32 auto in a 32 Long CTG revolver - ok?

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I just picked up a .32 Hand Ejector (2nd Model?) at a Pawn Shop in Tampa Florida while on vacation. I think it is from the 20's SN# 189440 it is in about 20% condition and there are a few pits in the barrel.
I definitely have the S&W disease, I was buy a top break Lemon Squeezer for a shadow box I am building from one of the S&W tin signs and this was sitting there calling to me.
They wanted $199 and we negotiated down to $150.

The grips number to the gun and have no missing pieces.
I just couldn't resist.

MY QUESTION IS: is it ok to shoot .32 auto in this revolver? The pawn shop guy said 32 long and short and in a dire emergency 32 auto, but not often.

 

[Muley Gil]

Officially, no, you should only shoot the proper caliber cartridges in any firearm.

HOWEVER, I've shot .32 ACPs in a similar S&W a number of times. Never had any problems.

 

[DCWilson]

Would .32 auto even headspace correctly? I haven't heard of .32 moonclips, and unless the cases are actually semi-rimmed they'd just sink into the charge holes.

In addition, the .32 ACP bullets have a slightly smaller diameter and would surely offer reduced accuracy. I don't know about comparative pressures.

I would just stick with the rimmed ammunition.

 

[DCWilson]

Gil, that means the rimless cartridges do headspace correctly in revolvers? I don't own a .32 auto or have any .32 ACP ammo right now, or I'd check it out for myself.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

32 acp is semi-rimmed so they should work.

 

[Muley Gil]

"...unless the cases are actually semi-rimmed..."

Yes, they are. The cartridge is loaded to low pressures, due to the many weak semiautos chambered for it since the beginning of the 20th century.

Mine shot to minute of coke can at 15 yrads, loaded with .32 ACPs.

 

[mkk41]

The .32 ACP is indeed a semi-rimless round. I too have seen it fired in revolvers. It might be OK in a modern solid frame gun but I would NEVER try it an old break-top.

 

[john traveler]

The .32 ACP is actually semi-rimmed. And yes, the semi-rim will support the cartridge enough to reliably fire.

Case head-to-recoil shield clearance ("headspace") is not optimal, but the S&W revolver design has enough firing pin protrusion to reliably fire.

The .32 ACP chamber pressures are safe in an S&W swing-out revolver, but this practice is not recommended in a breaktop design.

 

[DCWilson]

Thank you all! I got good information out of somebody else's question.

 

[cgt4570]

Yes. While not 'technically' correct, .32 ACP is semi-rimmed and will work just fine for plinking or in a pinch.

 

[Art Doc]

Sort of like shooting 38 Supers in a 357 Magnum...

 

[Alk8944]

Officially, no, you should only shoot the proper caliber cartridges in any firearm.

You might be interested in S&Ws list of acceptable cartridges for .32 S&W Long revolvers. From the box lid of my 1961 Model 16:

"Ammunition and Guarantee.--This gun is chambered for use with the following cartridges: 32 Smith & Wesson, 32 Smith & Wesson Long, 32 S&W Mid-Range, 32 Short Colt, 32 Long Colt, and 32 Colt New Police..........."

This is copied literally, including punctuation and abbreviations.

The surprising ones are the .32 Long & Short Colt which are significantly smaller in diameter than any of the other listed cartridges. The .32 ACP is little more than a semi-rimmed version of the .32 S&W.

So, even though most of us would consider .32 Short & Long Colt as im-proper cartridges in a .32 S&W Long due to the case diameter difference, "Officially" they are acceptable.

It should be noted that there is more difference in case diameter between the .32 Long Colt and .32 S&W Long than there is between .32 S&W Long and .32-20, or .22 Long Rifle and .22 WMR or .22 WRF that everyone seems to think will invariably result in split cases (they won't!).

 

[deadin]

Another problem with .32ACP in a .32 S&W top-break in the the old top breaks were intended for lead bullets. The jacketed .32ACP wil not do any favors to the barrel and will probably also raise pressures .

 

[Muley Gil]

"It should be noted that there is more difference in case diameter between the .32 Long Colt and .32 S&W Long than there is between .32 S&W Long and .32-20,"

Back in my badge totin' days, I investigated several crimes, including a murder, where the weapon used was a .32-20 revolver loaded with .32 Long cartridges.

May have been the wrong ammo, but dead is dead.

 

[bmcgilvray]

I've fired .32 ACP in a .32 S&W Long revolver with decent results and no problems.



"It should be noted that there is more difference in case diameter between the .32 Long Colt and .32 S&W Long than there is between .32 S&W Long and .32-20..."


Case mouth perhaps, but the .32-20 is notably different otherwise, being a tapered case with a neck.

I once read years ago that a .32 S&W Long could be fired in a .32-20 revolver in a pinch so tried that combination. They would fire but made ugly misshaped cases with occasional splits.

Here's a .32 S&W Long flanked by a .32 Short Colt and a .32 Long Colt.

I have a Colt New Pocket in .32 Long Colt. When I got home from the gun show with it I figured on firing ammo from supplies of .32 S&W Long in it but was wrong about that. The .32 S&W Long is just a hair's breath larger in diameter and won't chamber.

The .32 Short and Long Colt ammunition gives a decent performance in a .32 S&W Long chambered revolver.

 

[Bruce51]

Old guns

Just remember to never fire a .32 ACP in the old top breaks. The old guns top out at around 9000 PSI while the .32 ACP is closer to 15,000 psi. A modern .32 can safely fire the acp. I have a 31-1 which I have fired the acp rounds through without a problem, except for the lower POI due to the lighter bullet.

Bruce

 

[seattleM29]

Nice to know .32acp can do in a pinch as .32 S&W is just about impossible to find on any dealer shelves and when you do around here it's well over $30 a box. .32 Longs aren't much better--at SOME gunshows I've been able to find .32 S&W and .32 Longs for under $20 a box of 50. I kept the casings so I can reload if needed.

 

[Alk8944]

"It should be noted that there is more difference in case diameter between the .32 Long Colt and .32 S&W Long than there is between .32 S&W Long and .32-20..."

Case mouth perhaps, but the .32-20 is notably different otherwise, being a tapered case with a neck.

What I said is exactly what I meant, meaning the base diameter. I can't find a nominal base diameter for .32 Long Colt in any of my manuals (they only date to mid-1950s), but the cartridges I have measure .313-.316. .32 S&WL base dia. is .337, a difference of ca. .021. .32-20 base dia. is .353, only .016 larger at the base than .32 S&WL. The .32-20 neck is only slightly larger than the .32 Long Colt case, ca. .322, about .015 smaller than .32 S&WL. In other words, there is roughly .006 more difference between .32 LC and .32 S&WL than between .32 S&WL and .32-20. What makes .32-20 a bottle-neck cartridge is difference between the the smaller neck and the slightly larger base, not the larger base! Don't argue unless you are prepared to learn.

To add to the question, .32 ACP can be shot in a .32-20 too! True, it won't headspace on the rim which is approximately the same diameter as the .32-20 base, but if you cock the gun while pointed up and lower the muzzle carefully they will fire. One of the gun-rag wags wrote this once years ago and I just had to know. Before anyone starts to say it won't work, it does! Definitely only something to be done if absolutely necessary, but it will work and is safe with a low pressure cartridge.

 

[bmcgilvray]

"What I said is exactly what I meant...Don't argue unless you are prepared to learn."

As you say.

 

[walnutred]

My daughter adopted my 4" 31-1 a few years ago because it fits her hands well and 32 Longs are fun to shoot. However the revolver spends it's resting time loaded with 32 ACP Winchester Silver Tip hollowpoints. If someone would make a comparable 32 Long load I'd buy them but until they do the 32 acp works fine.