32 ACP and cast

[CT-shooter777]

Yes I know, a curious little cartridge of questionable value, but I like it.

Anyone with first hand real loading experience of 32 auto, particularity powder choice would be appreciated. cycling would be the major issue........... Thanks..

[45 2.1]

Really no problems with this cartridge what-so-ever. Bullseye is a wonderfull powder for it. MiHec even made a nice hoolow point mold for it.

[GT27]

Titegroup is what I use,very economical@ 2.o grains per shell. I modified a Lee 32 S&W mold by having it machined down to where it has only 1 lube groove,drops at 70 grains.I have a FEG AP that I shoot these in,accurate, and cheap!Fun caliber,you can shoot it all day,low recoil,and economical to shoot. GT27

[CT-shooter777]

Really no problems with this cartridge what-so-ever. Bullseye is a wonderfull powder for it. MiHec even made a nice hoolow point mold for it.


Just picked up a Ranch-dog 77 GR. he sells. 90 Gr. Lee RN seems a bit much................

Hey, Ranch-dog, get Lee to do a 147 gr TC 9mm, what do you think..

[CT-shooter777]

Titegroup is what I use,very economical@ 2.o grains per shell. I modified a Lee 32 S&W mold by having it machined down to where it has only 1 lube groove,drops at 70 grains.I have a FEG AP that I shoot these in,accurate, and cheap!Fun caliber,you can shoot it all day,low recoil,and economical to shoot. GT27

Smart............... I considered shaving the mold, but wasn't sure how it would work out and drop weight, would seem like a simple task for Lee.

I guess I should have been more specific, since I,am a fan of AA5 and Power Pistol.

BTW, FEG AP, great gun, every so often they come up for sale on some site?
The less expensive Walther................

[Jal5]

I like the 90 g Lee mold over Bullseye. Shoots very accurately in my Bayard but I haven't tried it in my Mauser yet. Fun little round and economical too.

[MUSTANG]

Like to see your results as you develop a load, and from others. I recently bought a used Beretta Tomcat in .32ACP. A few weeks later I also acquired a used RCBS .32 RN 77Gr. through an E-Bay auction. In the next few months I'll get around to casting and testing loads for it and start doing a bit more shooting than ammo at $27.00 a box allows.

I acquired the Beretta for use as a "Pocket Pistol" as conceived by John Browning and others at the dawn of the last Century. Over a hundred years later we are still learning the wisdom of our ancestors. The Beretta slipped in the pockets of Levi's or Dockers, a sports jacket or suit, or tucked away when wearing a set of shorts is far superior to the many other choices left at home. If I knew I were going into a fight, I'd opt for the .45ACP, 12 Gauge, or a 7.62 or 30-06; but the .32ACP is now always along, and if an unexpected surprise is encountered, it beats developing a plan for unarmed resistance on the fly.:smile:

Mustang

[Jal5]

Mustang well said. Thats why I like the little round too. I will look up my load data and PM to you.
OF COURSE start low and work up in your firearm.

[GBertolet]

I load the 32 for my HSC Mauser. I like Titegroup powder also, with the Lyman 311252, 77 gr bullet. It shoots to point of aim for me, and accuracy is pretty decent too.

[CT-shooter777]

A few weeks later I also acquired a used RCBS .32 RN 77Gr. through an E-Bay auction. In the next few months I'll get around to casting and testing loads for it and start doing a bit more shooting than ammo

Mustang

Ah, so that was you who was bidding up that mold, once it went over 40.00, I was out and headed over to Ranch-dogs for a six banger LEE.

Let's hear how it casts, drop weights and such.............., it.s a steel mold if IRC ?

Since Alliant Red Dot or Unique would do double duty, Shell/Handgun, that is where I am heading.............

Still shouting out for AA5 Or PP if available.

[I'll Make Mine]

I don't recall where I read this, but...

"What's the best concealed carry pistol?" "The one you'll always carry."

For my money, that's a .22, .25, or .32 -- and a .22 rimfire isn't reliable enough to bet your life on, if there's a better choice available. The .32 has almost twice the energy of the .25 in a barely bigger gun; you could easily make up a concealment holster for some .32s that will pass for a hip pocket wallet (I've seen these commercially sold for .25 pistols), and the ones without hammers do very well in a pocket.

I see Lee sells a .311, 93 grain round nose; seems as if that should work well in most .32 ACP pistols (as long as they don't have oversize bores), and if cast fairly hard should feed well also. Not great for defense, but I'd probably keep the pistol loaded with commercial defense rounds for actual carry, and practice (mostly) with the cast boolits to save money.

[fcvan]

Beretta made the little tomcat/bobcat whatever in .22, .25, and .32 auto. I actually have the .22 and a buddy has the .25. Tiny little guns but definitely pocket friendly. My wife gave me a Taurus TCP738 in .380. Side by side the Beretta .22 and the Taurus are the same size but the Taurus is slightly thinner in the grip and weighs a little less.

I don't load for .32 but I have a buddy who loads for his Mauser (the one that looks like a Walther) and he loves it. He gets all the .32 brass I find. I even had a buddy who loaded .25 which seems mildly absurd. To each his own :)

I had several convicts explain the purpose of the .25 vs the .32 auto. Both were pocket pistols, the .32 if you wanted to kill someone up close and the .25 if you just wanted to get out of a fight without hurting anyone. He said something about a guy would be more likely to shoot you in the leg with a .25 without hesitation or fear of actually causing any lasting damage. Several guys said they feared getting shot by a .22 or .32 because it could kill you. Getting shot with a .25 was an inconvenience of having to dig a slug out with needle nose pliers an inch or so deep. When I snickered about that comment 3 guys showed their scarred arms or legs. They obviously spoke from experience. Frank

[I'll Make Mine]

Scars or no, that's ballistic nonsense. The .25 ACP and .22 LR from a two inch barrel are almost identical, except that the standard .25 load is an FMJ round nose and might penetrate more than the soft lead .22 (and the centerfire ammunition is more reliable). Any of the three will kill you dead if the bullet hits a vital point (brain, heart, or major artery), and any of the three will leave a little round scar if they don't. None will leave the bullet close enough to the surface to extract easily unless there's some mitigating circumstance (heavy clothing acting like ballistic armor, for instance), and .22 will be most affected by protective layers because of the soft lead bullet.

[fcvan]

Sure, any of the three can kill you if placed in a vital place. I've seen lots of guys who were shot with various calibers and read lots of medical reports of gunshot wounds that were included in the evidence of countless case reports. One guy was shot in his left pectoral muscle with a .25. The medical report indicated 1 1/4" of penetration. The doctors testimony was the dense muscle mass limited the penetration.

Anyway, the point was several bad guys stated they preferred the .25 auto to break up a fight vs kill someone because of its poor ballistics. These guys, from the streets of Oakland and South Central Los Angeles, had real world experience as either the perp or the bullet stop.

Of all the guys I've known who were shot, the guys who were gut shot with .22 lr tended to have more damage from the bullet skipping around after bouncing off hip bones or ribs. Lots of folks shot with bigger bullets had more linear wound channels. One of my partners was robbed on the street by a punk who shot him in the left front shoulder with a .22 lr. The bullet deflected off the scapula but didn't travel much further after that. His doctor said he was lucky because of the wounds he had seen in the ER were generally much worse. I've been shot four times; .38 to the right leg, 9mm to the left hand, 45 to the left pectoral muscle, and birdshot to the face. Fortunately, all were ricochet and none of the wounds were serious.

I fear the .22 lr way more than the .25 auto, that's all I'm saying. Frank

[Rangefinder]

32ACP is a fun little cartridge to play with for many reasons. It has such a small case capacity, you'd have to really try to over-pressure it, so developing a cycling load without published data is relatively easy. The Lee 93gr. 311 boolit was a bit much for my little Ruby, only because I had to seat it so deep to pass the "plunk" test that is was causing the case to bulge at the base--very fine line between deep enough to chamber and not so deep that it started a bulging belly. So I shaved the mold down to remove the boolit base, then opened the bottom lube groove up with a 5/16 drill bit in my drill press. What it accomplished was a boolit that drops at 80gr. and can seat deeply without case bulge issues. They run great with 1.6gr. Red Dot, and I have a pound of Longshot I've been playing with. 2.4gr. of it makes a nice, snappy load.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l259/hillsjim/DSCF5760.jpg
BEFORE the mod, and on the right is AFTER.

[PS Paul]

I had a CZ27 WWII-era with Nazi stamps on it and always used bullseye powder with terrific results. I don't believe I read anywhere what sort of pistol you decided to load for? That would make a difference, in my estimation. Large military-style full-steel pistol= 90 gr. boolit. Smaller "pocket-pistol" or polynmer or tomcat= 77 gr or 73 gr. boolit would be my suggestion, FWIW.

[Freischütz]

My Beretta M1935 and CZ83 function reliably and are accurate with the Mihec bullet. Both require .309 diameter bullets. Otherwise occasional failures to return to battery occur.