32 HR magnum for a SW 432?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I have nice SW 632 SS comp'ed 3 inch revolver. I'm going to shoot it at a match as 'outlaw'. I've decided that I will use up some of the
Federal Personal Defense .32 H&R Magnum 85 Grain JHP I have stashed for a few years.

However, I bought that gun for grins and don't really carry it. I do carry my 432PD as a bug or getting the mail gun.

Thus, I request opinions on loads for this cute little snubby.

I recall Tam not liking the Hornady 80 gr CD load. Got a couple of boxes.

There's a MagSafe Personal Defense .32 H&R Mag 36 Grain - 36 grain HUH?

Black Hills Ammunition 32 H&R Magnum 85 Grain Jacketed Hollow - Got a couple of boxes of this.

Buffalo Bore Ammunition 32 H&R Magnum +P 100 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

32 H&R Magnum Master Cartridge 100gr. HP Ammo - got some of that.

Opinions on the choice to replenish stocks. I like to keep a few hundred rounds for each gun in case of zombies, Hillzilla attack, and the like.

[Tamara]

The 100gr SJHP is the bullet that intrigued me the most in the clambering. Georgia Arms used to load it pretty warm, but have since cut their offering back to the 85gr JHP*, which seems light-for-caliber to me.

I think there are 95gr LSWCs from Federal in my gun right now, mostly because it was what I had on hand after my last range session with it. The Buffalo Bore load has my interest enough to look into shooting some jello for kicks.


*Their QC took a nosedive about a decade ago, too. It was a shame.

[Wheeler]

Looks like Buffalo Bore still has a 100 grain +P loading. Is the 432 rated for the 'hot' loads?

[Tamara]

Max SAAMI pressure for .32 H&R Mag is only 1k psi more than .38 Spl +P.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Thanks. An update. So I shot the match using the Federal HP, Fed semi wad cutters and some misc. reloads from some dude. The latter were in a baggie in the ammo cave.

The 32 mag round is not without a touch of recoil push. But it's manageable for sure. The gun (632) functioned quite well. I hit the targets reasonably well. I certainly had less points down than some semi folks. One think I had to adjust to on the first stage is that I shot high. With the fiber optic and white U shaped rear (that I added to the gun), I wasn't getting the front site down into correct alignment. But I adjusted to that. One steel popper took a round and just looked at me so I hit it again. Other steel fell.

Reloading for me was SLOW! I was using HKS speed loaders. Aligning the small diameter 32 rounds in a small diameter J frame cylinder took some concentration. I also shot slower as I was conscious of the different DA trigger pull and wanted to practice that. I haven't shot a wheel gun for a bit. Took some razzing from the 1911 crowd.

My thought as that the 32 J frames are nice bugs. I wouldn't carry the 632 as a primary SD gun but if I had to due to some circumstance it would work but with crappy reload speed. The 632 was a fun gun. I think it would be a good home SD gun for the smaller handed person who was revolver friendly. I'm ignoring the high end many round incident scenario. A 432 is a fine pocket Bug.

Some shooting beginners who were just fine and one who was really scary. Comprehension of simple range instructions was beyond such.

[Wheeler]

I shot an IDPA match about a year or so ago with my 3" 30-1. The HKS ammo management devices masquerading as speedloaders gave me fits. Of the three I had every single one had a spot that would not release one cartridge. After the match I did some investigating and all three had a rough spot.

Other than that, it was a fun match. The 98 grain RNL's knocked down the few steel targets on the bay's but it wasn't with any sort of authority.

[pangloss]

I'm currently carrying the Black Hills ammo, but I didn't have any special insight when I picked that load. Buffalo Bore 100gr +P is next on my list to try.