The .32 H & R Magnum was introduced in 1984. It was a joint development of the Federal Cartridge Company and Harrington & Richardson. Any firearm chambered for the .32 Magnum can also use the earlier .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long cartridges and .32 H&R Mag. cartridges can be used in .327 Magnum revolvers.

This is a useful and balanced cartridge. it shoots flat enough from a 4" barreled revolver to be zeroed at 75 yards for use in the field and the recoil is mild. Killing power is about like the standard .38 Special. It is a fine small game cartridge and a useful understudy to full power .327 Magnum cartridges in a .327 revolver.

Federal offers two factory loads for the .32 Magnum, a 95 grain lead semi-wadcutter bullet at 1030 fps and 225 ft. lbs. of energy, and an 85 grain JHP bullet (SD .125) at 1100 fps with 230 ft. lbs. of energy, measured in a 4" revolver barrel. The latter load is the one to use for hunting or defense and Hornady offers a similar factory load. Unfortunately, the other major loading companies do not load for the .32 Mag.

According to the Speer Reloading Manual Number 13 their 100 grain JHP bullet (SD .147) can be driven to a MV of 1039 fps by 9.5 grains of H110 powder, and 1140 fps by 10.5 grains of H110. The latter load carries almost 290 ft. lbs. of ME. These loads were developed using Federal cases and CCI 500 primers, and tested in the 5.5" barrel of a Ruger Single Six revolver.

Note: A complete article about the .32 H&R Mag. can be found on the Handgun Cartridge Page.