800X and 32-20

[Doc.Holliday]

I have an ample supply of 800X powder and am looking for help and advice in developing loads for a 32-20 rifle using 115 gr rnpb cast bullets.
Powder being in short supply these days I am trying to get the most use of each powder I got a goodly supply of.
My reloading books are not giving me any help with this powder/cartridge combination and I don't have quickload.
So any help greatly appreciated.
Doc

[Doc.Holliday]

Thank-you kindly for the reply; a good place to start.

[versa-06]

This might be helpful, I load a 1914 S&W revolver with Lee's 309-113F Soup-can, with 5.8gr 800x this load is about all this old pistol wants to shoot without any signs of pressure. Bullet with two heavy coats of White Label Alox avg. weight is 121gr and sized .313 shoots w- pop-can accuracy. Have noticed primer change effects accuracy and pressure, Don't anyone try these loads in weapons that are not up to current factory standards and try at your own risk! As we all should know start low and work up!

[donhuff]

Hey Doc,
You got my curiosity up. And sense I have an 8lb jug of 800X that I got when that was all I could find, and have found it to work rather well in several of my guns. I figured I'd try it out in my 32-20 blackhawk.

I found some data for 327 federal using a 100g and 800X and I could start around there somewhere.

I loaded up 6 rounds each using 311008 bullets, and starting at 5.0 grains of powder and going up in .5 grain increments till I saw a little pressure. I did not go high enough! I made it to 7.0 grains and the hulls were sliding right out. As you can see, the primers show nothing yet and these 3 were loaded at 7.2, but I only had enough empty brass to load these three. I figured that would be high enough to show some signs anyway and I might have to pull them so I did not want a lot of em. Next time I'll start a 7 and go up from there.
100662

[donhuff]

Went out yesterday to follow up on where I left off on the last post

did the 7.0 again and had the chrono this time. 1182 av

7.5g got me to 1235fps
8.0 got 1385
8.5 hit 1425 and just a tiny bit of primer flattening.
9.0 was too much, with 3 of the six cases sticking and more primer flattening, 1503fps

[Doc.Holliday]

Thank-you very much donhuff; Sorry for the delay in response but I have been fighting a nasty cold. No global warming in my neck of the woods.
Your load data is very informative and much appreciated. I can see me starting at 7.5 gr with my RNFP plain base bullets.
I have found 800X very clean burning regarding brass and barrel residue in the 45 colt ; how did it fare out in this regard with the 32-20?
How did your various loads do in the accuracy department?
Thank-you again Sir!!

Doc

[donhuff]

Hi Doc,

800X ALWAYS seems to burn very clean! I did like you (I think) when I could not find any powder but 800x, I bought an 8 lb jug. When I got home I then had to figure out how to use it. My favorite is Unique, and I was trying to get something that had a similar burn speed as unique was nowhere to be found at the time (I now have 2...8lb jugs of it HA!) I knew 800 was slower, but I had rather be slower than faster, that way I figured I could use my unique loads and should be safe. Specially since there is not a lot of data out there for 800x. Plus, I have a new 10mm and 800 is about the best powder for that cartridge.

Anyway, yes the 32-20 loads burned clean, to extremely clean. And since I have started powder coating my bullets, my guns and hands stay pretty clean too. No lube= no smoke or soot! The barrel stays clean too although a patch with some solvent, not hoppes but rather lacquer thinner, will bring out a hint of residue. But it is really odd to look down the barrel and not see flakes of unburned powder like is common with unique 2400 and especially blue dot.

Sorry I cant help with the accuracy. As I was just trying to get you some chrono readings and I was shooting at metal plates at 70 yards. I went to my brothers house to do this cause it's a battle trying to chrono anything at the crowded public range I usually go to. My brothers place was a rush last minute thing and by the time we got the limbs and weeds out of the way, there was not a lot of daylight left to set up targets and a shooting table. We just stood up and shot through the crono to hit the plates. Also, this ruger buckeye has never shot groups worth a dern. I have fire lapped, reamed throats, forcing cone, jacketed or cast, fast or slow, nothing seems to improve it. BUT it always shoots about 2-1/2" groups @25yds, no mater what I feed it. Funny, I shoot the same bullet, powder and charge, in my 30 carbine ruger. And it will do half that size groups at twice that distance!!! I complained about the 32-20 not shooting so well and the whole time I'm ringing the steel at 60yds. My brother not being much of a shooter and just getting into it, was amazed that I could EVER hit the steel plate from "way back here". He said that it looked VERY accurate to him. All in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Regarding the 800x. Since it was working so good in my pistol cartridges (BTW I tried you load of 12.5g in 45 colt and it works good too) I decided to try it in my new rossi rio grandes 30-30 and 45-70. Not to suprizingly, it worked fine. With 8.5g in 30-30 and a 170g lee @50yds, it will make one hole with a tube full. The 45-70 does so good with 13.0gs of powder behind the lee 405 F, that I have not tried higher doses of powder. It makes for a very mild round and chronoed at 1100fps IIRC.

What you shooting these in? Not an old gun I hope as even the 7.5g load is a strong one. With the jump to 8.0 being a very obvious increase in the recoil department.

[Doc.Holliday]

Thank-you kindly for the update don; my 32-20 is one of those Browning 53 models that came out 20 years ago or so. It looks like 800X subs nicely for Unique in 30-30 as well. I usually coat all my lead with lee liquid alox must look into this powder coating.
The powder situation up here has gone from bad to worse.
Kind regard
Doc.