gun you choose happens to be a revolver, I’ll be happy for you. If the gun you pick happens to be an autoloader, I’ll be no less happy for you!
Chapter Three
Calibers and Ammunition
The double-action revolver has been produced in an astonishing variety of calibers and chamberings over its history. Some calibers such as the large rimfires popular in the ‘old west’ have disappeared completely, but you’ll find many of the centerfire chamberings are still being sold. There is a cartridge and revolver combination for virtually any use, though there are sometimes ‘good’ and ‘better’ choices for any particular application.
You can find technical information about any cartridge, but just as important as dry specifications are the impressions of those who have actually used the round. With that, here are my personal opinions about each of the cartridges currently (or commonly) chambered in factory revolvers.
This is just a small sampling of the myriad chamberings that have been made for the revolver, from the .22 Long Rifle to the .44 Magnum. There are even larger and more powerful cartridges available for the adventurous!
These are borne of my experience as a shooter, gunsmith, handloader, hunter, competitor, and self-defense instructor. I have no doubt that someone, somewhere could find some reason to disagree with each and every one. That’s true of any aspect of shooting. It’s been said that if you ask any two shooters about a caliber you’ll get three opinions, which leads me to opine that we should append ‘anything to do with guns’ to the list of topics which should never be discussed at the dinner table!
The .22 Long Rifle
This rimfire cartridge was introduced in 1887 and today is said to be the single most popular cartridge in the world. There were in fact many different .22 rimfire cartridges produced, but it was the Long Rifle which proved to have the staying power.
Revolvers in the ‘twenty-two’ often have increased capacities over their centerfire cousins, and it’s not unusual to find medium-framed revolvers carrying nine rounds of the rimfire cartridge versus six of the more powerful chamberings.
If you’re a handgun hunter these revolvers make the taking of small game a challenging endeavor. Every revolver owner should have at least one that shoots the .22LR, if for no other reason than they’re just fun to shoot!
Though not as common today, at one time you could find any given revolver model chambered in both a centerfire cartridge and in the .22LR. The selection of such models today is slim and getting slimmer, but even though you may not find an exact equivalent you can still find many popular revolvers for this round. Having a revolver chambered for the .22LR makes a great understudy for the larger caliber version, allowing economical practice without needing to endure recoil.
An important safety reminder: many people, myself included, have no problem shooting a .22LR rifle without hearing protection. Such a small cartridge fired from a long barrel doesn’t have a large noise signature. The .22LR rifle isn’t all that loud, but a .22LR revolver is painful! The short barrel, along with the blast from the barrel/cylinder gap, allows the full force of the round’s noise to impact the ears. It’s surprisingly loud and definitely dangerous to your hearing. Treat the .22LR with the respect it deserves and wear hearing protection whenever shooting.
The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire
The .22WMR, or ’22 Magnum’ as it’s usually called, is a significantly more powerful than the .22LR. Despite its name the .22WMR has very little in common with the Long Rifle: the case is longer and greater in diameter, giving it a big boost in powder capacity. More powder means more power, and this littlest Magnum definitely has it.
A typical .22LR cartridge, for instance, propels a 40 grain bullet at 1,200 feet per second (fps). The .22WMR, by contrast, throws that same bullet at a blistering 2,000 fps. That’s a big gain in performance!
The .22WMR is not nearly as popular as the Long RIfle, and not as many revolvers have been chambered for it. Ammunition cost may be a factor in the Magnum’s popularity, as WMR fodder is far more expensive than the LR. Because of this lessened demand there aren’t many revolvers chambered for this 1960-vintage round, but they are out there.
The .22 Magnum makes a fine close range varmint cartridge and many people use it for its longer usable range over the .22LR. It is also sports a significantly louder report than its smaller brethren, and ear muffs are an absolute must. Recoil is slightly more than the .22LR, but still much less than any centerfire cartridge.
Over the years there have been questions about the WMR’s accuracy, or lack thereof. Many people have complained that the handguns (and rifles) chambered in WMR are not as accurate as the same guns chambered in .22LR. Various explanations have been offered, and though I don’t believe the round to be inherently inaccurate I note that I’ve never found one which I’d consider extremely accurate.
Some have promoted the .22 Magnum as a self defense round, and while it’s certainly better than nothing it’s still not generally considered powerful enough to reliably stop an adversary. For this reason I don’t recommend the WMR as anything other than a last-ditch option.
The .32 caliber family
The .32 caliber revolver has a long history, stretching back to the 1860s. Many different .32 rimfire revolvers have been made, and in 1896 the New York Police Department became the first agency to have a standard issue revolver – the Colt New Police in .32 Colt. Revolvers have been made in Colt and S&W .32 cartridges, as well as popular rifle rounds like the .32-30.
Time has passed the .32 caliber by, and today there are only two .32 caliber centerfire cartridges being offered to the American double action revolver buyer: the .32 H&R Magnum and the .327 Federal Magnum. The two are closely related, the Federal Magnum being essentially a lengthened and more powerful version of the older H&R round, similar to the .357 Magnum being a lengthened version of the .38 Special. With the introduction of the .327 in 2008, sales of the H&R Magnum – which was never terribly popular – appeared to decrease. It’s now difficult to find a double action chambered for the H&R Magnum, while revolvers for the .327 Federal are present in most of the maker’s catalogs.
Originally considered a good self defense cartridge, today’s .32 is still touted by some as a suitable round for those who are recoil sensitive. This is a recommendation of some debate, because while the .327 Federal certainly has less recoil than the .357 Magnum against which it’s often compared, there is currently little to no real world data on how well it serves this task.
Most authorities today consider the .32 to be suited only for backup duty to a larger, more powerful round. Ironically, the .327 Federal would make a very good long range varmint and small game cartridge, but most of the revolvers chambered for it tend to be of the short barreled defensive variety. The .32 cartridges thus struggle to find their niche in the 21st century.
The .38 Special
One could write an entire chapter, if not a book, on the history of and uses for the .38 Special cartridge. Originally introduced in 1899, it didn’t become popular until it was chambered in the Smith & Wesson ‘Military & Police’ revolver of 1902. Today it remains at the top of the charts in terms of popularity, both in ammunition and gun sales.
This isn’t surprising when one
