Martini Cadet in .32-20

[bigbore805]

I have acquired a Cadet that had been rechambered for .32-20 on the original barrel. The groove diameter seems to be about .316 (hard to measure five lands properly). I need a bullet mold but am having trouble picking the size. It looks like I will need a heeled bullet between 100 and 120 gr. and Accurate Molds sells some. Any suggestions on a proper mold for this rifle?

[1Hawkeye]

Arsenal and rcbs both make a mold specifically for the .310 cadet its a copy of the original 120gr bullet.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I once had one of these exact rifles. It shot factory .32-20 Rem. loads terribly. Some went here, some went there, most did not hit the target. Read in the American Rifleman where another fellow had one and shot .32 DEWCs in it. I tried it, and it became as accurate as my .22 rifle. So boringly accurate without much power that I sold it. I now view that as one of my bigger mistakes. Anyway, one way to measure slugs from odd number rifled bores is to tightly wrap the slug with one wrap of a sheet of paper, measure, and subtract the thickness of the paper. I'd hate to recommend a mold to you at a cost of $70 or more without knowing the exact measurement.

[beshears]

My 310 mold drops a bullet with .310 dia on the heel and .322 large dia. Heel will slip in my fired 32-20 brass and stop large dia.

[john.k]

probably simpler than that ....The earlier delivery (1908) cadets by W W Greener are 316 groove,and many take a 32/20 case without any modification......the second delivery (1911) BSA s are 320 groove ,due to deeper rifling( .003 vs .005) ......all these rifles are exactly 310 bore due to the spill boring method of reaming the bores ........In short ,if you have a Greener ,try 316-318 cast ....if you have a BSA try 321-322 cast ..........and with the 32/20 chamber (or case) ,plain grooved bullets seated in the conventional manner .......the 32/20 case has a very thin neck ,and everything fits easily.

[Bigslug]

My BSA rechamber is .3185" on the bore and is running a .320" slug out of a custom LBT mold. In addition to measuring your bore slug, I'd suggest you fire off a couple factory rounds and measure the I.D. and O.D. of the neck, then probably do a pound cast (instructions on this forum) of your throat. You may find a conventional lube groove bullet will work fine.

273112

One of my rounds. Obviously not a stock .32-20.

[Baltimoreed]

273120273122
Get some cerrosafe and make a chamber cast, might help you to see what it looks like. My cadet is also a .32-20/.310 cadet. I reload for it using .30 carbine dies after blowing the 32-20 brass to chamber dimensions. I then use .321 150 gr Western Bullet Co bullets and 3.0 gr Bullseye. A great little rifle. Seems to work.

[barrabruce]

^^^
2nd what beltamored said.
I done the same thing with mine to find a matching bullet and to see what I actually have.
Works a treat if you can match it all up.
I do it to all of my (3 ) guns at present.
I don’t need dies to load my brass but it is handy for resizing and taking dings out of dropped brass at times.

[marlinman93]

A heeled bullet, or a stop ring bullet will work. Tom at Accurate can build either, so the only question really is bullet weight. Not sure what your twist rate is, so tough to say how heavy you can go. I'd guess a 115-120 gr. will work fine, but if the twist rate is fast enough you might be able to go heavier.

[Baltimoreed]

I lifted a twist rate bullet weight chart from the Montana Bullet Co site. It compares the bullet diameter and twist to give an optimum bullet weight and bullet length. It called for 151 gr so I bought 150 gr to load in my odd chamber cadet. I would post it but can’t seem to right now. Take a look on their website.

[john.k]

Twist is 1/22".....seem to recall ,bullet length is .8" max via the Greenhill formula........Since many Cadets were rechambered in 32 Win. Special by importers ,I assume the flat nose 165gr bullet of the factory load stabilizes at 2200f/sec...........The old Super factory load for 310 Cadet had a 128gr semi pointed lead bullet......Think the military FMJ load was also 128gr.

[Whole Bunches]

My Cadet heeled mould came from CBE in Australia. It's in the reloading shed right now, but I believe it says 320-120 on the side. Mine come out at 110-111gr cast of COWW with a little tin added. I tumble in Lee liquid alox. After the rounds are loaded, I also smear some more liquid alox along the sides of the exposed bullet so it gets in the groove and let dry (don't know if that is needed, but no leading and fine accuracy). I use 4.1gr Unique giving about 1100fps.