Model 431PD .32 H&R Magnum question

[Doug.38PR]

I just bought a Model 431PD .32 H&R Magnum for a summer carry gun and backup gun. A nice little airweight revolver with 6 shots instead of the five shot .38. Traded a little energy for one extra shot in .32 magnum.

What I want to know is, is this gun able to shoot other .32 caliber rounds such as the .32 long and the .32 S&W?

I don't want to damage the gun. But I'd like to know if I have lighter alternatives to the magnum round for shooting and in case I don't care for the recoil of a full length magnum.

Thank you,

Doug

[omegapd]

Yup.

Magtech makes a nice little SJHP in .32 S&W Long thats a bunch of fun to shoot.

You could even shoot .32 acp if you want, but it probably won't be very accurate.

[BillCA]

I owned the Taurus 731 version of the S&W gun until it was stolen. Sweet little gun to shoot.

You can fire .32 S&W Long or the shorter .32 S&W cartridges in your .32 Mag. I recommend you take a cleaning rod & brush with you to the range however, as the non-magnum rounds will leave leading in the chambers. Running the brush through the chambers about every 24 rounds makes later clean up less burdensome.

You can even fire the .32 ACP cartridge though I've heard some reports of misfires and hangfires because it's a rimless round. I've never tried it myself as I have no use for anything less than the .32 Long.

You'll find that the .32 S&W Long cartridge is not a bargain priced ammo selection. You'll save considerably over the .32 H&R Mag rounds though. I've seen a box of 50 .32 Longs go for as much as $15 a box here in Kalifornia.

Since my Taurus was steel, the recoil was negligible. I suspect that in your Airweight you'll find that the recoil is less objectionable by a wide margin than the .38+P ammo from a 2" Model 36. The .32 is loud and will probably produce a lot of flash, but the recoil itself shouldn't be too bad.

Let me know how you like yours after firing it. I'm thinking of locating a "Centennial" style .32 H&R here in the PRK for myself.

[Doug.38PR]

I haven't fired it yet. I've been practicing with it and the action is good kind of tight. I guess it just needs a little working into as the gun is fresh from the factory.

I did get a response from S&W and they emailed me back recommending that I only use 32 magnums......yet everybody else, here and on the Smith and Wesson gun forum seem to think nothing of firing .32 S&W or .32 Long or even .32 ACP.
Is smith and wesson just being careful with me or what?

[mfree]

.32 mag... goes without saying. .32S&W long, I found some old wadcutter target loads and tried them, accurate as all get out and no recoil.

.32 ACP loaded and fired just fine, no case swelling, accuracy is relegated to the "get off me!" class of shooting. Probably due to the jump to the forcing cone and the light weight of the bullet.

The only thing that *should* fit that I haven't tried is .32S&W, because I'm likely to never find the stuff

I have a 432PD btw, I love the little beastie.

EDIT:

By the way, anyone who thinks .32ACP is rimless ought to pick up a couple and look at them *real* closely

[BillCA]

The only thing I'd be concerned about when firing a .32 S&W or .32 ACP is that long jump it has to take to reach the forcing cone. But hey, if it works, it works. But I'll stick with the .32 Long and .32 H&R's thank you.

[BigSlick]

The 32 H&R is also gaining some popularity as a carry gun. Not the powerhouse that others are, but with the 100 gr Hornady JHP bullet, the little mag is now finding it's way thru the theoretical stopping power circles.

Depending upon who you believe (as that kind of stuff always is) the 32H&R is somewhat equivalent to a 38 special.

The H&R mag is hella easy to reload for practice, so I usually don't fiddle with the other options.

The .311 100 gr Hornady's are $10 or so a box of 100, and 3.1 grains of Titegroup does a nice clean job of getting it downrange on the cheap.

If you don't want to look all over the place for the 32 S&W or the long, reloading is simple as can be. Kinda like a mini .357, brass is cheap compared to many calibers and being a revolver it's easy to keep track of. The Titegroup starting load is a powder puff, but you can load many different/slower powders for a little more oomph. H4227 works well to drive it to the 1000 ft. + range

Just a thought

BigSlick

[BillCA]

If one is carrying a six-shot .32 H&R Magnum loaded with Federal ammo, I don't think you'd find yourself "undergunned" against most likely scenarios. Of course if someone is popping a high-cap 9mm or .40 at you, any revolver is going to seem quite limited.

[Blue Heeler]

One thing you will notice if you are using speedloaders with wadcutters or BNWC is that the .32 longs won't feed well into the cylinder - they're not long enough.For that reason only, I always use the Magnum cases (my preference in cases is 'Starline' - they last longer than other varieties I have tried.)

[Doug.38PR]

I fired the gun for the first time today.

It's pretty accurate. I shot a blue silouette target from 25 yards away with pretty quick shooting one shot per second. No real small point to aim at on those silouette targets especially at that range, just aim at the general chest area. got all 6 shots in the chest area. Then picked a small piece of junk on the field abotu 50 yards away about the size of a letter size sheet of paper lying on the groud. Got 5 shots within one foot of it and the sixth right through it sending it flying.

My only complaint against the gun is that is is kinda stiff to shoot. The action is kinda tight jerky. Any thoughts on this? The gun is fresh from that factory.

[Blue Heeler]

For a quick fix, if you are lucky, you could try backing off the mainspring pressure. Guns often come out of the factory with excessive hammer strike.
The reason is obvious - they want it to go off. If you fiddle with it, and make sure that any relaxation of the spring tension will still set off the ammo you use it could improve matters. Also, do the tests D/A, S/A hits harder than D/A so if D/A is OK S/A will be too.

[BillCA]

Doug,

Most S&Ws now days come with heavy "lawyer resistant" springs. You might try a Wolff spring kit. But I'd wait a bit until after firing about 200 rounds. Most S&W's get easier & smoother as you use them. I think most modern J-frames are coil mainsprings, but don't go snipping off turns of coils (use a Wolff spring instead).

Get some snap-caps (.32 ACP should work if .32 Long/Mag aren't available) and do several hundred dry fires. Remember you want to practice good trigger control while dry firing so you don't develop bad habits or abuse the gun.

[mfree]

I'm going to hand my 432 over to our gunsmiths tuesday, since I don't work wednesdays... We'll see what the improvement feels like

[Gatofeo]

Just a little warning here:
NEVER fire .32 Long Colt, or .32 Short Colt, ammo in that revolver. Both of these cartridges have cases smaller in diameter than the .32 S&W or the .32 S&W Long.
Fire either the .32 Long or Short Colt and the case will likely split, spitting hot gases back toward you.
.32 Long Colt ammo has not been made in nearly 30 years but you still find individual cartridges in loose boxes of .32 Smith & Wesson Long, on occasion. Watch those headstamps to determine what you have, if the ammo is not in its original packaging!
.32 Long Colt ammo will be marked 32 LONG COLT, 32 LC or 32 COLT.
.32 Short Colt ammo will be marked 32 SHORT COLT, 32 SH COLT or 320 (European or British made ammo).

Some years back, .32 Smith & Wesson Long ammo had two names: 32 S&W Long and 32 Colt New Police!
Here's how that came about: Colt had its .32 Long Colt cartridge. Smith & Wesson introduced its .32 S&W Long, which proved to be far more accurate. Colt wanted to start chambering its revolvers for the Smith & Wesson cartridge, but didn't want to acknowledge its greatest competitor on the barrel, designating the caliber.
So, Colt slightly changed the bullet design, from the pointed bullet of the Smith & Wesson to a bullet with a slight flat (meplat) on the end. That's the only difference between these cartridges. The cases are identical.
So, if you find cartridges marked 32 COLT NP, 32 NEW POLICE or 32 COLT NEW POLICE they may be fired in your revolver.
But beware! They may be so old as to have corrosive primers. It would be better to save such cartridges as an interesting relic of days gone by.
The empty cases bearing the Colt marking above may be reloaded, but many of them will have the old balloon head construction. They should not be used for anything but light loads, and certainly not with anything but lead bullets at that. Jacketed bullets raise pressures somewhat, all things being equal between a lead and jacketed bullet.

The .32 Magnum is a great, little round. I hear it creates wounds all out of proprortion to its size, owing to its higher velocity and the use of jacketed hollowpoints. Should be a dandy little defense revolver.