Need help on .32 S&W long

[UweJ]

A buddy gave me a RCBS Mold of a 84 grain WC in .32 S&W long. I don´t want to reinvent the wheel so I wanted to ask if anyone had some target loads preferably with Bullseye.
I´d be obliged for any help.
UweJ

[Dale53]

UweJ;
I have shot a number of WC's in my .32's (several thousand) and have had good luck with 1.8 Bullseye. I have not chronographed that load but it is "booked" in Speer's #12 Manual at 777 FPS. These were loaded in S&W L cases.

Dale53

[Lloyd Smale]

I use that same bullet with 2 grains of bullseye or 2.3 grains of hp38 with excellent results.

[R.M.]

You haven't told us what you'll be shooting then out of. Revolver, or auto. 1.7 or 1.8 gr Bullseye works fine in most autos. I wouldn't go much higher. Revolvers are a whole different animal.
Have you thought of TrailBoss? No way to get a double charge with that stuff. I'm dropping 1.9gr TB under a Lee 83gr DEWC for use in my Walther GSP and it works just fine.

R.M.

[Bret4207]

Where else will you find responses to questions on th 32 S+W Long! Gee I like this place.

[Glen]

I also shoot .32 S&W Long wadcutter loads using 2.0 grains of Bullseye. Very accurate.

[45nut]

Anyone out there reloading the 32S&W? Not the long or the Mag? Not the acp?
I have this old H&R safety hammerless...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/revolvers/WebP0001336.jpg

I have been shooting up some 32acp ammo every so often, since it has a small rim it works fine and the $'s asked for 32S&W ammo are kinda stupid.

Anyone else play with one of these critters?

[scrapcan]

45nut,

nice bobbed hammer. How does it shoot?

I shoot quite a few 32S&W loaded with:
#0 buck is 0.32” in diameter and weighs 48 grains
#00 buck is 0.34” in diameter and 54 grains in weight
32 caliber round ball weight unknown
or lyman 314252 at 83 grains.

I have loaded and shot all the above with the 1.5-1.8 grains BE.

When loaded the shot or round ball I just decap prime, add powder, and then seat the ball in an un-belled fired case with a small nylon hammer. not enough recoil to unseat the ball and the fired case gives you a little more size. Ihave shot both lubed and unlubed with not a lot of leading. Other can prbably help you more than I on the 32S&W. but I woudl think you could use just about any load load that might be outhere in a published manual for your old h&R as it is not one of the weaker top break actions.

[UweJ]

Thanks for all the replies. I forgot to say that I´m shooting a Walther GSP . I´m shooting competition in a team but had only loads for 98 or 100 grain boolits.
Asking folks who know what they are talking about is always a good thing.
Thanks again
Uwe:cbpour:

[R.M.]

Been shooting a GSP for many years. From what I've noticed, you won't see any difference between the various weights of bullets. All the way from 83 to 100 gr, the light loads we're using in the GSP, just go for it. From what I've seen, 1.7 to 1.8 is the most loaded with Bullseye.
Good Luck with the team.
R.M.

[45nut]

45nut,

nice bobbed hammer. How does it shoot?

I shoot quite a few 32S&W loaded with:
#0 buck is 0.32” in diameter and weighs 48 grains
#00 buck is 0.34” in diameter and 54 grains in weight
32 caliber round ball weight unknown
or lyman 314252 at 83 grains.

I have loaded and shot all the above with the 1.5-1.8 grains BE.

When loaded the shot or round ball I just decap prime, add powder, and then seat the ball in an un-belled fired case with a small nylon hammer. not enough recoil to unseat the ball and the fired case gives you a little more size. I have shot both lubed and unlubed with not a lot of leading. Other can probably help you more than I on the 32S&W. but I would think you could use just about any load load that might be out there in a published manual for your old h&R as it is not one of the weaker top break actions.
She shoots about a 2" group at 5 yards with 32acp ammo, the sights are uh, difficult to see. The front blade is typical of the era and quite thin. 32S&W ammo is about the same.
I shot it with some Win Silvertip 32acp and the bark was a bit more and would be the "carry" ammo if that was all I had available. It was no investment grade piece but rather in good shape and well made considering.

[richbug]

Anyone out there reloading the 32S&W? Not the long or the Mag? Not the acp?
I have this old H&R safety hammerless...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/revolvers/WebP0001336.jpg

I have been shooting up some 32acp ammo every so often, since it has a small rim it works fine and the $'s asked for 32S&W ammo are kinda stupid.

Anyone else play with one of these critters?

I have about 30 pounds of the 32 S&W brass (short) if you are interested... For sale down in the market place. WAy to small for my big fingers. They are about 1/8" shorter than the 32 auto case. kinda surprised you got the ACP's into the chamber.

[UweJ]

R.M. I was looking into TrailBoss but we can´t get it around here.Everything is getting quit restrictive.I was looking into the new catalogs and they don´t have a thing for us smelters anymore.Reloading yes but smelting or casting no. I see it positive, there will be more left for me.

[TAWILDCATT]

I grew up on H&R and IJ and alot of others you never heard of.32 acp is same size as 32 long/shot and has a slight rim[semi rimed]I'v shot hundreds of 32 acp in Ivers and H & R.I load 2grs 700x.
-----:coffee: ----:Fire: ----:coffee:

[scrapcan]

I have also seen it done the otherway, shooting 32S&W in a 32acp. I would not have believed it had I not seen it.

[Bret4207]

I done the 32 Auto/32 S+W exchange, sometimes by accient. If you want an exercise in frustration, try reloading a case thats shorter than your fingers are thick. OUCH!

[9.3X62AL]

Too right--32 ACP is a PITA to process.

I got a chance to fire a Walther GSP-C some years back. It was easily the most accurate handgun I've ever fired--period.

[Dale53]

One of our club "hotshots" (said with respect) shoots the Walther and shoots it VERY well. I have admired them but they have always seemed a bit pricey to me. If I were a dedicated bullseye shooter I am sure that I would feel differently.

Dale53

[Harry O]

I loaded some .32 S&W (short) with a combination of .32ACP and .32 S&W Long dies many years ago. Just to see if I could do it. Other than that, I only shoot them when I get them for free or at VERY little cost. Most of my handloading is 32-20, .32 S&W Long, and the .32 Magnum.

Small amounts of Bullseye or Red Dot work great in the Long. I have used from 1.8gr to 3.2gr for different purposes and with different bullets. It is very tolerant of just about any combination. You can load to higher pressures than the manuals (which were made for breaktop revolvers) without danger. I have shot thousands of them at 2.7gr to 3.0gr with a 95 to 100gr lead bullet thru a H&R swing-frame revolver without problems.

However, those powders are a little on the small size with the 32-20 (1/4 to 1/3 of a case full) so I have been trying various other powders in that one. I've tried several, and unless you have a gun that can handle higher pressure than factory cartridges, none of them worked well. I have been experimenting with Trail Boss the last few months.

It works pretty good for the 32-20. I have been using 2.8gr with an RCBS 98gr RN-FP. That is a little more than half-a-case-full. It would prevent double loads (although I have never had one). At least as accurate as factory loads and no more pressure, which is important with my light-duty Colt PPS. It is NOT as accurate as my rechambered S&W NewModel 16 with 6.0gr of SR4756 with a 100gr j-bullet, but I would not shoot that load in my PPS.

I have tried the same load of Trail Boss in the .32 Magnum, but there is nothing I have seen so far that recommends that. That is at least 3/4 case full, but that is not as important in the .32 Mag. Accuracy is OK, but can be matched easily with other powders that cost less.

BTW, I have shot a number of .32ACP's in .32 S&W and S&W Long revolvers. Those with a big firing pin on the hammer work better than those that have a "safety" firing pin in the frame. The small rim on the .32ACP does not control headspace very well and you sometimes need a little more reach than can be gotten with a frame mounted firing pin. I also load the .32ACP for a Walther PPK and a Mauser HSC. They seem to require high end loads to function well. I did find that slightly roll crimping (when using lead bullets) the bullet helps accuracy. Never tried the .32 S&W (short) in either of the .32ACPs, but I too have heard that it can work. .32's are a lot of fun.

[Rick N Bama]

Too right--32 ACP is a PITA to process.



I'm just getting into loading for a 32ACP, you're right, it is a pain! I think I can load around ten 44mags while I'm loading one 32.

Rick

[olgandalf]

45nut,
Is your H&R blackpowder or later? I have a blackpowder The American Double Action. I have shot 12 rounds, say, of Aquila 32 S&W long out of it that I'd bought for my 95 Nagant. In reloading for the H&R pistol, I have cut down a half dozen long cases to the short size and it takes forever. Can I just use the long cases with the same light load I'd use for the short ones--85gn cast over 7gns FFg BP or over 1gn to 1.5 gns Bullseye?

[Dark Helmet]

Some 32 L WC data here http://www.burntpowder.com/loadit/Load_Right.asp?CARTRIDGE=32+S%26W+Long

[leadman]

The 32acp is a higher pressure round than the 32 S&W (short). I have an old H&R Premier that I bought a few months ago and am attempting to load for it. The load data I got from Accurate stuck a boolit in the barrel.
I have some other loads ready to go when I can get to the range.

Much more data out the for the long, short data is very scarce.

[swamp]

I have a couple of old Lyman Cast Bullet Handbooks that have data for the 32 S&W. If anyone wants it I could scan and post it.
swamp