S&W 431/432

[grannas211]

I don't mean to turn this into some sort of caliber battle or anything. I have a chance to buy either a S&W 431 or 432 j frame revolver in 32 h&r magnum. I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of this firearm and caliber. I know they didn't sell too well and they were obviously discontinued. Is this firearm any softer to shoot than the standard 38 special j frame. That is what the guy selling them is telling me. Also would that be a decent enough round for CC in you guys opinion?

[Grizz2720]

The problem with the caliber you are talking about is finding ammo. You will not have the variety that other calibers have. Is this a really good price on this gun? If this is the gun that fits your hand the best and you are willing to practice with it to be proficient with it go ahead. Personally I am from the group that says bigger is better. (1911 45acp). My wife has a J frame in 357 mag. She has no problems with it though she prefers 38 sp+P.

[TGS]

I had a 642, and if I were to do the J-frame route over again I would 100% go with the 432 due to recoil.

The 32H&R will recoil less than a .38+p.

Like Grizz mentioned, ammo selection will be limited but you can still get what you need! You'll have to choose between Buffalo Bore JHP and HCFN, Double-Tap Barnes solid copper hollow point or HCFN, other semi-wadcutters and lead round nose from enterprises like Federal and specialty cowboy action loads.

Personally, I would choose either the Buffalo Bore HCFN or the Double-Tap Barnes SCHP. The BB HCFN will have no problem cracking through bone and staying on course to reach vital tissue. The Barnes SCHP load is moving along at a pretty good pace, but SCHP's don't perform like tradition JHP's. At this speed, a JHP in .32 will either break up and fragment or over-expand and not penetrate very deep....whereas a SCHP will simply expand, fold back the petals, and keep going for a little bit more. You can overdrive SCHP's, like the Double-Tap load. I would trust it, personally, but it's pretty pricey.

In the end, while you don't have the variety of ammo choices like in .38 Special, you're not really hurting for good ammo choices.

For training, you can get .32 S&W Short, .32 S&W Long, or .32 H&R bullets. The .32S&W Long will provide an affordable practice cartidge, at around $14 per 50 rounds. It will shoot like a pipsqueak too, so if you have a garden it could be used for low-noise pest control.

So think about this:

If .38+p in an airweight j-frame is too severe, the most common recommendation is to use wadcutters. Between a .355-.357" bullet from a .38 and a .312" bullet from the .32H&R , you're hardly losing any diameter. But you gain one shot, have manageable recoil, and can use a bullet that will be more capable in penetrating bone than a wadcutter.

In my opinion, the 6-shot .32H&R 432 is the winner.