favorite plinking rifles

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  • Last Post 28 July 2009
excess650 posted this 17 July 2009

I saw the thread titled 32-20, but noticed the content is handgun related.  One of my own favorites IS the 32-20, but in a Marlin 1894CL.  Its light, low on noise and recoil, and loads can vary from near silent to “HV” . 

The Marlin 1894C in 357 magnum has been one of my favorites since buying a new carbine (at Kmart!) in the early 1980s.  I've since bought another 1894CS and would like to try one of the CBs or at least the newest incarnation of the CS with “Ballard type” rifling.

A Browning Low Wall in 357 magnum followed me home one day.....a beauty and fine shooter!  The Marlin 1894C was the reason for choosing that caliber over 44 Magnum or 45 Long Colt.  The narrow crescent buttplate can get uncomfortable with snorty loads even in 357(heavy bullets).

I'm currently working with several 35 Remington Marlin leverguns and Remington pumps, and a couple of 30-30 leverguns.  It appears that my K31 7.5x55 is going to be a treat as well.

Some favorite loads will follow!

 

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Ed Harris posted this 17 July 2009

Agree on the 1894 Marlins in 38/.357. Using light loads in them for low noise got me started on my bunny gun fetish. Never had a .32-20, but I sure love the little .32 HRM in the 1894CB.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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tturner53 posted this 17 July 2009

The .357 gets my vote for most versatile all-arounder do-all. I have to admit to a little bit of “survivalist” mentallity, or whatever you call it, thinking in terms of what if. My Marlin .357 and S&W M60 won't ever run out of ammo! Bought a pair of the sweet little J-frames a few years ago, gave one to my son for a welcome home present from the Army. He said there was times when that little Smith would have come in handy, the M4's and Mossbergs being a little unhandy in close quarter encounters at night. Picked up a 9mm cylinder for a Blackhawk, got it home and found out it was made for the newer frame, won't fit my ol' 3 screw .357.:( But in keeping with my versatility issue I guess I'll just have to get a convertible Blackhawk to shoot .357 Magnum, .38 S&W, .38 Special, and 9mm all in the same gun. What would really be great would be a convertible M60. Or an adapter to fire 9mm in the Marlin.

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excess650 posted this 17 July 2009

Ed,

I looked at a Marlin 1894CB in 32mag a few years ago in a shop, but couldn't bring myself to spend the $.  I wish that I had, but know it can't do anything that my 32-20 can't do other than shoot 32mags and 32 S&Ws.

I have a S&W Model 16 in 32mag, and know that loads can be warmed up significantly...

Tom,

I almost got into an argument at a shop as to the practicallity of the Browning Low Wall in 357mag vs 45 Long Colt.  What those guys didn't realize was that I was already loading “heavy for the caliber” cast bullets at serious cast bullet velocities.  I doubt that the velocities could be matched in the 45 Colt, and certainly not without painful recoil.  My “working load” for the Marlins and Browning won't be found in a reloading manual, but are comfortable to shoot all day long.  Its definitely more than adequate for smallish deer.

 

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Ed Harris posted this 17 July 2009

The .32 HRM will also shoot .32 ACPs single-loaded and extract them.  Accuracy isn't stellar, but better than all but the very best .32 ACP pistols at short range, small game accurate to 20 yards or so and VERY quiet, like .30 cal. CB caps.

In this part of the country .32 S&W or S&W Long ammo is more common in hardware stores etc. than .32-20s are.  A Southern rural cultural thing.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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excess650 posted this 17 July 2009

Ed,

Your part of Va is ANYTHING BUT southern, rural culture.:(

I have a house in the shadow of the Blue Ridge, not far from the NC border.  Trust me, THAT is rural, southern culture.  Seemingly nobody chains or fences their dogs, and everybody waves as you drive by.

I read the “bunny gun” posts, and it made me think of my SBD loads for the 32-20.  The Lee 311-1002R over miniscule powder charges will do rather nicely.  My primary projectile at current is the 311008, but I have the “soup can” and RCBS 100gr SWC.  I don't see the need for a GC in the 32-20, so the “soup can” may not see useage in the 1894CL.  I also had a SBD load for the 38-55 with a 150gr.  The 30-30 also seems like a natural for such “miniature loads".

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Ed Harris posted this 17 July 2009

excess650 wrote: Ed, Your part of Va is ANYTHING BUT southern, rural culture.:( You are quite correct that NoVa hasn't been Southern since the I-495 beltway was completed in 1963. Before then it certainly was, and that was the culture I greww up in.

We redneck boys used to shoot out of our windows and delight in terrorizing the transplanted damnedYankee mililtary brats whose daddies worked at the Pentagon or Ft. Belvior.  Washington DC had a distinctive Southern demeanor in the years prior to WWII, but other than the local black culture in Southeast DC and nearby southern Mary;and it fairly well died out by the Kennedy administration.   My mentors in those years were Southern Gentlemen who orignated south of Richmond in Tidewater and down into the Carolinas.

The legacy of those years is that Gilberts gun shop in Lorton today has more used top-break .32 revolvers currently  in the glass case than I've seen in all one place since Boyer's Esso Service closed in Christiansburg, VA in 1969 when they built the Rt. 460 bypass off I-81 to Blackburg and Virginia Tech.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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excess650 posted this 17 July 2009

These are 32-20 loads as a follow-up to the original post.  The test rifle was a Marlin 1894CL with Lyman receiver sight and factory gold bead front.  All groups from 50 yards wrist and elbow rest only, no bags! 

new RP cases F205 primers (what I had handy)

Lyman 311008 sized .313” LBT Blue

The following loads were the highlights from a couple of range sessions.  At no point did I clean the rifle, and over 100 rounds were fired.

9.5gr AA5744     .92” 4/5 shots

10.0gr AA5744    .65” 4/5

11.0gr AA5744    .78” 4/5

I shot up to 13.0gr AA5744 and groups opened to 1.5"-2.9"

7.5gr AA#9          .68” 5/5

15.0gr  AA2200    .96” 5/5

15.5 gr AA2200     .62” 4/5

5.5 SR4756           .83” 5/5

This rifle is a shooter, but only AFTER restriction was removed from ahead of the chamber.  These loads are all mild.  AA2200 is a surprise as its a 7.62x39 powder, and should be too slow for this cartridge at this low pressure level.  There was considerable unburned powder left in the barrel, but the group sizes are hard to argue with.  I didn't try higher charge weights.  2400 was a disappointment in the charge weights tested 9.0, 9.5, and 10.0gr.

For plinking or small game, the 32-20 is a treat!

 

 

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KenK posted this 17 July 2009

12-14 grains of H-322 and the 311008 or the Saeco #322  is a very good shooting load in my 1894cl 32-20.

According to my notes you might have been a little too hot with your 2400 load.  7 grains is what I noted as most accurate.

The very best group I have ever shot with this rifle was with 15 grains of BLC2.  It is too messy to be worth it though.

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KenK posted this 17 July 2009

Ed Harris wrote: In this part of the country .32 S&W or S&W Long ammo is more common in hardware stores etc. than .32-20s are.  A Southern rural cultural thing. The hardware store in the little town here (Population 924) has an ammo selection behind the cash register you could carry off in a rucksack.  They always have .32 longs in stock.

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NoDakJak posted this 18 July 2009

Revolvers chambered to 32 S&W Long certainly are not common in this area. I love them and own four but don't know of another in the county. I do know of a few Rugers chambered for the 32 HMR. My favorite load for the S&W Long is 311008 ahead of 2.8 grains of ZIP. Velocity out of my four inch Police Positive is about 850 fps and 820 out of the two inch Detective Special. That is the most accurate load out of six test guns that I tried. Almost as accurate was 5.7 grains of 2400 behind the same bullet but the velocity averaged 920 fps. I shoot the 2400 loads through both Colts and a custom Charter Arms revolver but hesitate to try them in my 1920s era S&W .32 Hand Ejector. They were supposedly made of a softer steel and I don't believe that the cylinders were heat treated. I don't believe that it would hurt the gun but why take chances ruining a beautiful firearm. I don't really need those loads for it anyway as it is a fine Bunny Gun. I have a set of Kit Gun sights that I want to have installed on the Colt Police Positive for the finest possible Kit Gun but I also would like to have a set installed on the .32 Hand Ejector. I have fired a couple thousand 32.20 test loads through a Model 23 Savage, a Colt Army Special and muy 1905 S&W Hand Ejector. I have gotten fine accuracy from the rifle but the revolvers are something else again. The 32.20 is a thin case that was designed for blackpowder and thus has excess capacity for smokeless powder. My worst loads have better than 400 fps fluctuation in the revolvers and only 150 fps in the rifle. Hmmm! Thin cases plus .313 bullets, plus Lyman M die, plus alox equal minimal bullet pull. Switching to a hard lube and belling the cases instead of using the Lyman M die has reduced fluxuation by alst fifty percent. My next step is to find a bullet that casts .314/.315 and a .314 sizing die. Have you ever wondered why at least a quarter of the used 32.20 revolvers that you look at have a barrel that resembles a snake swallowing eggs? Neil

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Ed Harris posted this 21 July 2009

I've had a couple .32-20 revolvers, none shot as well as similar .32 Longs because gaps too large, cylinder throats too large, chambers too tight for bullets fat enough to fit. Many also ruined by people shooting too-hot rifle loads in them.

If cylinder gap is over 0.008 you want to set the barrel back a thread and reduce the gap, and remove cylinder end play to no more than 0.0015. You lose about 10 f.p.s. for each 0.001” increase in gap, and pick up about the same amount for reducing gap, but you don't want to fit tighter than 0.003 to avoid cylinder binding from fouling.  With a really loose gun you can lose enough velocity and pressure to stick a bullet in the barrel.  I have seen this happen alot with people trying to shoot the factory jacketed .32-20s in revolvers, that's where the “snake swallowing eggs” comment comes from.

Best bet for .32-20 revolvers is to keep alloy soft, no harder than 12 BHN, 10 BHN is better, use #3118 or similar bullet like Saeco #322 or NEI #82 shortened to remove the GC for 115-gr. plainbase, and stick to moderate loads of fast burning pistol or shotgun powders to yield no more than 900 f.p.s. from a 6 inch barrel such as 3.5 of Bullseye, 4.0 of 231 or 4.5 of Unique. No hotter for the Army Special, S&W Hand Ejector or Colt Single Action.  Size cast bullets to .314 if they will chamber in your revolver. 

In rifles or a tight, strong, modern smokeless powder .32-20 such as a converted Ruger, Freedom Armsor TC Contender the Hornady 100-gr. XTP .312 bullet works very well.  A nominal “caseful” of 4198 without compression is a good load in the 92 Winchester or Contender carbine, or 8 grains of #2400 in the Ruger Blackhawk or Freedom Arms. 

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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JSH posted this 21 July 2009

My two 30-20's, 308 bore guns are my favorite guns to play with. The 38/357 marlins are niice but I have come to the conclusion that in my sons rifle 357 brass is ALL that will be used. My favorite rifle to play with to 100 is my Swede. A cat sneeze load but, very fun to play with. Actaully a PB would work as well the speeds they are shot at. jeff

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excess650 posted this 23 July 2009

I found a box of commercially cast .3135” 98gr SWCs that I didn't even know that I had.  Loaded in a case, they chamber fine in the 1894CL, so I loaded some with minute charges of Solo 1000 for some relatively quiet, small game loads.  I'll try them at 25 and 50 yards to get a feel for how they'll fly at those distances.

I have some Saeco 315s loaded over 22gr AA5744 for the K31, and hope to see how they do out to 385m this weekend.  If the weather cooperates, one of the 38-55s will also get some exercise with BP loads.  I'll take the Browning Low Wall 357 as well.  It should be good to at least 300m.

 

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excess650 posted this 23 July 2009

Follow up to the 32-20 ultralight loads:  range 50 yards

Marlin 1894CL with Redfield receiver sight, wrist on wooden block, elbow on bench(nothing but the best!)

bullets seated long with no crimp so closing the action seats the bullet against the rifling

Penn 98gr SWC .3135” hardcast with red lube

1.8gr Solo 1000              2.57” vertical string

2.0gr Solo 1000              2.62” (square)

2.2gr Solo 1000              2.8” high x 3.25” wide....not good

2.4gr Solo 1000             only 3/5 on 8-1/2” x 11” paper

Lyman 311008 .313” LBT Blue, bullet scratchable with thumbnail ( high tech;))

2.0gr Solo 1000             1.10" first group   fired

2.0 Solo 1000                 .73” last group fired

Its rather obvious that my 1894CL prefers the 311008.  :dude:Even at 50 yards it could be a squirrel load accuracy wise, with enough punch to penetrate groundhogs and such.  At 15' this load will bury the base of the bullet 2” into a pine block.  At 1.5gr it sometimes won't exit the muzzle!  Noise is similar in loudness to a 22LR, but more of a POP than a sharp crack.  I doubt that these exceed 1000 fps.

The Penn bullets could be OK for plinking, but knowing that the 311008 shoots sooooo much better, I would never be satisfied.  I'll try them in a 32HRM.

Solo 1000 was chosen because it burns clean and I had it on hand.

I'll have to compare point of impact of this load with whatever load I settle on as a “standard working load” for this rifle at a later date.

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excess650 posted this 28 July 2009

I took the Browning Low Wall 357mag to the silhouette range on Saturday for some longer range plinking.  I use a fairly stiff charge of H110 behind the Saeco #354 185gr w/gc.  The tang sight ran out of elevation for a 6 o'clock hold, so I had to cover the turkeys to hit......at 385m or 421 yards.  Thats pretty far for the 357mag!  It grouped consistently, so the load is a good one.  The downside is that the narrow crescent buttplate makes itself known!

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