Pat wrote:.32 S&W and the .30 Luger. Believe, it or not, I had guns chambered in these calibers, but have not seen ammo on the shelves at the likes of Cabela's for years now. I used to find it in just about every hardware store up north, but certainly not for a great while.
The .32 S&W in a j frame is fairly anemic, but in pre Trauma center days, and pre antibiotics, it was a common police gun,
I have three, actually one is a .32 new police, but they're exactly the same, and I am trying to find more brass and bullets for them without having to order, cheapest stuff I find locally is loaded ammo at the goose for 29 bucks a box, so thats out.
Its a great woodsgun round, just like the .32 h&r, you can load them down to popper loads, and load them up fairly well, The loading manuals are all pretty scared of some of the old IJ or Hopkins and allen's as well as the Rohm's and RG's that come here in the 50's so they keep the pressures way way down on .32 S&W. I have found they can take a LOT more than the printed data.
I have kept one as a hunting vest gun, first two are round ball over 2 grains of uniique, good for about 550 FPS, which drops grouse and bunnies dead and almost no report.
loading V130 under a 100 grain SWC gives just about 900 fps, and will finish a deer or take a coyote thats nosey.
I really wish S&W would make a simple no frills .327 fed in a 3 or 4 inch Jframe, that case can be loaded very hot, and it makes a very nice all purpose woods gun, You can run the 115 grain LBT to just about 1500 fps, which is a darn good all purpose SD to Coyote round, and in the same gun, drop in 1.5 grains of Trail boss under a single ought buck ball and get 450 fps. you can shoot that indoors all day long and never let the neighbors know.
