Seeing the question on .32 ammo below, reminded of a friend. He would load .32 ACP in his ,32 Long revolver and shoot them. Since the .32 ACP is semi-rimmed it will fit in the chambers of a .32 revolver it seems to work. Never tried it myself, just wondering if others had?

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I have shot some in my model 31. Works fine. S&W revolvers are well made with correctly sized chambers and the semi rimmed .32 acp doesn't slip in too deeply. Other cheaper revolvers, just have to try and see. The semi rim of the .32 acp case is thinner than a rimmed case but primer indentations are deep. I have a 31 no dash and a pre model 30 and several .32 acp semi autos and a good stash of ammo. I probably will never buy any of the expensive squib loaded .32 Long ammo.

Whether or not 32 Acp works depends on the revolver.


My 31-1 shoots 32 Acp just fine, but I've only tried a few brands of ammo.

My 431pd gets light strikes and ftf's more than half the time.

My lcr327 also gets light strikes and fails to fire almost all the time.

My 331 TI shoots 32 Acp very well. Nice full primer strikes. And accurate.

I'm uncomfortable shooting 32 Acp in a 32 s&w long revolver as it's over pressure ratings.

Also you need to check extraction.

I plan to stick with the ammo my guns were made for.

.32 acp is loaded to higher pressure level than the very lightly loaded .32 Long. But many owners of modern S&W .32 long revolvers have the chambers lengthened to accept the .32 mag ammo which is factory loaded to over .38 spl +P level of 20,000 PSI with no problems so .32 acp is no big deal pressure wise.

Have been toying with the idea of boring the chambers to .32 Mag.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I should have bought a 32 ACP cylinder for my 1895 Nagant when they were available.

__________________
Release the Kraken

I have shot lots of 32ACP through my 31-1 with no issues at all.

I also have an H&R 733 and 32ACP doesn't work at all in that revolver.

My experience as well.

I have observed that during a panic folks desperately trying to buy a handgun and ammunition for it. One thing that bothered me was folks buying surplus Russian Nagant revolvers and .32 Long (and S&W) ammunition. Apparently this combination works although reports of split cases is common. With the low pressure of the .32 this doesn’t cause any harm but accuracy is poor. Probably good enough to hit a large target at close range but then we are back to the topic of stopping power.

I also considered getting a .32 ACP cylinder but decided it wasn’t worth it for a novelty gun.

A friend shot .32 Long in his Nagant revolver. It was hard to find the proper ammo for it. It shot well in his piece.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I have shot .32 ACP ammo in several prewar I frames and in a J frame. Shot fine for me.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I've seen mixed results over the years. Different brands of ammunition, different brands of revolvers. Lots of differences in manufacturing tolerances.

__________________
Life of the party until 8:00PM

I can only speak for 32 acp in 327 Fed Mag chambers a Ruger Blackhawk and the custom S&W Project 616) and they always shot without a bobble. I hate to waste the more expensive acp ammo as it seems “penny foolish to me”.

Froggie

Seems like Magtech 32 SW and 32 SW Long in multiple varieties is everywhere. Any gun shop around here has it. Why you would want to shoot 32 Auto in a gun not designed for it is beyond me.

__________________
S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

Because .32 acp has generally been cheaper and readily available in bulk. And some of us have several .32 autos and acp works just fine in both but .32 Long doesn't seem to work very well in the autos.

Haave a 4 inch Ruger DA in 327 Federal. It shoots 32 ACP just fine but I've only shot 32 ACP HP Silvertips...I happen to have a fairly large batch.

My wife enjoys shooting my SP101 with 32acp loads but won't touch it with 327 loads. Like you I have a lifetime supply of 32acp ammo sitting around.

I wonder if the pressure difference is that much of an issue. The shorter ACP case in a S&W Long chamber would leave some over size 'freebore' that would allow powder gases to go around the bullet for a short distance, app. .230". Questionable that a jacketed bullet expand to fill this area.

That 327 is a fiery round...really loud. My wife shoots it ok but doesn't care for the noise. Surprisingly the ACP is fairly loud. The only thing I don't care for with the SP 101is the trigger pull. better with some shooting but still needs work. It is a muff and plug gun

I doubt any bullet design except a hollow based would expand in the chamber.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

That’s not my experience here in Central VA. About the only time I can count on finding 32 acp is from ammo dealers @ gun shows, and they’re pretty proud of it. Then again, about the only time I buy any factory 32 ammo these days is to get jacketed or other “high performance” stuff for “social work” so I don’t mind paying a little more.
Froggie

Even though the .32 S&W case is about .08" shorter than the .32 ACP case, I have seen several old top breaks that will chamber .32 ACP cartridges adequately to lock up. I would have no hesitation to use .32 ACP in any ..32 Long revolver, but not in any .32 S&W-chambered revolver that will accept it. As someone mentioned earlier, .32 ACP in a .32 S&W Long revolver may result in weak firing pin strikes and fired case extraction problems. For those reasons, using .32 ACP in a .32 S&W revolver is OK for shooting cans and paper targets, but not for self-defense purposes.

Most of these folks probably bought their .32 ACP before the current craziness!

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

That’s the beauty of the 327 Fed Mag chambering, you can load it with loads ranging from cat sneezes to dragon slaying. Is there any doubt as to why I love the 327?
As for trigger pull on your SP 101, I’d say that’s a problem built into most Ruger DAs, but one that is easily solved by a knowledgeable pistol smith.
Froggie

Not all S101's have bad trigger pulls. I shot this with a friends SP101 after he was having trouble hitting the bullseye with it.

Attached Images

SP101 Target.jpg (96.0 KB, 18 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

On of the video gun experts did the 38Super in 38/357s. I knew it would theoretically work but I wouldn’t do it in a good gun or trust a cheap gun
with it.
The only info I got from this video was that all brands of 38Super didn’t fit all models of 38/357s. This kind of thing is handy to know in case of emergency. Other than that use the cartridge your shooter was made for.
Gets back to my personal observation, there are gun people and there are people with guns. Some of these people should not have a gun, a brick is above their pay grade.

I have a long history of firing .38 Super ammunition in .38/.357 revolvers. Absolutely no problem in doing it, if it fits. Due to tolerance overlaps, SOME brands of .38 Super will fit and fire in SOME .38/.357 revolvers. And there is nothing hazardous in doing it. In fact, the .38 Super loads feel quite light. I have a friend who has a .38 Ruger Security Six, and it will accept all brands of .38 Super ammunition, and in all chambers. Personally, some of my .38 revolvers are choosy as to what ammunition brands, if any, they can use.

Opinions on this topic have changed over the years! On an earlier thread re .32ACP in .32S&W Long guns, opinions were pretty strongly against such use due to the higher pressures of the ACP round. Apparently the emergence of new, hotter .32 ammunitions has caused opinions to soften somewhat.

I own no .32 S&W Long revolvers and plan to buy none, but there is a box of that ammo somewhere here, "just in case." IIRC, it is now ruinously expensive.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Plenty of .32 acp available from online sellers by the box or by the case. Prices are higher than before the pandemic but are cheaper than factory .32 Long squibs.

Surprisingly I've done a bunch of Smith triggers and Colt. Colt are a pain... The only Rugers I ever really did trigger work on was mostly spring replacement. I did some polishing on my old Model SBH... My 44 Sp Flattop(first year) has a very good trigger

The Academy Sports location near me is selling 32 S&W Long for .70 cents a round. Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics .32 S&W Long 97-Grain FMJ Centerfire Handgun Ammunition | Academy

Meanwhile 32 ACP ammo is more expensive at 80 cents a round: Access to this page has been denied.

__________________
S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

Ammoseek is your friend.

I did buy one because at the time real Nagant ammo was scarce and expensive. It works just fine.

Yep, .32 acp has generally been more expensive than .380 acp but prices got pretty low right before the pandemic. Sam, of SG Ammo was warning people that prices of all ammo was at a 12 year low point and were going to go up. I believed him. So I stocked up on 9mm, ,380 and .32 acp. And .22 LR when bricks of the better stuff were around $17-$18. So now I have decent supply of about 30k, of .22LR, at least 7K of both .32 and .380 and at least 10 K of 9mm. At 78 I am not currently trying to buy at today's prices

I can't see how it would be cheaper to ship ammo than to just go to the store. In any case I don't pay those kind of prices for ammo because I reload. My cost if I was to buy brand new brass every time is less than half of retail.

__________________
S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I have about 15 Top Break revolvers of various brands in both 32's and 38 S&W.

I ended up with two Davis Derringers in 32 ACP that I wanted to shoot in Belly Gun matches at SASS events. So I loaded 200 ACP brass with 32 S&W (short) loading data from Lyman #45. It works great in the Derringers, and the top breaks and still functions my 32 auto guns too.

Just don't plan on using it to defend youself from an angry man or any size dog!

Ivan

I worked on a murder trial in which .32 ACP in a schlocky .32 S&W revolver did the trick. Come to think of it, that guy should be up for parole on his life sentence this year . . .

__________________
How God has blessed us!

I did the same thing only I used 32 S&W. I observed that the diameter of the case heads are the same only the S&W rim is thicker. A machinist friend slightly deepened the end of both chambers until the S&W sits flush. A bonus is although the 32 ACP cartridge sits a little deeper the firing pin is still long enough to hit the primer.

I still had three boxes of 32 S&W sitting on a shelf. No longer have any use for them. I guess when things get really desperate with the zombies I will be with my back to wall armed with my little Derringer and remaining rounds of the S&W holding them off.

Works fine in some and not at all in others. Try it in yours and see for yourself. Won't hurt anything if it don't work.

__________________
Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

I have experienced no FTFs using .32 ACP in a .32 Long revolver. But I have experienced empty extraction and ejection problems.

I rechambered my S&W 30-1 to .32 H&R Magnum this week. That gives me another option for ammo!

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I've tried .32 auto rds. in the 16-4 that's been reamed to accept the Fed mag without any problems at all other than accuracy seems little lacking with auto opposed to other chamberings.
I like the versatility of having another rd. to shoot as the only current .32ACP I have is the Keltec.