JDBoardman
US Veteran
Can a S&W revolver chambered in .32 Long be reamed for the .327 Federal load? Or, as I suspect, is the cylinder too short?
S&W .32 long
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I have a Model 30-1 with an extra cylinder bored to 32 Magnum. It does not appear long enough for the 327 Magnum. You could sleeve a 357 magnum but I would be afraid of pressure issues with the sleeve.
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Even if it could be done, I wouldn't trust the heat-treat, or metallurgy, of that old girl with the .327 pressures.
Green Frog
Member
You don't mention which revolver in 32 S&W L you wish to rechamber to 32 H&R. I'm not sure I would make an I frame into a 32 H&R due to its age and the size of the cylinder. OTOH, a 30-1 or 31-1 should be fine... it's been done (and the results discussed here) several times.
If you are talking about a K-32 in original 32 S&W L chambering, it would work of course, but the loss of value of the K-32 would be more than I would be willing to give.
What do you hope to accomplish with the alteration? Also, do you reload? If you can roll your own, you can get H&R performance (or close to it) from judiciously warm 32 S&W Long reloads. I even load somewhat "warm" loads for my 1949 vintage Transitional 32 HE Snub. It digests them fine and hits as well as I can shoot it.
Froggie
No problem with 32 H&R Mag on a 30-1 or 31-1 which is a J frame. The H&R is not really a "magnum" per se with it's ~ 19,000 PSI. I've done that.
But the .327 Fed Mag with about 35,000 PSI is another story. I would only do it with a factory J frame .327 Cyl and it won't be fun to shoot!!
If you reload, I'd do as Green Frog suggests, load up the 32 H&R.
But the .327 Fed Mag with about 35,000 PSI is another story. I would only do it with a factory J frame .327 Cyl and it won't be fun to shoot!!
If you reload, I'd do as Green Frog suggests, load up the 32 H&R.
Cal44
Member
The Max pressure for a 327 Federal cartridge is 10,000 psi higher than a 357 Magnum.
Thats 45000 psi.
I wouldn't want to shoot that in a reamed out older revolver.
Yeah I agree!
They're not all 45K, that's the max. But even at 35K I wouldn't risk it.
They're not all 45K, that's the max. But even at 35K I wouldn't risk it.
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