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.32 long vs. .32 auto

combine7700combine7700 Member Posts: 32 ✭✭
edited November 2002 in Ask the Experts
Hello
My friend has an old Smith & Wesson .32 long revolver and he wants to know if it is ok to use .32 auto rounds in this gun????
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    jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    No. The .32 S&W long has a rim, the .32 auto does not. You might get away with firing, but ejection is gonna be problematic. A half moon clip would work if it could be found.

    "...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf
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    v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The 32 ACP is a semi rimmed case like the 25 and 38 auto. It will chamber properly but doesn't have enough rim to extract reliably.
    The 32 ACP operates at 3000 psi higher chamber pressure than the 32 Long. You're on your own as far as shooting the 32 ACP. Personally,
    I would shoot it in a post WW2 S&W but not in a turn of the century gun. Additionally, the 32 auto has an FMJ bullet that may be hard on the older soft steel barrels.
    At the age of 11 or 12, I blew up a top break Thames Arms revolver in 38 S&W using 38 Super ammo which was all I could "get". At about the third shot the barrel catch disintegrated and the cylinder flew over my head. Not knowing when to quit, I wired the the gun closed and fired it a few more times before being caught. This was a case of gross overload and luckily the cylinder or barrel didn't burst.
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    IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    combine: short answer, for reasons noted above - NO!

    My personal firearms safety rule #3: "*NEVER, EVER* shoot anything in a firearm other than the exact cartridge for which it is marked." There are a few exceptions, but not many, and cartridge ID nomenclature being as confusing as it is, one can experience serious trouble by acting on intuition. There are many near matches, but close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades. The latter can be an apt analogy in employing the wrong ammo in a firearm - which is the very good reason why every firearm is marked with the caliber of the cartridge to be used in it. And only that caliber.
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    redcedarsredcedars Member Posts: 919 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Combine:

    What Iconoclast said. And a hearty "Amen!" Firing a gun involves the (hopefully) controlled release of thousands of pounds per square inch of exrememly hot gases; if the gases escape containment all hell can break loose. It ain't worth it partner. SAFETY FIRST!!!

    redcedars

    "The true art of war lies in so sapping your opponent's will to fight that he surrenders without battle." Sun Tzu
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    ATFATF Member Posts: 11,683 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My short answer is YES.I have a S&W Mod 16 in which they work OK. and a Charter Arms Target Bulldog and they work OK in that also.Very little trouble ejecting.I don't think the accuracy is as good as the.32 H&R Mags or the .32 longs but is accecptable.The .32 Auto is not a rimless cartridge it's SEMI RIMMED.Same as a .38 Super is semi rimmed.I would agree with V35 and not shot them out of the older guns.

    ATF

    Edited by - ATF on 11/02/2002 11:35:09

    Edited by - ATF on 11/02/2002 11:37:21
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