The .32 Long Colt is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 centerfire fire

Centerfire ammunition

A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge with a primer located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component....

 revolver

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

 cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

.

Introduced by Colt's

Colt's Manufacturing Company

Colt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...

 with the New Line revolver in 1875, the .32 Colt was inspired by the .320 Revolver

.320 Revolver

Also known as the .320 European or .320 Bulldog, this revolver cartridge consisted of an 8 mm lead ball , and was designed for the Webley Bulldog in the 1870s....

. It originally used a .313 in (7.95 mm)-diameter 90 gr (5.8 g) outside-lubricated bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

, which was later changed to inside lubrication, leading to a diameter change to .299 in (7.59 mm), a slight reduction in bullet weight, and a shortening of overall length.

With a case lengthened by .31 in (7.87 mm) over the .32 Short Colt (which means the .32 SC will chamber and fire in any weapon designed for the LC), the .32LC is in the same class in power as the .32 Smith and Wesson Long

.32 S&W Long

The .32 S&W Long is a straight-walled, centerfire, rimmed handgun cartridge, based on the earlier .32 S&W cartridge. It was introduced in 1896 for Smith & Wesson's first-model Hand Ejector revolver...

, without comparable accuracy.

More popular in Europe than North America, Colt is the only American manufacturer which chambered any weapons in .32 Long Colt, most notably the Police Positive

Colt Police Positive

The Colt Police Positive is a small frame double-action revolver featuring a six-round cylinder, chambered for either .32 or .38 caliber cartridges...

. The FAMAE revolver

FAMAE revolver

The FAMAE FT-2000 is a double-action, solid frame revolver produced in Chile. A slightly smaller variant is produced in .32 Long Colt.-External links:* *...

produced in Chile is currently offered in .32 Long Colt.

Sources

• Barnes, Frank C., ed. by John T. Amber. ".32 Long Colt—.32 Short Colt" & ".320 Revolver", in Cartridges of the World, pp. 155 & 177. Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1972. ISBN 0-695-80326-3.