32 40

[WALLNUTT]

i have tried to convert Starline 38 55 brass to 32 40 without success. Everyone says it's easy but I get a crease in the case each time. I have tried fired cases and brand new with the same results. Any tips on what I'm doing wrong?

[enfield]

we assume you are annealing ? I have not used 38-55 but 30-30 has been no problem.

[17nut]

I get 6 30-30 cases for a dollar so i ended up designing a 185grain stopring bullet that fits a 30-30 and my Winchester 1894.
Of more than 400 i have yet to lose a case when simply running them through the sizer, and yes i do anneal.

[WALLNUTT]

I have not annealed but thought (by mistake?) it would not be necessary with unfired brass. I have successfully reformed 30 30 but they are quite a bit shorter than wanted.

[turtlezx]

being short doesnt hurt anything your not fill fill the case with powder ?

[WALLNUTT]

No, I don't fill the case but I am after accuracy and want to cover all bases. I will try a few reformed 30 30s and see what happens.

[turtlezx]

seat the boolit as long as you can most likely the magazine will run out of room before you get close to the rifling

[turtlezx]

ive done 38 55 and 30 30 lost more new cases with the 38s your sizing the necks down .040" vs expanding 3030s up .010-.015"
also went to a 8mm 175gr mouser rd nose the 321 dia boolits would tumble in my 1893 marlin 32 40 even though the rifling looks good

shoot 8mm as cast at .324

[earlmck]

You shouldn't need to anneal to do the forming, though you should probably anneal afterwards. Before you begin the forming step make sure you run your new brass over a neck expander button so that the neck is perfectly round with no dents. Any dent or imperfection in the case mouth can get you a wrinkle in the formed case. And don't overlube -- too much lube can cause wrinkles also.

Try again -- I think it'll work for you next time.

[WALLNUTT]

I'll give it a shot. What's one more lost case?

[lotech]

Anneal if you wish; probably hurts nothing but may not be necessary. I used .30-30 brass for a year or two several years back when there was a shortage of .32-40 brass. I never found a need to anneal and have no idea how many times my cases were fired. .32-40 Winchester brass finally became available for a short time about five years ago and I got some. I compared accuracy and velocity with reformed cases against real .32-40 brass and found little or no difference.

[John Boy]

And don't overlube -- too much lube can cause wrinkles also.

The major cause of reformed crumpled brass. I can count on 2 hands the different calibers I have reformed and the only lube I ever use is Bag Balm ... https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect...getName=sp_atf

[Reverend Al]

I don't know how many rounds of .32-40 you plan to make, but in my case I have several .32-40 rifles and thousands of rounds of surplus .30-30 brass. I bought a Kal Max case stretcher from Red River Rick so that I can fire form my .30-30 cases into short .38-55's and then stretch them to full length. They can be used as .38-55's or reformed into full length .32-40's.

http://kal.castpics.net/CaseStretcher.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGzQsrPT4Qs

[WALLNUTT]

I only need 100 matched cases so I probably need to start with about 150. they should last a long time as they will never be resized. I just ordered some Bag Balm. Even if it doesn't help with case forming, my hands get chapped in the winter. If this doesn't work I will just get reformed brass from Buffalo Arms.

[WALLNUTT]

Well, don't think I'll be buying preformed cases after all. I had never annealed any cases before, so thought there might be some black magic involved. I annealed a couple of 38 55 cases and ran them into a FL 32 40 die. Presto 32 40 cases. I did a long and a short 38 55 case and the short one came out closer to length. The long would require more trimming and I don't like trimming. Looks like I will order some short Starline 38 55 cases and get to work. When the bag balm gets here, I might not even have to anneal but if I do I won't need to chant and dance around a fire to do it. Thanks gentlemen.

[hawkenhunter50]

I don't have anything to add about case forming, but I had found a source for 32-40 brass. It is www.loadxammo.com. I had called Starline about 32-40 brass and they pointed me to this company. I ordered 100 cases from them about 8 months ago. They weren't cheap but maybe another option if your case forming doesn't pan out.

[enfield]

John Boy, I just looked at my can of BAG BALM, it says "made only by dairy association co rock island quebec" did someone sneak across the border and take some into Vermont ?

[country gent]

Bag Balm has been around for years, Its original use was the teats on dairy cows that got dry raw and sore from milking. Farmers used it for dry chapped hands and farm wives also had other areas of use.
Another bit of advice in sizing down from 38-32 caliber would be to do it in a couple steps. Maybe 38-338 0r 35 caliber then to 32 caliber. Another old trick used by wild catters is to rough or pre form using the seating die first, this die is a few thousandths bigger than the sizing die. Last is a good lube Bag balmn, Imperial sizing die wax, or the old wildcatters stand by Anahydrous Lanolin.
Be sure too check your neck wall thickness and loaded neck dia on this brass. Sizing down tends to thicken necks and increase Loaded neck diameter. Make sure there is clearance so the case can release the bullet. Annealing may help at the start but it can also make brass soft and cause issues sometimes.
Check neck wall thickness on new cases for thickness and consitancy size and recheck to make sure wall thickness is staying consistant.

[WALLNUTT]

Neck thickness won't be an issue as I will breach seating bullets in a single shot. Things went smooth with one pass after annealing. New ground for me. Loading ammo for 35 years and the first time I've annealed and/or reformed brass.

[lotech]

It wouldn't surprise me to find that Winchester was planning a run of .32-40 brass. In the past, they've done it every few years. The last time (that I'm aware of) was probably about five or so years ago. I managed to get a decent supply at the time and noticed that Powder Valley, where I buy all components, had .32-40 Winchester brass listed in stock for at least a couple of months.