format_quoteIntroduced in 1984, the 32 H&R Magnum was the first 32-caliber revolver cartridge loaded to modern smokeless-powder pressures. The name of this round refers to the diameter of the case mouth, not the bullet; just as is true with many other revolver cartridges originated in the blackpowder era and those derived from the original, shorter, version of the same basic case.
With a longer case and a significantly higher working pressure, the 32 H&R is in a different class from its 32 S&W predecessors. However, for reasons that evade my understanding, H&R chose to limit case and cartridge length to significantly less than what is used for the 357, 41, and 44 Magnums and the 45 Colt. And, for equally hard-to-understand reasons, H&R also limited working pressure to significantly less than what might reasonably have been standardized.
The 32 H&R has limited performance and remains a marginal fight stopper, at best. Perhaps for this reason, it was not widely chambered and was, until quite recently, practically obsolete. Jason Cloessner at Lipseys* seems to have stifled that bleeding and this round is seeing a resurgence of popularity as of 2024.
* Lipseys is a major wholesaler for the gun industry. It facilitates sales of guns from many manufacturers to retailers across the nation at every level from mom and pop operations to the biggest corporations.
Folks owning a revolver chambered for the 32 H&R can assemble extremely good and useful ammunition using components designed for the 327 Federal using either of several propellants that generate near maximum performance in this cartridge and Lee offers the tools needed to take full advantage of these combinations with excellent results.
As with any revolver round, best practice is to apply a roll-crimp after seating the bullet. This helps to lock the bullet in place against chambering forces that might otherwise drive it into the case. I cannot too-strongly recommend getting a second seating-and-crimping die so you can have one adjusted to only seat the bullet and the second adjusted to only crimp the case mouth. Generally, attempting to do both operations in one step is a recipe for damaged and destroyed cases.
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