.32 Colt vs .32 S&W - Be careful what you shoot

[alfsauve]

(Thought about putting this in handguns, but you can run into similar problems with rifles and shotguns.)

Got home from the range last night and was sorting all the brass I brought home.   There were 4 .32 Colt Long cartridges in very bad shape.



The one on the left was bulged but did not split.  The other three however were badly ruptured as you can see.  Obviously they were fired in a chamber too big for them.   

The .32 Colt (short and long) uses a rebated bullet base.   That is the base of the bullet is smaller than the bullet itself and the .32 Colt cartridge EXTERNAL dimension is the same size as the bullet.  Same thing as a .22LR.   The .32 Colt bullets a nominal .313 in diameter and so is the cartridge case.   The chamber in a gun designed to fire a .32 Colt is the same size as the barrel.



The .32 S&W (short and long) as well as the various .32 magnums all use the same diameter bullet, .313, but their cases are ~0.02" LARGER exteranally than the bullet.  The bullet fits inside the case with out a rebated base.  That means the exterior of a .32 S&W cartridge is about .337 as is the chamber of guns designed to fire them.



So what you see in the first picture is what happens when you fire a .32 Colt in a gun designed for the more modern .32's.  Won't hurt the gun, but could cause gas to blow back and out the back of the cylinder.  Hope everyone has on eye protection.


I did measure the bulged case and it was, surprisingly,  .337"

[kmitch200]

I wonder what the firing looked like.
Most seasoned revo shooters would think "Gee, I've never seen flames and that much smoke shooting out from BEHIND the cylinder before."
I don't have any 32s but thank you for the detailed info. You never know what the person has down the line from you.

[tombogan03884]

They claim you can fire any MODERN rimmed .32 in the .327 Federal.
Sounds like some one missed the "modern" part.

[Big Frank]

I didn't know the Colts used a heeled bullet. I always thought they were the same as the S&Ws. Thanks for the heads up Alf.

[dipisc]

Hi;

     A few weeks ago, I gave 1 nephew some 32 shorts for his Mother-in-laws pistol. Actually she needed the long casings for her pistol. Since he and I didnt know which was needed for her pistol the main thing was that her pistol would not accept the shorts, so that saved everyone a trip to the hospital. Now onto the LGS for the correct ammo.

[Sponsor]

[alfsauve]

I didn't know the Colts used a heeled bullet. I always thought they were the same as the S&Ws. Thanks for the heads up Alf.

That's the other word I was looking for.  "heeled".   Thanks, Frank.

And yeah, kmitch, I'd like to have seen what shooting it looked like.  From behind the glass of course.  Probably just a bunch of smoke coming from the back of the cylinder.   These rounds were in the little "bucket" on my lane, possible one or two shooter before I got there.