32 S&W, 32 H&R Mag

[ShadowFlight]

Hello all, happy new year, well we can all hope for a good one. Anyway, just acquired a single six in 32 mag, the manual says I can use S&W 32 and longs in it? Question is, when I put a Remington 32SW short in the cylinder, um, it's not real tight in the cylinder? There is just a very, very little wiggle room, not much. Is this normal? The gun has not been fired much at all, no visible drag line at all, bore looks like new. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[5of7]

Yes, it is normal to have a slight amount of wiggle room when chambering a straight walled pistol round.

When it is fired, the case will expand to seal the breech. 8)

 

[clayflingythingy]

My gun is quite accurate with H&R magnums. Not so accurate with 32 Long. Never tried any 32 S&W.

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!
I own over 1/2 dozen 32 H&R mags. I also own a 327 Mag Blackhawk. I have shot the very tiny 32 S&W shorts, the Longs, the Mags etc without any issues. Yes, the shorts do seem to wiggle a very tiny bit, but do not worry. Enjoy them.

 

[Big Old Boy]

I sold my 32 mag years ago and boy do I miss that gun, I kick myself each time I read about one.

 

[32magfan]

I have north of a dozen 32's mostly h&r mags. I don't shoot that many of the short ones but I have never worried about the little bit of wiggle.

If you want to really enjoy the 32's, you will want to look at reloading. The powder usage is low per round and the guns I have all do well with lead bullets. Casting your own saves even more.

Enjoy your new revolver.

32Magfam

 

[Big Old Boy]

32 Magfan, if you ever think you need to sell one you know less to store and clean keep my in mind I'm just down the road.

 

[Dale53]

I bought a Ruger Single Six in .32 magnum when they were introduced. I later on got an S&W Model 631 (4") an S&W Model 16-4 (6") and a Ruger Sp101 (4"). Talk about an addiction. A good friend talked me out of the Ruger.

The original Federal brass was very poor quality. Several in a box would split every time I loaded them (was NOT a gun or load issue was just bad brass). Then, almost immediately after the guns hit the market, Federal quit selling all brass to consumers. Gr-r-r-r!!

Fortunately, I had a commercial loader friend who had a barrel (literally) full of S&W Long once fired brass. I tried a thousand of those and discovered that my various .32's worked very well with those cases. Since my desire was mostly target and edible small game, I really didn't suffer at all. I ended up with about three thousand of those cases. When Starline started producing cases (really good brass, too) I bought several thousand for me and a shooting buddy.

I believe the .32 S&W Long and the .32 H&R Magnum are very useful little guns in the field and on the range. A bonus is that they require very little lead and powder to keep them running.

The O.P. has a gem and I believe he'll really like that single six.

Dale53

 

[sandman228]

i have the 327 in a gp100 and fire 32 h&r out of it all the time . I tried 32 s&w long out of it once didn't like the sounds of it and they leaded the forcing cone . I would love to own 1 of the 32h&r/32 20 convertables .I think with the prices and availability of 22 lr ammo that the 32s&w/32 h&r will gain some popularity in the future more so with reloaders.

 

[32magfan]

Big Old Boy,

I can't seem to ever let one go. Not too many 32's show up around here so I have been getting my fix on 41's, 44's and 45's etc. I traded a few non-32 guns a while back and kinda miss those I let go. I do like the new ones as they are still "new" and fun to play with.

The 32's are like a comfortable old pair of shoes. You never want to get rid of them.

And to quote Roy D. Mercer, "Just how big a boy are ya?". :mrgreen:

If you are close, I like to get together with RF members at a nearby range. Its always fun to look at guns, shoot them and the bull.

I go 5'10" and 285-290lbs. depending on the access to food during the day. :wink: I met some of the RF guys in'06 at the RCA display show when they still had it in Smyrna. I was one of the smaller guys there!! You'll fit right in.

Thanks,

32Magfan

 

[swoter]

Anyone have a mold recommendation? Looks like Lee's is a 90 grain tumble lube, not a big fan of the tumble lube bullets.

 

[ShadowFlight]

Wow, what a great forum! Thanks for all the info. Yep I just kind'a forgot about the wiggle, the 586 Smith has just a little too. I do a lot of shooting at the Manatee Gun Club (Fl) if anyone is close, maybe we can get together sometime.
JP

 

[sandman228]

Anyone have a mold recommendation? Looks like Lee's is a 90 grain tumble lube, not a big fan of the tumble lube bullets.

like it or not the lee tumble lube 90 gr swc shoots great out of my gp100 327. ive also got the 100 gr rn mold its ok but not as good as the swc .

 

[32magfan]

I load an 85 gr RN for plinking and a 115 gr RNFP that was originally for the 32-20. It works great in the 32 H&R and the 327 Federal. Try Clays powder with the lead bullets if you can find any. 4.0 gr Clays with 115 RNFP does 1, 000fps from my 327 Blackhawk. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

32Magfan

 

[varminter22]

I load an 85 gr RN for plinking and a 115 gr RNFP that was originally for the 32-20. It works great in the 32 H&R and the 327 Federal. Try Clays powder with the lead bullets if you can find any. 4.0 gr Clays with 115 RNFP does 1, 000fps from my 327 Blackhawk. :mrgreen:

Thanks,

32Magfan

Who makes your 85 gr RN? Is it lead, copper plated, or jacketed?

I sure would like to find some copper plated lead 85 gr RN bullets.

Have been using Hornady 85 gr XTP, Sierra 90 gr JHP, Magnus 100 gr lead SWC, and Berry's 83 gr copper plated DEWC. All with good results. But, again, sure would like to find come copper plated bullets in that weight range, for light/medium loads.

About 20 years ago, I tried the Speer 100 gr JHP - with poor accuracy in my Single Six .32. Same results in a friends Single Six.

 

[32magfan]

Both bullets are cast bullets. RCBS made the 85 and several companies maufacture a mold to fit the old 32-20 115 gr RNFP. You should be able to find lightweight cast in the 80-90 gr range easily. Try Berry's or Ranier for the plated ones they carry.

I have always had decent results with xtp bullets and cast in the 32's.

32Magfan

 

[varminter22]

Thanks.

Apparently no one makes an 85 or 90 gr plated RN.

 

[Green Frog]

Truth to tell, it's hard to find a standard bullet that doesn't shoot well from the 32 family... they're just so adaptable. Pull one of the smallest round nose or wad cutter designs you can find to load that 32 S&W (the short one) especially look for the designs marketed for the 32 ACP. In reality though, 32 S&W Longs are so much easier to find, they're my choice for routine use.

Froggie

 

[swoter]

Until I find a mold I like, I'll just order some from Missouri Bullet Co. The 100 grain round nose flat point design looks pretty good.

 

[TinStarFirearms]

Swoter,
I buy the Missiouri Bullet Company 100grain bullet two boxes at a time because I like them so much. Get about 900FPS over 3.0-3.3 grains of Titegroup. Just an absolute fantastic cartridge.

Andrew