32 winchester special confusion

[burch]

I`ve read that the RCBS 08-170FN is the best and i`ve read the RCBS 32-170 FN is the best, so someone please clear this up for me. I have a 1940 Winchester 94-32w.s. The bore measures out to 321.5. I`d like to hear from you guys that accually have the same rifle I have. Also what dia. bullets are your 32-170 molds throwing.

burch :redneck:

[Char-Gar]

I have a 1959 vintage Winchester 94 carbine in 32 Winchester Special. The bore measures .322 X .315 (groove and land). I use an RCBS 32-170 FN bullet sized .323. From No 2 alloy these bullets casts about .324. It is large enough to size to .323 but not .325.

Accuracy is outstanding over 30/H335 which produces velocities at or near factory level ammo.

I don't know about anybody elses rifle or mold, but this is my experience.

[burch]

I have a 1959 vintage Winchester 94 carbine in 32 Winchester Special. The bore measures .322 X .315 (groove and land). I use an RCBS 32-170 FN bullet sized .323. From No 2 alloy these bullets casts about .324. It is large enough to size to .323 but not .325.

Accuracy is outstanding over 30/H335 which produces velocities at or near factory level ammo.

I don't know about anybody elses rifle or mold, but this is my experience.

so your bullets are bigger than the .321 dia. RCBS claims their mold produces. That`s a good thing. I was worried about using a .321 cast bullet in my bore. I was accually wanting to use a .323.

[Char-Gar]

I don't know what any other RCBS mold will cast, but mine is large enough to size to .323. You may have another experience, but my mold is not for sale.

[Frank46]

Looks like everyone is saying what I was going to say. But size to the maximum diameter try those first. you are almost .002 over the nominal jacketed bullet diameter. This is where you want to be. I size my boolits for my moisin at 3135 because the bore diameter is .3115. Rifle shoots great. So yours should also. Try loading 50 rounds with your different powder charges and have enough targets 5 at 10 rounds apeice. Keep everything documented. At least one of the ten shot strings will show better grouping than the other 4. But don't throw out the targets cause you may have one very close to the best target. This is sort of a sweet spot that you are in. Play around either increasing or degreasing powder charges. Only change one item at a time That way you will know what brought about the change for good or bad.
Frank

[burch]

I`d like to know if the 32-170 mold typically cast a larger bullet than .321

[leadhead]

Why not just use a 8mm mold? Theres a lot of different
8mm molds out there.
Denny

[georgewxxx]

I wouldn't get hung up on trying to get your slug too much over bore diameter. My 1936 carbine does just fine with .322 sizing, so if you Need a few thousands, just beagle it with some aluminum tape. When approaching max velocities, I've found that WW always will work better when on the small side. I've tried .322 and .323 in all my trials. I'd try a .321 die if I had one. After trying several appropriate powders, I found the slowest get the best results. 35 grains of anybody's 4350 seem to be the best, and I settled on that at 1930fps as my hunting load.

[Char-Gar]

I`d like to know if the 32-170 mold typically cast a larger bullet than .321

You are asking a question that may not have an answer. The alloy and the casting temp play a role in the size of the finished cast bullets. Unless everybody uses the same alloy and tempreture comparisons between people molds don't mean much.

The RCBS mold in question has been used by many, many people with satisfaction in both Winchester and Marlin rifles of all vintages in 32 WS. You seem to want guaranteed results before you buy the mold and cast. That won't happen. There is always a little element of chance when you buy a mold.

[burch]

You are asking a question that may not have an answer. The alloy and the casting temp play a role in the size of the finished cast bullets. Unless everybody uses the same alloy and tempreture comparisons between people molds don't mean much.

The RCBS mold in question has been used by many, many people with satisfaction in both Winchester and Marlin rifles of all vintages in 32 WS. You seem to want guaranteed results before you buy the mold and cast. That won't happen. There is always a little element of chance when you buy a mold.

I agree totally. I was just trying to get the .323 so i`m a couple thousands over or close to it. I was also hoping on the 32-170 because it`s cheaper than the 8mm. Maybe i`m reaching for the stars but I wanted to research as much as possible before
I buy. I ran a 50/50 mix of WW & pure lead for my 35Rem. and had good results but with this being a smaller bullet I figured i`d lean toward the softer side of an alloy and slow it down a bit. Any comments are welcome.

[Char-Gar]

The diameter of the bullet increases as the amount of antimony increases. Antimony is one of the few metals that contract when hot and expand when cooled.

a 50/50 mix of WW and pure lead will produce small bullets. You will note I used Lyman No. 2 which is a blend of Linotype, pure lead and tin. The antimony comes from the linotype.

The great feature of the 32 WS over others like the 30/30 is the slow 1-16 twist barrel. This allows the shooter to get primo accuracy with cast bullets at speeds up to 2,400 fps with ease. I see no reason to shoot butter soft bullets in the 32 WS.

[burch]

The diameter of the bullet increases as the amount of antimony increases. Antimony is one of the few metals that contract when hot and expand when cooled.

a 50/50 mix of WW and pure lead will produce small bullets. You will note I used Lyman No. 2 which is a blend of Linotype, pure lead and tin. The antimony comes from the linotype.

The great feature of the 32 WS over others like the 30/30 is the slow 1-16 twist barrel. This allows the shooter to get primo accuracy with cast bullets at speeds up to 2,400 fps with ease. I see no reason to shoot butter soft bullets in the 32 WS.

I appreciate your knowledge on the 32ws. As you mensioned, you use Lyman #2. Can you tell me the ratio on a that blend so I can mix my own. I have plenty of lead to use so if I can get away from buying it I will.

[duck hollow pete]

the 32-170 should be fine, have heard no complaints. rcbs rates the rifle moulds with lino(ligher bigger) . my somewhat simulated ly #2 drops 1side around 323.7-324.4 other 324plus some to 325. I shoot 321 in the 32 and 323 in a yugo 48,they shoot very good they are nice boolets.

[Char-Gar]

I appreciate your knowledge on the 32ws. As you mensioned, you use Lyman #2. Can you tell me the ratio on a that blend so I can mix my own. I have plenty of lead to use so if I can get away from buying it I will.

5 lbs of linotype
4 lbs of pig lead
1 lb of 50-50 solder

Something about like that can be had from a 50-50 mix of WW and linotype.

[burch]

the 32-170 should be fine, have heard no complaints. rcbs rates the rifle moulds with lino(ligher bigger) . my somewhat simulated ly #2 drops 1side around 323.7-324.4 other 324plus some to 325. I shoot 321 in the 32 and 323 in a yugo 48,they shoot very good they are nice boolets.

( simualted ly#2 ) is this a home blend you make. if so what`s your mix ratio

[duck hollow pete]

yes doesn't have to be exact by any means . i added some of my low speed babbit to it(ww) gives me bhn 16-17 and wt around 180 i may soften it up a little more just to save some babbit

[burch]

5 lbs of linotype
4 lbs of pig lead
1 lb of 50-50 solder

Something about like that can be had from a 50-50 mix of WW and linotype.

so where can we get linotype from. I think rotometals used to have it but i`ll have check.

[felix]

Any common (popular) alloy will be gladly made by any supplier wishing to remain in business. ... felix

[MikeS]

Burch, to answer your question about where to get linotype, if there are any really old print shops in your area, check with them, and see if they still have any. If they do, you be able to buy it from them for much less than buying it from Rotometals. Another source is eBay, there are always sellers there selling it, but make sure when you buy it there make sure it's still in it's original form, that is small lines of type. Some folks also have linotype in the original ingots, called pigs, they generally weigh around 20 pounds, and are about 16" long with a hole at one end. You need to be careful when buying linotype pigs on eBay, as it's fairly easy for somebody with one of the pig moulds to cast pigs from any kind of lead. Having a lead hardness tester is important to have, so you can test your lead both before you mix them together to make whatever alloy you're trying to make, and also to test the hardness of your finished alloy. While it's not super important that you make your alloy exact, it's nice to know what hardness it is! I mix up an alloy that's close to Lyman #2, but when I had some of it analyized it had slightly less tin and antimony than I thought. I don't recall the exact numbers, but it was something like 4.8% tin, and 4.3% antimony, rather than the 5% of both I was going for. The BHN of my alloy was still right around 15BHN, which is close enough for me. My recipe for my alloy was 26lbs pure lead, 20lbs linotype, and 4lb 50/50 solder. I have to mix larger batches like that because my pure is in 26lb bricks, and the linotype is in 10lb stereotype plates (the original plates were 40lb, but were cut in 4 for shipping).

[burch]

Burch, to answer your question about where to get linotype, if there are any really old print shops in your area, check with them, and see if they still have any. If they do, you be able to buy it from them for much less than buying it from Rotometals. Another source is eBay, there are always sellers there selling it, but make sure when you buy it there make sure it's still in it's original form, that is small lines of type. Some folks also have linotype in the original ingots, called pigs, they generally weigh around 20 pounds, and are about 16" long with a hole at one end. You need to be careful when buying linotype pigs on eBay, as it's fairly easy for somebody with one of the pig moulds to cast pigs from any kind of lead. Having a lead hardness tester is important to have, so you can test your lead both before you mix them together to make whatever alloy you're trying to make, and also to test the hardness of your finished alloy. While it's not super important that you make your alloy exact, it's nice to know what hardness it is! I mix up an alloy that's close to Lyman #2, but when I had some of it analyized it had slightly less tin and antimony than I thought. I don't recall the exact numbers, but it was something like 4.8% tin, and 4.3% antimony, rather than the 5% of both I was going for. The BHN of my alloy was still right around 15BHN, which is close enough for me. My recipe for my alloy was 26lbs pure lead, 20lbs linotype, and 4lb 50/50 solder. I have to mix larger batches like that because my pure is in 26lb bricks, and the linotype is in 10lb stereotype plates (the original plates were 40lb, but were cut in 4 for shipping).

Good info, many thanks