Please School Me on .32 acp/auto

[mgriffin]

I'm not sure why this is so confusing for me but I'm sure the experts on here will get me lined out. I have a S&W 431PD .32 H&R Mag. revolver. I have the following ammo for it and I think it is the correct ammo.






I also have a box of PMC .32 Auto which I bought years ago for a Colt 1903 .32 which I never shot and ended up selling.
My Granddaughter is a new shooter, petite and recoil sensitive. I figure a .32 centerfire round is going to be better for her than .22LR. I have fired all of the rounds in the pictures above thru the 431PD. I'm not sure if I can fire the PMC .32 Auto thru the
revolver. Also, which ammo can I shoot thru a .32 semi auto. Not sure why this is so hard for me to understand. In the end I will let her pick her own gun. She seems to lean toward semi autos but it will be her decision. Last, she has only shot .22LRs and hopefully she will try my wife's .380. I plan on paying for some shooting lessons for her and renting the wall so the instructor can help her experience the different calibers before I purchase what ever she decides on. Thanks!

 

[murphydog]

The .32 ACP is semi-rimmed; it 'may' fire in your 431PD depending on the headspace but empties will need to pushed out.

So, you have no remaining rounds of the three boxes above? The .32 S & W Long wadcutter would be a perfect beginner's round as would the standard FMJ.

 

[mgriffin]

I have the .32 H&R Mags, S&W Longs and the wad cutters. So, shoot these 3 in the revolver and shoot the .32 autos in a semi auto? Is .32 auto the same as .32 acp? I ask this because the box just says .32 AUTO I think it is.... .32 acp = auto colt pistol.

 

[Triathloncoach]

Don't shoot it in your basement. The smoke alarms will go off. Ha

 

[murphydog]

Yes, the only round that will fire in the .32 ACP is...the .32 ACP.

 

[DWalt]

.32 ACP (Auto) will work in a .32 S&W Long revolver, but you may get some misfires due to the excessive headspace (thin rim). You may or may not have case extraction failures. You just need to try firing some in your revolver and see what happens. Do not expect tight grouping as the .32 ACP bullet is slightly smaller in diameter than the .32 S&W L bullet.

 

[vinn]

the .32 ACP is a good step up from a .22 LR ! it will penitrate thru one side of an empty 50 gal. drum.

 

[Green Frog]

Just as an FYI, I have shot 32 ACP ammo in both my Ruger 327 Blackhawk and my Horvath built "Project 616" chambered the same. I had no problems with misfires or extraction. The semi-rim will often be sufficient to be "grabbed" by the S&W's extractor, and of course with a SA, the extractor rod does the work regardless of rim conguration. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a 32 ACP round in any post-War revolver from S&W chambered in 32 S&WL… YMMV.

Froggie

 

[mgriffin]

I'm thinking it was made in 2004. I believe the 1st of them had Uncle Mikes grips and the ones made right after that had Crimson Trace grips or so I have read. My Granddaughter will be shooting it around the Christmas Holidays. Hope it works for her but in the end, it will be her decision.

 

[Bullet Bob]

"I figure a .32 centerfire round is going to be better for her than .22LR."

Why is that? I do think that any 2" J frame is not the best gun for a new shooter, but my thinker may be defective.

Wish I could find some .32 H&R magnum! I have a Ruger Bisely Single-Seven in .327, and plenty of .32 Long. I don't have a need for .327 ammo, but would like to try some .32 H&R, but with current conditions it seems to unobtanium. Makes sense, it's not a high demand cartridge.

 

[DWalt]

Just as an experiment, I tried something different last week. I fired six rounds of factory .32 S&W (not Long) in a .32-20 M&P. It worked OK and the bullets did hit the target nose first, but the sound of the discharge was a little off. Nothing looked unusual about the fired .32 S&W cases.

A couple of years ago I bought 5 boxes of .32 S&W (Remington) on sale at Academy for $10/box. I do have some .32 S&W Long revolvers, but have never fired any .32 S&W cartidges in them. I later fired some additional .32 S&W rounds in my .32 S&W L M&P, they performed very well on the target, and don't make much noise. Am planning to reload the fired cases as I have never before handloaded the .32 S&W.

 

[alwslate]

I have fired a few different brands of .32 acp ammo in my 3" S&W model 31 to see how they grouped. Accuracy was better than expected with the ammo that has 73gr bullets being more accurate than the ones with 71grs. Yep, only two grs seem to make a difference. I expected primer indentations to be shallow but they were actually deep. So just from my very limited experience I think using the .32 acp in 32 Long revolvers will make them better for SD than using the very mild 32 Long ctg.

 

[crstrode]

The .32 ACP is semi-rimmed; it 'may' fire in your 431PD depending on the headspace but empties will need to pushed out.

So, you have no remaining rounds of the three boxes above? The .32 S & W Long wadcutter would be a perfect beginner's round as would the standard FMJ.

One can also put gasoline into their diesel automobile, and it "may" run - but . . .

 

[alwslate]

The extractor of my model 31 pushed out the fired .32 acp brass with no problems. And ignition was 100% with deep primer indentations.

 

[DWalt]

In Phil Sharpe's 1937 handloading manual, he says that the .32 ACP cartridge can be used in revolvers chambered for the .32 S&W Long. But no discussion is made beyond that. I would not attempt using .32 ACP in any old top break revolver chambered for .32 S&W - assuming that it would even fit. The .32 ACP case is slightly longer than the .32 S&W case, so that is probably not possible, but you never know, especially regarding the cheaper .32 top break revolvers.

I once accidentally overloaded (by about 1/2 grain) a box of .32 ACP reloads, and I was a little leery of firing them in any of my .32 autopistols. So I did fire them in one of my .32 S&W L revolvers without anything bad happening.

 

[Green Frog]

One can also put gasoline into their diesel automobile, and it "may" run - but . . .

I can truthfully say I've successfully fired 32 ACP ammo in a couple of different revolvers chambered in various 32 revolver calibers. Others have reported similar results.

Having spent time as a shade tree mechanic, I can safely say that the use of gasoline in a Diesel engine is not likely to bring satisfactory results… most of us here are gun people, but unless the manufacturer of a flex fuel vehicle specifically approved such an experiment, we would probably avoid it. Not really a very good analogy.

Green Frog

 

[jack the toad]

I'll add to whats been said. I tried all the .32's I had in a modded 16-4 (reamed to .327FM). No problems firing, extracting, etc. All shot reasonably well in that could hit target but groups suffered the shorter case length I went, with ACP being the worst. .32 S&W Long SWC was a pleasure. Little recoil with good accuracy. Too bad so hard to find and expensive when you do.

 

[gwpercle]

Let's not try and confuse the OP with possibilities ...

The three boxes of ammo in the photo's are revolver ammo .
Take one out and look at the rims . They are correct for your revolver .

The 32 auto / 32 acp (you will see it both ways) is semi-rimless and intended for semi-auto pistols . It has a small rim and is almost not noticeable .

Yes some revolvers will fire the 32 auto but that's just going to muddy the waters ...don't go there right now .
Gary

 

[dingomann]

To answer a few questions, yes, the .32 ACP is also known as .32 Auto or 7.65 Browning. The .32 cal. was made in a short and long version named either Colt or S&W. The .32 Colt ammo may be fired in .32 S&W-chambered guns, but not vice-versa. This is because Colt used a bullet of case diameter, while S&W seated their bullet inside the case meaning the case diameter is larger than Colt's.

 

[alwslate]

Some owners of good .32 Long revolvers like S&Ws simplify their shooting by using nothing but the cheaper and more available .32 acp