pistol powders in 32-20 rifle,,,

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  • Last Post 05 July 2012
adrians posted this 03 July 2012

Morning gentlemen and ladies.

my question is i have just acquired a mod 94 (Marlin) chambered in 32-20 and i'm looking for light loads to use in it .

The rifle was made in 1901 so i don't need nor want to hot rod this old girl, Bering this in mind can i use bullseye or say red dot powder for mild loads ?.

i have made up some with unique and 2400 using the 3118 bullet but i have more of the former powders i would like to use up as i don't load for pistol anymore.

just curios to see if these powders are feasible and practicable in this cartridge .

any suggestions .....

thanks and have a great day.:)  

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Ed Harris posted this 03 July 2012

In the .32-20 use 3 grains of Bullseye, 231, or SR-7625 with #3118, Saeco #322 or similar 115-120 grain bullets as a starting charge, (not to be exceeded in the 1873 Winchester and clones) up to 3.5 grs. of Bullseye, 4 grs. of 7625 or 231, or 4.5 of Unique in the '92 Winchester, its clones and the 1894 Marlin.

Some people have used as much as 5 grs. of Unique in the '92 Winchester, but that I do not recommend it, as the lighter loads generally shoot better and over 1300 fps with a soft lead FN bullet isn't really necessary. If you want higher velocity, flatter shooting loads for the '92 use a starting charge of 7 grs. of #2400 and work up as accuracy indicates not to exceed 11 grs.

These loads also work well in the .30 carbine Ruger revolvers.

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

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RicinYakima posted this 03 July 2012

Three grains of Red Dot is a fine little plinking load in my 1891 Marlin Safety. However, 3.0 grains of old Bullseye, or 3.2 grains of new Bullseye are more accurate in my S&W revolvers. The Marlin shoots every thing about the same. HTH, Ric

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Wayne S posted this 03 July 2012

I use 7.5 of 231 and a 150 J bullet in my Contender 10” in 30-20 <32-20 necked to 30 Cal.>

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6pt-sika posted this 04 July 2012

I had four Marlin's in 32-20 . The earliest was made in 1906 and the latest 2004 I believe . Anyway I shot 5 grains of Unique behind the Lyman 311419 a 90 grain GC bullet as well as the same charge behind the Lyman 311316 a 113 grain GC bullet .

Both those bullets did very nicely out to 100 meters for the Cowboy Lever Action Pistol Cartridge Match . Although I will say the heavier bullet was a bit more decisive on the targets .

 

Might add I used 5 grains of Unique in the 25-20 rifles I had behind the 88 grain GC Lyman 257312 and the Lyman 257415 65 grain GC bullet and they both shot well enough for the same silhouette match .

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delmarskid1 posted this 04 July 2012

I use 4g of Unique and the Lee 95 and 120 in my Marlin 89.

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adrians posted this 04 July 2012

I've loaded some 3118's with 4.5 of unique and some with 9 grns of 2400 ( too much???), I'm a little wary of the latter loads ,should i pull them and go with 7.5 - 8 grns of 2400 ?.

My naivety with this caliber is apparent , ain't it. :shock:

adrians,,,,,:coffee

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Ed Harris posted this 04 July 2012

Not unsafe, but warm.  If they shoot well go ahead and use them, but perhaps not for a steady diet. I would not use them in old Colt Police Positive or Army Special,but modern SAA clones are quite sturdy enough, if you don't try to make a .327 Federal out of them. 

My experience has been that in revolvers accuracy is not as good with supersonic loads in this caliber as milder subsonic ones around 900-1050 fps.

Similarly, with plainbased cast bullets in rifles you will get best  results below about 1400 fps.  With gaschecked bullets in the '92 Winchester, using alloy of suitable hardness, about 12-13 BHN, you can approach 1800 fps in a carbine or 1400 in a revolver.  Those loads would be OK in a Ruger Blackhawk or TC Contender, but not a Colt SAA or clone.  In your Colt repro I would stay below 1300 fps. if you want the gun to last. 

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

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RicinYakima posted this 04 July 2012

If this is for a new Marlin 1894 CL type, the 9.0 grains of A2400 is about a 22,000 psi load, according to the compter programs, and very safe. For me, that has been about the maximum pressure for good accuracy with the Lyman 3118 bullet. For my 1889 Marlin Safety, I use the 7.5 grain load, the same as for the Colt Army Special or the unharded cylinders of the S&W M&P models. Ric

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adrians posted this 04 July 2012

Ric , the rifle is a 1894 “marlin safety” born in 1901 so my guess is 22,000 is a little stout for it,,,, agree?:coffee

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Ed Harris posted this 05 July 2012

adrians wrote:Ric , the rifle is a 1894 “marlin safety” born in 1901 so my guess is 22,000 is a little stout for it,,,, agree?:coffee Treat your 1901 Marlin the same way you would a Colt Army Special of that era.  Loads should not exceed 16-18,000 psi.  Rick's 7.5 of #2400 would be OK, as would 3 grs. of Bullseye, 3.5 of W231 or 4 grs. of SR7625 or 4.5 grs. of Unique or PB with 115-120 grain bullet such as Saeco #322 or Lyman #311008. 

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

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adrians posted this 05 July 2012

Thanks Ed i have taken yours and others advise and already loaded some with 3 grn of BE and 4.5 of unique, i'm going to try the W231 next, .

i'll be doing some “research and developement  ” this coming weekend,

I'm gonna need more brass i can already tell.:cba:.

adrians.:hunt::taz:

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RicinYakima posted this 05 July 2012

adrians,

Oh yes, I would keep it at black powder levels, like my 1889. My opinion, for what that is worth, is than anything of the old designs made prior to 1946 should be kept at the original design levels. The exceptions are only the ones that several references say are made of better materials with a date of change over and serial number.

As a footnote, I use Federal 200 primers or Remington regular small rifle primers in my Marlin because of the sharp pointed firing pin and large firing pin hole in the bolt. This solves the problem of primer flow that comes from some soft small pistol primers.

HTH, Ric

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adrians posted this 05 July 2012

Thanks Ric .

My intention is to keep this rifle under the BP levels and it's obvious i need to study up on this round a little more. I'm using Starline brass and CCI 400 sr primers for now so we'll see how they do (I'll look around for some Fed or RP primers or both , never have enough,,,,,). My vac at work is coming up next week so I'll get to play all week ,if herself doesn't throw a wrench in the works,lol. Have a great day, adrians

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Ed Harris posted this 05 July 2012

Please take some pictures of groups using the loads which work best and post any velocity data.

Rics article in the FS a while back was some of the best ever on the .32-20, but we need to continually validate and add to the general body of knowledge on this.

Consider a Fouling Shot writeup of your experiences. It would be a fun read for all!

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

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CB posted this 05 July 2012

adrians

I am currently having a blast with my 32-20 in my Savage M23. It also is an old rifle with a dark bore, giving me some fouling problems and poor accuracy when trying to push modern velocities over 1,400fps. I have settled on velocity at just under 1,200fps with the LEE 90326 cb which is cataloged under rifle molds at .309” diameter, but this mold casts CBs at .312” and weighs 105grs in wheel weights.

The Savage takes the .312” diameter Lee 90326 in the throat just fine and shoots 'as-cast' with no gas check and only tumble lubing. I have tried the 3118 cb but have not had any accuracy with it, about 2.5” to 4” groups at 100yds. With the Lee cb I can get 1” to 1.4” groups using 5.3gr of AA#5. I do use a pvc wad under the cb, but only because it seems to leave the bore a little cleaner (because I have had fouling problems before). I have tried W231, Unique and SR7625, but AA#5 gave the best accuracy. The 5.3gr of AA#5 with the Lee 105gr cb gives me a velocity of 1,180fps, a real easy load on the old rifle but still a great load for 100yd shooting.

I use fortified LLA for tumble lube. I add 10% melted Carnuba Wax to Lee Liquid Alox and mix over heat til blended. This fortified LLA is similar to the 45/45/10 LLA that other casters are making. By just using a very light coat, I have very little problems now with bore fouling. Have fun with the old Marlin, and as Ed says, let us know how well you do, we'all wanta know :D............DanW

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