It finally happened!!! .32 special

[mainiac]

Ive been hunting for a .32 special marlin for 2-3 years, and i finally found one! Cant beleave how good of shape it is in. Its a 336 rc model, and the J means 1952, I guess.Been cleaning all the copper and crap out of the bore this morning, and it has 6 grooves that are deep, and very smooth and shiny. Stocks are oil finished, and have no splits or cracks, just a couple of small dents. Must be atleast 90% gun. Now i need a mold, and brass. Whats the best mold for this beauty? Also, what powder should i start with? Only problem i got is that the wife said i could buy it, BUT, its my christmas present and cant shoot it till after christmas! I suppose im going to obey, and that will give me time to order the fixins to load for it!

[Pepe Ray]

Hi Mark;
I've got a "hand full" of some FN's from a Lyman mold that I've been hoarding "just in case?" 321297 may be the #,ierc. No I don't have the mold but, If you want to try them before buying, come and get 'em.
Pepe Ray

[C1PNR]

Also take a look at the RCBS 32-170. It's ~ 170 grain FN GC.

Some of the 8mm (.323) moulds in FN may work as well.

[mainiac]

Hi Mark;
I've got a "hand full" of some FN's from a Lyman mold that I've been hoarding "just in case?" 321297 may be the #,ierc. No I don't have the mold but, If you want to try them before buying, come and get 'em.
Pepe Ray

Pepe Ray, did you see this gun in this weeks uncle-henry? I got lucky! I went down to Plymouth last night to get it. Wasnt going to let it slip away.Is the 321297 still in production? I know nothing about .32 specials, except that all the old-timers around here had them when i was a kid, guess thats why i have been wanting one. Alot of win 94 around, but the marlin is rare! I prefer the marlins. Easy to work the trigger, and 1 screw and the bolt comes out,bore guide goes in, and i never have to clean threw the muzzle, very important to me! Id rather have a severe migraine, than take a win 94/92 apart!!!

[West Creek]

Hey Mark

That 170 gr from RCBS is a good one, I've had good success with it. I also have a 170 LFN from LBT. Do a chamber slug of your gun and have veral make you up a mold sized to fit your chamber and dont look back. Should be pretty easy to find a good load with a 170 gr bullet. I use IMR 4227 for about 1375 fps in my 32-40 and it makes for a great small game and plinking load that is easy on the check book.

[Pepe Ray]

"Pepe Ray, did you see this gun in this weeks uncle-henry?"

Nope. Havn't seen an U.H. for a while. I'm glad you were able to rescue the Marlin. Since the other posts mentioned the RCBS molds, I must restate the facts. I didn't cast the bullets that I have so the mold may have been from big Green. The point is that they are remarkably alike in configuration, to the Lyman. Some have been lubed, some not.
It's cold and windy and I'm not going out to the boolet barn without good reason.
If you want them let me know when your coming.
Pepe Ray

[corvette8n]

I have a pre 64 Win 94 in .32ws and I bought some cast from Daniel as Bullshop and loaded some up with 8.gr of Unique to make sure everthing was ok. It shot like at .22.
I think Bullshops bullets were about 180-190gr. I still don't have a mold yet, not sure which one to get yet.

I bought my brass form Midway since I have a C&R FFL and get a discount, but Grafs and Widners also have good prices. Be aware that Winchester makes one run a year of .32ws so it is plentiful for a while, then slowly drys up.

I also bought a couple of boxes of Hornady Leverevolution but have yet to get to the range with them.

[woody1]

Chances are your Marlin has a tight bore. Check it and if so, get the RCBS 32-170 and don't look back. I do wish I had a little lighter pb to plink with but ........ Oh well, a 0 buck coated with alox (or a 00 buck run thru a .323 sizer) over a pinch of B'eye is a shooter too. I b'lieve I can find some of the RCBS's for you to sample if you'd care to before you buy. Let me know. Regards, Woody

[RU shooter]

If you have any 30 -30 brass but run them through a 32 spl. FL die and you got what you need ,the neck may be a hair shorter but they work just fine. As for powder I have had good results with 3031(28-30 grs) and ramshot TAC,H335 and AA 2015BR or 2230

Tim