Bought to you by Hoosier Trapper Supply, Inc this Internet show is in it’s 3rd season and still going strong. I’ll be posting the episodes in the viewing room every Sunday:
Back in 1878 a group of Apache raiders fell upon a Navajo village near the Little Colorado and killed every man, woman and child except for three young girls who were taken back to their lair for more unspeakable crimes to be committed against them. The Navajo elders sent a war party to exact vengeance on the Apaches and they found the raiding party in their hideout, a hidden cave system, but were too late to save the three girls. The Navajo set fires to try to smoke the raiders out and ended up turning the raider’s lair into a mass grave which is said to be haunted to this very day.
The Unknown Camerman, one of those “urban explorers” who trespass in interesting places for our entertainment, has video of the caves as well as some other ruins in Arizona. Mostly of interest to the wanderers like me who like to get out there and experience history but treasure hunters will also be thrilled with the idea of maybe finding some old brass used to bring justice to the Apache wild west style. There are apparently still artifacts from the period buried there – protected by the spirits of course. Enjoy:
I guess the answer to that is because you can. But let’s backtrack a bit here. Like many people who peruse the gun owning side of the Internet I come across a lot of theories, opinions and advice that seems suspect. And I mean suspect like arguments about using birdshot for self-defense where people start claiming they were shot with birdshot at close range and it bounced off their leathery hides like so much lead confetti. So I take things I read on the web with a grain or so of salt.
But I’m also no expert so when I saw people claiming to shoot .32 ACP out of their .327s I decided to first ascertain if it was true before shooting off my mouth about the practicality of such an endevour. I first did a little research and found that the .32 Auto is semi-rimmed so in theory it should seat fine in a .327 revolver. I was about to head out to the store and pick up a box to see what the results were when I remembered there’s a wonderful place full of people who will experiment (sometimes quite unwisely) on their guns so you don’t have to – it’s called YouTube. Here’s one of my favorite YouTubers running six .32 ACPS through his Ruger SP 101:
Seems to work fine. Now we return to the question of why you’d want to in the first place.
I’ve blogged for quite awhile and more than once I’ve shown up on those top 50 blogs about survival lists so I’ll start with the always sexy TEOTWAWKI scenario. Your lowly .327 that everyone claims is a novelty is now a revolver that can chamber five different cartridges. It’s a nice back up to have if you have to “forage” for ammo especially because the .32 ACP and the .32 H&R Mag are very easy to find thanks to the glut of small frame self-defense pistols and in the .32 Mags case the cowboy action shooting sport. And when Ferguson style riots (which I predicted a few years ago by the way) kick off in your area lots of people will be selling their .32s for something with more umph.
Then there’s the frugality factor. I can get a box of 50 .32 ACP for under $20 which isn’t bad these days. It’s not as good as a few years ago when I was getting .32 S&WL for $12-15 for 50 but still not bad if I just want to pull out the revolver to plink or take care of that damn possum that keeps wondering in my yard.
And if you’re as lazy as I am you might have found that shooting FMJ seems to make cleaning easier after a trip to the range. I have some .32 S&WL FMJs but they’re hard to find and a little pricier than ACPS.
That being said, I’ll stick with the .32 S&WL because it’s just such a nice little cartridge which is just a few bucks more. It’s nice to know I could shoot yet another round out of my little snub nose but accuracy is hard enough for the casual shooter like me to achieve with a 2 in barrel I’m not interested in working my way through a bunch of new ammo to see which .32 ACP is the most accurate out of a revolver that only incidentally chambers it.
Any .32 ACP you have is well below the safe pressure for a .327 Federal Magnum chambered firearm so that is obviously not a problem, however the .32 ACP is much more powerful than the .32 S&WL so if you’re like me and like to shoot lower recoiling rounds through your gun they seem nice – but the .32 H&R is hardly a bear to shoot and more powerful than the .32 ACP.
So my opinion – if you’re a wild eyed survivalist who likes odd caliber revolvers you just got some good news. Otherwise this is just an interesting factoid.
I’m a wanderer of the wild places as opposed to many of the traditional outdoorsman who love hunting and fishing. For me getting out there is about finding the unexpected, finding adventure and of course the ever present element of danger. These past few weeks I’ve seen some of my kindred spirits have found that last part in spades, and some of them didn’t live to tell the tale. Let’s remember them:
A Minnesota hunter killed a wounded 525 pound bear with a hunting knife while being mauled! The hunter sustained two broken arms but us expected to make a full recovery.
Sadly 22-year-old Rutgers student Darsh Patel was killed in an unprovoked bear attackwhile hiking a trail on the Apshawa preserve in New Jersey. I only link to the loathsome Huffington Post story so you can see the comments by their disgusting readers who think the bear that killed and ate some kid should be left alone. For example here’s a nugget of wisdom from a woman named Kate Dougherty:
Kill the bear for being in it’s own space and the hikers did everything wrong
This is why I prefer the solitude of a long walk alone. Although I guess I’m asking for it according to Kate.
Back in August German authorities launched a desperate search for the vicious beast that attacked young boy – an Alligator Snapping Turtle nicknamed Lotti. The boy’s Achilles tendon was severed in two places. Since the species isn’t native to Germany the theory is it was a pet released into a popular lake. Though no one can prove a turtle actually did it.
Bushcraft is a global pursuit and some of the best bushcrafter videos on the web come from countries Americans tend to think of as simply giant urban centers. Here Austrian bushcrafter Lily, aka AloneWolverine1984 on YouTube, demonstrates a quick, cheap way to make a water filter without shelling out your hard earned cash for the ever popular “survival straw” we’re all told we need to carry or we’ll die of thirst in some wild series of mishaps.
American woodsloafers will appreciate the simplicity of her design. Moss, Charcoal and pine pitch are things you’ll have access to in almost every environment except deserts so why drop almost a c-note on a Katadyn?
