Old Marlin 94 32-20

[drumgool]

I just bought an old Marlin 94 in 32-20 . None of my reloding books has any data for this cartrige . I was wondering if any of you loaded for one of these older guns
and could give me a good starting point . What bullet molds you have had good luck with. Done search on this sight found some stuff on newer guns but not the older ones . I have no experence with this cartrige any help appreciated. Thanks

[dubber123]

Welcome to the site! I have a newer Marlin rifle, but an old, early 1900's S&W I also load for. The RCBS 98 gr. SWC and 5 grains of Unique is a winner in both. It's not a screamer, only in the 1,450fps. range in the rifle, but very accurate.
You may end up sizing on the big side, .312" or larger. If you do, you may want to get a larger expander ball for your dies. I finally made one up that was .002" bigger than the factory one, and it made a trememdous difference in ease of loading. Good luck.

[Jon K]

I have a newer 32-20 also, but I use Lyman 311008 @.3135, or 311316. I use Lyman 'M' die for 32-20(.314 expander) works good. I am also shooting 5 gr Unique.

Jon

[HABCAN]

The LEE soupcan which I drilled out to a PB, on (LEE dippered) 4.8 Unique, CCI #500, works very accurately as a light plinker in my 10" Contender which is .309. As cast @ .312 it also works in my .303 Brit, so should function well in an older Marlin.

[atr]

good morning,
I have reloading data from an old lyman manual for .32-20 and also from an old Ideal handbook...
let me know if you can read a PDF file and I will send both too you (if you have an email address)... or perhaps you can read these clearly
atr

[35remington]

I'd love to have that 31133.

[9.3X62AL]

Welcome aboard, Drumgool!

Dunno how old your "old" Marlin is, but if it was made during the smokeless powder era, it should be able to safely handle modrn high-speed loads without excessive wear or strain--just like the 1988 or later rifles. I have a similar-aged Model 27-S slide action Marlin, and it runs the 25-20 WCF loads I use in the 94CL just fine.

One recommendation I would make would be for you to get Starline cases for your rifle. In my 20-some years of wrassling this caliber in rifle and revolver, the Starline cases are the single biggest quality and durability upgrade I've made to date.

[drumgool]

Thanks for all the help . This will get me started . All I know about this rifle it was made before 1939 don,t know how old it is but is in pretty good shape going to slug bore this week end and start ordering moulds sizer ect. The only mould I found is that not gas check is lyman #311008 . I quess i will start with this till I can locate some others . Can,t wait to get loading for this rifle. Thanks again for all your help.

[dubber123]

Thanks for all the help . This will get me started . All I know about this rifle it was made before 1939 don,t know how old it is but is in pretty good shape going to slug bore this week end and start ordering moulds sizer ect. The only mould I found is that not gas check is lyman #311008 . I quess i will start with this till I can locate some others . Can,t wait to get loading for this rifle. Thanks again for all your help.

It's lighter than the typical 115 gr. 32-20 boolit, but don't overlook the RCBS boolit I mentioned. It's a plainbase.:-D

[jodum]

I have been reloading the 32-20 for rifle and pistol for about 40 years. Here is some basic loading data for weak and strong guns. This is a neat old round that is fun to shoot. As mentioned above, get some Starline brass. Factory brass is really thin around the neck and will give you lots of headaches loading it without crushing the case.

32-20 Loads
----------------------------------------
85 Grain JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) .312" dia
HP38 3.3 gr. 780 (starting load)
HP38 4.5 gr. 1,050 (MAX)
HS6 6.5 gr. 1,071
HS6 7.0 gr. 1,182 MAX
H110 15.5 gr. 1,617 MAX (Strong Guns Only)
231 3.2 gr. 745 (mild load)
231 4.7 gr. 1,022 MAX
Unique 4.1 gr. 742 (mild load)
Unique 4.8 gr. 967 MAX
AA No. 5 4.2 gr. 554 (mild load)
AA No. 5 5.7 gr. 948 MAX
----------------------------------------
90 Grain JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) .312" dia
HP38 3.3 gr. 811 (starting load)
HP38 4.3 gr. 1,023 (MAX)
HS6 6.2 gr. 1,011
HS6 6.8 gr. 1,081 MAX
H110 15.1 gr. 1,482 MAX, Strong guns only
2400 11.0 gr. 1,270 MAX, Strong guns only
231 3.4 gr. 679 (mild load)
231 4.5 gr. 937 MAX
Unique 3.6 gr. 639 (mild load)
Unique 4.8 gr. 864 MAX
AA No. 5 4.7 gr. 697 (mild load)
AA No. 5 5.4 gr. 875 MAX
----------------------------------------
100 Grain Lead SWC Lyman #313631 .313" + Gas Check
231 3.2 gr. 793
231 4.1 gr. 990 MAX
Unique 3.5 gr. 689
Unique 4.3 gr. 888 MAX
AA No. 5 4.2 gr. 650
AA No. 5 5.0 gr. 891 MAX
AA No. 7 5.8 gr. 869
AA No. 7 6.1 gr. 924 MAX
AA No. 9 6.7 gr. 869
AA No. 9 7.0 gr. 924 MAX
AA 5744 8.4 gr. start load
AA 5744 9.3 gr. 900 MAX
----------------------------------------
100 Grain Speer Jacketed "Plinker" .308" dia.
HS6 5.6 gr. 849
HS6 6.6 gr. 992 MAX
HP38 3.7 gr. 838
HP38 4.1 gr. 922 MAX
------CONTENDER ONLY BELOW----------
HS6 10.1 gr. 1713 MAXIMUM and T/C ONLY
2400 13.0 gr. 1793 MAXIMUM and T/C ONLY
AA No. 9 14.0 gr. 1833 MAXIMUM and T/C ONLY
-----------------------------------------
110 Grain JSP or JHP .308" dia
HS6 5.4 gr. 803
HS6 6.5 gr. 900 MAX
HP38 3.6 gr. 770
HP38 4.0 gr. 869 MAX
------CONTENDER ONLY BELOW----------
HS6 9.1 gr. 1539 MAXIMUM and T/C ONLY
2400 12.0 gr. 1594 MAXIMUM and T/C ONLY
AA No. 9 13.5 gr. 1739 MAXIMUM and T/C ONLY
-----------------------------------------
115 grain LEAD RN/FP (Lyman #311008 .313" dia)
(Bull-X makes a 115gr. RN/FP bullet )
231 3.1 gr. 782
231 3.8 gr. 905 MAX
Unique 3.2 gr. 684
Unique 4.0 gr. 835
AA No. 5 3.8 gr. 649
AA No. 5 4.5 gr. 825
-----------------------------------------