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patbig
09-02-2006, 01:35 PM
Hello, new member now living near Paris, France, lived in Portland OR for 6 years before. Greetings to all, and thanks for a great forum. I just bought - cheap :-D - a very good early Ballard Marlin rifle, probably a number 2. It's very likely a 32 long, chamber length a bit under 1", rim circa .40, straight chamber .32 max diameter. This looks very much like the 32 long Colt. I read the article from BCB, great help, so I got the mould figured out. Buffalo Arms have the dies - pricey - but I need brass to start from. Has anybody got a suggestion for sourcing the brass, case resizing, or anything that can get me closer to shooting this great gun?
Many thanks,
Pat

Bret4207
09-02-2006, 04:18 PM
I'd amke a chamber cast and see for sure what you have. You may be able to make 32 S+W Long brass work.

w30wcf
09-02-2006, 04:22 PM
Pat,
Welcome to the forum. Yes, based in the dimensions you gave, it does indeed sound like the .32 Long Colt. Unfortunately, ammunition hasn't been produced (at least in the U.S.) for going on 30 years now.

One bit of good news is the the .32 Short Colt is still being produced and that can be used in guns chambered for .32 Long Colt.


When I bought my 1892 Marlin in .32 Long Colt a couple of years ago, I searched for brass / cartridges, without any luck initially.

1.) Try contacting cartridge collectors/dealers

I called a cartridge dealer I knew and he had some loaded cartridges which I purchased. Some were quite old. I pulled the bullets from them with an inertia puller removed the mercuric priming annealed the cases to eliminate any possible splitting, then reloaded them using new primers.

Last I knew, Joel Rezac philrezac@yahoo.com had some .32 Long Colt ammunition. You could try emailing him to see if he has any left.

2.) Check older gunshops - they may have a box or so someplace. I found a couple of boxes that way.

3.) Gunshows (If they have any in France?)

4.) Check these internet sites often-
http://www.auctionarms.com/
http://gunbroker.com
http://www.ammo-one.com/

5.) Post a question on http://www.cartridgecollectors.org/ to see if anyone has any for sale.

I reload my cartridges with a bullet that has a heel .001" larger than the fired case neck ID. That way no resizing dies nor flaring dies are need....just a seater die. I shoot both black and smokeless.

It's a fun little cartridge.

Good luck,
w30wcf

floodgate
09-02-2006, 05:44 PM
patbig:

If that is a No. 2 Ballard, it should have the reversible firing pin. If so, you could also shoot the .32 Short and Long RF's in it; they are the same size and shape as the Colt .32 Short and Long CF cartridges. You may have better luck finding these in Europe than here in the US. I had a No. 2 in .38 Long Colt many years back, but never found any RF loads to try in it. It later morphed into a nice little .22 for a neighbor's young'un.

floodgate

13Echo
09-02-2006, 06:50 PM
Any chance it's a 32 S&W Long? Starline makes brass for that cartridge. Same length, same size rim, just a bit thicker in the base just in front of the rim than the Colt.

Jerry Liles

moodyholler
09-02-2006, 06:57 PM
Buy a set of 32 Colt dies and run 32 S&W long brass in them and reload them. FWIW moodyholler

Bent Ramrod
09-03-2006, 01:48 AM
Welcome, Patbig.

It would certainly be worth trying a .32 S&W Long in your chamber to see if it fits. I have heard that some chambers were oversize enough to allow this but I've never seen one myself. If any were indeed that big, I would think the .32 Rimfires would swell and split on firing.

If the S&W doesn't fit, your choices are pretty well covered by the other responses here. One other one is to get hold of some .25-20 Single Shot brass from Bertram and cut it to size and fireform. The rim and base of this brass is to all intents and purposes identical to the .32 Long/.32 Long Colt. If you can find a .300" hollow base bullet (like Ideal 299155) you can cut the brass slightly longer than the standard length .32 Long Colt (arguing that there is a standard length; in my experience the lengths are all over the place) and get a closer match to the length of your chamber. This is what I do whenever one of my .25-20 SS cases develops a neck split. The cases are cut back and recycled through my Ballard # 2.

My rifle is no great shakes for accuracy, but the barrel is somewhat pitted. I've seen one of those .32 rim-or-center Marlin lever actions shoot as good as a Marlin 39 at 50 yards with .32 Long Colts, and one of those little first model S&W pistols do very well with that Brazilian .32 RF that Navy Arms sells (or used to sell).

Until I got the molds, loading dies, etc, I made do for several years with a handful of .32 LC cases, a nail for decapping, whatever was available for recapping and a .311" Lee round ball and 4 grains or so of Unique.

patbig
09-03-2006, 02:45 AM
Unfortunately 32 S&W Long won't go in, the chamber is too narrow. It does have the reversible pin, when I bought the gun it had not been used or cleaned in years and the pin was set up for rimfire. I thought 32 rimfire would be even harder to come by but I'll give it a try. Thanks everybody for the great response, that 's plenty to get me started.
Pat

bruce drake
09-03-2006, 07:49 AM
Contact Lee Precision (www.leeprecsion.com) on getting your a set of 32 Long dies made. Their Custom Dies are still cheaper than RCBS Specialty Dies. You may have a wait a few weeks longer than having RCBS pull one off the shelf but the quality is still there in the Lee Product.

Another option may be to use 32 ACP dies with a holder setup for the rimmed 32 Long case.

Bruce

Buckshot
09-03-2006, 10:47 AM
...........No help with your current issues with the rifle, but GPC had NOS Marlin 32 cal octagon barrels (I think 32" long? Seems awful long to me) for the 1892's and the price wasn't too bad. Maybe you could get one of those and have it chambered for the 32 S&W Long?

................Buckshot

patbig
09-03-2006, 11:53 AM
Yes, I was thinking of something like that but I don't want to alter the original barrel, so what you suggest could be a solution, thanks. Maybe in that case I'd go 32-20 since I have a 94 Marlin in that caliber. I found out that the 22-3000 is pretty close if I cut it to the right length, but they are not much easier to find, and not cheap either.
Pat

wills
09-03-2006, 01:27 PM
If it is 32 long colt BCB has an article on it
http://ktsammo.250x.com/castboolits/cst4.html

StrawHat
09-03-2006, 06:21 PM
RE: Ballard RIfle

If memory serves me the #2 rimfire/centerfire Ballard used a cast frame not a forged frame so you might reconsider the .32-20. Probably too much pressure for the frame. I had one of the m and it ended up as a .22 WCF. Might have a look at Gun Parts Corp for that barrel and see if I can restore the old bore.

Bull Schmitt
09-06-2006, 01:01 PM
I have one of the Ballards in 32 Ballard Extra Long and have been searching for brass. I made some by turning down the base of 25-20 brass and trim to length. I think a viable alternative might be to use 300 Sherwood brass and trim it to length. This is a British cartidge and I believe brass is listed with Buffalo Arms, Midway and Graf. I have not tried it but it sure looks promising. The next problem to be faced is getting proper heeled bullet.

Bull Schmitt

Ross
09-06-2006, 03:03 PM
It might be simpler to swage the common .32 S&W in a good press. I've made 8mm Nambu from .40 S&W that way.
You will likely have to make a simple die and press the case clear to the rim (or in this case .3mm shy as the LC case rim is thicker) and press the case out of the die from the top. If the resultant case is too short you could use the H&R Magnum case, but that is unlikely.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

floodgate
09-06-2006, 10:25 PM
Bull Schmitt:

Does that one have the reversible firing pin? There WAS a .32 Extra Long RF, but I'm not sure whether it was interchangeable with the Ballard CF version. There were also some No. 2's in .44&40 WCF, but these had just the CF firing pin.

Straw Hat:

I wouldn't worry about the cast action for use with any of the cartridges it was normally chambered for, except maybe if someone was hot-rodding the .44&40. The old stories of Ballards, with their split breechblock "opening up like a book" are just that; stories. I have never seen a report of that actually happening.

floodgate

patbig
09-07-2006, 08:40 AM
Yes it does have the reversible firing pin. It was set for RF when I bought it, barrel very dirty inside but no significant rust, I assume it has not been fired in ages. The dirt protected it...
Patrick

Bull Schmitt
09-09-2006, 05:59 PM
Floodgate,

Yes mine has a reversible firing pin and the cast action.

Bull

Dale53
09-10-2006, 12:05 AM
I have seen a number of Ballard cast actions crack from inclusions when pressed too hard. Only someone with a death wish would use a high pressure centerfire in this action.

The .32 Long Colt, at normal black powder pressures should be fine. Keep in mind however, that casting was pretty primitive at the time (in no way to be compared with modern investment casting of steel). Better safe than sorry.

Dale53

uscra112
09-28-2006, 11:12 PM
I've had a Bay State (precursor to the Hopkins and Allen) for several years, and it's chambered .32 Long Colt, just like yours. My cases are made by the following method:

1. Take an old die of any old kind that you don't need, and make a bushing that press-fits into it's mouth, having an ID of about .002 smaller than your chamber ID. My bushing is .321 inches. Cartridges of the World says that the nominal diameter is .318, but it's very likely that your chamber is bigger, too. The bushing must be polished very smooth with crocus cloth, and have a radius of about .010" minimum at the mouth.

2. Make a punch that will fit into the shell-holder of your press, with an OD of about 3/8" , and with a central raised pip to center the primer pocket. Your press should be something substantial, like an RCBS Rockchucker at least.

3. Lube up a batch of .32 H&R Magnum cases, and push them ALL THE WAY into that bushing. You will tap them out with a rod from the top. The .32 Mag cases I bought have a slight groove just ahead of the rim, so you won't have to machine off a remaining radius, as I do when I press .25-20SS from .223 brass.

4. Trim to length, (mine are .800, to fit my chamber and the way I shoot it).

5. Prime and load.

Now, the .32 Long originally used a heeled boolit, like a .22 rimfire, which you will have to find a way to cast, as they cannot be bought anymore. I have some left from a batch that a fella in Wisconsin sold me on eBay, but he's dropped off the planet, so as far as I know that source no longer exists.

But I've found that you can have a lot of fun by breech-seating almost any cast boolit intended for the .32-20, loading a primed case with powder and a tuft of kapok or polyester fiber (as powder-retainer) behind it, and shooting it. This is the way many of the old Schuetzen guys did it, and properly done, it makes for very accurate shooting.

I heartily recommend XMP 5744 for this, but many other propellants in the burnrate range of 4227 should work, or smaller charges of pistol grades all the way down to Unique. Obviously do think on that split breech-block, and keep yer loads reasonable. I like to keep 'em sub-sonic.

patbig
10-04-2006, 10:45 AM
Thanks, this is all I need! I got a mould from NEI and cast a couple of hundred boolits so brass is the only question still. A buddy of mine made me a few dozen but I'd rather be self sufficient.
Pat

Bull Schmitt
10-04-2006, 06:33 PM
The current SOG ( Southern Ohio Gun) catalogue has Navy Arms 32 RF ammo for sale.

Box of 50 is $24.95 plus S&H.

Southern Ohio Gun (http://www.southernohiogun.com)

otteray
12-26-2006, 01:20 AM
The firing pin is not reversable.
There are two firing pins availabe: centerfire or rimfire.
You probably figured that out by now.
I think Wisner's has them.

ten-mile
12-26-2007, 04:14 PM
If you still need 32 LC brass, I have some as well as 299153 bullets.

otteray
01-21-2008, 11:15 PM
If you still need 32 LC brass, I have some as well as 299153 bullets.

If nobody responded to your 32 long colt brass offer, I sure could use some! How much do you want $ ?
I have a couple dozen.

w30wcf
01-29-2008, 10:42 PM
otteray,
Check:
http://www.uncle-jack.com/shooters.htm

He makes .32 Long Colt brass from .32 S&W Long. He also has 299153 bullets for sale.

w30wcf