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View Full Version : Bought a non-traditional cast bullet gun....



Harry O
11-28-2010, 08:17 PM
It is a Kel-Tec P32. I gave my son both of my .32ACP handguns a few years ago. I had a .50cal ammo box full of ammunition, too. He only took the factory loaded ammunition (my own fault, I taught him not to shoot anyone elses handloads).

So I had about 600-800 loaded rounds of .32ACP left over with nothing to shoot them in. A little over half are loaded with 2.2gr of Red Dot and a 77gr Lyman 311252. The remainder were loaded with 2.5gr of W231 and 71gr jacketed Hornady's. I ran across a Kel-Tec at a gunshow yesterday that was very reasonably priced and it was in a caliber I needed, so I bought it.

Took it to the range today and shot about 40 rounds of each. The accuracy was actually very good with the lead bullets. Unfortunately, they failed to feed twice. I think if I polish the feed ramp, this may take care of the problem. But then, maybe not.

The jacketed bullet loads fed and went bang every time, but the "group" sizes were 2 to 2-1/2 times as large as the cast bullet groups. Interestingly, when shot from my (formerly owned) Walther PPK and Mauser HSc, both loads were reliable and had near equal accuracy (I think the jacketed bullets had a slight edge, but it was not by much).

Looks like a little work is needed. (1) I need to get the cast bullet loads to feed reliably, and (2) to get the jacketed bullet loads more accurate. Any suggestions on loads anyone? I am thinking of Red Dot or Bullseye with the jacketed load. No need to change the load on the cast load, just work on the gun.

JeffinNZ
11-28-2010, 09:56 PM
Harry, Ed Harris is a huge source of info on .32 ACP cast loads etc. Check out the CBA forum or back issues of the Fouling Shot.

onondaga
11-28-2010, 09:58 PM
2 fail to feed out of 40 is not horrible. I bet a minor change in bullet seating depth would fix that. You are really close with that small number. Try a batch .020 deeper seated and a batch .020 longer. That is how close you are.

Jal5
11-29-2010, 04:28 PM
I believe my load is Bullseye with my Mauser pistol 32 ACP, I can check on it later tonite. That is with plated bullets from Berrys. Pretty decent accuracy no FTF.

Joe

Jal5
11-29-2010, 07:51 PM
Yes, Berrys plated 71 g. bullet over Bullseye and CCI sm. primers. I have shot a bunch of those and they work fine!

Joe

troy_mclure
11-29-2010, 11:14 PM
i got rid of all my .32acp stuff, i dont shoot my p32 enough to justify even trying to cast for it.
plus its got a 5k barrel life, and im almost there.

Harry O
12-05-2010, 02:02 PM
I polished the feed ramp with 1000 and 1500 grit sandpaper last week. I just got back from the range. Shot 30 of the cast bullet loads and they went though the gun without a bobble. Looks like that is a winner, now. I also loaded up thirty 60gr JHP Hornady's with 2.3gr of Bullseye. Most worked well, but there were a few failures to bring the slide back far enough. I will try 2.4gr next.

It is certainly no target gun, but it looks like it will work for what it was intended. I can stick it in my front pocket and forget it is there -- until it is needed.

Jal5
12-05-2010, 03:11 PM
sounds like a winner Harry! my recipe with BE is same as yours.

Joe