32 H&R Mag. shot loads

[Reg]

Have been following the writings of Larry Gibson, C. E. Harris and a few others concerning the smaller calibers in .32, on occasion, shot loads have been mentioned.
Looking to learn and hopefully come up with something useful, I decided to bundle all this info up and see if I could easily develop a usable shot load for the .32 H&R Mag revolvers. I think it was Gibson who mentioned the use of correctly diametered soda straws for a shot collar and shell extension. With this in mind , a quick stop off at Micky "D,s" got a small handful of 5/16" plastic straws.
The cases were decapped and full length sized then tumble cleaned. They were NOT expanded but the neck was taper reamed with a 20 degree angled reamer to make the insertion of any wads easier. Primers seated, then powder was put in. I used Remington 1 1/2 primers and since Unique was in the measure, I decided to try 2.0 gn. Unique. A 30 caliber gas check was then inserted , skirt down and pressed lightly over the powder charge. Make sure all gas checks are fully seated with no air space. Then the round was placed in the pistol and rotated so as to allow access of the open chamber, a straw was inserted to touch the seated gas check and marked at the end of the cylinder. The straw was then cut below this mark 3/32". My dimension was 15/16". The short section of straw is started into the casing and a thin amount of Testers Plastic Model Glue is put on the side then the short straw is rotated as it is slid into the case. This, I felt, would hold this "shot collar" in place and it did. The assembly was then filled with in 3/32" of the end of the shot collar with #9 shot , aprox 78 gn. in weight ( wish I had smaller )and a thin top wad cut from 3"x5' file card was inserted and a good ring of the Testers cement was applied to the end of the shell. A person could mark the shot size on this top wad before sealing. The shells were then allowed to dry.
Do they work? You had better believe it !! The best of the testing was at 5 to 6 feet, what I would call about right for snake loads. Patterns were about 6 to 7 inches in diameter, centered to line of sight and I noticed the gas check went to the center @ point of aim. At 10 feet, the pattern had opened up to the point I felt it had lost its usefulness but would still give a rabbit or stray cat a rough time.
The pressure appeared very low and perhaps could be upped if more penetration was needed but I would let the appearance of the pattern be the indicator here. The patterns I was getting at the 5 to 6 foot, no snake could ever get through.
I might pursue this later. No trace of the shot collar was found or seen on the targets. Bore was clean after testing. I handled the loads carefully and am not sure if they would stand up to being carried loose in the pocket.
I see no reason why this concept could not be used on any of the .32 calibers from the .32 S&W all the way to the 32 Mag.

:drinks:

[Larry Gibson]

Reg

That's about the same result I got except I used 2 gr of Bullseye if I remember correctly. Well done. Adds a new dimesion to the .32 H&R as a trail gun.

Larry Gibson

[Reg]

Thank you Larry, that was my whole intent to make the .32 Mag even more useful than it is.
We do a lot of fishing, mostly from boats but on occasion from shore and its very common to find all kinds of snakes in the brush around the lakes. Also in dove season we have done a lot of hunting around old homesteads and rattlers are very common. Generally when you see them its all too up close and personal. If you are carrying a shotgun its no problem but trying to beat them to death with a spinning rod leaves a lot to be desired.
Also working out in the corrals and outbuildings in the summer, carrying a small caliber handgun with shot loads makes sense.
Will try that 2 gn. of Bulls eye load. The faster burning powder might give just a bit more to the penetration of the load while still leaving the maximum room for shot. From what I have seen, either Unique or Bulls eye in 2 grain load swill not make any kind of excessive pressure's.

[geargnasher]

Try melting and folding the bottom end of the soda straw to make a cup out of it. You can then use a hard, thin card wad like cracker box or soda box material instead of a gas check, and also have better odds of the straw exiting the bore. If you turn down a brass rod to just fit inside the soda straw and use a piece of a cartridge case to slide over the outside, you can make a forming die for the base, like this: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20390&d=1267420628

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20389&d=1267420599

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20385&d=1267411192

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20384&d=1267411150

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20387&d=1267416831

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20386&d=1267411220

Here's the finished product in .45 Colt, http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=20392&d=1267421549, I have made these in .38 spl, .357 mag, and .32 S&W Long, see the whole thread here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=77286, somewhere near the end I made a set of forming tools for a guy in Florida who never posted again, but I recorded and posted the forming tool dimensions for the .32 on that thread for another member.

Some of these pics might help describe what I'm talking about, just use the straw instead of the flat milk jug material that I was using. If you leave the end sticking out of the case mouth long and make a forming collar about the length of a typical solid boolit, you can melt the business end closed too rather than using the card overshot wad and glue, this will substantially increase the durability of the finished product. You can also apply a slight roll crimp to the case mouth right after installing and seating the shot cup (I seat mine using the same mandrel I used for forming the base cup because it's a perfect fit inside the shot cup), and then when you use the forming collar to seal the nose end, pack the shot in there hard so that the shotcup swells under the crimp when you heat the forming collar to form and seal the end. That will give the crimp something to grab on to and hold the finished shotcup in the case. Just something to think about.

Gear

[flounderman]

If you want dependable shot loads that won't come apart from recoil or in your pocket, forget the straw, use the gas check over the powder and another one crimped over the shot. you can seal the end with some elmers glue and let it harden. I load 357 this way with a stiff load of powder and a snake doesn't even twich

[jmsj]

Do you think an aluminum PB gas check made from pop cans would work in place of regular gas checks or do you think they would be too flimsy?
jmsj

[Dale53]

Gear;
Excellent job and excellent report with great pictures!

One thing I have found when using Speer shot capsules in .38/.357, .44 Special/.44 magnum, and .45 Colt is that patterns are greatly improved by the use of #12 Shot. Unfortunately, the only place I know that has #12 is Ballistic Products. It's a bit pricy but get a buddie or two to go in with you and split the shot between you. You really don't need many shot loads in a year but when you need them you NEED them...

Dale53

[Larry Gibson]

Do you think an aluminum PB gas check made from pop cans would work in place of regular gas checks or do you think they would be too flimsy?
jmsj

Yes, they will work just as good. Mine are made of .014 - .015 aluminum flashing. I didn't invert them but glued the straw inside the bottom GC after it was seated on the powder.

The old 2 GCs and the case filled with shot works ok with larger cases but there wasn't enough shot in a .32 H&R to give a good pattern at 5 - 8 feet......or moa snake.......

Gears method works well also but does get harder to do as the cartridge gets smaller. With the GC under the straw it is doubtful the straw will stay in the barrel. If you've nimble fingers you might give gear's method a try.

+1 on the #12 shot. I've a small hoard of it left just for my snake loads in various handgun cartridges. #9 does ok though.

No fun "tap dancing" away from a rattler..........:shock:

Larry Gibson

[jmsj]

Larry,
Thanks once agin for the info.
jmsj