I’m glad to see the .32 H&R Magnum has been developing a significant following these days after languishing in the shadow of the .327 Federal for decades. I think, like the .357 fired in a small-frame revolver, even the .327 Federal can be a handful. From what I can see, people buy a J-Frame in .327, shoot it a few times, then promptly put it away or load it with .32 H&R magnums.
The .327 hovers in the 45,000 PSI range, whereas the .32 Mag. is a more manageable 21,000 PSI. When a .327 goes off, all that fire, brimstone and recoil energy has to go someplace. Have you ever fired a .357 in a small, lightweight revolver? Yikes. Yet, ballistic gel testing shows both the .32 Mag. and the .38 can deliver deep penetration and do it with much less fuss. What’s not to like?
Lipsey’s (a distributor in the industry) and S&W recently showed their savvy market knowledge with the introduction of their “Ultimate Carry J-Frame” in .38 Special and — wait for it — .32 H&R Magnum. To sweeten the deal, not only is the .32 Mag. controllable, accurate and easy to shoot, it manages to cram an “extra” round into that cylinder, allowing a tiny J-Frame to carry six .32s rather than five .38s. So we have similar performance between the two cartridges and identical guns, both loaded with features. So why not choose the extra capacity and lower recoil of the .32? Indeed, why not?
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