Good For The 32/20

[ACC]

I enherited a really nice 32/20 that had shot through it all of 50 rounds. What would a good no gas check bullet mold be for this? Pictures please.

ACC

[NoZombies]

The Ideal/ Lyman 3118 (311008) is available, and has been a standard for the 32-20 for well over 100 years.

http://nozombies.com/32bullets/Ideal3118.JPG

My personal favorite is the factory HP version the 31133.

http://nozombies.com/32bullets/Ideal31133.JPG

But there are a lot of other designs that work, and almost every mold maker made a version of the 3118

For a slightly shorter bullet, the RCBS 32-98 SWC bullet does very well, RCBS calls it a SWC, but the nose is almost identical to the 3118

http://nozombies.com/32bullets/RCBS3298SWC.JPG

If you can find one (rare) the Modern Bond .32 SWC has been very accurate for me as well.

http://nozombies.com/32bullets/ModernBond.JPG

There are lots of other options out there as well, but I would start by looking at the 311008 and RCBS 98 bullets, as both molds are available as current production, and both bullets shoot well almost universally.

[45workhorse]

Mihec make a nice 2/4/6 cavity mold hp, solid. Works nice in my Winchester mod 92, and Ruger 327mag!

[Kraschenbirn]

Being a tinkerer by nature, when I first acquired my .32-20 Low Wall, I experimented with well over a dozen boolit/powder combinations before going 'old school' and settling on the 311008 and IMR4227.

Bill

[samari46]

When I had my low wall in 32-20 all I could get at the time was lyman's 311316 whicch is the gas checked version of the 3118. Shot pretty well for me. Probably close to 40 years old at least. Someone with more money than good sense kept waving greenbacks in my face until I relented. Now I have another low wall with a rotted out barrel that was originally chambered fro the 25-20 single shot cartridge. After I get some parts from Montana Vintage Armory out it goes to get one of TJ's liners with a faster twist so I can shoot slightly heavier bullets. I've only had the low wall for close to 45 years. About time I get this project up and running. I'm not so fast with my projects. My first was about 5 years back. Chopped model of 1917 Winchester Enfield. I took off the wings, rough profiled the rear receiver and for years it sat in the back of the safe. Had them fill the duck pond with a plug I had made, D&T for a scope, and finally bead blast and blue. The the blue job came out almost black. Looked real nice. This year I had a Finnish M39 that my Idiot grandson shot with corrosive ammo.never cleaned it Properly if at all and it sat in a closet for about 10 years, cleaned up as much as I could but the barrel was well and truly knackered as the brits would say.Found a mint condition M39 barrel on another forum and now to find a gunsmith to do the installation. That took another few months. Safe to say definitely looks like a new M39 today. Still have to slug the bbl to get a handle on the dimensions. And if I'm really lucky send out a martini in 22rf and get it converted to 32-20 scope it and see what she can do. Frank

[Wayne Smith]

As strongly implied by the previous post, you don't need GC's to shoot the 32-20. If the boolit fits shoot it.

[lotech]

I've used the Lyman #311316 for many years. I assume it's still produced but don't know for sure. It's a 115 - 120 grain flat nose gas check design, but works fine without the gas check for many loads.

[Guesser]

I don't shoot a long gun in 32-20 but I have 5 Colts and one Uberti and I cast 3118 from an old Ideal mould, looks almost identical to the current production 311008 but not quite. In the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook published in 1957 one member swore by the Ideal 313445, it is a unique design 98 gr. SWC and is indeed a good performer. Since all my 32-20s are revolvers I've found that a full charge of Trail Boss is the most accurate, consistently.

[Green Frog]

AFAIK, the Lyman 311008 is still in active production and you can probably order one from stock from someone like Midway, Graf, etc. Since this is the spiritual successor to the original bullet design for the 32-20 it will provide you with a good base line if nothing else to develop your loads. You might also check the NOE and MP websites and see what they have in stock... be aware that the NOE version of the 311008 is about 10 grains heavier than the original Ideal/Lyman... not a bad thing in some applications, but it makes a difference.

A lot of shooters like to go with lighter (95-105 grain) bullets in their 32-20s, and there are a couple of really nice moulds available from NOE and others that fill the bill there. Oddly, in my 32 S&W, one of my most accurate loadings has been with the MP 105 grain hollow point. I haven't tried it in my 32-20 but have every reason to believe it would work well there also. Have fun and shoot a lot of different stuff. The experience will be worth it and you will find what your gun likes best. :Fire:

Froggie

[cwlongshot]

250730

Thisnis a Lyman mold. It drops 110g needing a GC. I size to 314. They shoot real well.


I traded for some 311088 HP that I do like allot! I also have a LEE Group buy thats simular but 120g. (No hp)

Thats the one I use most. I cast and coated about 6-700 so I wont need to cast more, for a long long time.

I have one 32/20 built on a cast off SMLE barrel. So twist is slower and it shoots 150g real well. I have a 314 /180g Id like to try but have t gotten to it. The rifle is a H&R single shot.

I havent shot my 32/20’s much since 2011 when I bought my first 300 BO. It does allot of what I did with the 32/20 accept shoot it in a lever gun.

CW

[Outpost75]

Accurate 31-105T has very strong resemblance to factory bullets used in .32-20 and .32 Colt New Police.

250721250722

[Green Frog]

Accurate 31-105T has very strong resemblance to factory bullets used in .32-20 and .32 Colt New Police.

250721250722

That one looks very similar to the MP mould I mentioned previously. I’m almost ready to declare this bullet my “go to” bullet for all of my 32 revolvers but then again I just acquired an old 4 cavity Ideal 3118 mould, and that design has served me so well for so long...

After so many years during which good bullets for the 32 revolver were so hard to find, it seems we are now beginning to experience a surge in mould availability. The shooter can probably find just the right bullet for his gun and application. :coffeecom

I’ll go back to my previous statement that it would be good to start with the Lyman 311008 to establish your baseline, but after that, the sky is literally the limit! 8-)

Froggie

[one-eyed fat man]

Been loading .32-20 with a set of C-H dies I bought fifty some years ago. No particular troubles unless I fail to start the bullet straight.

Brass is all from the couple boxes of Western Lubaloy cartridges that were part of the deal when I got a used Colt revolver as a fifteen year old kid in trade for a summer's wages. Still have most of it. Have only mangled a few cases in that time. It was something of an odd caliber at the time, seemed like only old geezers knew about it.

The old standby for the old Army Special revolver is Ken Waters' pet load, the Lyman 311008 and 6.0gr of SR4756. Sadly, the powder is discontinued and I am down to my last couple of pounds. The Marlin 27 S gets the same bullet over 10 grains of IMR 4227.

250726 250727

[NoZombies]

The top bullet was cast from an original Winchester mold for the "32-20 Marlin" which they considered a different caliber to their 32 WCF.

It weighs 105 grains, has a light bevel base, and does look a lot like the .32 New Police bullets as mentioned by Outpost75. The one thing you may notice is that it actually has a shorter nose and wider meplat than the New Police bullets of similar vintage (.32 NP dates several decades later than the 32WCF). I have found all of these designs to be excellent shooters in pretty much every .32 revolver or rifle I've tried them in, but finding original molds can be difficult and expensive. The bullet suggested by Outpost75 looks like an excellent (and available) substitute.

Winchester .32-20 Marlin bullet:
http://nozombies.com/32bullets/Winchester32-20Marlin.JPG

.32 New Police bullet from Winchester Mold:
http://nozombies.com/32bullets/Winchester32NP.JPG

.32 New Police bullet from an Ideal mold:
http://nozombies.com/32bullets/Ideal32NP.JPG

[Jeff Michel]

Saeco 322 118 grain plain base.

[dg31872]

Another vote for the 311008. It never disappoints.
Midway did have a double cavity 311008 on sale recently. Not sure if it is still there or not.

[Outpost75]

What I REALLY like about Accurate 31-105T is its double-crimp-groove design. This enables you to use common .32 S&W Long brass in your .32 H&R Mag. revolver, seating the bullet out and crimping in the rear crimp groove, to reduce bullet jump and increasing powder capacity. I also use this seating when loading black powder in the .32 S&W Long for a relined antique British rook rifle, which has a tiny action and is not suitable for hot loads.

The front crimp groove is correct for the .32-20 Winchester to maintain factory overall cartridge length to feed in lever action rifles, and is also what I use for the .32 S&W Long for mild cat sneeze and Bunny Gun loads with 1 grain of Bullseye to reduce free excess airspace in the case.

For standard-pressure full-charge loads in the .32 S&W Long loading 2.0-2.5 grains of Bullseye, adjusting seating depth is a useful variation to obtain best accuracy. I have found that Colts prefer the short seating, whereas the larger diameter cylinder throats of the S&W 1903 Hand Ejector group better when bullets are seated out and the charge is increased about 0.2-0.3 grain.

A charge of 1 grain of Bullseye is the minimum which will exit the barrel all the time with standard cylinder gap of 0.006" using the short seating, crimping in front groove to reduce free airspace.

A charge in the range of 1.7-2.0 grains with deep seating in front crimp groove approximates factory loads and cartridge OAL.

A charge in the range of 2.0-2.5 grains with long seating in the rear crimp groove does likewise. Do not exceed in Colt Pocket Positive and pre-1918 S&Ws not having heat treated cylinders.

Do not exceed 3 grains of Bullseye with long seating in the front crimp groove in postwar S&W Models 30 and 31, and Colt Police Positive.

Best all-around full-charge load for post WW2 revolvers is 2.5 grains of Bullseye crimped in front crimp groove. Also OK in post-1918 S&W 1903 Hand Ejectors having heat treated cylinders.

In the .32-20 Winchester work in the range of 3.0-3.6 grains of Bullseye to find the "sweet" spot for your gun. I find that 3.4-3.5 grains is most accurate in my Colt and S&W revolvers with bullets as-cast and unsized, lubricating with a light film of Lee Liquid Alox, just enough to turn bullets a brassy color.

Ditto for the .32 S&W Long. Unsized bullets, but use Redding Profile Crimp.

Too much lube opens groups.

[gundownunder]

My rifle is the Marlin 1894 CL, and it's bullet of choice is the Accurate 31-105-C.
When we were able to get Alliant 2400 here in the west of Oz my load was 9.5 grains and a CCI #400 primer.
I never got around to putting that load over a crony, but it was good enough to put 5 shot 1 inch holes in paper at 50 all day and every day.
250912
If you want a heavy bullet, try the Accurate 31-120-D. Designed to fit the 32-20 OAL and use all the neck space without intruding into the case below the neck.

[murf205]

I enherited a really nice 32/20 that had shot through it all of 50 rounds. What would a good no gas check bullet mold be for this? Pictures please.

ACC

ACC, welcome to the Castboolits family, it's the best site on the web. Can you post a pic of the inherited 32/20. We love gun pics. When I bought an old S&W 32/20 I didnt have a mold so a friend gave me a box of 500 Magnus boolits, 100gr, and I have had good results with them, but you can't go wrong with that Lyman 311008. No need for a gas check at 32/20 velocities, just good boolit fit.

[blue32]

Lyman 311008 disappointed me plenty. Neither my rifle or revolver shoot anything that small. Even over BP it was marginal. I settled on the RCBS 32-98-SWC but some of the others mentioned look good too. I wouldn't get anything less than .312.

[Green Frog]

Lyman 311008 disappointed me plenty. Neither my rifle or revolver shoot anything that small. Even over BP it was marginal. I settled on the RCBS 32-98-SWC but some of the others mentioned look good too. I wouldn't get anything less than .312.

So the Lyman mould actually cast .311” diameter or less? That’s pretty unusual. What alloy were you using? Did you slug the barrels? What was the groove diameter of your guns?

Froggie

[blue32]

So the Lyman mould actually cast .311” diameter or less? That’s pretty unusual. What alloy were you using? Did you slug the barrels? What was the groove diameter of your guns?

Froggie

The last thing I would expect a Lyman mold to do is cast larger than its stated diameter. 312 is the minimum my rifle or revolver will shoot accurately. I guess the older guns have smaller bores so that's why Lyman designed it so small.

Lyman #2

[Outpost75]

The last thing I would expect a Lyman mold to do is cast larger than its stated diameter. 312 is the minimum my rifle or revolver will shoot accurately. I guess the older guns have smaller bores so that's why Lyman designed it so small.

Lyman #2

Lyman has never understood that in revolvers it is critical that bullets fit the cylinder throat and not the groove diameter of the barrel. For the great majority of .32 S&W Long and .32-20 revolvers you want a bullet diameter of .313-.314" and not .311". The same BS about "slugging the barrel" has been printed in Lyman catalogs for over 100 years. It was only correct when loading soft bullets and shooting black powder.

[blue32]

Upon closer inspection of my loading notes it looks like I was wrong. I was able to get the 311008 to cast .312 with 1:3 lino to range scrap. Used it for SAA clone only loads over 9.4 gr 2400 for 1,126 fps. So it does have limited use for me.
251122

For trouble free casting with all alloys I strongly suggest the RCBS 32-098-SWC for an off the shelf mold. I was able to get this bullet going 1,352 fps from a 5.5 clone over a certain amount of H110. Anything from Accurate would work too.
251123

[ACC]

Thanks for the info. So far the rcbs mold 32-098-SWC seems to work pretty good. Just have to work on the load of Blue Dot my rifle likes. BTW picked up the mold at a gun show for 5 bucks. The dealer told me nobody casts bullets any more.

ACC

[KCSO]

Pistol or rifle and what is the bore. My ruger has a tight bore and the best bullet I shot was a Lee soup can gc bullet that I lapped and beagled to drop a 312 bullet. My Uberti SAA shoots a Missouri Bullet Co 313 120 grain real well and #2 would be the lyman 115 grain bullet. Twist, bore and expected velocity are all primary considerations in choosing a bullet

[hockeynick39]

I use the Accurate 31-100F and it drops at 103 gr with COWWs.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=31-100F-D.png.

I tested using plain base gas checks, just because, and it was highly accurate in my original Winchester 1892. I can't find the data associated with that load, been in the process of re-organizing for the past year. I do have a test group set up that has been powder coated, but haven't been able to go to the range yet. Good luck and stay safe!

[Kraschenbirn]

The last thing I would expect a Lyman mold to do is cast larger than its stated diameter...

My Lyman 311008 came from an old-time gun collector/trader who was in the process of retiring from the gunshow circuit. Don't know how long he'd had it but it was in a somewhat shopworn cardboard box, still oiled and in the original brown paper wrap. Casts .312-.313 from 1 part COWW/2 parts range scrap which I powder coat and size to .314 for my Cimarron Low Wall.

Bill

[beltfed]

My OLD Ideal 3118 mold-one piece with handle
casts 0.312-0.3135.

My 311316 Lyman double cavity casts
at 0.312-0.314"

Alloy in both of above is my 9+1 COWW/Lino.
beltfed/arnie

[Green Frog]

My Lyman 311008 came from an old-time gun collector/trader who was in the process of retiring from the gunshow circuit. Don't know how long he'd had it but it was in a somewhat shopworn cardboard box, still oiled and in the original brown paper wrap. Casts .312-.313 from 1 part COWW/2 parts range scrap which I powder coat and size to .314 for my Cimarron Low Wall.

Bill

Bill, with it coming from a cardboard box(?) is your mold old enough to be a 3118 or is it really a 311008? I’ve seen some of these moulds drop even bigger bullets, but apparently this is a function of which cherry was used to cut it and how much that cherry had been used and resharpened. I’ve seen some cast up around .313” or so and have never seen bullets under about .312,” but I’ve only seen a limited number of these 3118/311008 moulds.

Froggie

[Green Frog]

My OLD Ideal 3118 mold-one piece with handle
casts 0.312-0.3135.

My 311316 Lyman double cavity casts
at 0.312-0.314"

Alloy in both of above is my 9+1 COWW/Lino.
beltfed/arnie


Wish I could find my 311316 mould. That's a good all around mould too. With its GC, the HP version of this makes a dandy small game bullet. ;)

Froggie

[jsizemore]

I shot H&G #254 in my contender for years in hunter pistol silhouette. Round nose may not work for you. 1 1/2" group at 100 yards all day. With powder coat or Hitek you could get it up to your groove diameter.

[Texas by God]

I’ve never owned nor loaded for the 32-20, but a great boolit for the .32 S&W Long and the .32 H&R is the Lee 314 90 TL SWC. Inexpensive but accurate and useful in SO many different guns.

[Kraschenbirn]

Bill, with it coming from a cardboard box(?) is your mold old enough to be a 3118 or is it really a 311008? I’ve seen some of these moulds drop even bigger bullets, but apparently this is a function of which cherry was used to cut it and how much that cherry had been used and resharpened. I’ve seen some cast up around .313” or so and have never seen bullets under about .312,” but I’ve only seen a limited number of these 3118/311008 moulds.

Froggie

Nope, it's marked '311008'. Unfortunately, the gentleman I got it from passed away a few months ago so I've no way to determine any 'provenance' and...probably 'dumb' on my part...I didn't keep the box it came in. (I store all of my 'iron' molds in an old linotype tray inside one of my gun cabinets with a 'Goldenrod' dehumidifier.)

Bill

[Green Frog]

I’ve never owned nor loaded for the 32-20, but a great boolit for the .32 S&W Long and the .32 H&R is the Lee 314 90 TL SWC. Inexpensive but accurate and useful in SO many different guns.

My good friend Dale53 has this mould (in the rare 4 cavity version, IIRC) and on occasion gifts me a nice little supply of them. He and Outpost75 have experimented with using it tumble lubed and as cast (not sized.) In spite of its TL design I like to size and lube it (Lyman 450 with old 50-50 Alox lube) and use it in my I-frame snub and recreated K-32 in 32 S&W L brass. I’ve never even thought about using it in 32-20 though. Generally I like to have a nose on my 32-20 bullets, and usually they tend to be somewhat heavier as well.

Froggie