Cartridge interchangeability
 

There r lots of handguns which can chamber and safely fire more than
One cartridge. Chamberings like .38 special/.357 mag,
.44 spcl/.44 mag, .454 casual/.45 colt...etc.

I have a s&w model 31 in .32 S&W Long. It's a wheel gun which will
Chamber .32 S&W....the "jump" would be a healthy one for the .32 S&W...is it safe to fire the shorter round in my Smith ? I don't want to damage it...my concern is cracking the forcing cone with the log jump that short bullet makes from cylinder to barrel....

Not good! The .32 S&W ("Short") uses a different body diameter, case wall thickness, rim thickness, and has a mild body taper. Some .32 S&W Long chambered revolvers cannot reliably set off the .32 S&W, due to the thinner rim. The difference in rim thickness and body diameter of the short is not considered a safe cartridge to shoot in firearms chambered for any of the larger .32s (.32 S&W Long, .32 H&R, .327 Federal).

Thanks for the info...it looked hinky and wanted to float the idea. Frikking clerk sold me a hundred bucks of the shorts when I asked for the longs...they won't take em back and it's my own dumb fault for not eyeballing the ammo (and not the blonde clerk ! ) before I paid for it. "All ammo sales final"... Thanks again.

.32 S&W cartridges can be fired safely in a firearm that is chambered for the .32 S&W Long. There is also a .32 colt short and long combo that is not interchangeable with the S&W ammunition. It will definately not hurt your gun, but the shorter ammo will leave residue in the chamber that makes it difficult to insert the longer shell without a good cleaning. This is not a big deal, the same thing happens when you shoot .38's in a .357 mag. Go ahead and shoot those cartridges then clean the cylinder with a wire brush. Those rounds can also be safely fired in guns that are chambered for .32 H&R Mag and the .327 Federal Mag.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.32_S%26W_Long

Your choice! It appears from further research that a lot of people are doing it and saying there is no problem, just as the last post mentioned. However, that is a Wikipedia link he put up that also has this statement in it at the top of the article:
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013)

Since some people have a problem with Wikipedia, here is the actual documentation from SAAMI listing all the pressure, chamber and cartridge specifications. Page 11 lists the pressure specs, cartridge and chamber specs are on pages 33 and 34. Take note that both cartridges have the same rim thickness and both share the same straight sided case diameter, neither cartridge utilize a tapered case. Go shoot the ammo you bought and enjoy your gun.

http://www.saami.org/specifications_...wnload/205.pdf

Thanks for the update, as that is official "right out of the horses mouth" that I much prefer to go by. Good that he didn't waste all his money on those shorts while he was oggling the clerk, LOL!

Thanks folks ! SAAMI is the last word on this sort of thing....and next time ill make sure to ogle the girls before or after, but not DURING an ammo purchase. That blonde was sweet tho, just not $117 bucks worth...hehehe