Anyone have / shoot a Cimarron "Lightning" in 32-20 / 32 H & R Mag. Combo?

[bedbugbilly]

Anyone have / shoot one of Cimarron's "Lightning" 32-20 / 32 H & R Mag. combination SA revolvers?

I cast my own and reload for 38s, 9mm and 380. I love shooting SA and have shot .36 C & B 1851 Navies for many years and I currently have a 5 1/2" 357 Ruger New Vaquero.

I have two calibers I'd like to "branch out to" next. One is 44 spl. and I'm looking at a Cattleman for that. I have also always wanted a 32-20 (32 WCF) revolver for years. Part of this is because I have my great uncle's Belgium Colt Clone SAA in 32 WCF that he carried when he was a traveling rep. for International Harvester in the late 1890's and very early 1900's - he traveled all over the country. Unfortunately, the pistol is now a "wall hanger" as it is in pretty rough shape.

Anyway - I've been looking at the possibility of one of Cimarron's "Lightning" revolvers in a 32-20 / 32 H & R Mag combinations. I think it would be a fun little revolver to shoot and would also give quite a range of reloads you could do - 32-20 and 32 S & W short, long and of course the 32 H & R Mag.

Anybody with any experience with one of these? How well does one shoot with the 32-20 cylinder and how well does it shoot with the 32 H & R Mag cylinder? Any issues or problems? Does each caliber work reasonably well with the barrel? Accuracy? The usual questions . . . .

I have had Uberti made handguns - all have been we'll made and very nice. Another reason I'm thinking this might be a good .32 revolver to try is that the frame size is smaller than a standard SAA. My wife of 43 years finally started to shoot once in a while a couple of years ago - I have a Ruger 22 Bearcat that she likes - low recoil, low noise, etc. But, with the shortage of 22 ammo - I'm thinking she might also like a .32 like the Lightning for the same reasons. She has shot my 38s but too much noise/recoil for her liking. On the .32s, I'd just be looking at lower range plinking loads. I'm thinking that the .32 S & W long might be right up her alley as far as recoil / noise, etc. She doesn't like semi-autos and the way they throw brass. I'm thinking I'd like all of the .32 cartridge possibilities the Lightning would offer - plus less powder / lead than even my 38s take. Plus, the option would be there to use 32 H & R Mags for woodchucks and similar varmints on the farm. I'd probably be looking at the 4 3/4" barrel length. I like the 3 1/2" barrel but not sure on how accurate at what distances it would be in the 32 cartridges mentioned?

Your thoughts / opinions / suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I know that I could keep looking for a Smith or a Colt in 32-20 but the combinations that the Lightning offers seems pretty nice. Plus, it might be another handgun I could get my wife to shoot and enjoy. I just need to know if there are any "shortcomings" in a "combination" revolver like this one in the 32 calibers? Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

[Fishman]

I don't own one but regarding the caliber: I just download the .32 mag case so I don't have to stock .32 long cases and re adjust my dies. When buying in bulk from Starline they are the same price.

You could also look for one of the Ruger Blackhawks made in that combo if you don't mind used.

[stephenj]

i have wanted a saa in 32-20 for quite awhile .. funds have just never been there when opertunity was .
i cant see a single shortcoming .... buy one

[Jupiter7]

I'd buy one, if I could find one. Last uberti I saw on gunbroker with both cylinders was north of $600. Of course the 32 h&r rugers are even higher. It'd be nice if they made another run of the single six 32 mag.

[Green Frog]

I got lucky last Summer and found a like-new example of the Navy Arms marked version of the Cattleman in 32-20 just languishing in the cabinet of my LGS with a bunch of plastic and other "modern" guns. It really stood out with its color cased receiver and blued barrel and cylinder, and the smooth wood grips were a stark contrast to the plastic around it. It was pretty seriously underpriced, which is an unusual event in this particular store, so I snapped it up.

A couple of months after I bought it, I ran into Val Forgett and he told me that every one of those guns he sold had a spring kit from Wolff installed here in the US before they were sold, in essence each was a sort of "Performance Center" version. If mine and the other one I got to try when they were "current" are any indication, they did a super job on them. They never sold all that well (?) and are long since discontinued, but they are still out there. Keep looking!

Regards,
Froggie

[Boogieman]

I've had 3 Colt 32-20 's they were loud. The wife has a pair of 32H&R Mags ,Ruger Single Six. They have a sharp crack unless loaded way down. They are fun to shoot & easy on powder & lead. just use good ear protection.

[crazy mark]

I have a Ruger 30 Cal Buckeye. Only cost me $550 about 3 years ago. Very nice pistol.

[Harry O]

I had one several years ago, but let it go a while back. The problem was accuracy. I have a S&W 632 Super-Kit-gun in .32 Magnum. I also have a S&W NewModel 16 that was rechambered from .32 Mag to 32-20. Both are (and were) much more accurate than the mini-SAA in their respective calibers.

The mini-SAA I had had fixed sights. That was probably a small part of the problem. They were much smaller and harder to see than the ones on the S&W's. However, I think that some of the problem (and probably most of it) was the gun itself not being as accurate as my S&W's. It did not spray shots all over, but was generally mediocre with all loads.

edit: P.S. After I got rid of the mini-SAA, I ran across a Ruger Super-Single-Six in .32 Mag with adjustable sights and bought it. It is also more accurate than the mini-SAA.

[bedbugbilly]

Boogieman - Thanks. I've heard that the "bark" can be a little "sharp" on these calibers. We both wear good ear protection which would help with that!

Harry-O and Bill Weedle - Thanks for the info - that's the kind of thing I was looking for as far as any potent problems. I'm going to keep looking and see what I can scare up - who knows what a person will run across? :-) I'd like to load both the 32-20 and the 32 H & R as I find both interesting cartridges that I'd like to "play with" - and I think my wife could handle either easily with good hearing protection. I know a LGS back in MI that I can order the Cimarron Lightning through if I decide to go that way - they have several excellent gunsmiths so I'd have one of them check it out before I take it home - redo the crown if necessary, check forcing cone, chamber throats, etc.

I also would be interested in the full size bird head SAA model in 38 spl./357 Many thanks again for the help and info everybody - greatly appreciated!

[Harry O]

bedbugbilly: The .32 Magnum is as easy as can be for reloading. The 32-20 can be easy, but you have to do things in a certain way. I have been loading the 32-20 for about 50 years now. Here are some of the things I have learned:

Keep with one case manufacturer. Remington, Winchester, and Starline have three different case lengths. That means poor accuracy and the buckling of cases during crimping if you don't trim them. Starline is the shortest, and also has the thickest neck. Use that one if you can. Trim ALL cases to the same length of the shortest case and adjust your dies to that length.

If you shoot the 32-20 in more than one gun, you MAY have to shorten the base of the sizing die a little bit. Standard sizing dies do NOT resize the neck long enough. Check a resized case against an unfired factory case to see what I mean. You only have to shorten the sizing die a little bit when shooting out of different guns, but less than 1/16". If you are shooting them all out of the same gun, you don't have to do this. The standard dies neck-size it only.

Trail Boss works the best for light loads (factory duplicate loads). Before it came around, I used just about any fast powder in small amounts (Bullseye, Red Dot, 231, etc). The problem is that you can double or triple charge the cases with the fast powders. 2.8gr of TB fills the case a little more than halfway. I use SR4756 for medium loads. It works better than Unique in handguns. The mini-SAA can handle these loads. For heavy loads (only the Ruger or a Marlin rifle I have) I use 2400. The mini-SAA probably cannot handle these loads. Make sure you cannot get the wrong (heavier) load in a lighter gun if you have more than one load.

Plan on setting the case-mouth-flare back straight when seating the bullet. DON'T crimp it. Get a Lee Factory Crimp Die for crimping the 32-20. It will cut down on the case buckling problems considerably. Use a Standard Small Pistol primer for everything. It is best to check the throats and barrel first, but sizing to 0.312" usually works in any 32-20.

If you do these things, reloading the 32-20 should not be any harder than the .32 Magnum.

[C A Plater]

I have one and it is fun to shoot. I've only put a few rounds of .32-20 through it as it does bark rather sharply with the factory ammo. I favor the .32 H&R because it is easier to reload and I have a Marlin in the same caliber. Accuracy is OK but not great and I need to do something with the sights as is shoots Democrat (low and to the left). I've toyed with the idea a putting a S&W J-frame rear sight and doing something with the front sight but no action yet. I shoot a lot of 110gr RNFP cast over 3.0 gr of Bullseye and I nice cheap plinking load that does well on bushy tails in the Marlin.

[bedbugbilly]

Harry O and C A Plater - Thank you very much for the information - I'm going to copy it and put it in my loading notebook! I appreciate the hints on the 32-20 greatly. I've read quite a bit on reloading that cartridge but those are some very helpful bits of information to have. Presently, I'm using BE for all of my pistol cartridges. I carefully check my loads in regards to double charges, etc. I load on a Lee 4 place turret with a Lee Perfect Powder Measure attached to the powder thru / expander die and it works great - and I'm very careful to not get interrupted during reloading and to make sure I hit the lever just once. I'm happy with the Lee measure and it throws very consistent charges - I random check with a digital scale and they vary very little. I don't load "hot" and am only interested in plinking loads - I'll probably only have one revolver in the 32-20 (but I said that about 38s and now have 8 ;-)). The thing I was looking at with the Cimarron Lightning was that it would give me the option of more cartridges to play with. I'm looking but haven't run across anything yet but sooner or later, I'll find either a 32-20 or a 32 H & R - or a combo. I passed on a Smith 32-20 a couple of months back - I love Smiths but the one I looked at in the 32-20 was just too "iffy". I could live with the worn finish but mechanically, it had been around the block a few times.

Thanks again fellas - greatly appreciate the help!