32 S&W or 32 S&W Long?

[Spaffo]

I just checked my Colt Police Positive and it is marked, " .32 Police". Dfletcher is correct. I will edit my earlier post.

[dogrunner]

32 S&W Long and Colt's 32 long/police is the same round. Colt used a different bullet and a different name, they are interchangeable.

You probably COULD shoot a .32 Colt round in a Smith chambering, but it'd be like shooting a .308 in an '06. Hell, I can fire .380's in my .357 if I invert the gun so the shell is back against the recoil plate!

That S&W case is .339 diameter....the Colt .318..............

[ironhorse1]

dog runner is confusing the Colt .32 long which has a heeled bullet and a smaller diameter for its replacement the Colt .32 NP a flatnosed version of the S&W long.

Read the specifications for both cartridges and the Colt .32 long has a smaller diameter case due to the use of a heeled bullet just like the bullet the.22 LR uses.

S&W .32 long and Colt NP--------------- Colt .32 long

Case type Rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)------Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter .337 in (8.6 mm)------Neck diameter .313 in (8.0 mm)
Base diameter .337 in (8.6 mm)------Base diameter .318 in (8.1 mm)
Rim diameter .375 in (9.5 mm)------Rim diameter .374 in (9.5 mm)
Rim thickness .055 in (1.4 mm)
Case length .920 in (23.4 mm) -----Case length 0.92 in (23 mm)
Overall length 1.280 in (32.5 mm)---Overall length 1.26 in (32 mm)
Primer type Small pistol
Maximum pressure 15,000 psi (100 MPa

Designed 1873 Colt .32 long
Specifications
Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter .313 in (8.0 mm)
Base diameter .318 in (8.1 mm)
Rim diameter .374 in (9.5 mm)
Case length 0.92 in (23 mm)
Overall length 1.26 in (32 mm)
Rifling twist 1:16
Primer type small pistol

[dogrunner]

dog runner is confusing the Colt .32 long which has a heeled bullet and a smaller diameter for its replacement the Colt .32 NP a flatnosed version of the S&W long.

Read the specifications for both cartridges and the Colt .32 long has a smaller diameter case due to the use of a heeled bullet just like the bullet the.22 LR uses.

S&W .32 long and Colt NP--------------- Colt .32 long

Case type Rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)------Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter .337 in (8.6 mm)------Neck diameter .313 in (8.0 mm)
Base diameter .337 in (8.6 mm)------Base diameter .318 in (8.1 mm)
Rim diameter .375 in (9.5 mm)------Rim diameter .374 in (9.5 mm)
Rim thickness .055 in (1.4 mm)
Case length .920 in (23.4 mm) -----Case length 0.92 in (23 mm)
Overall length 1.280 in (32.5 mm)---Overall length 1.26 in (32 mm)
Primer type Small pistol
Maximum pressure 15,000 psi (100 MPa

Designed 1873 Colt .32 long
Specifications
Bullet diameter .312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter .313 in (8.0 mm)
Base diameter .318 in (8.1 mm)
Rim diameter .374 in (9.5 mm)
Case length 0.92 in (23 mm)
Overall length 1.26 in (32 mm)
Rifling twist 1:16
Primer type small pistol

I'm not confusing a damn thing. The .32 LC IS...IS of smaller case diameter than the .32 S&W..........no way in hell does a .339 dia ctg. chamber in a .318 chamber..........yep, as I said, the LC .32 would likely shoot in a .32 S&W, but it AIN'T the same round!'

Further, less a reamer, I'd bet a C note and let you hold it that you cannot get that S&W round to fit a .32 Colt!

[Spaffo]

.32SWL works fine in a Colt revolver chambered for .32 Police. The others are different calibers
with similar names, hence the confusion?

[ironhorse1]

What has happened here is using the wrong description in posts which sends everyone off the topic. Reading over the posts here's where it all went south.

Dangunner said; Finally S&W Long is exactly same cartridge as .32 Long Colt.

That is incorrect as the Colt .32 long is an older cartridge with a smaller diameter case as dogrunner has pointed out.

The Colt version of the S&W long was called the .32 Colt New Police not .32 Long Colt.

Smle-man said; The .32 Long can be quite accurate in a good handgun. He doesn't specify that is the S&W long.

smithrjd said; 32 S&W Long and Colt's 32 long/police is the same round. Colt used a different bullet and a different name, they are interchangeable.

Colt did not call the cartridge a long anything as they already had a .Colt .32 long. To avoid using the S&W name they called the cartridge the Colt New Police or NP for short.

dfletcher said; The Colt 32 New Police, which I presume most are referring to, is the same as a 32 S&W while the lesser known "32 Colt" is slightly different.

Ding,ding,ding this is the correct answer. Except the 32 S&W should be the .32 S&W long and the 32 Colt that is different is the Colt .32 long.

Finally from dogrunner; 'm not confusing a damn thing. The .32 LC IS...IS of smaller case diameter than the .32 S&W..........no way in hell does a .339 dia ctg. chamber in a .318 chamber..........yep, as I said, the LC .32 would likely shoot in a .32 S&W, but it AIN'T the same round!'

This is also the correct answer and sorry about saying you were confused. Not exactly what I was going for at the time. Yes the Colt .32 long would fit and fire in a .32 S&W long chambered gun.

The .32 S&W long was introduced in 1896 so how many guns were chambered for the older long Colt before and after that date?

I hope I have it all right now as dogrunner will bite me if I don't.

irh

[Spaffo]

Good breakdown. Thanks Ironhorse.

[RayPDA]

[bohoki]

i got an h&r 32 it fits both i havent bought ammo for it in 10 years but the long was $1 less per box (ppu from miwal) and when firing they feel exactly the same
i'm guessing the 32 long is not loaded to full spec

[Mike A]

Strangely, the .32 S&W Long is somewhat popular in Europe for several reasons. One is that some countries didn't allow citizens to possess a "military caliber" handgun in the past. And the .32 ACP/7.65 Browning WAS a military caliber in many countries thru WWII. So some people went to another, legal .32.

And Olympic rapid-fire centerfire events are more popular in Europe than in the US and the standard chambering for that is .32 S&W Long even though most of the handguns used are semiautomatics! Walther, Pardini, and several Swiss manufacturers made (and may still make) these. Very expensive, fine handguns for this specialist event.

They use full wadcutters, somewhat like the S&W Model 52 uses full wadcutter .38 Spls. I've been told by competitors that the European .32 S&W Long wadcutters are loaded a little hotter than ours to ensure function in the blowback target autos they use.

Fiocchi also loads .32 S&W Longs with a 93 gr. FMJ, that looks like the one they load in their 7.65 Parabellum (Luger) rounds. Not sure what the ballistics are but it can't be much of a manstopper....

[dfletcher]

The 32 S&W Long is an excellent target cartridge. The S&W K22 and K38 get all the press, but the K32 is an equal performer. Trying to find one without emptying your wallet is a bit of a challenge.

Unfortunately, having buckets of low priced revolvers chambered for it doesn't exactly help its reputation.

[slamfire1]

The 32 S&W Long is an excellent target cartridge. The S&W K22 and K38 get all the press, but the K32 is an equal performer. Trying to find one without emptying your wallet is a bit of a challenge.

Unfortunately, having buckets of low priced revolvers chambered for it doesn't exactly help its reputation.

I have seen Pardini's on the firing lines of 2700 Bullseye matches chambered in 32 S&W Long. The cartridge is still a viable 50 yard target round. I don't see any 9mm's, that is one round that went on the Bullseye Pistol ash heap. But the 32 S&W Long, low recoil, excellent accuracy.

[Darto]

I have an old topbreak. I only shoot S&W, not S&W long. Top breaks are not a strong handgun and will not take much punishment, or so I was told.

[Mike A]

You were told correctly.

Only a few of the newest (or should I say "less ancient"?) were deliberately chambered for .32 S&W Long. Some of the others will chamber it because they were so sloppily made that there is no chamber taper at all. Most were intended for the .32 S&W, not the Long unless they are marked for it.

I have found a couple of crude Spanish and Belgian-made top breaks that would even chamber .32 H&R Mag, even though they are actually intended for either .32 S&W (the short one) or .320 (European designation for the .32 Short Colt, which we haven't even got to yet, have we?).

And we haven't got to the "other .32," the .32-20 WCF, which was made in the US and Spain, and will chamber most other .32 cartridges. That's NOT to say that you should shoot other .32s in a .32-20 unless it's to save your life!

I once bought a Colt Bisley .32-20 that was loaded when I got it and held four different size .32 cartridges, including two .32-20s. The owner didn't believe in "load one, skip one, load four" either--it was loaded in all six chambers.

[Spaffo]

.32-20 was a popular police caliber also.