32 H&R Magnum "Ruger Only" loads

Well, Big Old Boy, I guess you're not using any powder, so which primer did you use? :mrgreen:

VAdoublegunner said:

For those shooting cast bullets, what size do you find works best? I know that it is usually dependent on the specific revolver's throating. I haven't measured mine yet. The Sierras at .312 will not even come close to passing through them with a pencil push. But I understand that the Lee mold usually drops them at .314, or even see reports of up to .315 with some alloys. I have a sizer for .311 so have some room to experiment and suspect it may be a winner both for accuracy and ease of loading. Some of the earlier SSM's were reported to have tighter throating and that being the case I would rather size down the bullets than opening the throats, especially given the performance so far with the Sierras. I expect that the Hornady 100 grainers at the same diameter will perform well too.

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My Lyman 311008 115 gr. Bullets get lubed and sized just enough to clean them up
In a .314 die. At .314 they shoot great in my three Single Sevens and my two
.32-20 rifles. Super accuracy and no leading.

Anybody using Power Pistol in the 32H&R Magnum ?
With 100 GR JHP's

I use 800X -- nothing else for this cartridge. :mrgreen:

Mostly, though, I load 3.5 grains W231 under a 94 grain rnfp (looks like more of a swc to me) and could shoot those all day long. My daughter likes this load, too.

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This is a 1-1/2" grouping load in my Mini-Vaquero with 4-5/8" bbl. from rest. I have some old Bonus bullets at 95 grains (LSWC) that are sized 0.312" that love that 231 load. After getting the windage sorted out with the fixed sights, it's my go-to load for the little gun. I've never chrono'd it but suspect it's a bit over 900 fps from that short bbl.

HTH's Rod

My absolute favorite 32mag load; .313 115gr fngc over 10.5grs 296/h110 & a winchester small pistol mag primer in starline cases, runs about 1300fps out of my 4 5/8 single six, will put 6 in 1.5" @ 30 yards off the bench & empties fall out of the cyl. it just doesn't get any better imho ...

I like 3.5 grains of 700x under a 100 grain RNFP. The same charge under a 71 grain plated Berry bullet works great too! I've used both to punch paper, armadillos and snakes.

I also like the Hornady 100 grain xtp's pushed by a max charge of lil gun.

In a Single Six w/5-1/2" bbl, I have used 9.5 grs. of 2400 with the 100 gr. XTP bullet and got 1282 fps and SDs of about 20 and groups as good as I can shoot a handgun.
This is not as far as I went with 2400 and this bullet in the Single Six, but it as much as I would talk about on a public forum. :lol:

Another thing about this gun is that it handles 115 gr cast plain base bullets just as well as jacked bullets with no leading at all, which is somewhat surprising to me.

I never checked but I suspect that the bore in this gun is probably a little smaller than .312" 8)

5of7 said:

In a Single Six w/5-1/2" bbl, I have used 9.5 grs. of 2400 with the 100 gr. XTP bullet and got 1282 fps and SDs of about 20 and groups as good as I can shoot a handgun.
This is not as far as I went with 2400 and this bullet in the Single Six, but it as much as I would talk about on a public forum. :lol:

Another thing about this gun is that it handles 115 gr cast plain base bullets just as well as jacked bullets with no leading at all, which is somewhat surprising to me.

I never checked but I suspect that the bore in this gun is probably a little smaller than .312" 8)

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A 100 Gr XTP at those velocity's sounds like a good ALL around load. As soon as I get my hands on some 2400 I will start testing in my 4 inch SP-101

Kewl...............

Sorry to resurrect and old thread, but it seems to fit better than starting a new one.

It seems to me that if a Single Seven can handle full-powered .327 Federal, a 6-shot revolver built on the same frame should be able to handle those pressure levels as well. Although some references state the .327 has a strengthened web and thicker case wall, so that is something to consider. Although it makes one wonder if some brands like Starline use the same case dimensions, aside from length.

So on the one hand, it should be quite safe to hotrod the .32 H&R for use in strong revolvers, such as the Ruger. On the other hand, one could use the excuse to just go buy another revolver and have both. :mrgreen:

In looking around, I have found very little published info for heavier bullets in the .32 H&R. None of my printed manuals list anything over 100 gr. for the cartridge. The only reference I've found is http://www.reloadammo.com/32hr-mag.htm, which does have several listings for a 115 gr. LRN.

What I find interesting is that using MD Smith's loads using HS6, I get higher velocities (and excellent accuracy) than any of the lighter bullet loads I've made, using data from my other manuals. Of course, pressure signs all look fine and brass drops easily out of the chambers.

So while I'm not looking to make this into a ".327 Short Magnum", there's probably some happy ground where one can safely go to higher pressures/velocities than what one typically finds in published manuals.

The load I really liked best out of my 6.5 inch 32 mag was a 115 grain hard cast Keith style 115 grain bullet with a maximum load of 296 it went 1350 and gives the 357 mag a run for its money .I loaded the 100 grain xtp to almost 1500 fps all these loads I used small rifle primers they will pop pistol primers .I shot a ton of 32 mag super hot loads in my pistols no problem except only use Starline brass the federal brass is crap .The Starline brass can go the maximum with small rifke primers .I shot snowshoe hares out to 100 yards with my 32 mag with those hot loads it wacked them over .I popped alot of porcupines too with it .