Original 1873 32.win question.

[Don Nix]

I know that ya'll are the experts on theses old firearms and I have a question,
I have my great grandfathers 73 win in 32-20. He kept with him daily until he gave it to my Dad in the late 60s. We bought him a new 30-30 and "swapped" him for it.
The forestock is worn completely through where it was carried on the saddle bows. He rode a horse and mule for years as a timber Ranger  in Eastern Oklahoma  well into the 1960s.
I have only fired the rifle once  as he only had three shells left when we  got the rifle and we could not buy 32-20 ammo back then.
Now with 32-20 being available I would like to shoot the rifle  a little.
i am a little afraid of breaking something  130 odds years old but i remeber him killing squirrels with it when I was a kid. Its a littlel light for deer but I would like to hunt with it some. I think it would be near to kill a deer with Ggrandpa old rifle.
Can anyone give me some advice on using this old rifle and reccomend ammo type .
thanks

[John Taylor]

Because there are a lot of old black powder rifles in 32-20 the SAAMI pressure is set low at 16,000 for this cartridge. The action of a 73 is strong enough for the factory loaded 32-20. Make sure the bore is in good shape and the gun is good mechanically and have fun. There are several companies that make parts for these old rifles.

[Jed Cooper]

Don, Most states don,t allow 32-20 for deer hunting. We all know that back in the day, a fellow would use what ever he had to put food on the table. That said, I have old winchesters in 32-20, as well as 25-20. They are fun to use on smaller game such as rabbits, & tree rats, as well as many varmints such as coyotes, ground hogs, & the like. Targets, & plinking are big fun too. Just enjoy it,& cherish it's origin.       Jed   

[Shotgun Franklin]

It wouldn't be to hard to use the gun with black powder. I don't think anyone really considers the .32-20 a Deer gun so just load it for smaller game. I think squirrels are more fun to hunt than deer anyway.