The .32 Smith & Wesson cartridge was then lengthened in 1896 to become the .32 Smith & Wesson Long. The 1899 Military & Police (in .32 S&W Long) was Smith & Wesson’s first swing-out cylinder revolver. Before production ended on their I-frames, which are slightly smaller than the J-frames, Smith & Wesson had produced over 700,000 .32 DA sixguns. The K-32 was built on Smith & Wesson’s medium frame, which we now know as the K-frame.
While Smith & Wesson named this new cartridge the .32 S&W Long, Colt’s version was the .32 Colt New Police. Just as with the .38 Colt New Police, which was Colt’s answer to the .38 S&W, Colt’s version had a flatnose instead of the roundnose used by Smith & Wesson, giving it some advantage when it came to self-defense.
Years ago, even before the .32 H&R Magnum arrived, I was shooting and handloading for a 3″ I-frame Smith & Wesson .32 Long. That one went in a trade, but I was able to use my .32 Long dies to load the .32 Magnum for the Ruger Single-Six. I no longer needed a .32 Long, or so I thought, but in the back of the mind I still longed for a .32 Masterpiece. Finally, thanks to a reader, I have a K-32, and Diamond Dot has a pair of I-frames, both 4″ versions, with one being blue and the other a nickel-plated, factory pearl-gripped .32 Long.
There was a time when the .32 Long/.32 Colt New Police was looked upon as being a viable self-defense and law enforcement cartridge, and definitely as a target cartridge when chambered in the K-32. Today it’s still a most pleasurable plinking cartridge and just about perfect as a combination small-game and varmint cartridge.
