32 S&W Long WC

[Agentr]

I'd like to do an accuracy comparison between WC in my Pardini Hp32. The two bullets I would primarily like to try are the Saeco 323 WC vs RCBS 32-98-WC but I am open to other ideas. All tests will be done from a Ransom Rest at 50yds.

I have a few hundred 323 all ready to go but I lack other bullets to try against it. Before I go bankrupt buying bullet molds to try I thought I'd ask for a little help. Does any body out there have 40-50 of the RCBS 32-98 WC's they could send me? All other bullets ideas would be great as well. Just keep in mind this pistol shoot only Wad-cutters.

[Green Frog]

I've got the old Ideal/Lyman wadcutter mould for my 32 S&W Longs (for my old I-frames.) Would you like me to cast up a small lot of those for you to try? How many will you actually be needing for your test, is 40-50 about right? Drop me a PM with details about what you want to do.

BTW, Lee made a gang mould for their wadcutter at one time, but IIRC, it is a TL mould that is waaaaay oversized. I'm not sure how you would get that to work out for you, assuming you could even find one.

Froggie

PS Have you looked into the H&G copies that are currently in production? They are in about the same price range as your SAECO and RCBS moulds you mention.

[captaint]

Agentr - Shoot me a PM. Mike

[williamwaco]

The most accurate handgun I ever owned was a Smith and Wesson K-32. It would shoot dime sized groups at 25 yards from a bench rest.
That was using factory wad cutters.

I have never tested cast wad cutters in the .32 but I have tested several different styles in .38 special and don't see any difference in accuracy at 25 yards.

[Reg]

Think I have the same mold Froggie is talking about, the 313445. Excellent shooting mold, best I have ever found for all the small 32's up to the 32 H&R and want to try it out in the 32-20.
Give it a try.

[BCall]

I can't say for sure, but I doubt the 313445 will work in the op's semi-auto pardini, as it needs flush seated wadcutters. It would be hard to do with the 445 I would think, and they would have to be seated very deeply. The 313492 would be a possibility, but the small diameter nose that is designed to be seated outside the case may be an issue, or at least mine has a small diameter nose section.

Mihec's 32 hollowbase wadcutter would be perfect I would think, if you can find one. My lee 85 grain tumble lube wadcutter casts right at .314. If you could find one of them and .314 would chamber, I bet it would be a good mold. They are fairly rare though. ballisticast has a couple of designs that should work well, but finding some for testing may be problematic.

Barring any of these molds, having either Accurate or Mountain Molds cut a .32 sized copy of the Lyman 358063 would work well I think. While I have not done much testing of various 32 wadcutters, others guys experiences and my own testing of 38 wadcutters leads me to believe there is little difference in wadcutter designs of equal weights when it comes to accuracy. I have my own preferences, but results on the target are pretty equal. Your pardini may be way more selective, hard to say without shooting them. I could send you a few of the Mihec HBWC's to try, but it might take me a while to get some more cast up.

[Green Frog]

Yes, I was referring to the 313492 WC, not the '445 SWC. Recently, with help from members of this and the ARTCA Forum I was able to get DC moulds for both of these bullets. I expect them to be my "go to" bullets for my S&W I-frames for the foreseeable future. Of course the heavier SWC or RNFP bullets like the 3118 (now 311008) will probably be finding their way into my 327 Fed Mag cases. Those three bullets should bear the brunt of 32 revolver duties for me, and if I ever finish the 32 S&W Long conversion (for a Government Model) my late gunsmith buddy started years ago, the '492 will get even more usage.

Froggie

[Green Frog]

I finally got around to casting some bullets from my 32 WC mould #313492 and they are SUWEEET! The mould operates quite well (double cavity) and drops a really cute little bullet. It looks like a 38 BBWC preemie.

Agentr, I found your PM with your snail mail address I'll send you 60 of them as well as 25 of the Lee Tumble Lube type as well. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for the N-SSA Spring Nationals, so they should go out first of the week.

Froggie

[Agentr]

awesome, thanks!

[Agentr]

Bcall,

Any luck on thoe mihec's? Pm me for address if you like Thanks!

[NoZombies]

There's also the out of production RCBS 32-084 WC mold that might be worth looking for. I prefer DEWC's in my Unique DES-32U, but it's uncommon to find a .32 DEWC mold.

[Green Frog]

Bcall,

Any luck on thoe mihec's? Pm me for address if you like Thanks!

I'm still waiting for the Group Buy to come to fruition. It was fully subscribed back in the Fall, so we're just waiting for it to make it onto his production list. That should give me a nice selection of bullets to work from, and with 6 guns in 3 calibers (lengths really) of 32, I'll want to be able to load a variety!

Froggie

[Spaceball]

Was there any outcome of this testing?
What was the best mold?

Thanks

[Green Frog]

Was there any outcome of this testing?
What was the best mold?

Thanks

Spaceball,

I don't think there has been a true consensus reached, but I personally am leaning towards the old Ideal/Lyman pattern # 313445 as the best all around light bullet, but also cast the 3118 (now 31108) as a heavier example to use for more authoritative loads. Unfortunately the former is now discontinued by Lyman, so you will have to find one used or one made by someone else. I'm sorry I can't provide more at-home info for you there in OZ, but maybe you could check with one of the international folks like Hihec... there's a group buy going on right now for his # 314640 that looks like it should be a really good one. Maybe you could get in on that.

Regards,
Froggie

[hunter74]

What kind of group do you get from your Pardini at 25 yds ? I casted some of the RCBS 98-WC for a buddy of mine for use in his Unique 32 competition pistol and he can not match the Lapua factory ammo accuracy with his handloads. But as I understand that accuracy is not often possible with handloads in this caliber. With the factory ammo he shot a one hole group of 50 shots at 25m from a ransom rest

[Agentr]

Saeco 323 hands down. I was Ransom Rest testing at 50 meters. (yes...meters) I was able to keep all groups under 2" with the average being between 1.5 1nd 1.75". Mind you, this is with a 1 in 10 twist, .311" barrel I installed. This is a requirement for accuracy past 25yds.

At 25yds I would get one ragged hole, all day, even with the old 1 in 18 twist barrel, from any brand HBWC, the Saeco 323, the RCBS....etc.

The secret to getting the hand loads to shoot well is........

[Agentr]

Ha Ha, I couldn't resist......Case expanding and crimp. Brand of HBWC made almost no difference. I tried Lapua, Remington, Hornady, and Speer. I chose Speer because they were less messy than the Remington, shot better than the Remington or the Hornady, and shot just as well as the Laupa at 1/3 the cost! As stated in my previous post, the Saeco 323 out performed all other cast WC's

Case expanding: I ordered from RCBS a .314, extra long (for HBWC's) expander die through their custom shop. This way the bullet, either cast or HBWC does not get swaged down by the case when seated. Sizing the case up this big takes quite a bit of force and might make your cases stick to the expander at first. I got around this problem by default because my Dillon 650 uses a .312 powder funnel/expander when it charges the case. The next stage on the press holds the .314 expander. The case slides up nicely after being pre-expanded by the .312".

Crimp: Throw away your Lee Factory Crimp Die for this caliber! (I swear by them for auto loaders like the 45 ACP and 9mm) A taper crimp will work, but a roll will help in feeding the HP32 semi-auto. I found the Redding Profile Crimp Die, with it's' taper/roll combination style crimp to work just slightly better than the typical roll crimp. You will notice that ALL factory 32 S&W long cartridges use a roll crimp, just over the bullet....so should you!

Here's the big secret.....Crimp the SHIZNIT out of that bullet!!!! Yea...Yea...you see all the posers saying "put a light, or worse yet, no crimp on the bullet so as not to deform it".....Horsefeathers! A light crimp is counter intuitive as it will almost always insure that the ignition will be incomplete...and definitely inconsistent. Crimp as hard as it will go without straitening out the case walls at the mouth or buckling the case. (you will understand what this means when you get to this level of crimp. Just get there and back it off a touch)


Well, there's what several months of testing and thousands of rounds distilled down to.


A few other notes...

1.5gs of WST, 231, BE, 700X, or 1.4g VV310 or any other similar powder will get you these results. WST was my pick with VV310 a close second...mainly due to it's cost and availability, but the WST was consistently more accurate.

You don't need to trim cases, any brand is as good as the next, but the same brand helps keep the case volume similar and therefore gives more consistent results.

Hollow base wad cutters shot .625 to 1.25" groups constantly at 50 meters with the 1 in 10 twist barrel. The 1.5 to 1.75" groups mentioned above were for cast bullets. You will NOT get these results EVER with a factory barrel at 50 meters!

At 25 yds...any barrel, bullet...will work if you follow these tips.

Hope this answers all your questions

Reid

[Agentr]

I see you are online now hunter74, have a good read and good luck all the way over in Norway

[hunter74]

Thank you Agentr!
Because of my phone it looks like I’m always logged on, but I’m really not, sadly….It would bee cool to have time to be on this site all the time, when I’m not casting of course