It seems to me the guns chambered in 32 SWL were not all that popular after WW II. The slow sales of the K-32 Masterpiece illustrates that very well. All that has changed now and it looks like the 32 is highly sought after.

Here are a few I have accumulated. The one on the top has features of the pre-war and post-war. It even has the pre-war hammer block. The little snub nose 30-1 was not shipped until July of 1964 and the 3" non-model marked 32 HE shipped March, 1960. It must have sat in the vault for two or thee years.

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It would really be interesting to do a study of S&Ws in relation to the models that sat on the self for a long time. I would suspect that the relative popularity of the 32 as wel as others had more t do with caliber rather than model. Another example could be the 44 special.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Very nice pistols and thanks for sharing. Neat guns.
I was never much interested in the S&W pistols chambered in .32 SWL until the last 10 years or so and I have picked up several, mostly snub nose. I do shoot them and enjoy them. I’ll see if I can find a picture or two.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

Yes, after the war there was the 357 from years prior and a while later came the 44 Magnum. Both gave the choice of using the 38 special and 44 special which probably hurt sales of the lighter calibers. The 44 mag more than the 357. The 32 SWL kind of faded out.

They are popular with me.









Regards,

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turnerriver

5 S&W post war .32 revolvers.
Upper left .32 Hand Ejector
Upper right Regulation Police
Middle 1 of 196 32 Regulation Police Target
Lower left Model 16
Lower right 32 caliber M&P

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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135

Here are several of my guns in .32 S&W Long. I’ve got a couple of my pistols that just have a 32 Long roll mark on the barrel and the other pistols have 32 S&W Long roll mark.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

Those are some beautiful 32's. I have to put in my K-32 Masterpiece (16 nd). It probably sat around for a while before it was shipped in 1961. I guess the K22's and K38's ruled the roost and were flying out the door while the 32 Masterpiece could not get any love. Funny how that has changed.

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That is a fine looking K32 Masterpiece. Mighty pretty. Glad you showed that pistol. I’ve never been lucky enough to have one of those rascals.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

I only have two. A 32 Regulation Police, and a 32 K32 pre 16 Masterpiece. I am one of the lucky ones to own a K32 from 1952. Big Larry

I suspect the general lack of interest can be traced to the anemic ammo on the market. I only have a couple .32 S&W Long revolvers (both solid frames), but I find the round accurate, pleasant and amazingly responsive to Sharpe's handloading advice in them. Personally, I'll always stop and look at a .32 S&W Long (solid frame) revolver.

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Now go make God proud...

What's with all these.32 posts lately?

C'mon folks, the more the word gets out the more expensive these revolvers get. Zip it shut. "Loose lips sink ships" and all that.

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Only a cold warrior

32 S&W Longer was one who shot NRA Bullseye contest as center fire rather than a .38 SPL .
I never did as my M 14 was very good for me.
another caliber at the time was not what I wanted.
Now, well I do have a M 30-1 I do CC some times & do reload for it.
Why? Who knows.......

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Prior to the 38 Spl becoming a sort of de facto standard for police revolvers, there were a lot of 32 revolvers in use by LEOs, both small frame 32 S&W Long and mid frame 32-20 calibers. I think the move to standardize LEO revolvers kinda hurt the LEO market, and this was mirrored in the civilian market. However there has always been a cult of 32 lovers, with 32 S&W being attractive for its size and lack of recoil.
For me, the little 32 I frame snub comes as close to perfection foe a CCW as I have found. Others may disagree as is their right, but I know what works for me!
Froggie

I'm right fond of the .32s.



16-4, 3" and 4" 31-1s and a 30-1

The 2" 30-1 was my late wife's gun. She loved that thing!

Being the UIT centerfire caliber is probably the only thing that has saved this ctge from obsolescence.

That was true for the I & J frame .38 S&W which lost favor due to the .38 Spl Chiefs Special which was discontinued in 1976. But the .32 hung on until 1990.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

What is UIT???

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Yes, and now those little I/J 38 S&W guns, which are hard to find in high condition, have found favor, especially with collectors.

Union Internationale de Tir, currently called International Shooting Sports Federation

I only have one. I've had a fascination with the cartridge for a long time. I purchased it mainly to explore the cartridge from a reloading perspective. Glad I did. It's a pretty slick little cartridge that would work for SD or small game. Loads are easy and components are available. When I first started reloading I had to search high and low for load data. Some of what I found didn't work very well. Many of the powders that work well, like 7639, are no longer available. I think I have it dialed in now though. Prices are becoming ridiculous. This is a 31-1 from the 60's. Paid $500 for it ~3 years ago.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I also have always liked he little .32 cartridge. I own three, two smith and wesson and one colt police positive. do not shoot them much but do love the small size and quality of them.

I only have two 32 Smiths, a Lemon Squeezer and an I-Frame Hand Ejector. Probably have more than half-a-dozen others - Colts, Iver Johnsons, Charter Arms, etc.

I started reloading ove 40 years ago with 38s & 44s before progressing to 45s and some older rifle cartridges... then I discovered the 32 S&W Long and fell totally in love. I still load the occasional 9m , but other than that, just about everything I load starts with 32, from cat sneeze target loads for the S&W “Longs” to ground shaking 327 Fed Mags. And I can scatter the same bullets through all the different strengths and lengths of the same caliber. In fact, I have a batch of DEWCs loaded up in both S&W L and H&R cases to play with right now!
Froggie

I like .32 Long , I had a 4" Model 31 I should have kept

I have read that some female Police Officers in the 60s-70s carried S&W 31s as Duty Guns

I don't handload and with factory .32 Long being expensive, I might as well shoot .38 Special

I love the .32 long. First revolver I shot as a young teen, belonged to my father. Worst mistake of my gun life letting that one go. Lucked into a 5th change nickel hand ejector a few years ago that rekindled my love of the cartridge. I put a WTB ad on here last year that was answered and fulfilled for a beautiful model 31-1 3”. I am patiently waiting to pick up one of the new 632uc’s and always on the lookout for a model 16 or a 631. I have high hopes that the current success of the .32 J frames will convince S&W to make a K frame .32 next year. I will be first in line if so!

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SWCA #3929, SWHF #1010

For many years, with primers at 2 cents and a sneeze of powder, a bullet caster could shoot quality 32 Long cartridges cheaper than 22's. No longer the case but still a ton of fun.

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Front sight and squeeze

True that! At 2.2 grains of Bullseye per round, a one pound can goes a loooong way. If one was casting his own bullets @ only 100gr+/- of free or cheap wheel weights or range scrap, and when primers hadn’t come to be made of unobtanium, long lasting cases completed the picture for the biggest bang for the buck in the history of shooting.

Even now, with primers pushing a dime apiece and the price of powder up tenfold as well, 32s still offer about the cheapest shooting available. Bulk 22s may cost less to buy, but not much, and there is a lot of satisfaction in shooting accurate centerfire ammo that one has crafted themself.

Froggie

I have a pre-model 30 and a 1 1/2 top break SA. Really enjoy plinking with them. Bad Bad Leroy Brown had a 32 gun in his pocket for fun!

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PTLAPTA!