32 special vs 30-30

[compass will]

I been reading all over that the 30-30 and 32 special are very close, with the 32 winning with a little more power at shorter distances.

Guns:
Marlin model 93, (first year vintage) 32 special, I think its a 24" barrel.
RCBS 32-170FN sized to .321, over XXg of H4198

Marlin 334, (first year vintage) 30-30, I think its a 18" barrel.
Lee C309 170-f sixed to .310 over SAME load of H4198

Both boolits cast from wheel weights.


When shooting 3/8" steel plate that is 4" w x 10" h, at 100 yards, hanging from a stand I made to they swing when you hit them.

the 30-30 puts a little crater, where you can see a little distorted bump on the back.

the 32 puts a large crator, where the bump on the back of the plate sticking out about 1/8". it even bent the steel where it is now if you lay it flat, it's bent around 1/8" out of plain in the center where it hit.

I was very impressed with the difference.
Would the additional 6" barrel on the 32 make that much of a difference?

Anyway, looking forward to some great lever action Silhouette matches this summer.

Thanks everyone for all the education over the last year.

[riarcher]

Love my 30-30!:mrgreen:
That is all.

[Ole]

You won't notice a big difference.

Both are fine cartridges. One is still used, the other is, for all practical purposes, obsolete.

[garandsrus]

I like em both :)

John

[OLPDon]

My first was a 32 winspl and it is a tack driver truly my first love. Also have 30/30, 35 rem. As for 32 winspl can be easly fireformed from 30/30 cart. The 32 winspl just loves cast boolits. If it were my choice 32 winny, but of course that always set well in my heart. Picked it up back in 1970 when a Winchester saleman cam on board ship. I had to give up quite a few liberty's to pay for it but she is as new and shinny as when I brought her home. Still have the orig. Box.
Don

[JIMinPHX]

If you are seeing big differences in the amount of dimple that those two put into a steel plate, then you should check your speed with a chrony & check the hardness of your boolits.

[Bret4207]

Yes, 6" of barrel can make a difference. They say 50FPS per inch of barrel, but I'd guess a more conservative estimate might be 25-30 fps per inch. Even then it might 100-150 fps faster and that would give the results you see.Also- what do the boolits actually weigh? The mould might be a "170" gr mould, but they might cast 10-15 gr apart. Also remember that each gun is a law unto itself, even with the same load you have different chambers, different rifling, different cases and bores. You may have a 250 fps difference and not know it, or the difference could be much smaller but the differently shaped boolits could account for the increased dent.

It's just not so simple as the "same" wt. boolit and load.

[sundog]

Ole, since when is the 30-30 obsolete???

[w30wcf]

I Would the additional 6" barrel on the 32 make that much of a difference?


Yes, it can. Based on some ballistic studies between different .30-30 barrel lengths, the difference could be 200 f.p.s. and as high as 300 f.p.s. depending on the load and the individual barrels.

Velocity has everything to do with steel penetration.

Also, since the steel is able to move, hit's in different areas from the fulcrum may give slightly different results due to the difference in resistance. A better test would be to put the steel against a solid backstop.

BE CAREFUL shooting at cratered steel. A hit in a crater will send bullet fragments back in the direction of the shooter which could be bad news at closer distances.

w30wcf

[Larry Gibson]

The real advantage to the .32 Special is the 16" twist. That advantage is mostly lost in the 20" barrels. a friend has a M64 in .32 Special with a 24/26(?) barrel. He is able to push 311440 to 2400 fps with 2 moa accuracy and maintain that accuracy for 30+ shots (want to talk about a deer killing load!). Thats about the best I can do with the 30-30 in 12" twist 24" barreled M94s up to 2200 fps with several bullets. While I do love my M94 30-30s if I came across a M64 in .32 special in very good condition I'm afraid money would not be an object.

Larry Gibson.

[felix]

Just make sure the 32-30 you get has the 16 twist barrel! Your bet is excellent if the gun is a Winnie. It's too bad the 30-30s weren't/aren't made with the same throating as the 32-30, and with 14 twist at that. ... felix

[45 2.1]

a friend has a M64 in .32 Special with a 24/26(?) barrel. He is able to push 311440 to 2400 fps with 2 moa accuracy and maintain that accuracy for 30+ shots (want to talk about a deer killing load!). Larry Gibson.

Interesting, somebody shooting a 311440 out of a 32 Special. Must be paper patching it up...................................:mrgreen: