ANY .32S&W LONG, .32 H&RMAG, .32-20 WCF, OR .327FEDMAG FANS?

Shooting is an odd hobby.

I had been going bigger and hotter for several years; 357 Maximum, 44 mag when I got to shoot an old friend, the 32-20 WCF. I grew up in the tiny Texas town of Albany; nothing but cowboys. Of course my first real gun was a Colt first gen. In 32-20, it was a joy to shoot those mild loads to learn. My step-dad had the matching Winchester lever gun which I hunted with for years.

Now, I'm going the other direction, smaller and hotter; little pills going very fast. This last year, I acquired wheel guns that are like tanks; the Ruger Buckeye convertible with both 32-20 and 32 H&Rmag cylinders, and the Ruger Blackhawk 8 in 327 federal magnum. The Buckeye shoots 3 calibers. The BH shoots 3 different calibers as well. Guys, that's fun.

To show how crazy I am, I also acquired a 32-20 barrel for my T/C. Then at SAR, I got a beautiful 1915 Army Special in 32-20. If not careful, addiction can rule your life. It's great fun being a junky, until you get the bill.

I am handloading some fire-breathing Dragon rounds that hit 1600fps. My handloading is working overtime to produce dozens and dozens of different recipes and I love it. I've gotten into powder coating all my bullets and I feel like I've discovered a new arena for playtime. I enjoy silhouette and these new beauties are superb at distance, 100 yards or so.

Anyone else shooting or handloading the .32s ? Care to share a few recipes and what you're shooting.

Prescut

I like the various 32 cal revolvers. I taught my son basic revolver marksmanship and reloading with a 4" J Frame in 32 S&W. My favorite 32 is a S&W Hand Ejector in 32/20.

I use a 115 grain RN cast bullet sized .312" over the proper charge of Bullseye or Unique in both revolvers.

Not into the new hot rounds (yet), but love the old .32 S&W Long....

Here's a few...



From top: 3" bbl, shipped December, 1957, next, 2" bbl, shipped August 1954, bottom, 3 1/4" bbl, shipped August 1923.


Best Regards, Les

32 Long here. I only have one, a model 31 made in the 60's sometime. It would be a good revolver for a young person to hunt with. I wish I had that when I was hunting rabbits in my youth in AZ. Perfect small game revolver. Easy to load for also. Not sure why S&W no longer makes those. Ammo is expensive if you have to buy it.

First 32 was a model 1 1/2 spur trigger top break, Now I have a 32 20 that I reamed a K frame 22 cylinder to 32 long for, a couple of J frame 32 longs, A 16-4 in 32 H&R that I reamed a 22 cylinder to 327 mag for. Fun little rounds. Can be a pinker, bunny shooter or a fairly hot little round when loaded up near max with a good bullet. A 4" gun that will handle everything from 32 shorts to 327mags would be a great camp gun.

I’m a closet junkie

32S&W, 3.5in new departure double action

32S&W long, 3in model31, 4in colt police positive special and Remington model 4 rolling block converted to centerfire.

32h&r mag, 5.5in ruger single six

32wcf, Winchester 92src, 1885 high wall and a model 2 Remington rolling block.
I’m still on the hunt for the right 327 federal mag.

Howdy from a neighbor to the east, Jacksboro.

dwh said:

I’m a closet junkie

32S&W, 3.5in new departure double action

32S&W long, 3in model31, 4in colt police positive special and Remington model 4 rolling block converted to centerfire.

32h&r mag, 5.5in ruger single six

32wcf, Winchester 92src, 1885 high wall and a model 2 Remington rolling block.
I’m still on the hunt for the right 327 federal mag.

Click to expand...

I have been hunting a .32-20 roller for 45 years. I'm seldom jealous of another's firearms, but this time, I am.

oddshooter,

I bought my first .32, a .32-20 S&W, in 1975. Skeeter Skelton had written about them, so they must be good, right?

Since then, I have owned a target M&P, another standard M&P, a Colt Official Police and three Police Positive Specials. I had a Cimarron SAA and a Model P Jr (7/8 size SAA). This Jr has two cylinders, a .32-20 and a .32 H&R Magnum, which I rechambered to .327 Federal Magnum. I had a Marlin 1894CL .32-20 and a Martini-Henry in .32-20.

I have had three .32 Long I frames, a M30 and two Regulation Police revolvers, a pre-war and a post war. I had a M16-4 in 6".

I have a M15 that I am converting to .327 Federal Magnum, with a spare .32-20 cylinder. I'm using a 6" M53 .22 Jet barrel. The Jet barrel has a half lug, like a M19. I am also converting Model 4 Remington .32 rimfire rolling block to .32 Long.

Yes, I have a .32 affliction. Matter of fact, I'm just about et up by that .32 bug.

I shoot a lot of 32. That BH will shoot a total of five different rounds. 327 is very versatile

Just recently got my first one...31-1 from 1967...bought 5 boxes of new ammo and some dies....cant wait!..thinking I would like one with rear sights...mod.16's bring high prices..not sure what to do?

I have Blackhawks in 32 H&R as well as the 327. In the S&W I have a pair of the 327 in the 632-1model.
Finally, a SP101 in 327.
Must make me a fan!!!!!!!!!!!!

.327

Yep, fan here. Just paid $300 for 500 rounds of Black Hils .32 Mag from Midway. This should get me through several months of .32/.327 shooting as i rotate through my collection.
I have been carrying my Ruger Lcrx .327 all winter here in CT and depending on the weather i either load it with 6 85 grain .32 Mag jacketed hollow point Federal or Black Hills, or Federal .327 Hydra Shoks. I feel very comfortable its enough. I also walk in the woods with the .327 Lcrx, but use the American Eagle 85 grain jacketed soft point for that task.
I don't reload, and the ammo is pricey, but there are enough deals and coupons where you can kind of get the price down to the high end of normal.
I have been shooting more .32 Mag than .327 and i find that either round is easy to shoot through the Lcrx although you do get a noticeable difference in recoil and report with the .327. Both are very accurate.
Big fan here. I think the various 6 round .32 snubby packages are very underappreciated.

I love my Ruger SP101 in .327 Federal Mag. I mainly shoot 32 s&w shorts and longs for fun. My 11 year old loves it too! Wish I could find a Contender barrel in that too!

I've kind of had a nodding acquaintance with 32 for a few years. A couple of #1 1/2's in .32 S&W, (and 3 in .32 RF), a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd model .32 Safety Hammerless, and a .32 Safety Bicycle gun. 2 pre mod 30's and a 30-1. More modern a 432PD in .32 H&R a 431PD in 32 H&R, and a 16-4 in 32 H&R (haven't reamed it out yet, bur maybe someday).

My venture in to .32’s actually started with .327 Federal. My bro-in-law bought the early Ruger SP-101 when it was fairly new to market and that was just before Obama was elected the first time and most of us will remember that EVERYTHING from the market disappeared along a time line and .327 Federal ammo and the components to handload it was swept along in that chaos also. Long story short, the dearth of components had me attempting to brainstorm options for my own needs and for feeding my 4.2” barreled GP-100 in .327 Federal.

I wanted to experiment with a stoutly constructed bullet that also didn’t cost a heap of money so that I could bench rest the revolver and shoot at steel plates on the rifle range, hitting targets from 100 to 300 yards with .327 Federal.

I decided to try a heavily plated rifle bullet made by Xtreme that was marketed for the 7.62x39/AK-47. Here we had a .311” slug of 123 grain weight but most importantly to my needs (if it worked...) was that they were sold in boxes of 500. Hornady XTP’s are fantastic bullets but if you compare prices, these AK-47 slugs from Xtreme are dirt cheap in comparison.

This is what she looks like next to an XTP when ready to go make noise. I’m running them with a dose of AA#9. I’ve settled in on a load that runs about 1,150 fps at the muzzle with zero signs of high pressure and room to go faster.

You can read more about my toying with this load and many other folks adventures in to handloading the .327 Federal at this discussion:
Share your .327 Federal Mag load data - The Firing Line Forums

Did not know I was a fan until until I started counting .32s, .32 Mag. And 327 mags. Must be a fan.

So far one I enjoy the most is an M&P in .32 that a member here on the forum let me become its temporary caretaker.

From the op:

Thanks so much for the posts. and the pics were terrific. The collections several of you have is hard to grasp how long that took; a lifetime? There seems to be two distinct crowds; one shooting older, more sedate rounds and another shooting the fire-breathing dragon rounds.

I find myself in both camps having a cup of coffee around the fire.
I like the new better steel hawglegs as well as the vintage wheelies.
I learned on the light recoil SAA, and still love it. However, the 1600fps federal mags for long distance steel are fabulous.

I'm amazed that so many of you shoot factory loads. Expensive is an understatement of the year. I get nice 38s and 357s for around a quarter each. The 32s are over twice or thrice that. That doesn't seem right. I'm too frugal (cheap) to go that route; plus my cylinders/barrels all seem to like different recipes of powder and bullets. So handloading just fits me.

By the way, the T/C 32-20 barrels are known as 30-20s I believe. They are closer to a .308 or .309 diameter rather than the more standard .312. Most manufacturers build .313 or .314. I have a scoped Contender I shot this week and it is superb; high speed, without that B/C gap, shooting tiny little groups at distances from 100 to 200 yards. That's fun.

I have always believed that the 38 spl and the 357mag/max offered the most versatility, but these little 32s are giving them a run for their money. It offers years of trying new bullets, new powders, new recipes, in different calibers. From original creation of the 32-20 in 1873 to the federal mag in 2007.

My addiction dictates that the S&W 16-4 must come to daddy. I'm lusting for one badly. My grail gun is still the Dan Wesson multi barrel kit in 32-20. I finally scored a RARE scoped DW in 32 H&R and paid a small fortune ($2200). I couldn't help it, after years of searching, it was the first one I had seen, let alone having it for sale. The 32-20 is even more RARE. Never even heard of one for sale.

Someone asked about moving into the 327fm. That hot, hot, little caliber has some real kick to it. Not to mention the crack/blast that hits your ears. I've had a Max wheel gun blow up in my hands, so that 45,000psi limit for the 327 has my full attention. I have the Ruger Blackhawk 8 that is built Ruger tank tough. It's heavy enough to tame that recoil to nothing. Do your searches and find one of the few used ones. Other 327s make me nervous. I acquired a Single 7 in 327 a few weeks ago and it is a toy in comparison. After 2 rounds it is on its way back to the mothership. The GP100 looks tough enough, but it is just so damned ugly IMO; and I've got a dressed up beauty in 357mag.

Would someone please tell me about shooting your 16-4s. Ammo, velocities, group size, distance...
I would also love comments about only using 327fm brass for 32 long and H&Rmag loads in a 327 handgun.

Prescut

Gil, here’s a picture of the model 2 rolling block. It is by far my favorite rifle to take for a walk in the woods. It’s 5.5 pounds have a 3lb trigger pull and print 2 inch groups at 100 yards. It showed up at a local black rifle shop as a trade in. I was more than happy to relieve them of it for the asking price.

I got brass in 32S&W long, 32H&R, & 327FedMag. Got bullets. No gun yet.

Hello, my name is Froggie and I'm a 32-aholic.

I started with a pre-WW I Regulation Police, but really hit my stride with my Blackhawk 8 shooter, Project 616 and recreated Model 16-3. I had a Buckeye Combo 32 and 6" Model 16-4, that I let get away from me, but that's too difficult to talk about.

Froggie