I’m betting there are a lot of first-time shooters who learned on a Heritage Rough Rider. The Heritage Rough Rider has always been an incredibly affordable rimfire pistol. Mine cost less than a hundred dollars during a Black Friday Special. They come in all sizes imaginable, and for practically every .22LR or .22 Magnum. That’s changing with the release of the .32 H&R Magnum variant of the Rough Rider.
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- The Heritage Rough Rider and the .32 H&R Magnum
- At the Range With the .32 Rough Rider
- The Purpose
- Gripes and Plans
For the non-revolver aficionado, that might seem like an odd caliber. In fact, you might have never heard of it. .32 H&R Magnum was an 80’s baby that was built on the .32 S&W Long. The .32 H&R Magnum provided a slightly longer case and higher velocity. The primary intention was for defensive use, and it works brilliantly in snub-nose revolvers.
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Unlike the .38 Special, the .32 H&R Magnum allows for six rounds in a snub nose, good accuracy, good penetration, and less recoil.
It’s a great cartridge that’s experiencing a bit of a revival. The .32 H&R Magnum came back swinging with the release of the Ultimate Carry Models of the 432 UC and the 632 UC. Since then, Ruger has released an LCR in the cartridge, and so has Charter Arms. It’s making a slow comeback, and Heritage is picking up the mantle.
The new Rough Rider was Prime Time for Rendezvous 2026. I was able to get my hands on the Heritage Rough Rider and just kept coming back to it. The guys from Heritage were more than happy to share the ammo. The Rough Rider .32 H&R Magnum holds six rounds of .32 H&R Magnum, and can chamber the .32 S&W Long and .32 S&W.
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None of these are super common these days, but you can find .32 S&W Long is fairly easy. I’ve picked it up at my local gun store, Academy, and Bass Pro. It’s not necessarily cheap, but it’s available. The .32 S&W is a little less common, but findable via the internet. The .32 H&R Magnum has also become popular enough that multiple brands are releasing options for both training and defensive use.
The use of .32 S&W Long or .32 S&W results in even less recoil, but obviously a bit less power. The .32 S&W Long is one of the more naturally accurate cartridges. Olympic shooters use wadcutter .32 S&W Long for their fancy semi-auto target pistols for a reason.
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I shot this thing a lot, exclusively with Double Tap .32 H&R Magnum. The .32 H&R Mag Rough Rider uses a 6.5-inch barrel with a standard half moon front blade sight. It’s only three ounces heavier than the .22LR/.22 Magnum version of the Rough Rider at 35.6 ounces. It features the same manual safety as other Rough Riders.
The gun has polymer textured grips and an all-black finish. Knowing Heritage, there will be numerous variations of this gun going forward. They tend to produce a wide variety of barrel lengths and finishes for their guns.
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Recoil was light and comfortable with a good bit of muzzle rise. It’s certainly no .22LR, but still comfortable to shoot, even rapidly. Or as rapid as an SAO revolver gets. It’s a step up from a rimfire, but not a step in the ‘uncomfortable’ magnum territory. You can hand this to a less experienced shooter, and they would be comfortable shooting it.
The front sight was fine, and I was making good hits out to 25 yards consistently. Each shot delivered a satisfying thump to steel targets. The trigger is the light and short single-action design you expect. It certainly won’t make it tough to hit what you’re aiming at.
I enjoyed every shot I got to fire and didn’t want to put it down. My love of .32s got to shine in an unexpected way with the Rough Rider.
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The .32 H&R Magnum and .32 S&W Long aren’t what I’d call plinking calibers. Their price makes it a tough choice to teach new shooters or to pop soda cans all day. Both are easy to reload, which helps bring the cost down a bit. The Rough Riders have historically been plinkers.
If that’s not the case here, what is? To me, it’s a solid working gun. Not necessarily for defensive use, but for tasks around the property. I live on 15 acres in the middle of nowhere and like to have a gun handy primarily for pest control. The Heritage Rough Rider in .32 H&R Magnum would solve most of my problems.
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Like all Rough Riders, the .32 H&R Mag variant is an affordable gun with an MSRP of $247. At that price, I don’t care if it gets banged up a bit. It can be used and abused in the elements, and I won’t worry all that much.
The .32 H&R Magnum and .32 S&W Long are accurate cartridges. The 6.5-inch barrel provides a great sight radius, but I want an adjustable rear sight. Heritage makes that model for the .22 versions, and I want that for .32. Even better, give me a red dot mount. This way, I can expand the gun’s range.
I’m doing a little coniving, and part of that is wondering if the stock and frame from a Heritage Rancher will fit the Rough Rider in .32 H&R. I’m imagining an SBR with a red dot. This would be an uber small, lightweight rifle that could be a great working gun. With that in mind, I’m just waiting for one of these to cross my path to snatch up and find out.
