| .32 S&W Long | ||
|---|---|---|
.32 S&W Long (left) in comparison with .32 H&R Magnum and 7.62x38R Nagant |
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| Type | Revolver | |
| Place of origin | USA | |
| Production history | ||
| Designer | Smith & Wesson | |
| Designed | 1896 | |
| Produced | 1896-Present | |
| Specifications | ||
| Parent case | .32 S&W | |
| 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 | .920 in (23.4 mm) | |
| Overall length | 1.280 in (32.5 mm) | |
| Ballistic performance | ||
| Bullet weight/type | Velocity | Energy |
| 98 gr (6.4 g) LHBWC | 718 ft/s (219 m/s) | 112 ft·lbf (152 J) |
| 90 gr (5.8 g) LSWC | 765 ft/s (233 m/s) | 117 ft·lbf (159 J) |
| 85 gr (5.5 g) JHP | 723 ft/s (220 m/s) | 99 ft·lbf (134 J) |
| Source(s): Hodgdon [1] | ||
The .32 S&W Long is a straight-walled, centerfire, rimmed handgun cartridge, based on the earlier .32 S&W cartridge. It was introduced in 1896 for Smith & Wesson's first-model Hand Ejector revolver. Colt called it the .32 Colt New Police in revolvers it made chambered for the cartridge.
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When he was the New York City Police Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt standardized the department's use of the Colt New Police revolver. The cartridge was then adopted by several other northeastern U.S. police departments.[2] The .32 Long is well-known as an unusually accurate cartridge. This reputation led Police Commissioner Roosevelt to select it, as an expedient way to increase officers' accuracy with their revolvers in New York City.
In the United States, it is generally seen primarily just in older revolvers.
The .32 S&W Long is popular among international competitors using high-end target pistols from makers such as Hämmerli, Benelli, and Walther, among others, but chambered for wadcutter bullet type. The sporting variant of the Manurhin MR 73 is also chambered in .32 S&W Long.[3]
The IOF .32 Revolver manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Organization in India for civilian licence holders is chambered for this cartridge.
The .32 S&W Long headspaces on the rim and shares the rim dimensions and case and bullet diameters of the shorter .32 S&W cartridge and the longer .32 H&R Magnum and .327 Federal Magnum cartridges. The shorter .32 S&W cartridges may be fired in arms chambered for the .32 S&W Long; and the .32 S&W Long cartridges may be fired in arms chambered for the longer .32 H&R Magnum cartridge; although the longer cartridges should not fit and must not be fired in arms designed for shorter cartridges.[4]