Winchester 94 made in 1899

[Chicken Thief]

I am getting a Winchester '94 in 32-40 made in october 1899.
By that time (99) it was offered in smokeless loads and powerfull ones to boot.
Is there any chance that the barrel is not made from nickel steel but older "inferior" BP steel.

In short, was there 2 steel qualities used parallel in production at the time???

Can i use SAAMI pressures for the stated 32-40 nitro load (2350bar~34000psi) and condoms?

[725]

Can't comment on the suitability of modern pressures and that 'ol barrel, but the one question comes to my mind. Is it soft enough to be adversely affected by jacketed bullets? I think cast were the boolits of choice back then. Just tossing it out there.

[Chicken Thief]

Yeah but in '99 they made barrels for smokeless and jacketed, so?
Is my '99 32-40 barrel ok for smokeless/jacketed?

[bob208]

if it says nickelsteel it is good for smokless and j bullets. but not hot loads keep em within the spects. for .32-40. if it does not sa nickelsteel i would use cast only. there could have been a overlap when they started using the new steel.

[Marvin S]

Post #5is correct. I have two 32-40 94s about 1923 mfg that are marked MNS under the forearm. Any 38-55 and 32-40 that are outwardly marked nickel steel are special order. There was one on GB last week in 32-40. Yours will probalby be ordinance steel meant for blk powder. Early 1896 nickle steel was brought out for the 30wcf and the 25-35. There was also an experiment with what was called extra steel with 1-2 percent nickle but it did not last. BTW you wont find a suitable jacket bullet for your 32-40 anyway.

[smithywess]

BTW you wont find a suitable jacket bullet for your 32-40 anyway.

With respect, Hornady puts out a very nice jacketed bullet for the .32 Winchester Special in 170 grains which works well in the .32-40. However the factory cannelure is improperly placed for the .32-40 being much closer to the base of the bullet. If the case is crimped into this cannelure the overall length will be too long for the .32-40. You have two options. One is to seat the bullet to .32-40 specs and fire single shots. Otherwise it's no big deal to cut another cannelure in the correct position closer to the nose. I have a CH Cannelure tool which works well but Corbin puts one out too although I believe it's a little more money.

Thanks.

[Marvin S]

It is still a make do proposition with the Hornady that is made for the 32WS.

[ajjohns]

Could you trim the neck back on the 32/40 brass to use the 32 special bullet? Or will the neck become too short? Or as stated, run a new cannelure on the bullet.

[Marvin S]

32-40 cases are a little hard to come by to ruin them by trimming that much. Whats wrong with just using a good cast boolit. If you want shorter cases just run some 30-30s through your 32 sizer.