Guns & Ammo's Eric Poole and Patrick Sweeney are joined by Federal Premium's Christopher Laack to discuss the .32 Harrington & Richardson (H&R) Magnum and the .327 Federal Magnum. Sweeney tested and compared modern loads for these cartridges in Ruger and Smith & Wesson revolvers in "More Than Retro," an exclusive feature in the October 2025 issue of Guns & Ammo. These .32s are enjoying a resurgence in the concealed carry revolver segment with introductions in 2025, including S&W's Model 642 "The Ultimate Carry Revolver." Laack discusses the engineering that led to the .327 Federal introduction to advance bullet performance and increase capacity potential in small-frame revolvers, while Sweeney recounts his experience and test results.
The .32s are based on a .312-diameter bullet. When compared to .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long, the .32 H&R was considered a "magnum" when introduced in 1984, but the .327 Federal was a leap forward when it was introduced with modern bullets in 2008 for the Ruger SP101 and LCR. A joint venture between Federal Premium and Sturm, Ruger, & Co., Guns & Ammo re-evaluated the .327 Federal with the original SP101 prototype in .32 H&R Mag., which was re-chambered and marked ".327" over the ".32 H&R" stamping. With the new Federal Hyra-Shok Deep, engineers have renewed the .32 H&R Magnum's credentials as a viable self-defense cartridge for the modern era. Learn more about the development, details, and ballistic potential of each cartridge in this episode of Guns & Ammo's "The Buzz Podcast."
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