part I slid the ejector back and all six would slide out.
 
The biggest problem most people have shooting 32 ACP in a FIXED FRAME revolver chambered for 32 Long is that the little rims tend to slip under the extractor. You learn to point the pistol up while unloading.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top