Historic Accuracy
Apr. 1st, 2010 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stickmakerI continue to be impressed by the inherent accuracy of the .32 S&W family of cartridges. These are the .32 S&W, the .32 S&W Long, the .32 H&R Magnum, and the two and a half year old .327 Federal Magnum. These cartridges are identical in external dimensions except for length, so (as with the .357 Magnum/.38 Special and .44 Magnum/.44 Special) a revolver chambered for one of these will shoot that and any shorter cartridges in the family.
The .32 S&W started as a black powder round in 1878 and smoothly made the transition to smokeless. Out to 25 yards - and maybe a bit beyond - it is a tack driver in the right gun. My gun was a New Model Blackhawk in .327 Federal, with adjustable sights and about a four inch barrel. The combination is very accurate, and the mild recoil (What recoil?! :-) means you can focus on technique.
How mild is it? My current handload uses an 85 grain lead round nose bullet with a charge of *1.5* grains of Bullseye!
The .32 S&W Long is the same cartridge with a longer case. It operates at a higher pressure, and can send the same bullet to higher velocities, as well as pushing bullets impractically heavy for its older brother.
The .32 H&R Magnum was an attempt to produce a modern, high-pressure .32 caliber round for target shooting and hunting small game. Though it was not a major hit it still sells well enough to keep ammunition and several revolvers in production.
The baby of the family is essentially a magnumized version of the .32 H&R. Yet again longer, operating at a much higher pressure, it is roughly equivalent to the .30 Carbine in potency and dimensions. Standard bullet weight is 100 grains, and it shoots *flat*. Muzzle blast is fierce for a .32, but no problem for people used to magnums or even the 9X19 or .40 S&W.
How accurate is the newbie? At the range today, after doing some shooting at 25 yards, I playfully moved the rest around and aimed at a rock at 175 yards. I hit it with the second shot, producing a spray of limestone dust and the sound of a palpable hit.
Can you imagine what this screamer would do from a seven inch barrel? Or from a lever-action carbine?
The .32 S&W started as a black powder round in 1878 and smoothly made the transition to smokeless. Out to 25 yards - and maybe a bit beyond - it is a tack driver in the right gun. My gun was a New Model Blackhawk in .327 Federal, with adjustable sights and about a four inch barrel. The combination is very accurate, and the mild recoil (What recoil?! :-) means you can focus on technique.
How mild is it? My current handload uses an 85 grain lead round nose bullet with a charge of *1.5* grains of Bullseye!
The .32 S&W Long is the same cartridge with a longer case. It operates at a higher pressure, and can send the same bullet to higher velocities, as well as pushing bullets impractically heavy for its older brother.
The .32 H&R Magnum was an attempt to produce a modern, high-pressure .32 caliber round for target shooting and hunting small game. Though it was not a major hit it still sells well enough to keep ammunition and several revolvers in production.
The baby of the family is essentially a magnumized version of the .32 H&R. Yet again longer, operating at a much higher pressure, it is roughly equivalent to the .30 Carbine in potency and dimensions. Standard bullet weight is 100 grains, and it shoots *flat*. Muzzle blast is fierce for a .32, but no problem for people used to magnums or even the 9X19 or .40 S&W.
How accurate is the newbie? At the range today, after doing some shooting at 25 yards, I playfully moved the rest around and aimed at a rock at 175 yards. I hit it with the second shot, producing a spray of limestone dust and the sound of a palpable hit.
Can you imagine what this screamer would do from a seven inch barrel? Or from a lever-action carbine?
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 05:03 am (UTC)The most accurate way to shoot subsonic pistol cartridges is probably in a lever-actin carbine chambered for the cartridge in question, right?
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 03:19 pm (UTC)Probably, but there are so many variables that you can't really make a uniform statement.
One complication: Very low-powered cartridges may have so little powder behind them that a longer barrel actually reduces muzzle velocity. The extra friction of the longer bore overcomes the longer distance for the gasses to expand. In extreme cases (something like a .22 BB Cap in a full-length rifle barrel) there may not even be enough gasses to push the bullet all the way down the bore, resulting in a blockage (don't know if that would actually happen, just giving a possible example).
A gun magazine published an article several years ago where they started out with a .22LR pistol with a special, rifle-length barrel (which let them get around the "sawed off rifle" laws). They measured muzzle velocity (averaging several shots with the same ammunition) then cut a section off and repeated. The velocity went up until the barrel was about half the original length (sorry, don't remember the numbers) then started back down.
However, most pistol cartridges would definitely gain a velocity boost with a longer barrel. Also, a barely subsonic pistol cartridge (like the .45 ACP with a heavy bullet) would probably be a supersonic carbine cartridge.
Velocity is important to accuracy, but not the only factor.
A longer barrel usually gives a longer - and therefore better - sight radius. However, a good quality revolver and scope will give better accuracy with the same cartridge than a mediocre rifle with poor iron sights. Don't diss iron sights, though. A good set can be very effective out well past a hundred yards, depending on the shooter.
So, the answer is, in the vast majority of cases, yes, a carbine or rifle would give higher velocity and better accuracy than the same cartridge in a handgun. One example to check is the .44-40, which was frequently packaged in revolver-carbine sets.
Keep in mind that even for the same cartridge you can develop combinations of bullet and powder tailored to a specific use. I have a Marlin Camp Carbine in .357 Magnum. I worked up a load for it using a heavy bullet and slow pistol powder. In a revolver a large portion of the powder doesn't have time to burn, resulting in a huge muzzle flash (though it's actually a mild load). In a carbine, it has a higher velocity, little muzzle flash and good accuracy.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-02 07:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-08 01:25 pm (UTC)Somehow I missed this until today. Sorry.
Yes, for a specific loading - say, a cowboy action load, which is very popular for competition shooting these days - you could make a carbine specifically tailored to the cartridge.