# .32 calibre ammi



## Abbaji (Jan 30, 2021)

Which is more powerful a .32 revolver or a .32 pistol ammo and why?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

As far as I know .32ACP pistol ammo is more powerful than .32 S&W revolver ammo.

I think it's because of technological advances in both ammo and handgun designs. The .32 S&W was used in those old top break revolvers of the late 1800's. Whereas the .32ACP was used in the more modern semi auto pistols that appeared at the turn of the century. The Browning 1900 and the Colt 1903. The .32ACP is still being used today. For how long is anyone's guess?

I've got both a Beretta .32 Tomcat and a NAA .32 Guardian that use the .32ACP cartridge. When I see ammo for them I grab it as I don't see it that often. Even before the great American ammo shortage as of late. More people are opting for the .380's as a minimum for any serious self defense purpose when looking for the smallest concealable gun.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Merely asking to compare .32 revolver or .32 pistol ammunition is not enough.
There are many different ".32" cartridges, some more and some less powerful.

For instance, for the revolver, there's .327 Federal Magnum and .32 H&R Magnum, both of which are quite powerful, and .32-20 Winchester which is more powerful than most other .32 cartridges.

And for the semi-auto, there's 7.62x25mm Tokarev, 7.63x25mm Mauser, and 7.65x21mm Luger, all of which are much more powerful than the .32 ACP.

Although I am not absolutely certain, I believe that .32 ACP is a little more powerful than .32 Colt New Police and .32 S&W Long (both of which are, essentially, the same revolver cartridge). And .32 S&W "Short" is about as powerless as you can get, if you can ever find any.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Merely asking to compare .32 revolver or .32 pistol ammunition is not enough.
> There are many different ".32" cartridges, some more and some less powerful.
> 
> For instance, for the revolver, there's .327 Federal Magnum and .32 H&R Magnum, both of which are quite powerful, and .32-20 Winchester which is more powerful than most other .32 cartridges.
> ...


I would think that it probably is if the .32 Colt New Police and .32 S&W Long work in those old top break revolvers from the late 1800's? I'm just guessing that those old revolvers were very popular from that time period as I've seen plenty of them at gun shows and in gun store cases.

I was trying to make a general comparison between two similar cartridges. Kinda' like comparing a 9mm to a .38 Special. Of course not taking into consideration different bullet weights.

The .32ACP is still in production today. I don't think that the .32 S&W is? It's pretty much obsolete. Which leads me to believe that the .32ACP is the superior cartridge.

I believe that the 7.62x25mm Tokarev, 7.63x25mm Mauser, and 7.65x21mm Luger are bottleneck cartridges designed for semi auto's that were used in the 1930's and into World War Two? I don't know or think that there are any revolvers that use those cartridges? I'm not sure but I think that the case diameter is the same as the 9mm? Kinda' like the .357 Sig's case diameter is the same as the .40 or 10mm. Then there's the .32 NAA which is a bottleneck .380 case with a .32 caliber bullet.

I believe that the .32-20 Winchester, .327 Federal Magnum and .32 H&R Magnum are designed for revolvers. I don't think that there are any semi auto's that use those cartridges?

I've got some old U.M.C .38 Short cartridges that fit perfectly in a modern .38 or .357 revolver. I believe these first came out in the late 1800's and were used in those old top break revolvers too, and were later on used in those early hand ejectors. Not that I'm gonna' do it but I think that they would work in a modern .38 or .357 revolver.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

desertman said:


> I would think that it probably is if the .32 Colt New Police and .32 S&W Long work in those old top break revolvers from the late 1800's? I'm just guessing that those old revolvers were very popular from that time period as I've seen plenty of them at gun shows and in gun store cases.


*Both of those cartridges were also used in "modern" swing-out-cylinder Colts and S&Ws. The ready-to-retire cop on the beat, where I lived from 1946 through 1955 in NYC, was armed with a Colt New Service revolver in .32, which he had had to buy for himself according to NYPD regulations. We kids were in awe of him because he was friendly, but strict.*



desertman said:


> I was trying to make a general comparison between two similar cartridges. Kinda' like comparing a 9mm to a .38 Special. Of course not taking into consideration different bullet weights.
> 
> The .32ACP is still in production today. I don't think that the .32 S&W is? It's pretty much obsolete. Which leads me to believe that the .32ACP is the superior cartridge.


*I suppose so, too. The .32 S&W Short is as obsolete as the .38 S&W: try to find a box of them, and you'll see that there aren't any.*



desertman said:


> I believe that the 7.62x25mm Tokarev, 7.63x25mm Mauser, and 7.65x21mm Luger are bottleneck cartridges designed for semi auto's that were used in the 1930's and into World War Two? I don't know or think that there are any revolvers that use those cartridges? I'm not sure but I think that the case diameter is the same as the 9mm? Kinda' like the .357 Sig's case diameter is the same as the .40 or 10mm. Then there's the .32 NAA which is a bottleneck .380 case with a .32 caliber bullet.


*You are correct, I believe. Further, the 9mm bullet is .355, rather than .357; and most ".32" bullets, and 7.60-something-mm bullets too, are really .30 bullets.*



desertman said:


> I believe that the .32-20 Winchester, .327 Federal Magnum and .32 H&R Magnum are designed for revolvers. I don't think that there are any semi auto's that use those cartridges?


*Correct again.*



desertman said:


> I've got some old U.M.C .38 Short cartridges that fit perfectly in a modern .38 or .357 revolver. I believe these first came out in the late 1800's and were used in those old top break revolvers too, and were later on used in those early hand ejectors. Not that I'm gonna' do it but I think that they would work in a modern .38 or .357 revolver.


*Yes, they would. Those .38 Shorts are nothing like the .38 S&W: the diameters of bullet and case are quite different.*


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> *Both of those cartridges were also used in "modern" swing-out-cylinder Colts and S&Ws. The ready-to-retire cop on the beat, where I lived from 1946 through 1955 in NYC, was armed with a Colt New Service revolver in .32, which he had had to buy for himself according to NYPD regulations. We kids were in awe of him because he was friendly, but strict.*
> 
> *I suppose so, too. The .32 S&W Short is as obsolete as the .38 S&W: try to find a box of them, and you'll see that there aren't any.*
> 
> ...


Interesting information! Don't you just love talking about guns? I've got 18 rounds of those .38 Shorts. I think that I'll just keep them as collectors items? I found them when I was a kid while helping clean out my grandfather's workshop. They were just loose and I wish I had the original box. For some reason I've kept them all these years? I don't know where he got them from or why he had them as he never owned a gun. In fact he hated guns. They may have belonged to my uncle who became a cop right after the war. But I believe that the police at that time were armed with .38 Special revolvers.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

desertman said:


> ...I've got 18 rounds of those .38 Shorts...They may have belonged to my uncle who became a cop right after the war. But I believe that the police at that time were armed with .38 Special revolvers.


As with my friend, the NYPD beat cop, your uncle's department may have "grandfathered-in" other cartridges, used in pistols already owned by sworn officers.
Or maybe your uncle used the .38 Short cartridges for low-recoil practice, or even for qualification, in his .38 Special duty pistol. The .38 Short fits the .38 Special chamber, just as .38 Special fits the .357 Magnum chamber.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> As with my friend, the NYPD beat cop, your uncle's department may have "grandfathered-in" other cartridges, used in pistols already owned by sworn officers.
> Or maybe your uncle used the .38 Short cartridges for low-recoil practice, or even for qualification, in his .38 Special duty pistol. The .38 Short fits the .38 Special chamber, just as .38 Special fits the .357 Magnum chamber.


Yeah, I just assumed they were my uncle's? My grandfather hated guns and wanted nothing to do with them. He used to get pissed off when my parents bought me toy guns especially when they bought me a BB gun and pellet pistol. My grandmother though was okay with them. When I got my first real gun a Universal .30 M1 carbine I used to go target shooting at their summer cottage. She always wanted the targets to see how I did. Of course my grandfather was no longer around.

Then I started getting into handguns and bought a 1911 in .38 Super as my first followed shortly after with an S&W Model 29 then a Ruger Redhawk and then and then and then. If my grandfather was around and saw that I was into handguns he really would have had a shit fit. I didn't buy my first .22 until several years after that. I still have it a Winchester 9422 XTR.

I think that I was about 8 years old when I found those old .38 Shorts? I was like WOW those are real bullets. I remember when I was 4 or 5 and my uncle showed me his revolver and I was scared to death of it. Obviously that fear didn't last very long. I really don't know why I've kept those old .38 Shorts for this long? Childhood memories probably. I happened to find one of these old Hubley cap pistols that I had as a kid. I used to love that thing it even had fake rifling.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

desertman said:


> ...I happened to find one of these old Hubley cap pistols that I had as a kid. I used to love that thing it even had fake rifling.


I had one of those. I saved-up my allowance for it, and for the caps.
I also had a very realistic, but reduced-size, Colt's Single Action Army cap gun. I'd saved-up for that one, too.
It was just after the end of WW2, and toy guns, and G.I. surplus, were what made kids' lives interesting. Will Dabbs just recently published a short essay on that subject.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I had one of those. I saved-up my allowance for it, and for the caps.
> I also had a very realistic, but reduced-size, Colt's Single Action Army cap gun. I'd saved-up for that one, too.
> It was just after the end of WW2, and toy guns, and G.I. surplus, were what made kids' lives interesting. Will Dabbs just recently published a short essay on that subject.


I don't remember who made it, I think it was Marx? I had a realistic looking 1911 that had plastic cartridges and you could load the magazine, rack the slide and eject the cartridges. I also had a plastic M-14 made by them and God only knows how many other toy and squirt guns.

I remember having a squirt gun that was made by Parks plastics that resembled a .25 ACP Colt vest pocket pistol. That was one of my favorites.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Don't tell my wife, but we only used squirt guns on girls.

I lived only a half-block from a huge park that ran almost all of the length of Manhattan Island, right next to the Hudson River. We kids from my entire neighborhood used to play there, every chance we got.
Quite near to the park entrance closest to where I lived, there was a very large bush which had grown hollow (under its branches) with age. Several of us could fit inside, and not be seen from without. It was our "hideout."
The older kids used it for purposes other than playing aggressive war games, and we younger kids learned a lot from watching them.
One of the interesting facts I learned was that, if you annoyed a girl with a squirt gun, but still exercised proper and polite consideration, she would gladly join you inside the bush.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> she would gladly join you inside the bush.


Huh? I didn't need a squirt gun for that?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Don't tell my wife, but we only used squirt guns on girls.
> 
> I lived only a half-block from a huge park that ran almost all of the length of Manhattan Island, right next to the Hudson River. We kids from my entire neighborhood used to play there, every chance we got.
> Quite near to the park entrance closest to where I lived, there was a very large bush which had grown hollow (under its branches) with age. Several of us could fit inside, and not be seen from without. It was our "hideout."
> ...


You mean to tell me that you didn't need a permit to possess a squirt gun?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Goldwing said:


> Huh? I didn't need a squirt gun for that?


No, I'm just not going to say anything I'd get censored for.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

If you didn't need a squirt gun, then you were already a 'teen-ager, and so were the girls.

I was somewhat younger, and I found that I had to get the (equally younger) girl's attention first.
Hence the squirt gun.


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