32 H&R mag brass question

[Bullshop]

I am having a problem with the 32 mag single six that Jack Huntington bored out for me.
The cylinder throats and barrel grooves mic at .313". I am using some Starline brass and with boolits of .313" seated they are a bit too tight to chamber. The loaded rounds mic at.3363" at the mouth. I turned one down until it chambered easily and that diameter is .3345". That makes the loaded rounds .0018" over size for my gun.
I am wondering if anyone has some federal brass they could check for me to see how it compares.
If I must use the Starline brass I will either have to turn them or ream the cylinder somewhat.
Does anyone happen to have a 32 H&R reamer? Maybe a different reamer would clean that up. Its likely that Jacks reamer was well used.
I didn't know any of this until this week when I got some 32 mag Starline brass from a member here. Before that I was using 32 longs with no troubles but was hoping the mags' may shoot better.

[felix]

I have had that trouble with an early lot of HDY brass for the 44 mag revolter I have here. I traced that back to some 44 lots of Starline as well, so the assumption is those specific HDY's were drawn at Starline using Olin brass slugs made to order. No accident, in other words. The best advice is to find a slimmer lot of brass if at all possible. I prefer tight fitting cases as you know, Dan, but not BR tight in any kind of field gun. ... felix

[Bullshop]

Tight is good Felix but now my right thumb has a reverse print of Starlin 32 H&R mag, and it hurts. Something a bit less painfull to chamber would be good too. You agree?

[felix]

That's way beyond BR tight. Dan, do the cases stick after firing? I bet they don't meaning the brass has good spring back. ... felix

[Rusty W]

I have a few Federal cases set aside because they are 1.07 case length. I have a new batch of Starline and they measure 1.09. I measured a loaded case in a Federal & Starline and both are .335 with a .313 Lee SWC TL boolit. I also measured a couple loaded rounds with a 85xtp .312 and they both measure .334 at the case mouth. Just a guess but maybe there's some carbon still in the chamber from the longs?

[Bullshop]

Felix you are right, they do not stick after shooting. In order to get them to chamber easily I have to run the loaded rounds through the sizer die and you know what that is doing to my boolit diameter. Not a good thing but even so the grouping is not beyond usefulness. Its just that I feel it will do much better if I get it right.
Rusty
Thanks for that! I went and found a half dozen very old Federals after I posted. I got about the same results as you but my Federals were even slightly larger than the Stars.
No joy there. I have an idea Jacks reamer has been sharpened one too many times.
Its looking like I may have to re -ream those chambers, BUMMER!!!

[9.3X62AL]

Dan--

It sounds like your revolver didn't start life as a Ruger SSM, but was an opened-up 22 LR. THAT ALONE is an inspired idea, but sorry to hear that the chambers are cut a little tight.

FWIW, both my ancient Federal cases and the newer Starlines mic @ .3355"-.336" with RCBS 98 SWC seated and sized @ .314". Fired diameters run .3375" to .338", and they extract easily--so there is at least slight spring-back. This revolver (S&W Model 16-4 x 6") is by some distance the most accurate handgun I've ever owned.

[S.R.Custom]

Don't ream the chambers...

Get one of those Lee case trimmers for that caliber-- you know, the ones that chuck the round up in a drill... After you've loaded up your ammo, spin the loaded rounds while squeezing them in some 320 grit W/D sand paper. Do just enough to get a purr-fect fit. That's where your best accuracy is.

[fourarmed]

I would bite the bullet - so to speak - and hone the chambers. Let's face it, you are not going to be happy with any other solution. Neck turning revolver cases is no good, and running them through a FCD or some other sizer is not going to help your bullets. Make it right! If it were mine, I would think about turning a steel cylinder the right size, dipping it in lapping compound, and running it into the chambers until they were the right size.

[Bullshop]

Up date!
Rusty you called it, CARBON FOULING.
I had thought about it and run a brush with solvent through each chamber a couple times with no improvement so let that go.
Yesterday after Rusty suggested carbon fouling I soaked the cylender in Kroil and then chucked a good bronze bristle brush in a cordless drill and spun each chamber until I could feel the cylinder warming. Lots of crud came out so I patched that out and cleaned it all up. BINGO! Now the rounds loaded with the .313" diameter boolits are a nice fit. They dont just drop in but do push in easily enough that Felix would be happy.
It does show to have much tighter chambering than my S&W J frame 32's but that is what I would expect from a custom job.
Al
Yes your right this is an old model single six. I thought of you yesterday when I saw a S&W K 32 target masterpiece at auction. The price was, we lets say maybe a castboolits group buy could swing it.
Thanks to everyone that offered help on this. There were no bad suggestions. Turns out the best possible happened. Now to see if the 313's do show an improvement in grouping.

[S.R.Custom]

Up date!
Rusty you called it, CARBON FOULING...

Good thing you didn't ream it then, huh? :mrgreen:

[Bullshop]

Yea you were right too. If I did run a 32 H&R reamer in it may have only cleaned out the fouling. Same result only a more expensive way to get there.

[9.3X62AL]

Yeah, those Model 16 examples are scarce and pricey--only 1600 of them ever made. S&W could do a Model 16-whatever in 327 Federal, and maybe pry some greenbacks outta my wallet. THAT one would be hard to lay off of.

But all for nothing, if SOMEONE won't produce component brass.

[Bullshop]

While I was in Fairbanks on Monday looking into those Enfields I went to the Sportsman's Warehouse there.
I was wanting to compare the size/weight difference of the three Rugers being chambered for the 327 the SP, the GP, and the BH.
The man at the counter told me they will not be handling anything in 327 neither will they carry ammo. No explanation just that they wouldn't.

[Mk42gunner]

While I was in Fairbanks on Monday looking into those Enfields I went to the Sportsman's Warehouse there.
I was wanting to compare the size/weight difference of the three Rugers being chambered for the 327 the SP, the GP, and the BH.
The man at the counter told me they will not be handling anything in 327 neither will they carry ammo. No explanation just that they wouldn't.

I can think of a couple of reasons for that:

1. They think the .327 will take twenty years to take off, like the .32 H&R. Of course the founding company going broke three years after introducing the round had nothing to do with that.

2. They think it will be as flash in the pan, sorta like the 10mm or .41 AE. Popular for a couple of years then laid by the wayside.

That still doesn't help a guy that wants one though.

Robert

[Bullshop]

Then there would seem to be a gap between the thinking of the folks manufacturing them and the folks that are supposed to sell them. Strange, since its not government work.

[UnderDawgAl]

Just a wild, fleeting thought, but is there any possibility that Federal has exclusive rights to brass production for the 327 for a certain period of time, after which Starline and others can start making/selling it?

[9.3X62AL]

That could be possible, Al. I really hadn't considered that.

[S.R.Custom]

Just a wild, fleeting thought, but is there any possibility that Federal has exclusive rights to brass production for the 327 for a certain period of time, after which Starline and others can start making/selling it?

For that to be true, it would have to be patented. And it may be, I don't know.

But if it is, it's not good business sense... During the tech boom, a lot of software companies went belly-up because they played too close to the vest. Just about all of the major players today that were around back then "open sourced" their product to varying degrees so that others might springboard from it.

I'm not saying Federal is going to go under, but the .327 will not be successful if the only way for serious gun cranks to get brass is to buy the bloody expensive ammo. I know I'm not.

[Bass Ackward]

If you want to get all that crud out of those chambers, mix a little Kroil or Bull Plate in with some LLA. Apply liberally. The Kroil will keep the LLA from drying so that it can work over night.

Strange, but it will even work on lead.