.32 rimfire
.32 Short Rimfire | ||||||||
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Type | Rifle and handgun | |||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||
Production history | ||||||||
Designer | Smith & Wesson | |||||||
Designed | 1860 | |||||||
Specifications | ||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, straight[1] | |||||||
Bullet diameter | .316 in (8.0 mm) | |||||||
Neck diameter | .318 in (8.1 mm) | |||||||
Base diameter | .318 in (8.1 mm) | |||||||
Rim diameter | .377 in (9.6 mm) | |||||||
Case length | 0.575 in (14.6 mm) | |||||||
Overall length | 0.948 in (24.1 mm) | |||||||
Primer type | Rimfire | |||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||
| ||||||||
Test barrel length: 24 |
.32 Long Rimfire | ||||||||
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Type | Pistol/Rifle | |||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||
Production history | ||||||||
Designer | Smith & Wesson | |||||||
Designed | 1860 | |||||||
Specifications | ||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, straight[1] | |||||||
Bullet diameter | .316 in (8.0 mm) | |||||||
Neck diameter | .318 in (8.1 mm) | |||||||
Base diameter | .318 in (8.1 mm) | |||||||
Rim diameter | .377 in (9.6 mm) | |||||||
Case length | 0.791 in (20.1 mm) | |||||||
Overall length | 01.26 in (32 mm) | |||||||
Primer type | Rimfire | |||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||
| ||||||||
Test barrel length: 24 |
.32 Extra Long | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Pistol/Rifle | |||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||
Specifications | ||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, straight[1] | |||||||
Bullet diameter | .316 in (8.0 mm) | |||||||
Neck diameter | .318 in (8.1 mm) | |||||||
Base diameter | .318 in (8.1 mm) | |||||||
Rim diameter | .377 in (9.6 mm) | |||||||
Case length | 1.150 in (29.2 mm) | |||||||
Overall length | 01.26 in (32 mm) | |||||||
Primer type | Rimfire | |||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||
| ||||||||
Test barrel length: 24 |
The .32
Manufacturers
Manufacturers in the USA generally discontinued making .32 rimfire ammunition after the country's entrance into World War II in 1941.[1] It was available from old stocks for some years afterwards, but it has been made only sporadically in the last 70 years.[1] Occasionally, special limited runs of .32 rimfire ammunition are manufactured for gun collectors with shootable specimens, but the round is not considered a current commercial cartridge. Navy Arms Company had periodically imported .32 Rimfire Long made by CBC in Brazil until 2014.[2]
History
The .32 short was designed in 1860 by Smith & Wesson for their Model 2 revolver. In 1868, they introduced the .32 Long in the Model 11⁄2 Second Issue revolver.[3]
The .32 Short fired an 80 gr (0.183 oz; 5.184 g) lead bullet at 945 ft/s (288 m/s) (generating 159 ft⋅lb (216 J) muzzle energy) from a 24 in (61 cm) rifle barrel. The .32 Long fired a slightly heavier 90 gr (0.206 oz; 5.832 g) bullet at approximately the same velocity, for 178 ft⋅lb (241 J) muzzle energy. Remington rifles in .32 rimfire listed a bore diameter of .304 in (7.7 mm)[4][page needed]
The .32 Colt Short and Long centerfire cartridges matched the external dimensions of the .32 Short and Long rimfire cartridges.[5] The Marlin Model 1892 lever-action repeating rifle was shipped with two firing pins, one rimfire and one centerfire, to allow use of either the rimfire or centerfire cartridges.[6] Revolvers and single shot rifles chambered for one of the longer .32 rimfire cartridges would chamber and fire the shorter cartridges.[1]
Remington Arms manufactured .32 Extra Short ammunition (also known as .32 Protector) until 1920 for use in the Protector Palm Pistol and Remington Magazine Pistol.[7]
During its lifetime, the .32 rimfire was loaded with black powder, followed by semi-smokeless and smokeless powder loadings. While it was popular as a very effective small game caliber, it was considered obsolete by the late 1930s, in part due to the introduction of high-velocity versions of the .22 Long Rifle using smokeless powder.[1]
References
- ^ ISBN 0873491785.
- ISBN 978-1-4402-4274-8.
- ISBN 978-1851094707.
- ^ Sharpe, Phillip B. The Rifle in America (William Morrow and Co., 1938).
- ^ https://www.handloadermagazine.com/cartridge-board-17
- ^ Sears, Roebuck and Co. Catalogue No. 104, 1897.
- ISBN 978-1-4402-1330-4.