Hello? Hello?? Is this the .32 H&R helpline????

[beezapilot]

A new experience for me. Finally found a S&W 631 that has not been a gem at the range. Never seems to dial in well at the target. So today, I loaded up a nice variety of .32 S&W's and, what the heck, took a box of factory .32 H&R's.

The hand loads were about the same- holding a 6" group at 50' off a rest... nope, sure not my K-16 I'll tell you that.

Then I dropped the factory .32 mags in- 10" group- and it split every case in the cylinder like a ripe melon.
136995

Home to break out the ball gauges and mic- the chamber at the loading end (average) is just below spec- at .3407" with one at the max of .3412". with a taper into (average) .3396" none of the chamber specs are out.

Measured the ammo- .3342 "

None of the primers show any signs of flattening.

I'm missing something... any suggestions???

[Mk42gunner]

How does the barrel and forcing cone look? Is the cylinder aligning with the bore at lock up?

Inaccuracy and brass splitting are probably two different issues, what was the factory 32H&R load? Reason I ask is I remember reading a lot of horror stories about Federal brass splitting on the first shot, for several years after the round came out.

Robert

[Zim]

Yep, federal brass gives a whole lotta split cases. I'm still working on loads for mine also.

what size are your bullets? I'm using .314"

[beezapilot]

Darn fine call on the Federals- yep, picked up half a box on a trade not that long ago- whooo-eee they come apart in a most disconcerting manner.

I'm sizing to .313- as soon as I get back to the shop I'll slug the barrel and see how it measures out.

I don't have a .32 range rod- but I'll be looking at alignment as well.

[stu1ritter]

Cylinder throats are where the measurement should be done for a revolver. My 431pd has .312 throats and my 16-4 and 30-1 are .313 and my 1903 5th and 3rd are both .314. So, they are all over the place. Fit the bullet to the throat and see what happens.
Stu

[NorthMoccasin]

+1 on checking the throats. My 631 (long gone, unfortunately) required .314 bullets to have any accuracy. I found older Federal brass to be much inferior to Starline. Never could get 32 longs to group as well as 32 Mag. 3.5g W231 and a RCBS 32-98 SWC made an accurate 32 long like load that works well in the 631 and my Ruger SSM and Single 7.. Funny, but the shorter 32Mag shoots very well in the longer 327 chamber of the Single 7. Go figure.

Lee

[Harry O]

The Federal cases have been known for splitting for many, many years. Back in the early 1990's when I got one, I complained to Federal about the splitting on the first or second reload. They said that they were OK for shooting the cartridges they sold, but they had no responsibility for making reloads work. Age probably doesn't help the splitting. Get Starline and forget about the Federal cases.

I originally bought a S&W Super-KitGun. It looks identical to the J-frame .22LR KitGun except for the caliber. I have been very pleased with it. The very first thing I would do is get some cases that don't split. That cannot be doing anything good for your accuracy. Then go through the basics. Slug the throats, the barrel, and size the bullets accordingly. Make sure the back of the barrel is square to the cylinder and there is a symmetrical forcing cone.

Mine works best with 0.312" bullets in it. I have since gotten an old-style .32 Ruger Super-SingleSix (adjustable sights). It shoots just as well as the S&W, if not a hair better. I had a S&W NewModel 16 for a while, but have since had it rechambered to 32-20. They all shoot well and I am pleased with all of them. I have no doubt yours will too, if you go through the steps to debug it.