32 cal

[RICKGO1]

I have, new to me, a 32cal muzzleloading rifle. Do I use blackpower ? FF,FFF,FFFF,and how much?

[waksupi]

3f, start at around 30 grains, and work up.

[RICKGO1]

Should I shoot patch & ball or is there a bullet? New to muzzleloading.

[waksupi]

Rick, go with patched round ball. A box of #1 buckshot from Graf and Sons will keep you shooting for a looooooong time.

[mooman76]

Do you know what twist rate it is. That will tell you if you can shoot conicals or not. You will need a twist of at least 32 or tighter to shoot conicals.You could probably get by shooting 20g for just plinking. If you can't find BP you could ude Pyrodex "P" grade. P is for oistol but it is equivalent to FFF. You could even shoot FF but FFF would be better in that small a caliber.

[Shootn]

My TC Cherokee in .32 shoots best with 30 grains of FFF. I would start at 15 and see where it hits its sweet spot.

[Nobade]

My Dixie Tenn mountain rifle with its 1:48 twist works best with 20gr. FFFg Goex and a .310 ball, using Brownells twill cleaning patches to patch with.

To shoot short conicals you'll need 1:20 or faster.

[RICKGO1]

I got the rifle out and on the barrel is stamped Traditions Crockett 32 cal 1:48.So I guess its patch & ball.So much knowledge on this fourm,thanks guys.

[Gerry N.]

That rifle is one of the best off the shelf squirrel guns around. I'd start with 20 gr. 3F and work up in 5 gr steps until you find the load your rifle likes. More than likely it will like patches made from all cotton pillow ticking about .015 or .020. This can be found at any fabric store. A quarter of a yard will cost a buck or two and last a loooooooong time. My favorite patch lube is plain ol lard from the supermarket. That said, there are dozens of lubes on the market that cost from dang near free to five bucks an ounce. I'm gonna PM you some info.

Gerry N.

[shdwlkr]

Rick
I have a TC well two cherokees that are in 32 caliber. I use 3f powder and have used as little as 15 grains and as much as 50 grains the last was a waste of powder. I have used from .30 to .315 round ball and .15-.18 pillow ticking and have used real black 3F, pyrodex P and the new triple 7 powder in 3F and have settled on real black when I can get my hands on it.
Yes there is a maxi-ball for these little guys and they work ok if you have 1:48 twist or faster. I say ok as you have to use more powder to move that heavier bullet. Mine are in the 103 grains area compared to the 65 grains I think it is for the .315 round ball. No the maxi-ball mold for the 32 isn't easy to find but every so often on flea-bay there is one but don't pay much over $15 for one as I cast maybe 200 a year for mine and that is all. Now if I was going to hunt turkeys a lot I might load more .
I have gone to using buckshot for my shooting of this caliber. The ball is .300 so I just use a thicker patch to make up the difference and at $25 give or take some for 5 pounds you can shoot a lot.

[trickyasafox]

Junior has a 32 bp rifle he is very fond of- he got some great groups with it too if I recall. I can't seem to find he write up on it but I remember reading it.

[northmn]

I built two 32's and sold them off. For longer range target work they were not as good as a 40. that being said they were great guns in their place and I did win a rifle aggregate with one where the longest range was 75 yards. Mine did best with about 25 grains of 3f GOEX. For rabbits and squirrels you had better head shoot as they hit about like a 22 mag hollow point. Hope to very soon get a .25 cal Rayl barrel to build my next squirrel gun. The barrel is to be shipped Monday. They use #3 or #4 buckshot. Will be another economy build project. Just buying the lock and barrel. have a 15-20 year old stock that needs using.

Northmn

[shdwlkr]

Northmn
I don't think I could hit much with a .25 caliber but it sure sounds like fun and I am assuming the range is like 60 yards or less most of the time and the savings on powder and lead is going to be a great thing.
Let us know how it works.
I totally love my .32's and .36's, have shot one of the .36 calibers out to 200 yards and was quite impressed as it has a scope on it and it wasn't and isn't finished sighting in yet. Would never think of shooting game at that range but shotgun clay pigeons are fun and that was the whole idea. For hunting it will be kept at around a hundred yards or less. the scope helps these old eyes see what is there and that is a good thing.

[RBak]

The lowly little .32 is often thought of as the ".22 Long Rifle of Muzzleloading" but this line of thinking is a total fallacy....that little joker is a force in it's own, even with it's little 47 gr boolit.
Maxi-Ball, when you can get 'em, weigh in at about 112gr and are absolute dynamite, albeit illegal for just about everything but the smallest of game.
When fired in this little gun, the Maxi is very close to the 30-30 in terms of terminal performance out to about 45 / 50 yds.

I just recently sold a little .32 CVA Varminter, that was a real "cracker jack" with 25gr FFFg and a round ball.
That particular rifle / load actually cracked like a centerfire, instead of the normal associated boooom typical of many muzzleloaders.

However, the most amazing thing about this little round is the recovered ball. Most of the time it held together, and most of the time it was thin as a dime, but bigger than a nickle!

Don't under estimate this little guy....he carries a very big stick.

Russ...

[Hanshi]

Very good advice on this thread. I have a Traditions Crockett as well. This is one fine small game & target rifle. It's perfect for squirrels & small critters yet will take varmints nicely. Get a .311 rb mold from Lee Precision, under $25. The ball weighs about 46grns. Best load is 30grns 3f for 1700 -1800fps; 20grns 3f for 1400 - 1500fps. 20 grns. is best for squirrels but 30 grns is a hair more accurate. To really reach out there work up to 35 or 40 grns. Use pillow ticking for patches & Crisco for cheap lube. Get some Black Solve from DGW for patch lube and you can shoot all day without trouble loading or having to swab out the bore. Forget all the hype you may hear about the .32 fouling too much; it's so much bull fertilizer. Good shooting.

[chief3]

I have been using a 32 rifle for match shooting (thats it in my avatar) for about 10 years now and find that 13 to 15 grns, is great for 25 yd offhand shooting. If there is little wind I use it for 50 yds too. At 100 yds I go to 25 grns. but if there is much wind I switch to a 38 cal.
I once shot a squirrel with 25 grns , missed the head but I think I hit the shoulder , couldn't tell cause there was so little of the animal left. Now I hunt with 18 grns.

[mainiac]

Lee .312 RB, 24 grs. shueutzen fff, walmart pillowtick patch,lehigh valley lube. Cuts one hole @25 yards,just under 1 inch at 50, and if the wind is blowing @ 100,,,,,forget it!!! VERY wind sensitive. BTW, my gun is also a t/c cherokee. my favorite smoke gun!

[shdwlkr]

mainiac
I am not sure how far my .32 will shoot but I do know that I have shot 200 yards with my .36 seneca that has a scope on it and it was maybe 4 inches off what I was shooting at and the scope isn't sighted in yet so I am happy. I like doing what we have been told you can't do. Not sure if the .36 ball at two hundred yards would do much but I know a clay pigeon doesn't stand a chance. As that is what I was aiming at and hit just not where I wanted to hit it.

[mainiac]

mainiac
I am not sure how far my .32 will shoot but I do know that I have shot 200 yards with my .36 seneca that has a scope on it and it was maybe 4 inches off what I was shooting at and the scope isn't sighted in yet so I am happy. I like doing what we have been told you can't do. Not sure if the .36 ball at two hundred yards would do much but I know a clay pigeon doesn't stand a chance. As that is what I was aiming at and hit just not where I wanted to hit it.

Im a little fuzzy remembering but, i think when my gun is dead on @50,it is around 6 inches low @100. I have tested it in a strong 15-20 mph crosswind, and have seen 8-10 inches of drift@100! Ive never shot for group past 100 yards,but have shot steel sillywets with the .32, and the boolit drop becomes unreal much past 100. I think my manual states that a maximum load is around 50-60 grs of fffg, this would help with drop and drift, but the accuracy aint there,and the bore fouls very quickly. The difference between my .50,and the .32 is like night and day @ 100 yards and beyond.

[northmn]

One of the reasons 32's tend to fail at longer ranges is that there is so little gain in velocity over the accurate loads of about 25 grains. Most ML's will start leveling off at a certain point. Also round balls do not retain velocity very well, especially the little ones. I liked the 32 for close range targets and it was really fun at "primitive" matches where one shot a variety of targets such as clay pigeons, potatos, charcoal birquets etc. At longer range they dropped too much as well as drifted. As stated, when loaded accurately, if you body shoot, there isn't much squirrel left. I actually think my 40 with a load of about 30 grains (a 45ACP case) does less damage. Still they are a nice little rifle.

Northmn

[mooman76]

I did know the max charge on my CVA but I ran it up to about 50-60 grains thinking surely it could hadle that. Then I looked at a CVA chart and max was only about 30 grains. I think that is more of a recomended max effective load. BP rifles can handle more that their max charge because BP becomes very inefficiant past a certain point but no sence in pushing it because it is pointless really and you're just waisting powder.

[shdwlkr]

I think with my little .32 I would limit my shots to 75 yards max and would tend to keep it more around 50-60 yards. I have 2 .32's and 2 .36's I like them that much. I have larger calibers but those little ones are just fun.
the dumbest thing I have had happen is for my cleaning rod to get stuck in the barrel of my .32 and had to go have it drilled out. don't know what I did wrong but think it was to thick a patch and it just got stuck and broke off when I tried to pull it back out. Will have to see it did anything to the rifle when it gets warm enough to shoot.

[mooman76]

That's the only really bad thing about them small calibers. It is a really tight fit for patch and ball and then the starter/rod. You can't really make them much smaller because you would lose strength. I saw a 22 cal small rifle on auction arms. Seemed like a fun thing to have but it would be tight and the balls would be like BBs.

[stubshaft]

I use a 30 carbine case as a powder measure for 3f. I also picked up along the way some .010 teflon patching material (teflon coated material) that makes loading a .321 ball MUCH easier.

[Hanshi]

Having use my .32 Crockett on squirrels I can attest that 30grns 3f is fairly destructive. The ballistics and damage from that load is very much like what you'd expect from a .22mag. If you'd hunt squirrels with a .22mag (and I have) then don't hesitate to use the heavier load. I settled on 20 grns as being just as accurate and no more destructive than .22 LR hollow points. If you shoot at longer ranges or want to use the .32 on larger varmints, 30 grns is good. You can go up to 35 or maybe even 40 with good results. Remember, though, 30 grns 3f will give you between 1700 & 1800 fps.

The .32 is NOT a long range caliber. It does it's best work at woods ranges, say, under 50 - 60 yds. The most gentle of breezes can throw it off at 100yds. It is, however, extremely fun and economical to shoot!