There's always need for another rifle but, the .30 WCF is a mighty fine cast shooter. Even better in my opinion is the .303 Savage and it has almost become my favorite cast shooter.
There's always need for another rifle but, the .30 WCF is a mighty fine cast shooter. Even better in my opinion is the .303 Savage and it has almost become my favorite cast shooter.
My two rules of thumb are: If the rifle shouts "Buy me!!!" I rarely can say, "no!". And, rifles are made for two and only two purposes: To buy and to shoot. That being said, volumes have been written on how useless a calibre the .32 Winchester Special calibre is -- but I have one that is alllmost a "benchrest lever action" (is there such a thing: ) provided I shoot CAST bullets in it.
I also have it's rimless cousin -- the .32 Remington (practically the same as .32 WCF) -- which behaves similarly.
IF the rifle is in great mechanical shape... go with it. I have not, but a friend (Steve) has both .32 and .30 model 94's, and he uses .32 WCF BRASS in both -- just neck sizing down for the .30 WCF.
Good luck... Just as God is making no more real estate -- the old Winchester levers are not being made, either...
geo
buy the 32 and bore it to 38-55, then you will have two different rounds and the 38-55 chamber can be to your spec (I wouldn't buy a factory 38/55 rifle). OR if in you like to take a beatin you can line the 32 to 219 Zipper. Too bad they weren't takedowns, then you could toss the 32 receiver in the back closet and have a 30-30 / 219 zipper rifle with the swap of a barrel.
Or just leave it a 32 and leave it on the shelf as you already have the 30-30 and the 32 would be like 2 left hands.
In normal times, I'd say just go with the one that floats your boat, but in these days of Biden Buying, where nothing is on the shelf, and components are few and far between, I'd stick with the 30-30. Unless you stumble onto a package deal, with a couple hundred rounds and/or pieces of brass, the 32 Winchester Special has little to recommend it. Molds are scarce, dies are scarce, guns are scarce, ammo is scarce. Persons with more experience than I applaud the 32 as a cast boolit gun, but in my limited usage, they're ain't a dimes bit of difference between them.
As far as buying one and having it bored out to some other caliber? Puhlease don't. Aside from the cost of conversion and difficulty of conjuring up components, there were relatively few 32 Specials made, and they aren't making any today. Do your custom barrel stuff on a shot-out Marlin or a boat-anchor 94 30-30, not on a collectible piece of history.
_________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.
i'd leave as is. its a great cartridge and history(well, mine anyway!!!). my dad's friend let me borrow a win m94 in 32 spl years ago. i shot two doe with that and it hooked me on deer hunting. i was 15 yo when my grandfather gave me a m94(1972) in 30-30 and i would slay untold number of deer. i put the 30-30 in the safe for about 20+ years and then 3 years ago, i sent it to JES Reboring to make a 35/30-30. i then put a williams fp aperture sight on it and now has 2 doe to its name.
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A nice thing about the 32 is if you already have a fat 30 mould, around .314", you can paper patch them to use in the 32. I shot my 32 for years without having a die set for it, just hand seat a boolit over a charge of powder the right height to set the length correctly and it worked great. When the base got too big I'd run them through a 38-55 FL die and be good to go. Cases last forever that way also.
I reload for dozens and dozens of calibers.. cast for most of them too. once you load and cast for a bunch of stuff.... what's one more...
Reading this thread, I find that many folks think the 30-30 and 32 Win. Spl. rounds are peas in a pod. That would be true, if you want to keep your cast bullet going 1,800 fps more or less. That is not true, if you want your cast bullet to go 2,300+ fps.
The current Japchester line, still makes rifles in 32 Win. Special. Bullet molds are readily available from several makers and dies are not that hard to fine. Within the past two months, I bought 500 32 Win. Special cases from Starline. I don't buy factory ammo for any caliber, so I have no idea what that situation is like.
Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.
I got both . I like the .32 better .
Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!
A matter of personal preference. Here in WV a used .32WS will sell for about $100 less than a similar pre-1964 .30-30 in similar condition. When the .32 barrel gets worn accuracy will fail before a faster 12-inch twist .30-30, but a shot-out .32 WS can usually be bought really cheap and can be affordably relined to any caliber you want, or rebored to .35-30 or .38-55. No bad choices.
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I have a 1959 32 Win Special that is as accurate as it can get. Use an RCBS mold that it likes.
When I bought it they took off a few $'s because the action was stiff. It still had the hardened factory grease in it.
Don
Have both. I like the 32 spec better. Although performance between is about the same.
If ever intending to shoot cast or patched. Special_ is better suited for the purpose in my opinion.
Good bragging point: "everyone has a 30 wcf. Not many can claim they own a >Special<"
I see lots of guys using 30 or more grains of powder to shoot a reduced load around 1700-1800 fps before accuracy poops out in their 30-30s. My 1:30" twist 357 rifle shoots a 30-30 weight bullet (160 gr) accurately over 2000 fps with 18 grains of powder. That is 200 fps faster than a 1:10" twist 30-30 can shoot with the same alloy, and it is using half the powder. If you wanna shoot 30-40 grains of powder with a cast bullet and get some serious power the 32 special has all kinds of accuracy near max loads. Like Char-Gar said, the 32 special can get 400-500 fps more than the 30-30 with any given alloy. Plain base WW? Add 400 fps to what your 30-30 can do. 50-50 WW Pure with a gas check? Add 400-500 fps to what your 30-30 can do. Hundreds of fps faster than a 30-30 can shoot a similar weight bullet.
My opinion is if you wanna shoot 30-40 grains of powder, you gotta be getting some energy out of it. If all you want is a 180 grain bullet at 1800 fps a 357 lever can do it with half the powder and a shorter, faster lever throw.
I Cast my Boolits, Therefore I am Happy.
Bona Fide member of the Jeff Brown Hunt Club
Worn barrel on a .32 Special, really? Old rumor from even before the internet. Some early lots of .32 Special ammunition were loaded with .318 jacketed bullets starting all the nonsense about worn-out barrels and lousy accuracy. Accuracy is really bad when you shoot 30-30's through the .32 Specials, might kill a deer now and then. It takes 4000-5000 rounds to wear out a .308 or .30-06, probably more than 10,000-12,000 to wear out a .32 Special. Do you really think those 1 box a year(20 rounds) or less shooters wore out those .32 Specials. Might be cheaper because the .32 is DIFFERENT (better?) and ammo is harder to find.
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 |