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Thread: Any 32-40 shooter on here

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Jul 2018
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    Any 32-40 shooter on here

    I have a TCR 87 rifle barrel in 32-40 that I have been working with some so anyone shooting this and what brass for resizing that you find works good I have tried 30-30 but am told that 32 Winchester special works much better

    Thanks Deaconllb

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    I bought 38-55 Winchester brass and just sized down in about 4 passes. Used Imperial sizing die wax. Pretty easy to do, just take your time. Check the length and trim.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    I resized Starline 38 55 (short) brass to 32 40 in one pass in a full length sizer but I annealed the neck area first. I know a lot of people don't anneal first but when I tried, I would always get a crease in the case. After annealing I lost only one case out of 161. Using the short Starline required only minimal trimming. With 32 40 the further out you can seat the bullet, the better it will shoot due to the tapered chamber/case.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Don McDowell's Avatar
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    Hornady 32 special sizes out to 32-40 very nicely.
    Long range rules, the rest drool.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I've used .30-30 brass. It just comes out a little short. Shoots fine. Annealing it does help.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I used the old Winchester 38-55 brass that was available then (back in the early '90s) Then I used the John Wayne commemorative stuff until Winchester made a couple of runs of 32-40 and it was available through Graf, BACo, Midway and others. I have pretty much a lifetime supply now, so I haven't gone back to forming my own, but if I did, I would get out my Starline 38-55 brass and form it in about three short passes rather than risking grease creases by going too fast. I still have some Imperial™ sizing die lube, otherwise I would just use a bullet lube rich in lanolin. BTW, I never annealed anything... maybe it would have helped but I didn't feel the need.

    My best shooting was with moderate loads of 4759 and 4227 behind bullets of 185-200 grains. I never could detect any difference in Large Rifle Primers, regardless of brand. I never use fillers in these rounds! Just as a FYI, this shooting was done with an original Winchester high wall and a Green Mountain barreled original high wall receiver. We could also talk breech seating, but that's a story for a different post!

    Froggie
    "It aint easy being green!"

  7. #7
    Boolit Master marlinman93's Avatar
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    I use .32 Win. Spl. when I don't have original .32-40 brass.

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    See the latest Handloader mag, whole article on the 32-40. Testing was done with a real nice Savage 1899.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    I've never shot my .32-40 1894, but while all of the three cases named should be fine, the .38-55 is the only one that would give virtually the full case length of the originals. All the others will be a little short.

    Does it matter? Probably not much with the pressures to which these rifles are accustomed. I suppose a rifle built with modern components could work well with unusually high pressure loads, which would make the full length case advisable. I would prefer a rather hard alloy just in case they were to upset into the leftover space and be sized down again. It is something to think about if you find hard or jacketed bullets shooting more accurately than soft.

    I would indeed feel more confident annealing the .38-55 where it will be much reduced. The number of stages it is done in shouldn't make much difference if it isn't annealed, and I might favour doing it in two, with an intermediate anneal.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Considering the nature of very old steel, I'd tend to use cast in the .32-40 vs the greater friction caused by copper clad bullets.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
    GOPHER SLAYER's Avatar
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    I lubed some 32-SPL brass and made one pass into the 32-40 sizer and had 32-40 brass albeit a little short. My two rifles don't seem to know the difference. The 32SPL brass is much easier to get than 38-55 and cheaper.
    Last edited by GOPHER SLAYER; 07-06-2018 at 07:08 PM.
    A GUN THAT'S COCKED AND UNLOADED AIN'T GOOD FOR NUTHIN'........... ROOSTER COGBURN

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I shoot 30-30 only in my Win 1894 from '03.
    I can get 6 Norma cases for a dollar and so i designed a 185gr stop ring bullet from Accuratemolds.
    Works a treat with minimal sizing.

  13. #13
    Moderator
    Texas by God's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 17nut View Post
    I shoot 30-30 only in my Win 1894 from '03.
    I can get 6 Norma cases for a dollar and so i designed a 185gr stop ring bullet from Accuratemolds.
    Works a treat with minimal sizing.
    You can barely get one Norma case for a dollar. I would buy a bunch at that price.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Most of the current testing and use of the 32/40 is for very accurate Shuetzen shooting using long pointed bullets for 200 yd. target shooting, breech seated bullets, velocities are around 1300 fps. I have a gun for that use as well as a 32/40 levergun, in the levergun all manuals show good loads for 170 gr. loads both black and smokeless.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check