My 32 Long Colt loads.....

[Harry O]

I started loading the 32 Long Colt last year after I bought a 299155 hollow-base mould cheap. It has cost me a lot since then.

I later bought a custom copy of the 299153 heel-base mould. Then I got to looking at a full (500) box of Hornady 0.314" dead-soft, hollow-base wadcutters that I have had for many years and never got around to using. They looked like they would work if I could find a way to swage the base down to 0.299". So I made up a swager that goes into my vise for compressing the base. It works surprisingly well.
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The left one is a Hornady swaged down and loaded into a 0.640" long 32 Short Colt case loaded with 1.8gr of Bullseye. The middle one is a homemade case shortened to 0.780" long for heel-base bullets (299153). The right one is a homemade case full length at 0.920" for hollow-base bullets (299155). Both of the Long Colts use 2.0gr of Bullseye. They all shoot pretty good considering the mismatch in the dimensions.
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The box of Hornady bullets and the homemade swager are shown. The upper portion is 0.001" larger in diameter than the bullet. The lower part is 0.299" dia. It is a snug fit in the chambers of the Colt Police Positive revolver, but it works pretty good.

I have just started using 32 Short Colt cases recently. I had passed them up previously. However, they are much easier to find than Long Colt cases. That is also why I have been forming Long Colt cases for experimenting. I have about 225 of them, half at 0.780" long and half at 0.920" long. I have some original Long Colt cases that I can use after I am done experimenting.

[MrWolf]

Very interesting. I was just getting into the 32 long colt for an old Marlin I have. I will follow your progress. I am on hold for at least a year as am packing for an upcoming divorce.

[Guesser]

I find that at factory pressures I don't have to size the case, just prime, charge, seat the bullet and I find that a perfect crimp is applied using the Lee 32 Auto seating die, seater removed or backed off. They are accurate in both my old Colts and fun. The bullet I'm using is 299153. Works for long & short cases.
As a point of interest: Winchester will no longer be doing seasonal runs of 32 Short. That's the last of it guys, buy it when you find it!!!

I'm using Trail Boss powder.

[Harry O]

The bullet I'm using is 299153. Works for long & short cases.



Once I got the 299153 mould, I cast up a bunch and tried a dummy with a full length (0.920") case. It was too long for the cylinder in my Colt. I cut the case back progressively. It needed to be no more than about 0.820" to fit. Even then, I was concerned that if any one of them jumped the crimp, they would tie up the gun.

There are a number of different lengths listed for the Long Colt with a heel-base bullet, both on the Internet and in books. I eventually found a cartridge from a bullet collector and measured it at 0.780". That was confirmed by another person on this board with several different cases the same length. So, I cut all of them to that length.

MrWolf: I don't have one to try, but I have quite a few other Marlins that I handload for. I doubt very much that the Hornady hollow-base wadcutter would feed in the Marlin, but the other two should.

[Harry O]

Loaded up a bunch of heel-base, external-lube bullets in 32 Long Colt cartridges with 0.780" cases today. The ones on the left are them. The ones on the right are the 32 Long Colt with hollow-base, internal-lube bullets in 0.920" cases that were loaded previously.
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All are in cases formed from .32 S&W Long cases with 2.0gr of Bullseye and SPG lube. I have two of the little Colt Police Positive revolvers. Naturally, they have fixed sights. I sighted in one of them with the hollow-base bullets, filing the sights until the group was centered. I am about to start filing on the other one using the heel-base bullets. The two types of bullets are close to hitting in the same place, but not identical.

[MrWolf]

Nice progress. Keep it coming.

[w30wcf]

Harry O,
Nice work! :D
Neat idea on the tool for putting a heel on the wadcutter boolit. :D

I have an 1892 Marlin .32 Colt that I bought about 10 years ago. Thankfully I had a couple of older Ideal molds in the proper weight range….Ideal’s 311244 and 311245. In addition, I had someHornady 90 gr. SWC’s.
Now, how do I put a heel on them? Having a number of different dies, thankfully, I found one that would put a very shallow angle onbase of the bullets. I discovered that I could adjust the die so that the resultant heel allowed the bullet to be a press fit into a fired case.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/w30wcf/32LCHandloaded.jpg
L to R
Hornady 90 gr SWC
311244
311245
311245 black powder lube

I eventually decided to have Accurate make a mold for a bullet to fit the .78” case(externally lubed like the original) and another for the .91” case (internally lubed). I dimensioned the heel a bit larger than normal to fit into fired brass from my rifle.
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/w30wcf/Collector%20Cartridges/32%20Colt%20lineup.jpg
1- .32 Short Colt factory early
2- .32 Long Colt factory early
3- .32 Long Colt reload Accurate .31-090S
4- .32 Long Colt factory late (previously known as .32 Long Rifle)
5- .32 Long Colt reload Accurate 31-090A
6- .32 Long Colt factory shot cartridge
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/w30wcf/Collector%20Cartridges/32LCBullets.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o25/w30wcf/Collector%20Cartridges/32Colt-1.jpg
Then powder compressed .10” with the 31-090S bullet.
Fun, fun, fun.

[Harry O]

Very interesting. I have a some tools for putting an 11 degree forcing cone on revolver barrels. I should be able to figure out a way to cut something to do that.

I have a line on a bunch of brand new .32 Short Colt cases. The order was just shipped yesterday and is supposed to be here in about a week (it is from outside the US). Until I have them in hand, I won't know if it is a scam or not, but I don't think it is. If they exist, and look good, I am thinking of trying to trade them 2:1 for Long Colt cases (two shorts for one long). If there is anyone out there who might be interested, watch this space.

[Harry O]

The 32 SHORT Colt cases arrived. It was not a scam. If anyone is interested in trading LONG Colt cases for these, check out my WTT ad in Swapping & Selling. Thanks.