32-20 loads

[mainiac]

Picked up a 1894cl and ive got about 300 rounds threw it now. Seems like its gonna be a keeper.It prefers 311316 and 8.5-2400,,or 6.5 4756,,or 3.5-231. all these loads shoot around an inch@ 50 yards.
Just tore the gun down and did a trigger overhaul,,now i have a under 2 pound trigger,compared to the 8 pound trigger that i had.Should be able to tighten the groups up some more,now.

Anyways, was wondering what you guys most accurate loads are,in the 32-20 rifle? thanks,

[btroj]

Mine likes a 120 rnfp plain base over 5 gr of unique. Shoots well enough that I very rarely use anything else. That mound was my first ever group buy mould from this site and was the best thing ever for me. Led to more group buy moulds and opened my mind to an entire new world of shooting cast.

[mainiac]

boy,this thing sure is fussy! It will tell me right off quick,if it aint happy.Even though the 311316 is gas checked,about 1600 f.p.s. and this gun starts to shoot patterns,instead of groups.

Took imr4227 up to about 1900 f.p.s. this morning as a test.Shot terrible,and didnt it have a fireball/muzzleblast going on.Could see the muzzle flash right in the sunshine.Reminded me of the 30 carbine out of a blackhawk.

If i stay down around 1300-1400 f.p.s,,the gun shoots well.

[btroj]

I have not had great results at higher velocities. I don't think the light weight barrel helps here.

You will also find it is very susceptible to vertical stringing with velocity changes. Mine may have a 24 inch vertical difference with a 500 fps increase. I don't have any other rifle that gives that big a difference due to velocity.

[canyon-ghost]

2400 is going to be hard to beat.

[Reg]

I also have found , don't push it. The hotter the load I tried, the worse it shot. Had best luck with the old Lyman 3118 , cast in wheel weights , not chilled, and 8.5 gn. 2400. I size to bore dia. to plus .001. Getting 2 1/2 " at 100 yards which is about all one can expect from a 92 Win.
Always wanted to pick up a hollow point version of the same mould to see what would happen. Might have to made a drill jig instead and that too might might be a better idea as one can vary the depth of the hollow point.

[smilie=2:

[mainiac]

My bore slugs .312,and the only sizer i have is .311. So i just ordered a .313 sizer,,maybe this will stop some of the fliers im having.

[Reg]

It's a good start. What is the condition of your bore ?

[Ramslammer]

G'Day
Several years ago at a shoot we tried swapping loads between 5 of us with 1894cl's in 32/20. None would shoot any good with someone elses loads. Mine likes 13grn 4227 with a 311316 sized at .312. But all other rifles sprayed this load. They are almost human every one different!!!
Juddy

[Bret4207]

My best boolit has been the 316 and 2400 has been the best overall powder. I've used 4227 (IIRC) to take it up into the 1700+ range, I forget just how fast. Certain death on coyotes but too much for anything else. I usually load in the 14-1500 fps area with 2400, but that's out of a 22 or 24" barrel and a bolt gun. For small game back it off to 1200 or lower.

[mainiac]

It's a good start. What is the condition of your bore ?

As of about 300 rounds ago,the gun was never fired.Its a 1990 model,and someone stored it away,,,i bought it,and took that collector condition right out of it,first thing!

O yah,,,you asked about condition of the bore,,,its brand new.
Its not a very high quality barrell either,,its tight at the breech end,and looser at the muzzle,not good.............but time will tell.

[mainiac]

G'Day
Several years ago at a shoot we tried swapping loads between 5 of us with 1894cl's in 32/20. None would shoot any good with someone elses loads. Mine likes 13grn 4227 with a 311316 sized at .312. But all other rifles sprayed this load. They are almost human every one different!!!
Juddy

Intresting comment. Im seeing this with mine as well. Some combonations will spray a group out to 6 inches,for no apparent reason.

[lbaize3]

I like 3.9 grains of Red Dot and a 115 grain plain base lead bullet. It has excellent accuracy in both my Marlin and Winchester lever action rifles. It also shoots to point of aim in two Uberti single actions. Got to admit it also shoots well in my Ruger Buckeye. The fired brass comes out of the guns as clean as it does out of a tumbler.

[northmn]

Mine is not very fussy, but I keep the loads at 1500 or less. It did seem to have a real preferece for 2400 like some of you mentioned. I had a bunch of AA1680 left over from playing with the 7.62X39 and have been using it up, but it takes so little of the stuff it will take a while. I also ahd a Lee 120 grain bullet mold on hand when I bought it and have found that bullet to be fairly accurate even with a fairly soft alloy. I will admit that I may be cutting back a bit as even 1500 may defeat the purpose of the little rifle.

DP

[canyon-ghost]

I also have found , don't push it. The hotter the load I tried, the worse it shot.

That is about the way they shoot with lead. My contenders, which are not rifles, still shoot better at 7.2 grains (2400) than they do at 8.0 grains. I found that by going 1/10th grain at a time for 5 shots, from 7 to 8 grains. I had a group 12" wide until I hit the exact charge. It isn't all that relevant to a rifle, mine was a 10" barrel with rifle scope. But the 100 meter target board showed the result graphically. One of ten weights shot a 2" group! The others all looked mediocre. http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx228/3rdshooter/contenders/32-20WCF800x6002.jpg

Left one is 311008 Lyman, Center one is RCBS 98 grain, Right (disregard) 7mm handgun

The TC Contenders usually like a lighter bullet better, rifle may not. I did enjoy spending a shooting season on 32-20 and if you have a decent one, don't ever let go of it! It's a superlative rifle cartridge that isn't made much nowdays (out of modern stupidity, in my opinion).

Ron

[Marine Sgt 2111]

The Marlin I have slugs .3122" with a tight spot under the rear sight and a tight spot under the front sight. I suspect someone being over zelous when tightening the mill vise.

Anyways, my rifle loves 10gr of 2400 under a RCBS 115gr FPGC sized .313 and 5.5gr of Unique under a RCBS 98gr SWC. Best group to date with the 2400 load was 1.75 at 150yds. The Unique gave me 5/8" at 50 yds with little noise and no recoil. I have a SAECO 118gr mold that I haven't really worked with much, have been busy with a .32-40 and a .38-55.

If you take the RCBS FPGC boolit, hollow point it with a Forester Trimmer and use the large drill it becomes a flying hand grenade.

[mainiac]

Shot the gun alot today.Managed quite a few 1 inch groups @ 50 yards. I put a receiver sight on the gun,BIG PLUS! Plus my trigger now breaks about 1.5 pounds,instead of 8,BIG PLUS!

I shot the 2400 all the way down to 830 f.p.s., but the groups opened up,compared to 1300 f.p.s. The low 2400 charges had very low ES numbers,less then 10,but the groups were large.

On the other hand,i loaded some hodgon4198sc,,between 1200-1340 f.p.s,and had nice 1 inch groups, with ES numbers over 100,and unburned powder kernals left in the cases.With this incomplete ignition,i still got nice groups,,,go figure. Gonna try this powder some more,with rifle primers,maybe even magnums,,who knows,this might make the gun shoot into little ragged holes.

I love to experiment with new guns,,,