32-20 Winchester question

So I need to load some 32-20 revolver cartridges for the first time. I need to do some casting first however, so won't be loading today. I came by some new Starline brass. It is 1.30835 inches long or thereabouts. I think that is fine, but unless I am beginning to suffer from aging problems possibly similar to that experienced by people now holding very important elected offices the Lee powder-thru 32-20 L2 expanding die I have, which is brand new, can only minimally expand this brass with any shell holder I have, stopping the die from threading deeper into the press. That is, I don't see how to screw the die into the press enough to expand the case mouth as much as I will likely need for seating the bullets. This design of die doesn't allow the expander to be inserted deeply enough to reach the case mouth hardly at all. This may well be the only example of a Lee powder-through expanding die I have every tried. Does that make sense?

I can probably come up with a different brand/design of expanding die. Shipping is running very slowly for me lately, and for everyone else here, but a delay of one to two weeks is not all that big of a deal. Thanks in advance for any guidance. Have a wonderful day and week-end.

What you are describing makes sense, but I don't own any Lee die sets so never have experienced the problem with other brands. My 32-20 dies are described as "Cowboy" style and the expander will open them up way more than I need for cast bullets. With that said, I'm assuming you are aware the expander pin should be capable of adjustment beyond the die body, which is intended to touch the shell holder. I would loosen the expander, then screw in the die body to touch the shell holder at the handle downstroke position, followed by screwing the expander further down until it won't go any further or you arrive at the proper amount of bell mouth.

I agree with Wooldrige, the stem of the expander is adjustable and is usually not set correctly for your application. Read the instructions for adjusting the dies that came with the Lee dies or that are in any reloading manual. The other way to go is to buy the Lee universal expander die. Also NOE makes expanders for the Lee universal expander die that are caliper specific. Be careful with sizing the 32-20 some of the chambers are quite loose and full length resizing will lead to shortening of case life,in which case you can adjust your full length resizing die to just size enough for reliable chambering.Good luck, the 32-20 is a great little cartridge and is equivalent to the 38 special but with flatter trajectory.
Tim

I’m in the same task for an old S&W 1905 revolver.

I’ve had experience with cast bullets and the use of M dies as described above. I’ve ordered a set of RCBS Cowboy Dies in 32-20, along with a #1 shell holder. The M die, or expander die, is made with a longer transition to stretch the case longer/deeper so the cast bullet can enter the mouth with minimal ‘bulge’, which could cause a problem going in the cylinder, or for a rifle, the chamber.

As a side note, I have ordered a bullet mold from Tom at Accurate. I have asked Tom to modify it to have straight walls past the crimp groove as I will be powder coating and not lubing my boolits. I am in the waiting period with Accurate right now. It will be his 311316 Clone without the lube grooves; 112+gr.

Another concern is case length. As the 32-20 started out as a rifle cartridge, some older cases or NON-Starline may be too long for the older revolvers. A check of the cylinder will let you in on that. The Starline comes at 1.280-1.286, which accommodates SAAMI specs for revolver as well as rifle; 1.315-.040= 1.275. The trim to length (rifle) is set at 1.305. I’m going to use 1.280 for revolver. If the loads are too long they could drag or hang on the frame.

I’ve never been shy about taking a die to the bench grinder to shorten, shape or adjust them to suit whatever situation I was dealing with. Mine will never be sold until I’m done and don’t care. So it’s all about me and making my dies or any other tooling work for me.

The Lyman "M" die works quite well. The Lee will flair the mouth but does nothing to expand the neck of the case. You need a very minimal flair to allow the bullet to enter the case. The Lee collet neck sizing die will help save your cases and prevent them from stretching.
Good Luck,
Rick

I only own a couple sets of lee dies and only because they are for oddball calibers I couldn't find better dies for. The same issue you have exists for the powder through expander die. It's just a poor design. I've solved the issue with a lee universal expander die. This is a handy die as it will work on everything from .22 to .50 and is very handy when forming brass to make other cartridges.

In my own loading of the 32-20, I did not use the LEE powder through die to expand, but only because the relatively weak case necks would crumple sometimes. I use an RCBS set and a Lyman 55 powder measure. What I do strongly recommend is the LEE Factory Crimp Die for the 32-20. It really makes your cases last longer. I used to lose 2 or three every time I crimped when I used the ordinary crimp die to crimp.

I reload 32 WCF all the time. I use LEE products not exclusively but most of the time. I suggest you read the instructions and the Lee die will work perfectly for you.

I use the Lee dies for my old Spanish revolver (the one all the books tell you not to shoot.) I do have to run the expander into the die body as far as it will go, but it will actually put enough flare on the case mouth to allow inserting a lead boolit.

Wayne

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Originally Posted by WRideout

I use the Lee dies for my old Spanish revolver (the one all the books tell you not to shoot.) I do have to run the expander into the die body as far as it will go, but it will actually put enough flare on the case mouth to allow inserting a lead boolit.

Wayne

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Good to know! Just got my RCBS Cowboy dies and the expander is only 312. Good info!

For all my .32 loading, including .32-20's, I automatically skip the expander dies that are in my die sets and go straight to the RCBS neck expander die with its simple straight section on the expander button and tapered flairing section on top. I much prefer that system over the Lyman M die with its rather abrupt step, plus new custom diameter buttons can be easily made by me in my lathe. Example: out of a half dozen .32's, Colts and Smiths all made pre-war, four have .314" throats for which I have molds that cast accordingly and for which I utilize a .313" expander. The other two have .313" throats and their expanders are .312". Decent roll crimps are then employed and life is good. All my factory expander dies mic at .308" and I despise "bulgy" loaded rounds, so they are ignored.

I have over a dozen custom expander buttons rolling around in the box with the die body.