32 Special....

[StarMetal]

Sundog I sincerely appreciate that offer. Let me wait until I actually see the gun and verify the caliber before I take you up on the offer as I wouldn't want those gems not being used. I guess I should have gone to my control panel and finished my profile. BTW, I'm in Concord North Carolina......

You're not far from me, I'm in Unicoi County, TN.

Joe

[felix]

3031 shoots in more calibers/cases than you can shake a stick at. More different boolit/bullet styles and weights too, in those same cases. ... felix

[MTWeatherman]

I've said it before and will reaffirm it. 3031 is my favorite powder for the .32 Special. I load it with the RCBS bullet which weighs in near 180 gr. from my mould.

It's hard to find good cast loading data for the .32 Special. My load is actually based on the early Lyman reloading manual from the '50s. Although likely considered hot if you could find a listing in current manuals, my .32 handles the load well with no excessive pressure signs and has done so for years. The early Lyman manual lists 33 gr. of 3031 as max with their 321297 180 gr. bullet. I worked up to 32 gr. with no problems. Both 31 and 32 gr. shot equally well so I split the difference at 31.5. Obviously, I'm not advocating that load as a safe or even accurate load for everyone...you'd have to carefully work up to it to try it yourself. However, in my case, it works very well indeed for a full performance load.

The bullet is moving at about 2100 fps as it exits my '94 carbine and delivers under 2" groups at 100 yds.

Only complaint about 3031 is that I wish it metered better. However, have used that load with satisfaction for so long that I'm not about to switch powders now.

[StarMetal]

3031 shoots in more calibers/cases than you can shake a stick at. More different boolit/bullet styles and weights too, in those same cases. ... felix

I believe one can say that about 4895 also.

Joe

[McLintock]

I've got a bunch of 32 Winchester Special brass and factory loads, totaling about 130-40 rounds. If you're interested, I'll total 'em up again and make a price. I did it once for a fellow on the SASS wire and he found some brass locally at the last minute, so I still have these. Never had a .32 Special and don't figure I ever will, so they're expendable.
McLintock

[Cowboy5780]

McLintock if the others arent interested send me a pm or post it in Swap and Sell i may be interested too.

[Nrut]

What would be the heaviest boolit that you could in in a 1:16" twist .32 Special?.. Does any body make a 200gr. plus mold that would fit in a Winchester throat?...
Thx

[jtaylor1960]

I had a 200gr. made by Mountain Molds.It will fit in my Marlin but is too long to eject.A little work could probably fix that.It worked through the action of my Winchester but the throat would not let it chamber.I think it would be a great bullet in the 32 if the twist will stabilize it.

[26Charlie]

Nrut - I had Mountain Molds make a 190 gr. FPGC which is just about perfect. I had used the lighter 160 gr Lyman Loverin design with good accuracy. The Saeco and RCBS 200 gr. designs for the 8mm don't do very well, seemingly on the edge of instability. I have a mould for Lyman's 321297 GC in hollow point which is also very good, casting at about 175 gr.

[Nrut]

Nrut - I had Mountain Molds make a 190 gr. FPGC which is just about perfect. I had used the lighter 160 gr Lyman Loverin design with good accuracy. The Saeco and RCBS 200 gr. designs for the 8mm don't do very well, seemingly on the edge of instability. I have a mould for Lyman's 321297 GC in hollow point which is also very good, casting at about 175 gr.

Thanks 26Charlie for your reply..
I have one of our 8mm/195gr. group buy boolits loaded up for the range to try...From your experience it looks like the 200gr. plus are not going to work..I have a LEE 8mm/240gr Max. boolit loaded in a dummy round that is deep seated to feed...Man that would be a killer if it could be stabilized...

jtaylor1960..
I had to taper size the nose on my 8mm group buy boolit mentioned above to make it fit the throat...kinda of a long process but I don't have a dedicated .32 Special mold ...I bought this rifle originally to have it bored out to a .35X55 or .375X55 as I want to shoot heavier boolits...

[TonyT]

I had a Win 1894 and a 94 carbine in 32 WS. Both shot the Lyman #321297 well using IMR 3031, IMR 4895, IMR 4227 and SR 4759.

[Newtire]

I had a Win 1894 and a 94 carbine in 32 WS. Both shot the Lyman #321297 well using IMR 3031, IMR 4895, IMR 4227 and SR 4759.

Could you give me a rough idea of what kind of charges worked? I have a bunch of SR 4759 and some H 4895 as well.

[StarMetal]

Could you give me a rough idea of what kind of charges worked? I have a bunch of SR 4759 and some H 4895 as well.

I'm using H4895 in my 32 Special. I'm using the Lee 175 grain 8mm bullet sized down to .323 for the 32 Special over top 28 grains. This is my plinking load. It's not full hilt. The velocity in my rifle is almost 1800 fps.

Joe

[Newtire]

Thanks Joe,
That gives me something to work on. I used the RCBS and 10 grain Unique load today and impressed me! I also loaded up some with IMR 4064 and the Ranch Dog but didn't get a chance to shoot em cause I left them at home on the bench. Next weekend!