32 Caliber

[jjamna]

Is there any molds other than round balls for a 32 cal muzzle loader? Mine really likes the Buffalo Ball-ets 70 grain. Sure would be nice to be able to cast them.
I have tried 32 cal pistol bullets with no luck. Not enough twist I guess. I have drilled them, beagled them, and lapped them to size but still no luck. They keyhole a lot. I can almost one hole the Ball-ets at 30 yds.

[madcaster]

Maxiball moulds,when you can find them.I have thought about .32 CF rifle moulds,but do not want to contaminate my round ball twist barrels!:twisted:

[Boz330]

Is there any molds other than round balls for a 32 cal muzzle loader? Mine really likes the Buffalo Ball-ets 70 grain. Sure would be nice to be able to cast them.
I have tried 32 cal pistol bullets with no luck. Not enough twist I guess. I have drilled them, beagled them, and lapped them to size but still no luck. They keyhole a lot. I can almost one hole the Ball-ets at 30 yds.

Try patching the the base of the boolit.

Bob

[jjamna]

Bos330
I have patched them with cloth around them like a round ball. I have used felt wads and fiber wads of various manufactures with basicly the same results. Also paper wads. The only thing I havn't done is wrap them in paper, may try that or teflon tape.

[Boz330]

Sounds like you've covered all the possibilities.
Are the pistol boolits longer than the Buffalo bullets if so the twist is probably the problem. The Buffalo bullets are probably swaged, so finding a mold may not be an option unless you have it custom made.

Bob

[jjamna]

Yes the pistol bullets are longer. The smallest is about 30 grains heavier. I even tried drilling them out at the base to reduce weight. Believe it or not, the best way to get them to shoot is to load them backwards. I am not to fond of that idea.
A mini ball in 32 cal just like I have for my 45 and 50 cal would be wonderful. You got any idea how much it would cost to have one custom made?
Jeff

[Baron von Trollwhack]

My caplock 32 has a Douglas 1/48 barrel/39" long and will accept "0" buck from Hornady with a .005 patch. I tried the Hornady bulk swaged 32 wadcutters and the Lee SWC 32 with excellent results using both the thin patch and paperpatching up to a snug fit. Use my same charges of 15 or 30 grains fffg as with RB. Very much the same accuracy and trajectory out to 50 yards. BvT

[jjamna]

I have a Round Ball mold and it don't shoot them very bad but it just shoots the Ball-Et's better.
If we had enough 32 cal shooters maybe we could get a group buy going.
They have just a little bit of a hollow base but we may be able to do without it.
If we could just get something about 60 to 70 grains shaped like them I would bet they would shoot.
I load them with 25 to 30 grains powder then a felt wad then the bullet

[Boz330]

Yes the pistol bullets are longer. The smallest is about 30 grains heavier. I even tried drilling them out at the base to reduce weight. Believe it or not, the best way to get them to shoot is to load them backwards. I am not to fond of that idea.
A mini ball in 32 cal just like I have for my 45 and 50 cal would be wonderful. You got any idea how much it would cost to have one custom made?
Jeff

The issue isn't the weight as much as the boolit length. Here is a site that can get you in the ball park for length or velocity etc. http://www.uslink.net/~tom1/twistrate.htm
I've never looked into a custom so not sure what cost would be. You might leave out the felt wad and see if that helps the boolit slug up better. I would think that the felt wad would cushion it some preventing the boolit from filling the rifling.
I tried 38-40 boolits in my 40 cal ML and had mixed results, it would put the bulk of them in a reasonable group but then it would throw one way out, like 8 inches.This was for deer hunting and I decided to take a chance on it anyway. As luck would have it, the time I needed it that was the flyer. Broke the deer's back and it took several more to finish her. I felt like the biggest AH in the world.

Bob

[mooman76]

I looked a few place for some ideas. Dixiegunworks has a couple 31 cal HB pistol moulds that comes out to .321. Also you might look into a 8mm light bullet mould they are about the right size if you can find someone that has them to try. I think either a 32 cal Lee REAL or a TC style maxi would work good as far as having one made.

[Antietamgw]

.32 sounds like fun! What size are the Ball-ets, has anyone measured diameter and length? I used them in a .50 to hunt with when my boys were younger and didn't need the recoil of Maxi's, was very happy with accuracy and performance on deer. Hard to find them around here lately.

[jjamna]

these are .323 dia.

.385 long

Weigh 70 grains

For comparison that is a .308 dia 160 grain with it.

[shdwlkr]

jjamna
I have a few .32 caliber rifles and they use anything from .300Hornady O buckshot, .310 or .315 round ball and the T/C maxi ball for the .32 caliber. I have never seen where a 32 caliber center fire bullet would work as they are two big. I use pillow ticking of .018 for my patching and have no trouble. Mine are all thompson Centers though. The maxi is the heaviest that I have shot in my .32's and it weights 103 grains. I think if you go past this you run into problems most likely caused by the length, weight and diameter of the bullet you are asking that small powder charge to push out the barrel. just my thoughts as I have never seen or read of a larger diameter rifle bullet than .315 for the .32. I am not talking about the driving lands diameter on the Maxi as I think they are something like .320. Look how little that is of the whole bullet. You can sometimes find a maxi mould on esteal(ebay) otherwise you will have to have a custom one cut.
hope this helped

[jjamna]

Where can I get a mold for the Maxi ball in 32 cal. I have looked and the only thing I can find is round balls

[mooman76]

Try evil-bay. You see them there occationally. They don't make them any more that I am awares of.

[mooman76]

There's a guy at auctionarms that is selling 32 cal maxi's per 250 for $25 shipped.

[Maven]

jjamna, There's such a T/C Maxi-Ball mold on E-Bay as I write (under "bullet mold") on p. 4, near the bottom of the page. You'll want to contact the seller before you bid because he isn't sure whether it is .32cal. or .36cal.

[jjamna]

Maven
What do the Thompson Molds sell for. I may try for it regardless to size ( I could use both)

[Maven]

jjamna, T/C molds are well-made, but they are anodized Al. I've owned several: .440" RB & .45 Maxi-Ball, since sold and currently a .490" RB & .50cal. Maxi-Ball mold. I bought the .50 Maxi recently (like new) and paid ~$28 for it (no handles). The .32cal. & .36cal. Maxi's are a bit harder to find and may fetch a higher price. Bid sensibly since it's a used mold with no handles. Btw, I forgot to check the shipping charges, but properly packed, such a mold shouldn't cost more than the lowest USPS Priority Mail rate. You may be able to negotiate those charges if you win. Bid at the very last minute or even 1/2 minute to increase your odds of winning, but don't get caught in a bidding war. Good Luck!

[jjamna]

Thanks to all who have replied. I will be watching fleabay for one. If someone runs accross something PM me.

[ktw]

Where can I get a mold for the Maxi ball in 32 cal. I have looked and the only thing I can find is round balls

Ballisti-cast still offers them (2, 4 or 6 cavity).

http://www.ballisti-cast.com/Bullet%20Designs%20Page%207.htm

=ktw

[jjamna]

Thanks ktw
I did not know anything about the place. Their molds are a little pricy but if they have what you need and no one else does it is a no brainer- pay their price. If evil-bay don't work out I will order one. ( I don't think that evil-bay will, never does)
Jeff

[ktw]

Yes, not cheap, but from everything I have heard, top shelf molds. I have never owned one myself but people I know who do have them speak highly of them.

The other attraction to Ballisti-cast is that they took over the old H&G line of molds. If you want a "real" H&G 68 or H&G 502, Ballisti-cast is where you go to get a new one (#668 and #1102 respectively in their lineup, 600 + old H&G # )

-ktw

[fixit]

i have a traditions deerhunter in 32 cal. and i use a 32 cal wadcutter bullet from a lee mold (not in production anymor, unfortunately) with double thickness brown wrapping paper 'cross' patches with very good results. the rifling twist is 1-48, and all indication is they stablize very well!

[shdwlkr]

Maven
Way back in the day all Thompson Center molds were made by Lyman no less.
EVil bay has the t/c molds at good prices. No one for a long time liked the little .32 or .36 but some are now looking for them as they haven't been made in years and in five years according to T/C today when I talked to them all the old stuff will be gone.

[Powderpacker]

... and in five years according to T/C today when I talked to them all the old stuff will be gone.

"gone"? From their inventory? Are you saying that T/C still has .32 molds available or just "old stuff" in general ?

[mooman76]

I was thinking of trying an experiment with my 32 next time out. 32 Maxies are almost non-exhistant and when you do find them they are outragous in price or at least more than I am willing to spend for some plinkers. The 8mm is real close to the right diameter so I was thinking of moulding up some bullets with soft lead and cutting them in half and shooting each half to see how they do. Once in half the weight or length rather should be about right. It couldn't hurt. One half will end up like a wadcutter and I might as well shoot the other half while I am at it. If it works out I figured I could partially fill the cavity of the mould with high temp RTV or something so I wouldn't have to cut them in half.

[mooman76]

I tried them out today without much success. They did work and loaded good. Good enough that I thought they would shoot decent but they didn't shoot that great. I think the 32 with a 1/48 twist just isn't good enough for conicals or at least mine isn't. Shoots RB much better.
On a happier note I finally took out my Antique 32 cal squirrel rifle out and shot it. It shot surprisingly well. At 25 yards the holes were almost touching. Pretty good for not having a stable rest. I can't take all the credit though. The barrel is so long it was almost touching the target. LOL!
So over all I had a good shootin day! Next to take out my Dixie Mountain Squirrel gun. That should be an adventure. It's a flintlock and I havn't done them much!

[madcaster]

A 1-48" twist is the standard that most barrelmakers use for ball loads.

[Rattus58]

technically, most of the target shooters I know use very high twist rates with pistols and 1-48 just wont work as well as a 1-20. With a 32, if you trust the modified greenhill formula, you need a minimum of 1-38" for a round ball 32, and when you get into bullets, shorter than that even... and for target loads with reduced powder, shorter as well, shorter barrels, shorter twists... and so on.. but this gentleman had a barrel touching the target... so steady hand my friend, steady hand.... :D :D

[mooman76]

Rattus58
I looked back and guess I wasn't clear. I didn't shoot the conicals out of my Antique ML. I shot them out of a Traditions Deerhunter(why they call a 32 Deerhunter is beyond me) just for giggles. I didn't bother to check out the greenhill formula. I was concidering picking up a 32 conical on sleasebay but it's out of the question now. I did think the conicals would do a little beter though. They were pretty short. Not much longer than they were wide. They didn't keyhole though. Shot nice neat holes in the paper, just weren't very accurate even though they were good enough to be on target.
It was exciting though to get my old one out though. A piece of yester year so to speak. Last time I took it out I couldn't fire it because I overlooked the fact that the nipple was too big for the caps I had. That was easily fixed though with a nipple replacement.

[Rattus58]

Hi Moonman...

A 32 should shoot a 38 twist with a round ball pretty decently and would require a shorter twist for a conical as I guess you were able to sorta validate. I'm relying on a modified greenhill formula to come up with this however.... :D

Round ball =
Bullet diameter 0.32
Bullet lenth 0.32
Speed = <1500 120
Twist 38.4

Conical say .36 in length
Bullet diameter 0.32
Bullet lenth 0.36
Speed = <1500 120
Twist 34.13

The longer the bullet goes the shorter... the shorter the barrel (talking like 8-12") the shorter the twists as well.

Aloha... :cool: :D

[Blizzard63]

I would also like to get a mold for my .32 rifle. I,m shooting a .310 Rb with a .015 patch, but I would like to have a maxi ball mold (if I can find one) or something similar. The Buffalo ball-ets sound like something for me to try out also. I'm like most of you guys tho, I need a mold so I can make what I need. If I find something I'll post it on here to let others know. I really like shooting my .32's !

[jjamna]

Blizzard 63 We are working on a group buy u may be interested in. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?226253-32-cal-Ball-et-Mold

Hope the link works. Also track o0f the wolf has Maxi molds. Just got one 2 days ago.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/1201/1

[drago9900]

Track of the Wolf has a 6 cavity Lee mold for maxi balls for 54.99

[BDJ]

97280

JJamna

If you want to try the T/C Maxi I can send you the bullets you see in this picture.

Pm me your address and they are yours.

These are 32 cal. Maxie's for my T/C Cherokee.

[jjamna]

97280

JJamna

If you want to try the T/C Maxi I can send you the bullets you see in this picture.

Pm me your address and they are yours.

These are 32 cal. Maxie's for my T/C Cherokee.


Thanks for the offer but I bought one from track of the wolf.

[BDJ]

Glad you found a mold. The little 32 mold is a bit tough to find.

[gandydancer]

I have a 32 Crockett on order. should have it in a week. what does a ball-et look like? thanks. gd

[BrassMagnet]

If you want to try a light weight 8MM mould, I have the 32359 (115 gr) which is shown in this thread which you could try out:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?231314-What-to-do-with-Rusty-Stuff

[jjamna]

I have a 32 Crockett on order. should have it in a week. what does a ball-et look like? thanks. gd

There is a picture of one in this thread. It is beside a 30cal bullet and has knurling on the sides.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?226253-32-cal-Ball-et-Mold

[gandydancer]

Got the Crockett today and its a handsome little rifle. I hope to have it smoked up in a few days using the holy black. My buddy "the deacon" he's on here. has had his about a month now and him and his boys have been smoking up his neighborhood so bad all the neighbors thought it was thunder & smog. lol I'm looking forward to it. PS anyone ever hear of a Sharon rifle co? "not sure of the spelling"

[seekersoftheredmist]

Got the Crockett today and its a handsome little rifle. I hope to have it smoked up in a few days using the holy black. My buddy "the deacon" he's on here. has had his about a month now and him and his boys have been smoking up his neighborhood so bad all the neighbors thought it was thunder & smog. lol I'm looking forward to it. PS anyone ever hear of a Sharon rifle co? "not sure of the spelling"


LOL! We ( my boys and myself) are having a "BLAST" shooting this little Gem. I would love to try some maxi ball or hunters in it for Turkey season coming up in less than a month. So far we are getting less than half inch groups at 25 yards and slightly lager (3/4 -1 inch ) at 50 yards. I do believe that will do just fine for some Bushy tails during our spring season! Anyone else have one of these little rifles? ( Crockett 32 cal)