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My take on the 32-20 by
Harry O *
How I got started with the 32-20 ------------------------------------------------- How
I got started with the 32-20 The
32-20 (32WCF) has a LOT longer and more illustrious history than I have.
The 32-20 is a black powder cartridge that was introduced by Winchester
back in the early 1880's as the last of a trio of cartridges which included the
38-40 and the 44-40. All were chambered in the famous 1873 Winchester rifle. They
were originally known by the Winchester Center Fire (WCF) designation, but that
was changed to the -dash- number by the turn of the last century.
Of course, the number after the dash signifies the number of grains of
black powder each contained back in the old "balloon head" cases.
All three cartridges are obsolete, but not dead thanks to the Cowboy
Action Shooting crowd. Shortly
after their introduction, the cartridges were also chambered in the Colt SAA and
have been chambered in countless handguns and rifles since then. I
first fired a 32-20 in the very early 1960's.
It was the first centerfire cartridge I ever shot and was also the first
handgun I ever shot. It was in my
father's 32-20 Colt Police Positive Special handgun. Afterwards, he let me use it for hunting whenever I could
find and afford to buy ammunition for it. The
cost of 32-20 cartridges is the reason that I started handloading a long, long
time ago. I owe a lot to the 32-20. ------------------------------------------------- What
good is the 32-20 anyway? The
32-20 WCF is a delightful cartridge to shoot.
The 32-20 is ideal for small game (rabbit and squirrel) handgun hunting.
I found out a long time ago that the .22LR is great for small game if it
is shot from a good rifle. Before
long, I could hit just about anything I could see with my Marlin 39A rifle that
had a Williams 5-D peepsight mounted. It
was not very challenging, though. I
also learned from bitter experience that I could not count on a .22LR to cleanly
take small game if fired from a 4" or 6" handgun barrel (this was
before the "hypervelocity .22LR's). I
needed something more. What
was needed was a 100gr lead bullet at about 900fps from a handgun.
That pretty well describes the 32-20 in a handgun.
It is absolutely perfect for small game.
When used in a rifle, the 32-20 is too powerful for small game. It should
be great for medium sized game, but there has not been much of that around here
since before I was born. I
have read many places that people have used it to take deer in the past.
That is not legal in my state. However,
the 32-20 in a rifle is a great plinking gun.
Enough noise and recoil so that you know you are actually shooting
something, but not enough noise and recoil to ever tire you out.
I think of it as a "grown up" .22LR. ------------------------------------------------- How
to reload the 32-20. The
32-20, like its bigger brothers, has an extremely thin "slopeshouldered"
brass case that will buckle at the slightest excuse.
Once buckled, the case cannot be salvaged.
This is what makes reloading the 32-20 a challenge. I
got started loading the 32-20 over 35 years ago in order to save money.
Factory cartridges were expensive and hard to find.
Actually, it is easier now to find cartridges and components than it was
in the late 1950's/early 1960's. I
started with a "pre-owned" Lee Loader that I found at a gunshow.
That’s the little box with some pieces of metal that you hammer instead
of using a press. I ruined a large percentage of the cases (sometimes up to
50%) and blamed the cheap reloader. I
later found out that the reloading kit was not the problem. I have gone through 2 presses and 3 sets of 32-20 dies since
then and found that technique is the answer, not more expensive equipment.
Now, I usually get through a reloading session without ruining a single
case. The
first step in reloading is to obtain cases.
Shooting factory loads or buying virgin cases are the most commonly used
methods with the 32-20. Neither
method is cheap, but it is extremely rare to find once-fired 32-20 brass on a
table at a gun show. If you do,
check them first, regardless of the price.
I have found old brass that was last shot with black powder, and in each
case, the brass was rotten. It
looked OK, but when shoved into a die, the case came apart in brittle pieces.
I understand that this was actually caused by mercuric primers, but BP
and mercuric primers went together for a lot of years.
The best way to tell is to smell the mouth of the fired case.
The smell of black powder is distinctive and it is a warning to stay away
unless you absolutely know that recent (non-mercuric) primers were used in it.
In addition, the rims of older cases were often thicker than now and many
will not fit in a modern shellholder. Next,
vibrate the cases clean. This step
may be optional, but it makes all of the remaining steps easier.
Then resize and decap the cases. Even
if the cases are new, resize them. The
brass is so thin that any case which has been handled very much will be out of
round. If the mouth of the case is
badly "D" shaped (this is common when a case is dropped on concrete),
it will buckle if you try to resize it directly.
Stick a small Phillips head screwdriver in the mouth of the case, put the
tip in the primer hole (from the inside) and rotate the screwdriver to get the
mouth close to round. Then it can
be resized without buckling it. Since
the 32-20 uses steel dies (because it is a tapered case), it should be
lubricated before sizing. I have
had minor problems with the cases sticking slightly without lubrication,
primarily when they were not cleaned first.
Experimenting with several lubricants on the market, all of them (every
single one) caused dimples or full buckles in the tapered portion of the case,
no matter how thin they were applied. The
dies also had to be taken apart fairly often in order to clean out the excess
lubricant that collected inside the die each time a case was resized.
Plain old (thin) WD-40 worked much better, but even that occasionally
caused dimples. What I do now, and
what has been very successful, is to wipe each case with a rag that has been
lightly sprayed with WD-40 just before placing the case in the die.
It takes VERY little lubrication. And,
no, I have never had a problem with it killing primers. The
next step is to bell the neck. Most
reloading books say not to flare the neck any more than necessary.
This is not an idle warning with the 32-20.
Play with the die setting until the flare is so small that you can barely
see it, but a bullet will seat without cocking or shaving any lead.
You will know if the flare is enough.
If not, the case will buckle while seating the bullet.
Or, the bullets will tilt slightly while seating.
This is when the case will stretch or bulge more on one side than the
other. In either case, increase the
amount of flare. If it is flared
too much, the case will buckle at the crimping stage.
Decrease the amount of flare. Things
are easier now with the Lee Factory Crimp die (more details below), but you are
still walking a thin line here. Once
you find the right setting, use locking rings to keep it there even if your dies
do not originally come with locking rings (Lee). Once this is done, inspect the neck of each case.
Throw out any with nicks, wrinkles, or any other imperfection.
If you don't, the case will probably buckle at the bullet seating stage,
losing not only the case, but also a bullet, powder and a primer. This
is where the case length should be checked.
If you are using cases with the same headstamp, this step is optional.
If cases are mixed, find the shortest one and trim all of them the same.
Winchester and Remington cases are noticeably different in length (nearly
1/32" -- the Remington is bigger). If not trimmed, the longer cases will buckle at the crimping
stage or the shorter ones will not be crimped at all. I have not used Starline 32-20 brass, but have heard that it
is of good quality and may be somewhat thicker than other brass. Once
this is done, prime the cases separately. Different
powders and guns will require different types of primers.
I have used small pistol, magnum small pistol, and small rifle at
different times with different powders. Some
people say that this impossible or dangerous, but they all fit and all work.
The rifle primer is flush with the bottom of the rim and the handgun
primer is very slightly low (not high). Just
match the primer with the powder. Other
than that, there is nothing special about this step. The
next step is seating the bullet. The
32-20 uses a 0.312"/0.313" lead bullet or a 0.310"/0.311"
jacketed bullet. There is a wide
variety available from about 77 grains to 115 grains. Just make sure that you use flat nosed ones with a crimping
groove in lever action rifles. I
tried for several years to seat the bullet and roll crimp it in place at the
same time. All too often, the case
would buckle, bulge, or would not crimp at all.
I don't do that anymore. Now
I set the bullet without crimping. Some
firearms do not need crimping, such as the Contender and single shot rifles.
Revolvers and especially lever actions do need crimping.
Without a crimp, a heavy revolver load will recoil enough to walk the
bullet forward until the gun jams (BTW, it is not really necessary to load them
this heavy. If you need that much power, go to a larger gun.). This usually does not happen with the first shot, but will
after 3 or 4 shots. This means that
the nose of the bullet must be pulled the rest of the way out or hammered back
in. Either is scary. With the lever
action, the recoil will jam the bullet further down into the case, raising
pressures. I
bought a 32-20 Lee Factory Crimp die shortly after it came out to crimp the
bullet after it is seated. It is
the solution to all 32-20 crimping problems.
This die does not push down on the case as do all other crimping dies.
The cartridge holder presses on the base of the crimping die and crimps
the case radially. The end result
is that that it is easy to get a strong crimp and buckles during crimping are
history. Anybody who reloads the
32-20, 38-40, or 44-40 really needs this die.
You are just making things hard for yourself without it. The
next step is to shoot the cartridges that you have spent so much time and effort
to reload. The reason that I put up
with all this trouble is that the 32-20 is the best small game handgun cartridge
that I have ever used. The 32
Magnum is almost as good and is childs play to reload, but the 32-20 has had
over a 100 year head start. Have
fun. ------------------------------------------------- Differences
between rifle and handgun loads. The
32-20 is finicky about its reloads (especially in handguns).
Do not assume that the gun is inaccurate if it is inaccurate with one
load. Experiment with other loads
first. There are many
recommendations for the type of powder and amounts to use in magazines and
reloading books. I will not try to
repeat them all here. You can start
with Doc Smith's 32-20 page at < http://www.reloadammo.com/3220.htm >.
I also highly recommend the "Pet Loads" book by Ken Water's, a
reprint of his magazine articles for Handloader magazine. It is not cheap, but
it is worth every penny. There
are 3 levels of pressure for 32-20's that you should be aware of.
Tailor the pressure to the type of gun you are using.
If you use a modern rifle or Contender load in an old BP gun or light
duty revolver, it will ruin the gun and may injure you. The
lowest pressure level is for original black powder rifles and handguns, and also
light duty smokeless powder guns. This
level consists of original Winchester lever action rifles, original black powder
Colt SAA's, and some more modern, but light-duty double-action revolvers such as
the Colt Police Positive Special (PPS) and the S&W Hand Ejector model.
Safe loads for these guns can be as little as 50% of the loads listed for
modern firearms using modern smokeless powder. WARNING:
I have shot "rifle-only" high-pressure factory loads my father's Colt
PPS. The PPS is probably the
lightest frame handgun ever chambered for the 32-20.
It took only one cylinder full of the high-pressure cartridges to bend
the "crane" (some people call the same part the yoke).
Luckily, a local gunsmith was able to fix it.
I still have it. Later, I
shot several cylinder fulls of the hot stuff from a smokeless-frame Colt SAA.
It did not hurt the gun, but it had the sharpest "CRACK" I have
ever heard from a handgun. That was
before anybody had chrono's so I have no idea how fast they were traveling.
Back then nobody used ear protection, either.
I believe that at least some of my present hearing loss came from
shooting a half-box of 32-20 "rifle-only" loads in a handgun.
As they say, "Kids, don't try this at home." The
middle pressure level is for smokeless powder versions of the original lever
actions, modern Winchester 1873 clones (there are different opinions on whether
this should be here or in the lowest pressure level), smokeless frame Colt SAA's
and heavier duty double action revolvers, such as the Colt New Army or New
Service models. These can take
about 70% of the loads listed for modern firearms. The
top pressure level is for original, but smokeless frame single shot rifles,
modern Browning or Marlin lever actions, modern SAA's or clones and the
Contender. Start at 90% of the load
listed. Shooting a cartridge meant
for a stronger action in a weaker action will definitely damage the gun and
perhaps damage you. I
make it easy to tell the difference between my handloads at a glance by using a
different bullet in each type of load. A
95gr to 100gr RN or SWC lead bullet at 900fps (3.0gr to 3.3gr of Red Dot or
Bullseye) is used in the Colt PPS at relatively low pressure. An 85gr Hornady XTP jacketed hollowpoint at 1,150fps (6.0gr
of SR4756) is used in my rechambered S&W NewModel 16 at higher pressure.
And a 100gr Remington half-jacketed softpoint is used at close to
1,700fps (12.0gr of 2400)in my Marlin 1894CL rifle at even higher pressure.
Even if they are separated from the marked box, I can easily tell what is
in them. Light
loads of pistol or shotgun powders (such as Bullseye and Red Dot) work OK in
weak or old guns. However, it is
possible to double or even triple charge the 32-20 with these loads.
Be careful. After I started
reading about unexplained blow-ups of handguns with powder that filled less than
50% of the case, I wondered if it could happen to me.
By this time, I had already fired many thousands of rounds that were only
about 1/3 full. If it had not
happened by then, I figured it probably wouldn't happen.
It hasn't yet. I did,
however, start to notice that all the unexplained blow-ups I read about were
with slower powders. As long as you stick with a fast powder (and only one
charge per case), you should not have a problem. In
addition, where the powder lays in the case when it is shot will affect both its
accuracy and velocity. This type of
reload (low volume of powder) sometimes works better with a filler, such as
Cream-of-Wheat, to fill up the rest of the case. Because of the weight of the filler, you need to reduce the
amount of powder or the pressure will increase. That is not good when shooting old guns.
I recently also tried plastic shot buffer as a filler since it is much
lighter weight. Although there is a
slight difference, I don't believe that the improvement in accuracy from using a
filler is worth the extra effort. If
you do use a filler of any kind, make sure that you use enough so that it is
compressed quite a bit during bullet seating to keep the powder in place against
the primer otherwise you could have a squib load or a hangfire. I have had that
happen. For
higher pressure handgun loads, I have found that SR4756 works well. It is
consistent and accurate in short barrels. Larger
amounts of slow burning rifle powder work well in modern rifles.
IMR4227 and SR4759 are a couple of examples suggested by others.
I use 2400 powder myself. Usually,
no filler is needed with a rifle. Just
make sure that you do not use these cartridges in an older or lighter duty
firearm or you will seriously damage the gun.
It is very difficult to get one load that will work well in both a
handgun and a rifle without handicapping one or the other. I
have tried to make XMP5744 work with the 32-20 since it is recommended for old
BP cases. I have been unsuccessful.
It does pretty much fill the case, but it does not burn completely even
with Magnum primers and a heavy crimp. Velocity
and accuracy is variable. I have
had better luck with XMP5744 in larger cases.
I was also surprised that Unique did not work all that well in the 32-20. It was "average" at best. SR4756 was more accurate in a short barrel at similar
pressures. The
32-20 Contender is different from all other 32-20's that I am aware of.
It has a 0.308" barrel. When
I asked, the Thompson people wrote me that firing a 0.312"/0.313"
bullet through their 0.308" barrel would not cause any pressure or accuracy
problems. From my experience, this is half true. There were no pressure problems (the Contender is very
strong), but standard 32-20 cartridges did not give good accuracy from the
Contender barrel I owned. From
correspondence with the silhouette crowd who use this barrel, it is obvious that
the Contender cartridge is really a wildcat.
In fact, they often refer to it as a 30-20 Silhouette cartridge.
Even Redding lists the Contender dieset as different from the 32-20
dieset. The 30-20 cannot be used in
revolvers or lever action rifles made for the 32-20 since they are over length,
are loaded to very high pressure, and have pointed bullets.
That is not a 32-20 in my opinion. ------------------------------------------------- Factory
Cartridges. There
is a fair amount of misinformation and half-truths floating around about 32-20
factory cartridges. First, the
warning about NOT using high-velocity, high-pressure, "rifle-only"
loads in a BP firearm or a light duty handgun is true.
However, you cannot buy those cartridges anymore.
As near as I can tell, the last ones were made prior to WWII.
They are collectors items now and if you find a box somewhere, you can
sell them for enough to buy two or three of more recent boxes of 32-20
ammunition. The "real"
high-velocity, high-pressure rifle loads have a warning on the back that says
"use ONLY in modern rifles". Believe
it. BTW,
in my defense, part of the reason I fired "rifle-only" loads in my
fathers PPS was because I found them in an old hardware store in a town we were
driving through when I was about 15 years old.
I could afford the box, but when reading it, I saw the warning.
The guy behind the counter told me that it meant "don't use them in
old black powder guns". Obviously,
my fathers gun was not a BP gun. I
believed him (probably because I wanted to), bought the box, and the rest you
know. Don't make the same mistake. Modern
100gr half-jacketed "high velocity" loads are NOT the same thing as
the old "rifle-only" loads. They
are considerably downloaded and say "safe in any rifle or handgun" on
the back of the box. In fact, the
latest "high-velocity" cartridges are actually downloaded from the
ones manufactured in the late 1950's/early 1960's.
The older cartridges gave 900fps from a 5" handgun barrel. The newer
ones are down to around 800fps from the same gun.
They are only barely faster than the lead bullet standard velocity loads
nowadays. Shooting
modern factory cartridges in a modern gun is like shooting a .22LR.
Not very satisfying. Pushing
the speed up gives a much more satisfying load.
Anyway, modern factory loaded cartridges are safe in all sound guns, even
the ones marked "high-velocity".
However, you must handload the 32-20 in order to get very much enjoyment
out of it. ------------------------------------------------- Contact
Harry O at lowen@phonet.com
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