.32 acp rifle

[camerl2009]

ok so im looking at making a .32acp carbine its going to be a bolt gun
no i was thinking what i can use for a barrel blank
then i found some 7.62x54r and .303brit barrels what one is more consistent bore
the mosin nagant or the enfield

[NoZombies]

Dunno, I've got an old .303 barrel I was thinking of using for something similar, but I haven't slugged it yet, and I've got at least a years worth of projects before I get close to doing anything with it.

I think if I was gonna buy one, I'd look for the barrel with the best looking bore, then fit the projectiles to that.

[BerdanIII]

See if you can determine if any of the 7.62x54mmR barrels are Finnish; that would just about guarantee a decently-made tube. Check one of the milsurp websites to see if there are any stickies about barrel markings or post a question. I'll look in the M/N book I have and see if I can find anything out. .303 British barrels are a real crapshoot; the bore dimensions are all over the map. A Savage, Long Branch or Lithgow barrel might be best. A P17 barrel might be an option, but I bet you'd spend months looking for one. An Ishapore .308 (7.62mm NATO) barrel might work well, too.

NoZombies has a good slant on solving the problem.

Why not go with a .32 S&W Long? You can use bullets from the lowly roundball on up to 150 grains or more with the right twist.

Later: Try 7.62x54.com; they have a pretty extensive collection of barrel marking photos for the M/N. Much better than me trying to explain the markings; one picture worth approximately one MB.

[seppos]

Dont forget the Maxim and Lahti-Saloranta barrels that where made in Finland.
If available they might be cheaper and even factory new..

S

[armed_partisan]

I have always wanted a long barreled repeater in some tiny caliber like .32 ACP or .32 Long. Loaded right, it's like a silencer without the paperwork!

[Baron von Trollwhack]

I can tell you that 32 wadcutters at 32 S & W long speed will not stabilize in the 7.65 Argentine twist used in the 1909 rifles. BvT

[9.3X62AL]

That is surprising to read, BvT. Aren't the 7.65s in the 4 turns/meter twist rate range? (1-9.75")

Most wadcutter boolits take a tumble after 60-65 yards, anyway. Are you sure that tendency wasn't at play with the Argie(s)?

[armed_partisan]

You only need a 1:16, but if the lands are too wide for the bullet, then you'll get a lot of blowby and more skidding than spinning, and that will lead to unstable rounds.

[thx997303]

Do the barrels have any markings on them?

With the Nagants, if it was made around 44' than it's likely to have some roughness.

[swheeler]

That is surprising to read, BvT. Aren't the 7.65s in the 4 turns/meter twist rate range? (1-9.75")

Most wadcutter boolits take a tumble after 60-65 yards, anyway. Are you sure that tendency wasn't at play with the Argie(s)?

I think the 7.65 barrels were 1 in 11 twist

[Larry Gibson]

I can tell you that 32 wadcutters at 32 S & W long speed will not stabilize in the 7.65 Argentine twist used in the 1909 rifles. BvT

I've shot several thousand Speer and Hornady HBWCs out of my 7.65 Argies, M10 Ross .303, several 7.62x54Rs, my Mini MK X 7.62x39 and all of my CF .30s. Most of them have 9.5 - 10" twists with a couple having 12' twists. I used 2.7 - 3.2 gr Bullseye, depending on case capacity, and velocities ran from 800 - 900 fps. Accuracy was excellent out to 50 yards. Makes for a very good plinking/small game load. They seemed to do well out to 100 yards or so but I never put them on paper that far. If pushed any harder than that the skirts blow and the accuracy goes. No need to push them any faster anyways.

I switched to the Hornady 90 gr swaged SWC or mostly the lee TL 314-90-SWC and haven't used a HBWC since. The SWCs feed better and are more accurate. I do some amazing "plinking" on the 200 yard berm with my .30 and .31 CFs with the same loads.

Larry Gibson

[swheeler]

I suspect what Larry suggests is what was happening. The 7.65 mauser has a 1 turn in 280mm or 1:11.02", plenty twist for these shorties at any spoeed

[StrawHat]

What action are you going to use? I have long thought about building a bolt action in 30 Carbine but the 32 ACP might be an interesting one also.

[GUSTAVOAR]

Hello: 7,65 mm Argentine barrel will be OK for the proyect, they are 1 in 250 mm twist (1 in 9.8" aprox). take in count that 1891 barrels have a nominal .311" diameter and 1909 have a nominal .312" dia.

SALUDOS

[JIMinPHX]

For years, I've been thinking about taking a standard .308 barrel & chambering it to take a .32ACP. I think that would be a great little small game rifle that wouldn't be too loud. I'd love to have a little hunting gun that wouldn't aggravate my tinnitus too bad.

[NoZombies]

I look forward to seeing how other people's experiments go along these lines.

[Bret4207]

The 32 S+W Long would offer more loading possibilities. Getting it to work on a magazine would be the issue. The ACP would be easier in that respect but you have an even smaller rim to deal with. Kind of a trade off. In a bolt gun something like a Carcano would be a decent candidate, especially for a single shot. Working the bolt face/extractor down in a MN would be a chore I think.

[JIMinPHX]

I was going to choose the .32acp because with such a small powder cavity, a very small charge of a fast powder like Bullseye would give me moderate velocities from a medium weight boolit. It would be a very efficient (cheap) round to shoot.

I was leaning towards building a barrel for a NEF Handi rifle or a Contender, although, a bolt gun would be a good choice as well.

I had also thought of taking a gun in an existing caliber, like .30-30, & just making up some custom brass that is mostly solid, but has just a small powder cavity in the center. That might give the same internal ballistics as a smaller cartridge case, without modifying the gun itself.

These are all just thoughts. I don't have pressure testing equipment. That is one of the things that has kept me from developing a wildcat of my own.

[BerdanIII]

JiminPHX:

A .32-20 WCF (or .30-20, depending on bore dimensions) would be a much better choice if you're thinking about a Contender. You can load it up or down, light or heavy bullets. It will be pretty stingy on powder and still have a pretty high loading density. The only down side I can see is that the brass can be fragile and since it's a tapered (o.k., bottlenecked-ish) case, carbide dies aren't made for it.

The standard .30-30 WCF case will do fine with reduced loads without going to the extreme of producing custom, reduced-capacity cases.

[NoZombies]

I've always wanted to find one of those destroyer carbines and convert it to running .32 S&W long.

But then I realize I'd probably just enjoy shooting it as a 9mm largo that I wouldn't do the conversion.

I did build a buddy a .45 based on a sporterized .303 brit rifle. He loves that gun. I wish I'd made on for myself.