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Well in fairness most people who are not *really* into guns tend to think of any centerfire handgun as defensive. I agree that this is an overly utilitarian approach for me, but, at the same time it's worth noting that a .32 S&W isn't really suitable for defense against 2-legged varmints, the same as a half-ton pickup isn't really suitable for heavy hauling. Both will work in a pinch, but IMHO better to get some more serious gear before doing anything serious with it.
The .32 S&W was developed as a defensive round for pocket guns. These guns were far more common than larger weapons like the Colt SAA although Colt did chamber a small number of these in .32 S&W as well as .32 Long and Short Colt. The British .320 was a bit shorter than the .32 Short Colt, but the latter usually fits along with the .32 S&W and the .32 A.C.P. The last is a higher pressure round that shouldn't be used in top breaks except for the Webley Pockets nor the old solid frames. Magsafe currently furnishes their ammo in both .32 A.C.P. and in .32 H&R Magnum. The latter is a very underrated round. It is a fact that people are bigger today than they were a hundred to a hundred and fifty years ago so they may require a bit more killing. In those days many police were armed with a .32, e.g., NYPD. My maternal grandfather was elected constable in Centralia, Illinois about 1900; he carried a S&W First Model H.E. (3 1/4'' bbl.) in .32 S&W Long; I have the gun. I do shoot it and it's very pleasant although I find the I-frame grips smaller than I like.
I carry a S&W Model 638 all of the time; in cold weather I add a Model 649 (.357) in my coat pocket. I do have a .357 magnum (Model 686 seven shot) in my truck and another beside the bed. I've been known to carry other stuff as well.
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Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
People who don't shoot much are missing a treat though if they don't try loading for example a .32 ACP even with a cast bullet and appropriate charge of Unique (Unique has worked best for me, if you find Bullseye or whatever better please do post up!) and just shoot cans or gongs with it. I have an old Colt 1903 that I have mentioned on here before, the sights are tiny but if you can get over that and just focus on the front sight, it will stay on a beer can out to about 25-30 yards pretty regular if I do my part.
I generally use .32 A.C.P. cases as I have more of them and the headspace is OK. The dies are identical to the .32 S&W dies; only the shellholder is different. I'd say to start with 1.5 gr. of Bullseye and work up from there. Admittedy, I'm very conservative. My favorite bullet in a revolver load is a 98 gr. RN. I don't believe that Lyman makes the mold anymore, but they show up on ebay. I size to .358, but I often do a final resizing in the cylinder if the loads are for a specific gun. My auto bullet is about 70 gr. of straight wheelweight.
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Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
The .32 S&W is a real treat for plinking as well. In the Officer's Model Heavy Barrel Match, beer can size targets can be hit reliably out past 50 yards if the shooter does his part.
That doesn't surprise me; you have a fine gun.
The .38 S&W is another pleasant round. My favorite gun for it is a Webley. I had a 9mm cylinder for my Ruger Blackhawk rechambered for it; I still need to do some serious testing. That Blackhawk with three cylinders is a neat outfit.
Well in fairness most people who are not *really* into guns tend to think of any centerfire handgun as defensive. I agree that this is an overly utilitarian approach for me, but, at the same time it's worth noting that a .32 S&W isn't really suitable for defense against 2-legged varmints
Although I agree a .32 is light for defense, a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing. Heck, a .22 is better than nothing.
I Have a remmington lion ,it's actually a .32 rimfire ,
Now that's a safe queen.
Also have a .32 smith and wesson long colt that once in a blue moon I see ammo for, but that was a before obama.
Dad left me a collection of really old odd ball military ammo ,hard to identify but fun to see the differences as the craft has evolved.
I Have a remmington lion ,it's actually a .32 rimfire ,
Now that's a safe queen.
Also have a .32 smith and wesson long colt that once in a blue moon I see ammo for, but that was a before obama.
Dad left me a collection of really old odd ball military ammo ,hard to identify but fun to see the differences as the craft has evolved.
.32 Rimfire is hard to come by but I do think some makers have made some in the modern era.
.32 S&W Long is really not that hard to find. Sometimes it's called .32 Colt New Police. Not a real big seller but a good round, it looks and shoots like an approximately 2/3 scale .38 Special. Most of these are good accurate shooters.
.32 Rimfire is hard to come by but I do think some makers have made some in the modern era.
.32 S&W Long is really not that hard to find. Sometimes it's called .32 Colt New Police. Not a real big seller but a good round, it looks and shoots like an approximately 2/3 scale .38 Special. Most of these are good accurate shooters.
Navy Arms has sold .32 rimfire short within the past twenty years or so. It was made in Brazil and works fine, but the price of the remaining dealer stock is high.
The ..32 long and short Colt are nothing more than centerfire versions of the long and short rimfire. When Theodore Roosevelt was NYC police commissioner he chose the 32 Long Colt along with a Colt revolver as their first standardized gun and ammo.
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Last edited by Happy in Wyoming; 07-02-2015 at 08:28 AM..
Ruger still chambers the 32 long in it's SP-101, and has a 32 magnum in their Single Six model, so while those rounds aren't common, they're sure fun to shoot.
My brother has an H&R 32, nice little firearm, a little cheap looking, but it shoots really well.
He hasn't spoken about it in a while, but back when he got it in a trade, the rounds for it weren't common then in the 1980's.
I did find the ammo online though, while looking for rounds for my 218 Bee. Now THAT's a round that's tought to get your hands on as it's pretty popular with the people that have them, but very few ammunition manufacturers make it. 32 S&W Long Ammunition for Sale - AmmoToGo.com
The ..32 long and short Colt are nothing more than centerfire versions of the long and short rimfire. When Theodore Roosevelt was NYC police commissioner he chose the 32 Long Colt along with a Colt revolver as their first standardized gun and ammo.
AmmoSeek is a great website/search engine for ammo at good prices. A quick look showed that they have .32 in various versions from different suppliers. If you haven't been to that site, it's worth a look.
Ruger still chambers the 32 long in it's SP-101, and has a 32 magnum in their Single Six model, so while those rounds aren't common, they're sure fun to shoot.
My brother has an H&R 32, nice little firearm, a little cheap looking, but it shoots really well.
He hasn't spoken about it in a while, but back when he got it in a trade, the rounds for it weren't common then in the 1980's.
I did find the ammo online though, while looking for rounds for my 218 Bee. Now THAT's a round that's tought to get your hands on as it's pretty popular with the people that have them, but very few ammunition manufacturers make it. 32 S&W Long Ammunition for Sale - AmmoToGo.com
IIRC the 218 Bee is the 32-20 or 25-20 basic case necked to .224 - right?
Are you sure about that? They catalog it in .327 Federal (although I believe they aren't currently producing any in that caliber), but I'm pretty sure it isn't chambered in .32 long.
IIRC the 218 Bee is the 32-20 or 25-20 basic case necked to .224 - right?
You do hand-load for it I guess?
You are correct. Mine's in a bolt action Winchester I inherited from my Uncle that bought it new in 1939 or 40.
It came out to compete with the 22 Hornet. Fast bug names for a quick little stinger I guess
Of course I reload. It's a great little popper and if I hit the sales, it's cheaper to shoot than 22 LR right now, or at least comparable. I've been using 9.5 grains of powder with a 52 grain bullet, (type & brand withheld for libaility reasons), and getting great results and accuracy.
Finding cases is the hard part. Powder and lead are no big deal, and small rifle primers work just fine. I did score one bag of 100 new brass from Sportsman's Warehouse here, but haven't been able to do that lately at any of the local stores.
I can buy loaded stuff, sometimes, rarely, from CCI when they do a limited run, but I would pay nearly $2 per shell at my local gun shop for a box of 50
I keep looking at all the online suppliers, but it was never a widely used or popular cartridge, so even thought there are several chamberings for it like the Thompson Contender, it still is a very unrecognized round.
The 32-20 and 25-20 ammo aren't much easier to find if I wanted to neck down the brass myself. At the last gun show I went to, some guy had a 1/2 box of vintage 32-20, but I wasn't paying $50 bucks for half a box of loaded rounds just for the brass.
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