Which is better, 32 or 36 caliber?

[mooman76]

Even 32s are getting harder to find these days but easier than the latter two. Less companies making the traditional guns these days and even less making the small calibers. Seems to change from time to time. When there are lots of the smaller calibers everyone wants the bigger ones and visa versa.

[Blizzard63]

I bought a .36 muzzle loader and I get excellent accuracy with it. I also have 2 .32 squirrel rifles that i shoot targets with as well and as long as I run a patch thru the bore its fine but being a small caliber they will both foul easily. If I was buying one for kids I think I would go with a .40 or even a .45 because of the fouling issues and with the .40 or .45 you can load them with a charge that kids can handle and get good accuracy as well but for me I love the .32 cal rifles.

[Hanshi]

I don't know where/how this "faster fouling .32 & .36" myth got started but it is just that, a myth. I have two .32s and a .36. I have no trouble firing strings of 40 and 50 shots with the last load seating just as easily as the first. Fouling buildup is caused by some combination of wrong lube/wrong patch thickness. I used the same skinny wood rod for 13 years that came with my Crockett and it went with that fine rifle when I eventually sold it. My favorite small game rifles are a flint .32 longrifle and a .36 longrifle. They never fouled any worse than my .50.

For shooting long strings without swabbing all one needs is a tight fitting ball/patch and a good lube (not Crisco, Bore Butter or anything along that line). Among the best are: spit, Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube, Black Solve, windshield wiper fluid, etc. No greases to mix with fouling and create gunk. Each load cleans the bore so one never has more than one shots worth of fouling.

I've shot the .36 as far as 88 yards (20grns of 3F) for sub-squirrel groups. Haven't yet fired the .32 much beyond 50 yards. But I have fired both 40+ times without cleaning. I prefer to clean at home rather than in the woods or at the range.

[JeffinNZ]

I love both my .40's. Can run them on as little as 20gr.

[waksupi]

I don't know where/how this "faster fouling .32 & .36" myth got started but it is just that, a myth. I have two .32s and a .36. I have no trouble firing strings of 40 and 50 shots with the last load seating just as easily as the first. Fouling buildup is caused by some combination of wrong lube/wrong patch thickness. I used the same skinny wood rod for 13 years that came with my Crockett and it went with that fine rifle when I eventually sold it. My favorite small game rifles are a flint .32 longrifle and a .36 longrifle. They never fouled any worse than my .50.

For shooting long strings without swabbing all one needs is a tight fitting ball/patch and a good lube (not Crisco, Bore Butter or anything along that line). Among the best are: spit, Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube, Black Solve, windshield wiper fluid, etc. No greases to mix with fouling and create gunk. Each load cleans the bore so one never has more than one shots worth of fouling.

I've shot the .36 as far as 88 yards (20grns of 3F) for sub-squirrel groups. Haven't yet fired the .32 much beyond 50 yards. But I have fired both 40+ times without cleaning. I prefer to clean at home rather than in the woods or at the range.

What I see with them, is the breech plug face fouling. Yes, I can shoot the small calibers all day with easy loading, but if fouling starts building on the breech face, it will deteriorate accuracy until scraped. It just happens quicker with small bores than large.
YMMV.

[koehlerrk]

Thank you folks, I freely admit I don't know much about the smallbore frontstuffers. Keep the info/insights/opinions coming, I'm more than willing to learn what works for other people.

[Hanshi]

I can't say that I've ever had a decrease in accuracy when nearing the end of a string. One of the smallest groups I ever fired with the .36 was fired near the end of the session. A lot of shooters don't care for or use scrapers; I am not one of them. I have scrapers for each caliber and use them as a part of the cleaning process. Normally I use a scraper on the breech face before packing up and leaving the range. On the rare occasion that I notice a crud ring forming, I will use the scraper even though I am not finished shooting. For any cleaning during a string I prefer a nylon bore brush and save the moistened patches for final cleanup.

[mooman76]

I don't know where/how this "faster fouling .32 & .36" myth got started but it is just that, a myth. I have two .32s and a .36. I have no trouble firing strings of 40 and 50 shots with the last load seating just as easily as the first. Fouling buildup is caused by some combination of wrong lube/wrong patch thickness. I used the same skinny wood rod for 13 years that came with my Crockett and it went with that fine rifle when I eventually sold it. My favorite small game rifles are a flint .32 longrifle and a .36 longrifle. They never fouled any worse than my .50.

For shooting long strings without swabbing all one needs is a tight fitting ball/patch and a good lube (not Crisco, Bore Butter or anything along that line). Among the best are: spit, Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube, Black Solve, windshield wiper fluid, etc. No greases to mix with fouling and create gunk. Each load cleans the bore so one never has more than one shots worth of fouling.

I've shot the .36 as far as 88 yards (20grns of 3F) for sub-squirrel groups. Haven't yet fired the .32 much beyond 50 yards. But I have fired both 40+ times without cleaning. I prefer to clean at home rather than in the woods or at the range.

Must be something to it because many people have problems with it including myself. Some don't do I'm thinking it is probably something to do with load technique. I don't have that problem with any of my other guns in larger calibers. If I don't swab at least every 3rd load, accuracy drops off quick.

[waksupi]

I think a lot of it has to do with ambient climate conditions in each persons location. Heat, humidity, elevation.
For instance, very dry here, and I daresay Hanshi most likely has much higher humidity than here.

[birddog]

I absolutely love my Cherokee 32cal, loaded w/10grs 3F topped off with a round ball and that is your short/cb load for squirrels.
Charlie

[BrianL]

Like Hanshi, I have never had a problem with fouling in either a 32 or 36 cal if the barrel was smooth to begin with. Mine are all Green mountain and Rayl barrels and I can shoot 50 plus through them without patching. As I noted, my worst is also a GM barrel in 40 cal and it was rough to begin with and is still a PIA after 300 balls. I may fire-lap it next..............

[Hanshi]

As I suggested previously, a tight prb and the right lube should at least make loading easier and help reduce fouling. Yes, I've always lived in humid states which may or may not help. I do know that on dry days is when things such as crud rings and breech face fouling tend to form and they are crusty. But I've shot extensively in oppressive humidity and had fouling (in my .40) ranging from soupy to gunky; this was before I went to a .024" patch. So it can happen in all conditions. I've discovered that greasy lubes most always form gunk after 1 or 2 shots that makes it impossible to reload. The main thing is that my small bores foul no worse and no more quickly than my large bores. The .45 was mentioned earlier and I must say it is an outstanding caliber and the best all around bore size. I've killed most of my deer with that caliber. You have to reduce your charge when you go after squirrels and take head shots, only.

For hunting, I load my gun with a prb lubed with Bore Butter or something similar. If I fire it even once, all reloads are lubed with Hoppes #9 Plus BP Lube. If it's fired it has to be cleaned; if it doesn't get fired it can stay loaded without fear of rust. This goes for all bore sizes.