Please help with advice on my .32 H&R Single Six bore/throat dimensions

[TRexF16]

Hello everyone,
I have lurked a lot here but not posted much at all, but I have some concerns about my beautiful new 4 5/8" .32 H&R Single Six. It's an older "New Model" that I have not yet fired, just recently bought it from a member over at 24hourcampfire. He said it only had about 50 rounds through it and it looks it - it's pristine.
Thought I would try out a few different commercial cast bullets before I bought a mould for it. My first batch are the Acme bullet 100 grain FP, which looks to be about the same as the RCBS 32-98 SWC. The bullets I got from Acme are listed as 16 BHN and are powder coated. They are advertised as sized to .313", but based on a small sample most are .3133" with less than half coming in at .3130".
I loaded up 30 at the very mild listed max for the 100 grain in the Lyman book, 2.7 gr. Unique, planning to take it out for its first range trip this week.
I thought I'd better check those bullet versus the cylinder throats (yes, I did this AFTER loading up a bunch...I know...) and was surprised how extremely tight they were. It took a great deal of force to drive one through the throat, and it came out at .311. Uh-oh, time to slug the bore.
I slugged the 6-groove bore and two of the opposing grooves are right at .312 with the other one just over .3125 (how common is this - one groove slightly deeper?).
After taking all my measurements on the soft lead slug multiple times I bumped it up and then used it (instead of the 16 bhn bullet) to slug the throats and again got .311"

Everything I have read says these cylinder throats ought, ideally, to be about .313.
Questions:
1) Are there any safety concerns with a 16 bhn bullet that is at least .002-.0023 over throat diameter being fired with this load (listed at about 13K CUP in the Lyman book)
2) Is it a waste to even shoot these for accuracy? I'd like to at least get my sights set up on paper. Am I going to see a ton of leading?
3) What should I do about the throats? I fixed undersized throats on a Ruger .45 colt cylinder myself using some tricks I think I read in Ross Seyfried article probably 30 years ago but what I did then would be harder, I think on this much smaller cylinder.

Thanks in advance,
Rex

[Outpost75]

Send the cylinder to DougGuy, have cylinder throats uniformed to .3135" and load bullets sized .313 with 3 grains of Bullseye or TiteGroup. You don't need or want hard bullets. 1 to 30 tin-lead is good. I use Lee Liquid Alox diluted with equal parts by liquid volume with mineral spirits. Only very light film to turn bullets a uniform brassy color.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Amen to what Outpost75 advises!

Glad to hear you scored a 32 Single Six. They are wonderful guns…after you get the throats done.
I have 3 and reamed all three to 0.315”. They would have probably cleaned up at 0.314” but I have a few 327s and 32-20’s, and wanted all to use the same sized boolits so I reamed to 0.315 and finished with a light touch of a flex-hone. The results are outstanding. I size my boolits 0.316”.

No harm in firing your 0.313” boolits through 0.311” throats. They’ll be quickly and easily sized down and squirted through without any perilous pressure spikes. Not a problem with pressure.

Since they are powder coated, I can’t speak from experience bc I don’t powder coat. But….I’d pull the trigger on them. They might not lead your barrel. And if they do, that’s only a couple dozen strokes of a bronze brush at worst to get the lead out. Not a big deal.

Accuracy? Might even be good enough to suit you depending on how good you shoot.

But I’ll stick with with Outpost’s recommendation. Get the throats sized right. I hear lots of good things about DougGuy’s work. I’d use him if I wasn’t a machinist in a former life.

Get the throats done for a few dollars and you’ll have a revolver that will make you look good at the range!

[MT Gianni]

I am in the shoot it first camp and get a baseline. You will not harm your throats or bbl by shooting the loads you have now. A baseline will show your improvement.

[DougGuy]

Well, you -could- shoot it and establish a baseline IF it shoots well enough to achieve this, OTOH, if you know the throats are tight then it will only be but so accurate, being the cylinder is pretty much a multi port sizing die at this point and will be much improved when throats are dimensionally corrected.

I have long said that in a perfect world, a revolver's boolits are sized .001" to .002" greater than groove diameter, and throats should be .0005" to .001" greater than boolit diameter. This insures the boolit is large enough in diameter to swage itself into a good seal in the bore, and the throats are acting as they are designed, a guide, to carry the boolit from the case mouth to the bore, without sizing it down. That's all they do. This arrangement works in all centerfire caliber revolvers that I know of.

It serves no purpose, at least on paper, to size larger than throat diameter, but for some shooters it works, but usually it works best to size to fit the throats, which is what pressure will do to the larger boolits upon firing as they will exit the front of the cylinder at throat diameter, regardless of the diameter they were sized to upon assembly into a primed and charged case.

It's quite common for a Ruger cylinder to have uneven throats, as the tooling wears, throat diameters are smaller and smaller until they replace the tooling which now cuts a much larger throat, but they don't replace all the reamers at the same time so the worn tooling is still in use as it hasn't worn to the point of becoming unserviceable. Unfortunately, one cannot size to uneven throats.

Click here ( in my signature below) to send a PM and start the process of getting cylinder throats honed.

[Misery-Whip]

You dont know if it is broke, so no need for "FIXIN" just yet. No harm in trying a cylinder full and checking the barrel.

I hear all positive things about doug guy too. But its a new toy so shoot it!

[Outpost75]

As a gun to load cast only, to the exclusion of factory .32H&R ammo or handloads with jacketed bullets, up to .315" in the cylinder throats, the same as pre-WW2 .32 revolvers is OK. I suggested .3135 because it is the best compromise to shoot common .32 lead and also be accurate with full charge .32 H&R Mag. loads with the .312" diameter Hornady XTP bullets.

[TRexF16]

Thanks so much for all this information, and to DougGuy for responding personally. I will be in touch to figure a path forward. I will go ahead and shoot the loads I made already just to sight in and satisfy my curiosity.
When I tuned the cylinder on my Blackhawk .45 Colt project decades ago, I fire lapped the barrel to reduce the choke at the frame (stainless - took a while) then slugged it and sized my LBT 300 WFNs accordingly. Then I honed the throats until a correctly sized boolit could just be pushed through with finger pressure alone. That SEEMED right but I am not an expert. And I have been out of this game for a while and just recently getting back into into it.

Thanks again to everyone. Keep the advice coming and any 32 H&R cast and load data is much appreciated.
Rex

[shooting on a shoestring]

Sounds like you’re on track for a barrel of fun!

While we’re spending your money, I suggest you start shopping for a mold or two. Probably should wait to order until you see what diameter the throats end up being after they are trued up and sized appropriately. Those SSMs have a voracious appetite for boolits!

I’m a big fan of full wadcutters in 32 H&R. I have Accurate 31-088W as a 5 cavity which I use more than the RCBS 98 gr wadcutter 2 cavity. Another I use a lot is NOE 115 gr SWC for when I want to reach out. I haven’t got to play with my Accurate 31-117E in H&R yet. I’ve been working it pretty hard in 327 and 30 Super Carry lately. I expect it will be a heavy hitter in 32 H&R.

You’re in a good spot. You’ve got a wonderful 32 and a ton of fun coming your way.

[TRexF16]

Cylinders and hammers are back from DougGuy and installed in the guns. Cylinder throats came back perfect and the six triggers (when combined with Wolff 30 oz. return springs) are running 1.75# to 2.25# with next to no creep.
Great communications from Doug, and I can recommend his work highly.
When i get a chance to shoot the "improved" 32 H&R I'll follow up with results.

Cheers,
Rex

[shooting on a shoestring]

Oh that’s good news!
A 32 SSM with good throats and a good trigger is a wonderful thing!
That’s a very useful and very fun boolit shooter.

Are you going to be casting for it?

[TRexF16]

Oh that’s good news!
A 32 SSM with good throats and a good trigger is a wonderful thing!
That’s a very useful and very fun boolit shooter.

Are you going to be casting for it?

Yes! I don't ever intend to pollute its barrel with a jacketed bullet. Have not decided on the first mold yet, so ordered the Acme boolits mentioned in my OP. They appear to be RCBS 32-98 twins and my reading indicates this is likely a fine choice. I might get the Arsenal RCBS clone to save a little dough - they look spectacular on the website.

Cheers,
Rex

[TRexF16]

Cylinders and hammers are back from DougGuy and installed in the guns. Cylinder throats came back perfect and the six triggers (when combined with Wolff 30 oz. return springs) are running 1.75# to 2.25# with next to no creep.
Great communications from Doug, and I can recommend his work highly.
When i get a chance to shoot the "improved" 32 H&R I'll follow up with results.

Cheers,
Rex

This morning at the range I only got to shoot one group with my "control" load (that was running 3-4" at 25 yards before DougGuy's work), before a big thunderstorm hit and we had to close the range. 5 rounds went 1.86" at 25 yards. Looks like a great start. Will try again next week.
Rex

[shooting on a shoestring]

First, glad you got off the range when the lightning started. If lightning doesn’t kill you it can leave you screwed up.

Second, under 2” at 25 yards with open sights is great! Yes those 32 SSM’s can be made into shooters! That 32 H&R cartridge really fits the SSM platform.

[ddixie884]

Good deal...........