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Trinidad Bill
04-10-2018, 08:48 AM
A few years ago I became interested in the .32 ACP and as result I have quite a few .32 ACP pistols (Colt, FN, Beretta, PP, Mauser, CZ, etc.) I have left them alone for a while but I am getting the urge to work with them again with cast boolits.

My question is around reloading presses for the .32 ACP. With this caliber you can runoff quite a few rounds after you have a load developed. I thought the Dillon SDB would be ideal for this small cartridge and low powder volume. I have one for 9mm and it works great. In checking the Dillon, they do not make one for the 32 ACP.

What do you use for a reloading press, quasi high volume, with the 32 ACP?

jdfoxinc
04-10-2018, 08:57 AM
Lee turret 4 hole, Lee dies, RCBS little dandy with 0 rotor. My Baileyboat adjustable rotor won't throw that small of a charge.

ioon44
04-10-2018, 09:17 AM
I use the Dillon 550 with Hornady dies.

blue32
04-10-2018, 10:10 AM
Dillon 550 with RCBS dies.

georgerkahn
04-10-2018, 10:33 AM
I learned the hard way (for me) that for .25acp and .32acp loading, it is almost slow-motion of loading speed in larger calibers. (I bear a scar from a .380acp rim on my left hand forefinger ;) ). For me, I use a universal decapper in a Pacific single-stage press to remove all primers -- generally a batch of 50. I use a Crocogater tool to clean each primer pocket before inserting case in a second, RCBS single stage press to full length size each case. They each go to the RCBS bench priming tool for primer insertion, and are then placed in a loading block, primer end up. After block is filled, I take each and place under my Harrell powder measure for powder, putting back in block rim up. Next step is to a 2nd RCBS press where the bullet is seated. And, finally, the seating die is replaced with a Lee factory crimp, and the bullet is crimped. Finally, complete cartridge is dropped in a L. E. Wilson case gage for quality control - and they're put in a blue MTM box for this cartridge, labeled with particulars (date,powder, primer, etc) , and placed with ready to shoot ammo.
While Dillon touts the name of their 550 was derived from cases per hour this machine could load, I believe my average is much closer to two hundred using this reloader. The system I use for the little guys, outlined here above, is four times as slow! Yes -- start to finish -- takes me between 45 minutes and an hour to do 50 rounds. This may or may not be "quasi high volume" -- but it works to make safe, reliable rounds. IMHO, 50 rounds done in the same time as (also imho) a stupid t.v. show -- with MUCH more satisfying and productive results!
Re the scar on my finger, I got "in the groove" loading and was placing a bullet on case with left hand as I was lowering press handle with the right.... oops! Need I say more? Be careful with these small cases -- compounded with big fingers, something for you to keep in the back of your mind
BEST!
geo

Outpost75
04-10-2018, 10:36 AM
In all of my .32 ACP loading I used a single-station press and RCBS Little Dandy powder measure.

I also had purpose-built .32 ACP wood loading blocks made to more easily handle the smaller cases.

I feel that doing so provides much better ballistic uniformity.

I load rounds by the thousands on a single-station press, but stress quality over quantity.

Trinidad Bill
04-10-2018, 11:31 AM
I learned the hard way (for me) that for .25acp and .32acp loading, it is almost slow-motion of loading speed in larger calibers. (I bear a scar from a .380acp rim on my left hand forefinger ;) ). For me, I use a universal decapper in a Pacific single-stage press to remove all primers -- generally a batch of 50. I use a Crocogater tool to clean each primer pocket before inserting case in a second, RCBS single stage press to full length size each case. They each go to the RCBS bench priming tool for primer insertion, and are then placed in a loading block, primer end up. After block is filled, I take each and place under my Harrell powder measure for powder, putting back in block rim up. Next step is to a 2nd RCBS press where the bullet is seated. And, finally, the seating die is replaced with a Lee factory crimp, and the bullet is crimped. Finally, complete cartridge is dropped in a L. E. Wilson case gage for quality control - and they're put in a blue MTM box for this cartridge, labeled with particulars (date,powder, primer, etc) , and placed with ready to shoot ammo.
While Dillon touts the name of their 550 was derived from cases per hour this machine could load, I believe my average is much closer to two hundred using this reloader. The system I use for the little guys, outlined here above, is four times as slow! Yes -- start to finish -- takes me between 45 minutes and an hour to do 50 rounds. This may or may not be "quasi high volume" -- but it works to make safe, reliable rounds. IMHO, 50 rounds done in the same time as (also imho) a stupid t.v. show -- with MUCH more satisfying and productive results!
Re the scar on my finger, I got "in the groove" loading and was placing a bullet on case with left hand as I was lowering press handle with the right.... oops! Need I say more? Be careful with these small cases -- compounded with big fingers, something for you to keep in the back of your mind
BEST!
geo

Quite frankly this is about what I do and what I was expecting for an answer. Somehow I thought, "well I must be missing something, and surely someone can load these little guys faster than I can".

I wonder how they do .32 ACP in production volume???

Outpost75
04-10-2018, 11:54 AM
I batch operations.

Fired brass gets tumbled to remove range grit, then is FL sized and decapped in an RCBS carbide sizer. All gets visually inspected and any once-fired inside mouth deburred using a 3/8" ball cutter just to break the wire edge. Then brass is mouth expanded, tumbled again and is sorted by headstamp before priming.

I clean and uniform primer pockets, then prime by hand with an RCBS Posa-Prime to ensure primers are correctly and fully seated. I destroyed all of my pot metal Lee priming tools to prevent enemy use.

When I want to load ammo I already have primed, prepped brass ready to load, stored in plastic one-pound peanut butter jars, and I just grab one and load 3-400 rounds.

I charge 50 cases at a time in the loading block with the RCBS Little Dandy and inspect cases 100% with a pen light to detect any missed or spilled charges.

Bullets are seated and rounds profile crimped in separate operations. I keep a lot-card written on a 3x5 which accompanies each batch so I know the particulars of each batch and which operation was last performed.

Outpost75
04-10-2018, 12:01 PM
...I wonder how they do .32 ACP in production volume???

http://www.lachaussee.com/en_US/ammunition-munitions/

The production capacity of this ammunition line for an 8 hour shift is 25,000 cartridge cases, 25,000 projectiles, and 28,000 complete rounds of ammunition. Running at a maximum capacity of 3 shifts per day, the output is 75,000 cartridge cases, 75,000 projectiles and 84,000 complete rounds of ammunition in a full 24 hour period, flat-out.

A typical shift involves 13 workers per shift, plus a shift leader and a tool setter. The universality and flexibility of the machines allows for quick set-up without long delays in production.
The production machinery line has been used to manufacture the following calibers of components & complete ammunition:

7.65 Browning
7.65 LUGER
9mm Browning (9 x 17)
9mm Makarov (9 x 18)
9mm LUGER (9 x 19, 9mm PARA)
9 x 21

Cost A: Production Line Equipment ( Equipment only)
Equipment available under this offer includes:
Line for surface treatment
rotary 5-drum de-greasing unit (30,000 pieces per hour)
rotary drum pickling unit (30,000 pieces per hour)
polishing unit (30,000 pieces per hour)
1 annealing furnace (6,600 to 24,000 pieces per hour depending on type of cup)

Manufacture of cases
1 drawing press for 1st draw of case (3,125 pieces per hour)
1 drawing press for 2nd draw of case (3,125 pieces per hour)
1 cutting to length machine (4,000 pieces per hour)
1 crank press for blanking operation (2,500 pieces per hour)*
2 crank presses for heading (5,625 pieces per hour)* combine both items for 3,125 pieces per hour
2 crank presses for flash-hole piercing (4,500 pieces per hour)
2 crank presses for calibration (4,500 pieces per hour)
3 automatic lathes for cannelure turning (4,125 pieces per hour)
1 visual inspection automatic machine (2,750 pieces per hour)
1 dimensional inspection machine

Manufacture of bullets
1 double-action crank press for pressing cups from brass strips including strip-retractor
2 drawing presses for bullet-jacket draw (5,000 pieces per hour)
2 crank presses for lead wire extrusion (3,750 pieces per hour)
2 bullet assembly presses (3,125 to 3,375 pieces per hour)
1 unit for bullet measuring - dimensional inspection of bullets

Priming, loading & assembly of cartridges
2 priming machines (3,750 pieces per hour)
1 loading & assembly machine (3,500 pieces per hour)
1 machine for packing (7,500 pieces per hour)
1 automatic machine for visual inspection (2,500 pieces per hour)

Cost A for the above production line machinery, which includes packing in sea containers on our dock including blocking and bracing is 2,900,000.00 Euros.

Trinidad Bill
04-10-2018, 01:08 PM
Well heck Outpost, I'm impressed! It will take me a bit to digest that.

Chev. William
04-10-2018, 02:54 PM
Sigh, Out of my financial League; but a guy can Sure Dream.

Trinidad Bill
04-10-2018, 03:04 PM
Actually $3 Million, would not be a bad investment if it were in the USA. Did they give any revenues? Getting the equipment here and setting up to run could be very costly.

Since I just sold my business...


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RED BEAR
04-10-2018, 10:10 PM
I load both 32acp and 25acp on a single stage Lee classic. Really don't see them being any slower than any other cartridge.

bstone5
04-11-2018, 01:14 AM
Load 32 ACP on a Lee 4 hole press. For a powder measure made a dipper out of a 22 RF case that was filed down for correct weight of powder. A piece of copper wire was attached to the 22 case as a handle. No bid problems in the reloading of the 32 ACP. Used powder coated cast bullets with a home made gas check installed, have shot several hundred thru the little auto gun.

rintinglen
04-11-2018, 03:44 AM
I use a turret press and run batches. I size and de-cap, then flare the case neck, on to the next cartridge case. When I have 50 ready to, I check powder charges, then start placing boolits, seating and crimping. I will frankly state that the 32 ACP represents the smallest cartridge I can reload with comfort. I am in the midst of reloading 1300 of the little boogers.

I have done a few 25 acp's in years past but Like Ole George, I managed to nip my left index finger doing so. My hat is off to those who fiddle with those dinky little things.

Duckdog
04-11-2018, 06:29 AM
I use a Lee 4 hole turret and an adjustable disc in the auto disc, with Unique as the powder. Never had a lick of a problem. They always go bang and shoot the same. In fact, I kind of like reloading them.

evoevil
04-11-2018, 06:31 AM
I use the RCBS Pro2000 for all my pistol reloading, never had a problem with it

Bmi48219
04-11-2018, 07:10 AM
[QUOTE=Trinidad Bill;4342958]Actually $3 Million, would not be a bad investment if it were in the USA. Did they give any revenues? Getting the equipment here and setting up to run could be very costly.

Since I just sold my business...

Speaking in generalities, this Doesn't sound like a high margin operation. With max output at 84,000 units for 3 shifts, that's 28,000 units per shift using a 15 employee crew. Or 1,866 units / per employee / shift; or 233 units per employee/ hour. If you could wholesale each completed bullet for 20 cents you're looking at total revenue of $46.60 per employee / hour BEFORE you pay for wages, taxes, benefits, insurance, brass, copper, powder, primers, lead, utilities, a building etc. AND before you pay off the 3 million + Euros (4 million USD) to buy the equipment and get it to where you can pay someone to set it up.
I don't think the wife would be too happy.

Hardcast416taylor
04-11-2018, 04:25 PM
When I would change the dies for running the.32 acp it would be on my tried and true Hornady Pro-Jector press with the Hornady powder drop that I manually operate. My die set is RCBS and I still have all my fingers after quite a few years dealing with that little case.Robert

Trinidad Bill
04-11-2018, 05:59 PM
I use a Lee 4 hole turret and an adjustable disc in the auto disc, with Unique as the powder. Never had a lick of a problem. They always go bang and shoot the same. In fact, I kind of like reloading them.

DuckDog, how many grains of Unique are you using?

Trinidad Bill
04-11-2018, 06:05 PM
[QUOTE=Trinidad Bill;4342958]Actually $3 Million, would not be a bad investment if it were in the USA. Did they give any revenues? Getting the equipment here and setting up to run could be very costly.

Since I just sold my business...

Speaking in generalities, this Doesn't sound like a high margin operation. With max output at 84,000 units for 3 shifts, that's 28,000 units per shift using a 15 employee crew. Or 1,866 units / per employee / shift; or 233 units per employee/ hour. If you could wholesale each completed bullet for 20 cents you're looking at total revenue of $46.60 per employee / hour BEFORE you pay for wages, taxes, benefits, insurance, brass, copper, powder, primers, lead, utilities, a building etc. AND before you pay off the 3 million + Euros (4 million USD) to buy the equipment and get it to where you can pay someone to set it up.
I don't think the wife would be too happy.

At 233/hour/employee you would be much better off cutting the staff in half and giving each employee a Dillon 550 (someone said the 550 stands for 550/hour) and letting them have at it. The investment would be a whole lot less than $3 million Euros!

Outpost75
04-11-2018, 06:13 PM
[QUOTE=Bmi48219;4343391]

At 233/hour/employee you would be much better off cutting the staff in half and giving each employee a Dillon 550 (someone said the 550 stands for 550/hour) and letting them have at it. The investment would be a whole lot less than $3 million Euros!

Depending upon having a reliable source of bullets and cases...

blue32
04-12-2018, 08:46 PM
I can run it in volume no problem. After running 250 rounds through my 550, I ran ten rounds over a chrono and got a SD of 13 fps and an ES of 32 fps.

Harry O
04-14-2018, 08:36 PM
I have been reloading the .32ACP for some time. I use a Lee single stage press to reload them. They are the smallest cases I can handle with reasonable care. I would not want to try .25ACP cases.

One of my .32ACP's is a preWWII Walther PPK and one is a wartime Mauser HSc. I learned from that that the .32ACP loads and guns are different between the US and Europe. In European guns, the chambers are tighter and they need more pressure to function well. I worked out a complicated way to size the cases down a little more and went up to 2.3gr of Bullseye with a Lyman 311252 bullet. This is a little more than most reloading manuals, but it was necessary to get reliable functioning. I also found out that a very slight roll crimp helped. You can do that because the case is semi-rimmed rather than rimless. The load works in all of my .32ACP's and is reliable.

I reduced some of my reloads down to 2.0gr for my Kel-Tec .32, but I don't know if that was absolutely necessary. It is a very light gun, though.

trapper9260
04-16-2018, 11:11 AM
I load my 32ACP in my single stage because of I get a better feel of the round then my T -Press. I found that out when I also load the other 32's alot of it show with the 327mag. So I do the fininsh on the 32 on the single stage press.It works for me .

Whiterabbit
04-17-2018, 01:32 PM
I don't load 32 acp, but may start in the future. preprepping for it.

I plan to use a lee loadmaster. I know I will be customizing many parts to make it work, starting with the case feeder, all the way up to the bullet feeder.

NoZombies
04-17-2018, 02:42 PM
The 550 does 32 ACP fairly well for me. I probably average 400-500 per hour including press prep (loading primer tubes etc). I don't have arthritis yet, so I don't have the dexterity issues some guys do.

Walks
04-17-2018, 03:59 PM
I load .32ACP, 32Short&Wimpy, .32S&W Long & .32H&R Mag on a RCBS Piggyback 2 mounted on the 'ol RockChucker. The only problem I ever encountered was using Moly-Coated 80gr RN's. The little bugger's would slip out of my fingers. Not a problem with conventional lubed bullets or Powder Coated.
The ACP's are shot out of a French PP & a COLT 1903.
The .32Short&Wimpy go into a S&W Lemon Squeezer. The .32S&W Long out of a S&W Model 31 4". And the Mags go into a RUGER SSM.
The Rube Goldberg PiggyBack 2 setup operates just fine As long as you don't slam it around. A firm soft touch, just like a good horse or a good dog.

I can load about 200rds of .32S&W. The rest about 300rnds per hour.
But I just don't rush.

Trinidad Bill
04-24-2018, 09:25 AM
I have been reloading the .32ACP for some time. I use a Lee single stage press to reload them. They are the smallest cases I can handle with reasonable care. I would not want to try .25ACP cases.

One of my .32ACP's is a preWWII Walther PPK and one is a wartime Mauser HSc. I learned from that that the .32ACP loads and guns are different between the US and Europe. In European guns, the chambers are tighter and they need more pressure to function well. I worked out a complicated way to size the cases down a little more and went up to 2.3gr of Bullseye with a Lyman 311252 bullet. This is a little more than most reloading manuals, but it was necessary to get reliable functioning. I also found out that a very slight roll crimp helped. You can do that because the case is semi-rimmed rather than rimless. The load works in all of my .32ACP's and is reliable.

I reduced some of my reloads down to 2.0gr for my Kel-Tec .32, but I don't know if that was absolutely necessary. It is a very light gun, though.


Ditto this^^^.

I had a lot of issues getting my .32 ACPs to function properly until I got over 2.2gr of Bulleye. The only American made .32 ACP I have is the 1903 Colt. My FN, PP, CZ, Mauser, Beretta all like a stout load to function properly. A jammed up .32 ACP with a weak load is a PIA to deal with.