A .32 load question

[Newtire]

This concerns using .32 long brass in my H & R .32 mag revolver.

Last weekend at the range there was a guy shooting a .32 long target pistol with Fiocci wadcutter ammo. He kindly donated the empties to me.

My question is, if I load this ammo using that brass & seat the boolits out to match the OAL of the stuff I load in the regular .32 mag. cases, can I assume that the pressures would be about the same for either load?

I want to use a .32 magnum load that is listed at 19K PSI in the Hodgdon manual. I know a deep seated boolit would be trouble & I know there are lots of variables but it seems logical that this would work. Wuddaya think?

[Adam10mm]

If you load the bullet longer than 32 S&W Long OAL, you will lower the pressure as you are creating a larger combustion chamber.

Shorter OAL=higher pressure
Longer OAL=lower pressure.

I would use the 32 S&W Long data and work up.

[racepres]

I have never used "long seated" 32's in my H&R, But, It seems plausible that what you propose would indeed replicate H&R pressure etc. My concern would only be getting the proper "grip" on the boolit, as not as much of it will be in the case!!

[Adam10mm]

As long as a caliber's worth is in there, it should be enough purchase.

[Newtire]

I'll let ya know this weekend how it worked. I crimped a few RCBS 32-98's into the top of the lower lube groove and will see if this is enough to do the trick. I am thinking it won't be very good for getting a good alignment but may be wrong. They don't look too bad. Talk is cheap, takes a dollar to buy whiskey they say.

[9.3X62AL]

Right enough, Newtire. The proof is in the shooting. What you are doing isn't new ground--older editions of the late Frank Barnes' "Cartridges of the World" showed data for the 32 S&W Long using 4.0 grains of Unique under a 98 grain lead boolit long before the 32 Magnum was birthed. Not a load that I would try in my Colt Pocket Positive or a J-frame S&W, though.

My own preference is to use full-length cartridge cases in the Magnum revolvers, due to annoyance at the soot/carbon/crud ring that firing of "Special length" cases in Magnum-length chambers produces. Going 180* from Newtire's approach, I load 90% of my 41 and 44 Magnum cases to Special ballistics, and about 50% of my 32 and 357 Magnum to the lower intensity. All of these shoot VERY well, from 750-1200 FPS+. Besides that--I have 32 S&W Long, 38 Special, and 44 Special revolvers, and they need love (and ammunition) too.

[S.R.Custom]

My question is, if I load this ammo using that brass & seat the boolits out to match the OAL of the stuff I load in the regular .32 mag. cases, can I assume that the pressures would be about the same for either load?

Yep, that's a good supposition... but if you want to know, take one of the magnum cases and trim it to the length of the .32 Spl case, and then compare the weights of the two. A lighter or heavier case will indicate more or less volume, respectively. A difference of a just a few grains will be meaningless.

As for the crap ring in the chambers left by the Special loads, just make sure you clean it out before you fire a magnum load. Whether or not you pound the debris against the chamber wall with a magnum load makes a world of difference in the ease of cleaning.

[lawboy]

My only concern would be the strength of the 32 long brass. I shoot both the long brass and the magnum brass in my gun and the magum brass is clearly tougher, thicker brass. Case swelling could be an issue. Personally, I don't believe the risk to be justified as it is not worth even a minor injury.

[lathesmith]

Lawboy makes a good point...for example, I would not load 38 special brass with 357 loads, no matter what the OAL. However, at 19k, this probably won't be a problem. I still wouldn't like to use the thin brass though, I guess it is just whatever a guy feels comfortable loading.
lathesmith

[S.R.Custom]

I don't see that as being an issue. As the pressure containment capacity of the system derives from the strength of the chamber --not the brass-- the fact that he's firing this in a magnum revolver presents a danger no greater than firing actual magnum ammunition.

As for the brass swelling, I don't think so. Small arms cartridge brass is manufactured to ASTM standard B129 (http://www.astm.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/DATABASE.CART/REDLINE_PAGES/B129.htm?E+mystore) which specifies a yield strength of 62K PSI, IIRC. If Newtire shoots a load sufficiently hot to swell .32 S&W Long cartridge brass in that little H&R, he's going to have bigger problems than sticky cases on his hands.