Colt .32 NP Ammo
Sadi...@webtv.net
Can anyone help me locate ammo for my Colt .32 NP?
The local gun shop says it is the Colt .32 New Police Special and that
ammo is no longer available in any books that he has.
Can any other ammo be substituted and safely fired in this revolver?
Thanks if you can enlighten me on this matter.
Sadie
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can learn about rec.guns at http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/rec.guns
* *
* "Shoot the best, forget the rest. Help our cause stop new gun laws." *
* Marylanders for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership raffles a *
* FULTON ARMORY TACTICAL AR-15 CARBINE. Order your tickets today! *
* Details at http://www.direct-action.org *
Christopher
32 Short Colt
80 gr. Super-X® Lead Round Nose
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.087 Barrel Length: 4.0" Product Symbol: X32SCP
Suggested use: Target/Range
Description: Accurate, Sure Functioning, Controlled Recoil
Application: Indoor and Outdoor Range, Plinking, Target and Match
Bullet features include:
Excellent Accuracy
Lubricated Bullet
Sure Functioning
Handgun Ballistics
Distance (yds) Muzzle 50 100
Velocity (fps) 745 665 590
Distance (yds) Muzzle 50 100
Energy (ft. lbs.) 100 79 62
Distance (yds) 50 100
Mid Range Trajectory (in.) - 2.2 9.9
Jerry Morris
<Sadi...@webtv.net> wrote in message news:9c2vtd$ovn$1...@xring.cs.umd.edu...
#
# Can anyone help me locate ammo for my Colt .32 NP?
#
# The local gun shop says it is the Colt .32 New Police Special and that
# ammo is no longer available in any books that he has.
#
# Can any other ammo be substituted and safely fired in this revolver?
#
..32 S&W Long should do it. .32 S&W will, too. But, it will be as hard to
find as the NP in a lot of places and is much less powerful.
I like the .32 S&W Long. It is a nice target. plinking and small game
round.
Jerry Morris
Hal Leahy
# Can any other ammo be substituted and safely fired in this revolver?
The 32 Colt New Police is the same cartridge as the 32 S&W Long. It is also
known as the 32-44 Target.
The original 32 S&W Long used a round-nosed lead bullet. Colt used the same
case and put a flat nose bullet on it and called it the 32 Colt New Police.
You could also use 32 S&W but you might see accuracy fall off.
See Cartridges of the World, 8th Edition page 243.
Peter H. Proctor
#From: Sadi...@webtv.net
#Subject: Colt .32 NP Ammo
#Date: 24 Apr 2001 00:37:01 -0400
#Can anyone help me locate ammo for my Colt .32 NP?
#The local gun shop says it is the Colt .32 New Police Special and that
#ammo is no longer available in any books that he has.
#Can any other ammo be substituted and safely fired in this revolver?
If memoy serves, 32 Colt NP is the same as 32 S&W , but with a
flat-point bullet. Colt didn't want to call it by a competitors name.
32 S&W ( AKA 32 S&W short ) was available until fairly recently and
likely still is. 32 colt short is another round which is slightly smaller
in diameter and with a little more muzzle energy, since it tended to be used
in solid-frame guns. If you try 32 S&W and it doesn't work, you have 32
short colt.
Dr P
Stan Schaefer
#
#Can anyone help me locate ammo for my Colt .32 NP?
#
#The local gun shop says it is the Colt .32 New Police Special and that
#ammo is no longer available in any books that he has.
#
#Can any other ammo be substituted and safely fired in this revolver?
#
#Thanks if you can enlighten me on this matter.
#
#Sadie
#
Well your gun shop is partly right, the .32 Colt New Police(not
Special) is no longer in print. The good news is that it's the same
round as the .32 S&W Long(not .32 S&W). Any decent gun shop should
have a box of the factory lead round noses on the shelf. The only
difference is the NP had a slight flat spot on the otherwise round
nose, the ballistics and case were exactly the same. Note that this
is the only interchange between Colt and S&W .32s, the other Colt
.32s, Long and Short will not work, being for heeled bullets and
silightly slimmer. Splits every time. My dad got sold a bunch of
reloads and tried them out. Were .32 Colt Long cases. Split every
one of the cylinder-full he fired. It's unlikely you'll encounter
these anywhere but in a collection, but you never know what somebody
is trying to dump.
You've got a very nice old piece that, if it's in mechanically good
condition, should shoot well. You may have to handload to get the
full potential out of it, though. Loading is cheap, .32 S&W Long
cases and dies are readily available as are bullets. Just make sure
the bullets are the right size, there's a lot of variation in .32
bores, from .311" to .314" or larger. It's cheap and fun to load for,
powder charges are miniscule and cases last forever. Hornady XTP 85
gr. hollowpoints are what I load, they will work reliably even at .32
Long velocities. Factory ammo is lead round nose bullets only, unless
you can find some of the rare factory-loaded flush-seated full
wadcutter target ammo.
.32 S&W CAN be used, but it's also out of production and a real weak
number to start with. Being much shorter than the S&W Long, you'll
have the same problem of fouling build up that folks using .38 Special
in .357 Magnum guns experience. I see no reason to use it at all in a
.32 Long revolver, reduced power handloads can do anything you can do
with the older round.
Stan
OldTownSta
#known as the 32-44 Target.
I think the .32-44 is a very different round. It was generally chambered only
by the S&W New Model #3 Target Model from the late 1800's, and was a
specialized target round. It has a slightly larger diameter case than the .32
S&W. The only round that is similar to the .32-44 is the .320 Revolving
Rifle round, which seems to be basically an elongated version.
Jim
* * * * *
Jim Supica, Old Town Station Ltd Antique Arms
913-492-3000 POB 14040, Lenexa KS 66285
http://armsbid.com - antique arms & collector ammo auction
http://armchairgunshow.com - our collectible arms for sale site
Hal Leahy
only
# by the S&W New Model #3 Target Model from the late 1800's, and was a
# specialized target round. It has a slightly larger diameter case than the
..32
# S&W. The only round that is similar to the .32-44 is the .320 Revolving
# Rifle round, which seems to be basically an elongated version.
The information on the .32-44 came from Cartridges of the World, 8th edition
(page 243). In checking other sources, I believe you are correct.
Donnelly, Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions states that the 32-44
S&W can be made from .32-20 WCF, fire-forming is necessary to finish the
case.
White & Munhall, Pistol & Revolver Cartridges gives the standard diameter of
a 32-44 S&W bullet as .321" (page 42), the 32 S&W Long is .313" (page 39
vol. 2).
White & Munhall give the following case dimensions for the 32 S&W Long:
neck: .330-.337", diameter head: .332-.338", diameter rim: .364-.387",
length: .893-.940". The dimensions for the 32-44 S&W: neck: .345-.347",
diameter head: .346-.350", diameter rim: .409-.410", length: .975-.977".
Erlmeier-Brandt, Manual of Pistol and Revolver Cartridges is in general
agreement with White&Munhall on the differences of the two cartridges (page
336).
This is apparently, a rare error in COW.
J. Freeman
32 S&W long,32 Colt New Police,and 32-44 Target are the same cartridge. It
was developed by S&W in 1903.
"The same cartridge loaded with a flat nose bullet is the 32 Colt New
Police."
Hal Leahy
cited in my prior post show that the 32 SWL (aka 32 Colt New Police) is not
the same cartridge as the 32-44.
Jim Supica was also nice enough not to mention that he is the co-author of
"The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson", for which Jinks wrote the intro. I
think Jim knows two different cartridges (and has more resources than he let
on) when he sees them.
"J. Freeman" <j.a.f...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:9e0emp$i3q$1...@xring.cs.umd.edu...
# Cartridges of the World 8th edition
# 32 S&W long,32 Colt New Police,and 32-44 Target are the same cartridge.
It
# was developed by S&W in 1903.
# "The same cartridge loaded with a flat nose bullet is the 32 Colt New
# Police."