32/40 - 8mm

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I bought an original '94 Winchester (1908) in 32/40 but cast pills were just inaccurate and keyholing.


The normal pill is a Lyman 170gn sized to 0.321" so I decided to go bigger by using 8mm projectiles some old 180gn 'Redbacks' and my own cast Saeco 190gn 8mm sized to 0.325". Instant success with accuracy returning and nice clean holes. Biggest change was a shift on POI about 10" low but a new but lower foresight blade will fix that.

[Scharfschuetze]

Glad that you got her shooting with the larger boolit. I sometimes use an 8mm boolit in my Model 64 Winchester in 32 Special.

[Terryrm1-03]

I use Matts bullets (8mm) 183 gr .323 dia Gas check in mine. She shoots fantastic with this bullet.
Congrats finding the sweet spot for the 32-40!

[OverMax]

Gas check; usually means the boolit has been resized also. How about a raw 321 tumble lubed and gas checked wo/ its resizing. Seating die tightens the check up just enough.
I get by doing that for my lever 32-40. Trick in doing: annealing those copper gas checks prior to there use.

[Multigunner]

One of the first uses for Super Glue I read of was gluing gas checks to the base of boolits that were not going to be resized, to prevent the gc from falling off into the case if dislodged by recoil.
Never tried it, but considering how strong SG is the theory seems sound and it apparently has worked in the past.

[smithywess]

I have always put great faith in what Dave Scovill (editor of Handloader) and Ken Watters have had to say. One of the biggest disappointments in trying to achieve accuracy is to use underbore bullets. When rifles were made in the black powder era the attention to bore size simply wasn't there because black powder would bump soft bullets up to fit the rifling. Not so with smokeless powder. My own .32-40 Marlin Model 1893 slugged out at .3215". Bullets sized to .321" gave one foot groups and lots of keyholes. .323" bullets give me groups of half an inch at 50 yards just as you have found. Slugging the barrel is always the first step in making these old rifles talk again.

[Buckshot]

...............I've got a Schuetzen rifle in 32-40.





I really do know better, but I ordered the Lyman 319247 mould as it was supposed to be a good one. It dropped from the mould at .321". Shot like rancid owl sweat (to quote Dean Grennell). Slugged the barrel and it's .322" in the grooves.



So I tried two 8mm slugs I had cast up. Lyman 323471 and a custom special order Lee SC mould on the right for a 235gr slug. I've since obtained the Saeco 165 and 200gr tapered PB slugs. Haven't even warmed those moulds up and it's been several years now No sense getting in a big rush, eh? In any event, both those two 8mm designs shot MUCH better sized to .323".

...............Buckshot

[smithywess]

...............I've got a Schuetzen rifle in 32-40.





I really do know better, but I ordered the Lyman 319247 mould as it was supposed to be a good one. It dropped from the mould at .321". Shot like rancid owl sweat (to quote Dean Grennell). Slugged the barrel and it's .322" in the grooves.



So I tried two 8mm slugs I had cast up. Lyman 323471 and a custom special order Lee SC mould on the right for a 235gr slug. I've since obtained the Saeco 165 and 200gr tapered PB slugs. Haven't even warmed those moulds up and it's been several years now No sense getting in a big rush, eh? In any event, both those two 8mm designs shot MUCH better sized to .323".

...............Buckshot

Buckshot,
What a beautiful rifle, and in a wonderful calibre. Thanks for showing.