I’ve been thinking again about the 32 H&R, and had a few random revelations;
1) the timing of its release was a positive... people were still shooting a lot of revolvers and were willing to experiment with a new revolver caliber.
2) there was a potential for heavy loads in the “Magnum” that would bring it up somewhere about 38 Spl or even +P level.
3) brass and ammo were a big negative. Very little of the former and sketchy initial quality of the latter made some people wonder “Why bother?” It remained for the appearance of Starline Brass to repair this shortcoming, albeit late.
4) perhaps the biggest negative was the guns made available. Although there were a big Ruger Blackhawk, and both K- and J framed Smiths (as well as guns by “lesser” manufacturers like H&R and Charter) they never got the full publicity blitz needed to achieve wide popularity then, and were mostly discontinued quickly and quietly after very short production runs.
5) although brass is commonly available now, the selection of guns is limited and high priced, and when added to other factors like the general high price and limited availability of all things gun related as well as competition from its younger, bolder sibling the 327 Fed Mag, the poor 32 H&R has become lost in the shuffle.
More’s the pity... it had the potential to be a pretty good round. I’ve told the story here repeatedly about the high esteem Skeeter Skelton held for the 32 H&R... when I asked him late in his career about building a custom 32-20, supposedly a lifelong favorite caliber of his, he strongly counseled me to go with the 32 H&R instead, saying it actually had more potential for my intended purpose and would be better for loading as well. I’ve often wondered what would have happened if he had lived a few more years and written publicly what we chatted about that day...
Froggie
