Lipsey's S&W 432 Ultimate Carry J Frame long term shooting evaluation.
I figured I would write this up as a thread that was separate from the other one about new 2024 Shot Show revolvers. This is going to be documenting shooting a fairly decent amount of rounds through the new 432 Ultimate Carry J Frame in .32 H&R.
I started a thread over on the 24 hour Campfire forum and for the sake of not re-writing everything, most of which is the same information, I am simply going to cut and paste that thread here for a couple of the posts at least:
Friends!
It has arrived!
https://i.imgur.com/m4JkDUEh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EN5gV4Uh.jpg
After carrying my ever present and faithful companion, S&W 442 for almost 25 years, I picked up a new J Frame. The 442 is not going anywhere, and is still going to get carried and shot, but it has a new, easier to shoot younger brother.
My 442 definitely has some miles on it. I finally exceeded roughly 6K rounds through it, but I am not sure exactly what the round count is. Suffice to say, it is still rocking along, but looks a little worse for wear (kind of like its owner).
https://i.imgur.com/hKLLatVl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/21O1cg4l.jpg
Last year I was asked if I wanted to be involved with a project with Lipsey's, who are the distributors who worked with S&W to bring out the Ultimate Carry J Frames. Naturally I said yes! Long story short, I developed a load that would shoot to right to the sights for the gun. As it ended up it also shot to the sights on a Ruger LCR that I had on hand for product development.
(For those who don't know, I have a small custom handgun ammo business.)
The ammo (a 100 grain poly coated full wadcutter) ran right at about 800 FPS for me, and 794-796 for the guys down in Louisiana when they did their product launch. Pretty darn consistent.
Anyways, the gun came out fantastic. Besides the truly excellent grips, the sights are the first thing that really stand out. The front sight just Pops. It immediately catches your eye.
I kind of had a hard time getting a pic of it with my phone, but it is exceptional.
https://i.imgur.com/yaCrJItl.jpg
The front and rear sight combo is such a night and day difference compared to what we have worked with for decades on your typical J Frame. It is just truly impressive. Wish they would have done this 30 years ago! The rear sight is a big U shaped trough and it is very easy to line up.
The grips, I was a little amused. They are almost identical in size to what I had built up with vet wrap and hockey tape on my old 442. Obviously these look a whole lot nicer!
Here is a pic of my old 442 grips and the new 432 grips. You can see how close they are. Needless to say, they are great.
Nice to get a set of factory grips out of the box that are done right. Plus they are relieved for speedloaders.
https://i.imgur.com/g57zJQ6l.jpg
More to follow...
250 rounds total now. Lipsey's 432 Ultimate Carry J Frame Lost River Ammo
Yesterday's weather was far nicer than the wind storm I tried to shoot in last Sunday.
I took my 432 UC and my G21.5 out to the range.
After adjusting the sights at home (purely guessing) I was back on the range to give it a try.
The first six rounds at 10 yards:
Once again, the ammo was my own making, these, which have been immensely popular:
https://i.imgur.com/bFYfp6tl.jpg
The first 6 rounds after the initial sight adjustment:
Obviously my guess was not quite on the money..
I ended up splitting the difference and getting it closer to the center...
https://i.imgur.com/JRKybhhl.jpg
The HKS Speedloaders came in too, so I used those while I was on the range. It is interesting to note, that even though they hold 6 rounds of .32 compared to 5 of .38, they are still a tad bit smaller. Aside from visually noticing the difference, I could tell just by handling them and slipping them into my pocket.
https://i.imgur.com/yf62sBFl.jpg
Went to 7 yards and put a bunch into the target, shooting two handed.
https://i.imgur.com/grANYE0l.jpg
Backed up to 10 yards and shot strong hand only, then weak hand only:
https://i.imgur.com/uCxLRTDl.jpg
I had a few rounds left that I shot at some distant shotgun shells that were littered on the ground, and watched them fly off. At least the one that I hit..
So now I have 250 rounds through the gun. The sights are miles above the old school design of the traditional J Frame. There is no question about it. The .32 is quite comfortable to shoot. The recoil makes putting one hundred rounds through the gun an enjoyable experience.
So taht is it until next time. Going to load up the speed loaders and carry at least one of those in my pocket when I carry the 432 as my BUG pocket gun.