.32 H&R Magnum

.32 H&R Magnum
.32 H&R Magnum (center) in comparison with .32 Smith & Wesson Long and 7.62×38mmR Nagant
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	USA
Production history
Designer	H&R / Federal
Designed	1982
Manufacturer	Federal
Produced	1983-Present
Specifications
Parent case	.32 S&W Long
Case type	Rimmed, straight-walled
Bullet diameter	.312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter	.337 in (8.6 mm)
Base diameter	.337 in (8.6 mm)
Rim diameter	.375 in (9.5 mm)
Rim thickness	.055 in (1.4 mm)
Case length	1.075 in (27.3 mm)
Overall length	1.350 in (34.3 mm)
Primer type	Small Pistol
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 77 gr (5 g) Cast LFP 998 ft/s (304 m/s) 170 ft·lbf (230 J) 85 gr (6 g) HP 1,263 ft/s (385 m/s) 301 ft·lbf (408 J) 90 gr (6 g) LSWC 963 ft/s (294 m/s) 185 ft·lbf (251 J) 90 gr (6 g) JHP 1,227 ft/s (374 m/s) 301 ft·lbf (408 J) 100 gr (6 g) JHP 1,208 ft/s (368 m/s) 324 ft·lbf (439 J)
Source(s): Hodgdon

The .32 H&R Magnum is a rimmed cartridge designed for use in revolvers. It was developed in 1984 as a joint venture between Harrington & Richardson and Federal Cartridge. The .32 H&R Magnum is produced by lengthening the .32 S&W Long case by .155", to 1.075".

The .32 H&R Magnum offers substantially more performance than other .32 caliber handgun cartridges, such as the .32 ACP, and can be considered an effective small game hunting cartridge. Its higher velocity offers a flat trajectory, while the light weight of the bullets results in low recoil. The older .32-20 Winchester was extremely popular in the Winchester lever- and Colt single-actions, available at the turn of the century, for small-medium game hunting. The .32 H&R offers near duplicate performance.

One of the .32 H&R magnum's favorable attributes is that it offers .38 Special energy levels and allows a small-frame revolver to hold 6 cartridges, whereas a similarly sized revolver in .38 special would only hold 5 rounds. Penetration is also increased compared to the .38 special with bullets of the same weight.

Max pressure for the .32 H&R Mag is set at 21,000 CUP by SAAMI.

The .327 Federal Magnum is based on the .32 H&R Magnum and improves performance to levels near that of the .357 Magnum.

Though the .32 H&R was not designed with a particular task in mind, it is fairly well suited to small game hunting. It is also an acceptable self-defense cartridge. It is not generally considered a good "plinking" cartridge, due to high cost and poor availability of ammunition, but reloading can mitigate those issues.

Many handgun hunters use the .22 Winchester rimfire magnum with great success in hunting small to small-medium game, up to coyote in size. The .32 H&R magnum offers increased stopping power due to its heavier bullets and larger caliber, with the added bonus that the .32 H&R magnum can be reloaded for cost savings.