32 S&W to 32 H&R

JFthunder

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Need some advice before a purchase. I already own an I frame HE that I know is not a candidate for conversion. I have found 32 S&W Long almost impossible to buy locally, but recently 32 H&R is showing up on the shelves even in the discount and "farm" stores. Also have a chance to purchase a "Pre Model 16". Is that model suitable for the chamber reaming to 32 H&R? The fancier builds are just not an option on my retirement "allowance".
 
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Plenty of .32 Long available via mail order.

A pre-model 16 (aka K-32 Masterpiece) is a fairly rare collector's gun, and even though it should handle .32 H & R Magnum without problems, reaming an original one would probably bring the pitchforks and torches out...
 
A lot of gunsmiths will balk at re-chambering anything to a more powerful cartridge than originally built for. With the amount of steel in a k frame cylinder, I can not believe that having the chambers cut so 32 H&R Mag will fit could possibly cause a problem in the "pre model 16" other than the damage to the collector value. I am not up on what the chamber pressures are on the new 327 Magnum, but my guess is that wouldn't cause a problem either. Then you could shoot any ammo you could find (327 Magnum, 32 H&R Magnum, 32 Smith & Wesson Long, 32 Colt New Police, 32 S&W, 32 ACP). I have probably shot more 32 ACP out of my 32 S&W Long revolvers just because it was the cheapest and easiest to find. They get the chambers pretty dirty so you need to clean them very well before you shoot Longs, but other than that, they work fine since they are acutally semi-rimmed.
 
If I were you, I'd pick up a second K frame .32 S&W Long cylinder and have it fitted to your K-32.

Possible, but I would guess spare K frame .32 Long cylinders may be more scarce than complete guns. A .38 cylinder could be sleeved, or a .22 LR cylinder bored out, than the extractor altered for .32 Long? Sounds like a major project.
 
The last time I checked decent K32s were going for over $2000 and up. Why would you turn one into a $500 gun? Buy a gun already set up for 32 h&r.
 
The pressures of the .327 Federal are higher than for the .357. I personally wouldn't chamber any handgun for that round that was originally chambered for a lesser .32 caliber round. You would think that any K frame made after model numbers were assigned to have sufficient heat treat, but that's a potentially very dangerous assumption.

.32 H&R on the other hand might well be possible and safe if the K frame had a model number assigned.
 
The I Frame cylinder is not long enough to fit the 32 H&R, when you get to the numbered models with the J Frame they will hold the 32 H&R. None of them will hold the 327 Fed until you get into the extended frame J's that take the .357, and then I don't believe the Mod 30 or 31 were ever build on those frames. You need to find a 431PD or 432PD which is chambered in 32 H&R Mag.
 
I was looking for something else and checked the pressures of the .32 H&R Mag and the .32 S&W Long.

The Long ran roughly 11-12 K CUP, the H&R was over 21K CUP. I rather expect that any cylinder heat treated to take .38 +P would be OK if in .32. The cylinder walls are going to be about 0.015 in. thicker. I personally wouldn't' do .327 Federal with it's much higher pressures.
 
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If I were so fortunate as to acquire a pre-16, I would treasure it as-is and make the effort to find proper ammo for it. In addition, I would buy a factory K-22 cylinder or one of Hamilton Bowen's blanks and have it bored to 32 H&R and retrofitted to the revolver so I could reverse the process and conserve a rare and valuable piece of S&W history. JMHO, YMMV.

Froggie
 
That's what they are asking, what have they been "selling" for? I would wager there are still some out there available under $1000. I don't want mine to be worth $2400, as I would feel I had to quit shooting it! Just FyI on the 32 H&R Mag, I just chrono'd some loads this week from my 2" 431PD, and the 80 gr. Hornady Critical defense ran 942 FPS, 54.17 ES, and 21.33 SD. My hand-load (which runs 1224 from the 6" 16-4) runs: 100 gr Hornady XTP 1004 FPS, 42.8 ES, 15.03 SD. That's a 20% heavier bullet running 6.5% faster then the Critical Defense. It's also a very accurate load.
 
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There were two 4" 16-4's recently sold by David Carroll on gunbroker for over $2200 each and I thought mine was in equal condition. The 4" seem to bring the highest bids.

Stu
 
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