.32-20 recipes?

[plain old dave]

Got an honest old Smith and Wesson K frame recently. New enough to have the heat treated cylinder. Anybody got any particularly accurate .32WCF recipes?

[cuzinbruce]

Nice gun! I have one too. I can recommend RCBS 32-098-SWC. Herco or Unique. I don't have my notes handy for amounts. If you have a chance, slug your barrel. In my experience S&W barrels are more like .314 than the .311 usually listed for 32/20. I think they just used the tooling for 32 S&W. Winchester barrels I have slugged are mostly .311. Also S&W barrels have an odd number of grooves making it harder to measure the diameter slugging the bore.

[Guesser]

I use Ideal 3118 over 2.9 gr. Trail boss in 5 Colts and 1 Uberti. Nice soft load, easy on the old girls and fun in the newer Italian youngster. I size .313

[10mmShooter]

I run the RCBS 32-098-SWC drops at 100 grains with my alloy I size to .314 seat to COAL of 1.250 over 3.4 grains of AA#5 for 650 fps over my chrony. Works in my 100 year K frame 32WCF number 96xxx, I think heat treating started around 81xxx.

[plain old dave]

Good gouge, everyone. Keep it coming.

[rintinglen]

The RCBS 32-98 SWC over 4.4 grains of Unique, or the RCBS 32-98 WC over 3.3 grains of ww-231 work well in my S&W, the Wadcutter gets used in my Police Positive Special.

[Green Frog]

The Ideal 3118 (now designated 311008) is the original design for the 32-20/32 WCF. That's where I would start. Good heat treating or not, there is no need to "push the envelope" with your loads. It's a fun round and by its very nature is somewhat high performance, but it doesn't need any real hot rodding to enjoy it. So far I've had a couple of S&W M&Ps, a Ruger Buckeye Special Blackhawk in 32 H&R and 32-20, and a Navy Arms/Uberti Cattleman for the caliber (as well as a couple of low wall Winchesters) and I don't plan to be without one or two guns in the caliber again. Wish I still had that old Blackhawk!

Froggie

[Outpost75]

Plain Old Dave, I haven't heard anyone use "gouge" for many years, in refering to technical info or "dope".

Were you a Midshipman or Cadet? I was in M Company of the Va Tech Corps of cadets, and later at NASC class 41-71 before I left the World As We Know It, returning to this planet in '74.

[plain old dave]

I am still in... As to hotrod loads, I am a decided believer in modest handloads. Have got nearly 20 years out of some .45 Colt brass...

[OuchHot!]

I have a k frame SnW from before the heat treating period. What would "safe" pressures be for a .32-20 in this revolver? I really would rather not use BP in it. I have been using 2.5g or Red Dot behind 90g WC but have not experimented further. thanks!

[TXGunNut]

I like the 311008/3118 over a case full of FFFg. Lee has a nice TL boolit that makes a nice plinker over a few grains of 231.

[rintinglen]

RE; OuchHot!

Any of the loads listed in the 4th Edition Lyman Cast Bullet handbook should be safe. They have kept the data under 16000 CUP. They don't list any wadcutter designs though.
Your Red Dot load should be well on the safe side. A load I am trying is a SAECO 98 grain (nominal--I haven't weighed any myself) over 3.5 grains of WW-231. I have a 4 cavity that I got a while back and am casting up some more for this and my new Single Seven.

[Cherokee]

Just about everything I tired in my 32/20's works fine. The SAECO, RCBS and Lyman 3118 all mentioned above work great. I like 231 and WST for light loads with AA9 powering my hi-vel rifle loads.

[Harry O]

The strength of the gun is very important with the 32-20 because of the wide range of strengths of the different guns chambered for it.

1. All BP and light smokless handguns (Colt PPS), I limit it to 2.8gr of Trail Boss with any 100-115gr lead plain-base bullet.

2. Medium frame smokless handguns (probably the same as yours), I use 6.0gr of SR4756 with either hard cast 100-115gr plain-base bullets (311 008 or RCBS 32-98) or a 100gr Hornady XTP. I have a rechambered S&W NewModel 16 that I use this load in.

3. For recent heavy frame smokless (like single actions) or recent rifles (like Marlin), I use 12.5gr of 2400 with either a gas-check lead bullet (311 316 or similar) or a 100gr Hornady XTP.

Using a heavier load for a lower load rated gun WILL result in a bent gun or worse.

[OuchHot!]

Thanks Much! I really like the old k frame but I have Marlin and Miroku lever action rifles and a TC (.30-20) and am really paranoid about accidently swapping a rifle load into the SnW. I kept loads for it lighter than necessary, it seems.

[Green Frog]

Thanks Much! I really like the old k frame but I have Marlin and Miroku lever action rifles and a TC (.30-20) and am really paranoid about accidently swapping a rifle load into the SnW. I kept loads for it lighter than necessary, it seems.

One of the reasons the 32-20 revolver was so popular (along with 38-40 and 44-40) was the ability to swap ammo back and forth between one's saddle gun and six shooter. It would be a shame to give this up by trying to hot rod the rifle rounds (as some of the factories did back in the '30s) when you can get good performance out of rounds suitable to both. JMHO, of course!

Froggie

[kir_kenix]

My old man has an early k-frame 32-20 that is a hoot to shoot with black powder. I think it is pre-heat treated, but not sure exactly where it falls serial number wise. His model is very "well used" to the point of abuse. It is not a great shooter, probably due to the oversized and pitted bore. It is a very enjoyable pistol to shoot, however, and a 90ish grain WC keeps the rabbits out of the garden. I would jump on a good example in a second if it came at a reasonable price.

Biggest fear with one of these is slipping a cartridge intended for a Marlin lever gun in the cylinder.

[TXGunNut]

I only have one 32-20 with a decent bore and an action that will handle a stout load but I enjoy shooting loads that any safe 32-20 can handle. I can see the potential of this cartridge but mine are all plinkers. None of my boolits wear GC's so I guess I'll never get to see what this cartridge can actually do. Oh well.

[Harry O]

Thanks Much! I really like the old k frame but I have Marlin and Miroku lever action rifles and a TC (.30-20) and am really paranoid about accidently swapping a rifle load into the SnW. I kept loads for it lighter than necessary, it seems.

I thought about that, too. I decided quite a long time ago on using three very different bullets in my loads. Although I experimented with other bullets (mostly cast), I settled on the following. The light load gets the RCBS 32-98 cast. The medium load gets the Hornady 100gr XTP hollow-point. The rifle load gets the Remington 100gr jacketed soft-point. Even if they get separated from their marked boxes, I know exactly what is in them.

[John Allen]

The strength of the gun is very important with the 32-20 because of the wide range of strengths of the different guns chambered for it.

1. All BP and light smokless handguns (Colt PPS), I limit it to 2.8gr of Trail Boss with any 100-115gr lead plain-base bullet.

2. Medium frame smokless handguns (probably the same as yours), I use 6.0gr of SR4756 with either hard cast 100-115gr plain-base bullets (311 008 or RCBS 32-98) or a 100gr Hornady XTP. I have a rechambered S&W NewModel 16 that I use this load in.

3. For recent heavy frame smokless (like single actions) or recent rifles (like Marlin), I use 12.5gr of 2400 with either a gas-check lead bullet (311 316 or similar) or a 100gr Hornady XTP.

Using a heavier load for a lower load rated gun WILL result in a bent gun or worse.

Harry, thanks for the post bud. I have an old colt I am going to dig out and play with.