The 32 Afield

Taking a gun afield is a great way to learn its capabilities.  Last week I had three full days and parts of two others with the new to me 32 H&R Magnum Single Six.  The activities included hiking (both trail and cross country), mountain biking and general woods loafing. I enjoyed carrying and shooting (plinking mostly) the 32 H&R Single Six and it continues to exceed my expectations.

A good holster is important for field carry.  I've found the Ruger Holsters available on their website to be a good value and works well with my attire, the environmental conditions, security/retention and accessibility needs. 

Taking the 32 Single Six along is a real pleasure due to its diminutive size and lightweight.

There was plenty of evidence of the presence of Bears on the property.  The 32 H&R would NOT my first choice for an encounter but the local Bear population shows very little interest in me and generally retreat without any prompting.  Few have been indifferent and gone about their business paying no mind to me.  I'm good with that deal.  I do find some comfort having the 32 along just in case I need to discourage any belligerent behavior, unlikely as that is.

I wasn't hunting so a general purpose firearm was well suited for my planned activities and the perfect excuse to take the 32 Single Six along.  When I arrived at a safe and target rich area I did indulge myself.

On paper at longer ranges the RCBS 32-98-SWC does appear to produce better accuracy than the Lyman 311008 in this gun.  Both were quite adequate for slaying pine cones, busting knots, exploding cow-pies, picking off berries and knocking over various reactive targets.  Targets out to 60 yards (the longest shots) were easily hit.  This little revolver has a voracious appetite and I was glad I brought over 200 rounds feed it with.

The W231 loads (854 fps) are noticeably quieter than the faster (1050 fps) Unique loads.  I would say the report of the slower loads are on par with a 22lr round out of a handgun.  Loud but not ear splitting. 

The penetration of the 32 H&R mag was quite impressive too.  Logs that easily stopped the 22lr and 38 special bullets within 2-4" took as much as 6" to stop the little 32.  The 32 bullets seemed to distort less and some of the recovered bullets looked almost as if they could be reloaded and fired again.

I continue to be impressed by this little gun and I'm eager to test it further.