.32 Long Colt ,Need Help

[dusty texian]

Have been lucky enough to purchase a real nice 1892 Marlin leveraction repeater ,in .32 Colt CF AND RF. The old rifle has a 24 in. round barrel. I will receive the rifle in a few day's . Here is where I need help. I want to hand load .32 long colt  CF.ammo, and use heeled bullets. I have been searching the web, and reading what  info I can find . I realize bullet's and brass are kinda rare. I think that sooner or latter I'll run across the right stuff. Anyone that has had some experience with this cool little cartridge and would like to share (were to go what not to do )would be a great help. May sound nut's but to me half the fun  in getting an old time out of date rifle cartridge combo shooting again is in the ,learning the History of the two. And putting it all together . Thank's .....Dusty.

[dusty texian]

Thank's Blair . Will slug the bore when the rifle comes in. Am on the hunt for a proper heeled- bullet mould and some brass. May order some brass from RMCC. to get me started. Think the little 92 marlin will make a dandy small game gun ,and back porch plinker. ....Dusty

[Pettifogger]

.32 Long Colt is not easy brass to find or make.  The .32 Mag brass is nothing like the .32 Colt.  About the best bet is to look for some .32 Colt Long at gun shows, shoot it and reload it.  Another option is to re-chamber for .32 S&W Long and make a slight mod to the mag tube.  The Model 92 action is basically a .22 action so make sure you DO NOT exceed original factory load pressures.

[dusty texian]

The 1892 Marlin came from the factory with two firing pin's one for rimfire and one for CF. This rifle has the CF pin installed and comes with the RF pin also. The 1892 Marlin ,can fire .32 short and long rimfire and short and long .32 Colt CF . Prety Cool design. I think I 'm going to like working with this old rifle . The fellow I purchased it from said it has been a safe Queen ,since the 1960's. Should get it in a few day's  .....Dusty.

[dusty texian]

Thank's Pettifogger, I have read about the conversion to 32 s&w . I will Keep the old Marlin original. And stay on the hunt for the 32 Colt long and the 32 Colt short. Will try for the seasonal Winchester run of 32 short Colt. Boy you know you have the Market by the tail when your seasonal run of something is waited for and bought up ASAP. This is a Whole Nuther Subject.Thank's ....Dusty

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Dusty,

I have two boxes of '.32 Long S&W' that I sincerely think is actually .32 Long Colt.

Send me a PM with where to send it and it is yours ... I have no use for it ...

TTFN,

[pony express]

Dusty, you might try contacting Bernie at http://www.oldwestbulletmoulds.com/ for a mould, he specializes in things like that. As for the brass, good luck. I don't think it is the same diameter as any of the other .32 cases. Maybe Buffalo arms? Or just keep searching Gunbroker and other online sites.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Dusty,

I have two boxes of '.32 Long S&W' that I sincerely think is actually .32 Long Colt.

Send me a PM with where to send it and it is yours ... I have no use for it ...

TTFN,

Measure the case diameter just ahead of the rim.  

If an S&W it will be .335"   A Colt should measure .318  Both cases will have a length of .92-.93

You might find that cases named .320 Revolver are nearly identical to .32 Short Colt and cases & dies for this one will do.

[w44wcf]

Dusty,
Nice find on that vintage Marlin 1892!  I began my .32 Long Colt journey about 7 years ago. I had purchased a reprint of the 1905 Marlin catalog and saw that rifle and cartridge illustration and decided I really needed one. A Marlin collector friend told me that he had a couple and would sell me one.  He kept the one with the special order 28" barrel and sold me the standard 24" version.

In doing a bit of research I found that the last factory ammunition was produced in the 1970's.  Thankfully, at the time, I did find a couple of boxes of .32 Long Colt (previously known as .32 Long Rifle) from someone who was selling them on the Marlin Owners forum at a reasonable price.

From the 1905 Marlin Catalog...





CASES:
There have been 2 different length .32 Long Colt cases as seen in the catalog illustrations. The original, was .78" long and used a solid base heeled outside lubricated bullet. The later version (.32 Long Rifle) was inside lubricated and used a hollow based bullet that was bore diameter and that case was .91" long.  Here is a source for brass that has been formed from .32 S&W long.

http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx?Keywords=32+long+colt+brass




Long Colt short cased cartridges left .... Shot cartridge in the middle .... Long Colt inside lubed right

BULLETS:
The traditional Ideal / Lyman 299153 is the factory replication bullet for the .78" long case.  As was mentioned, Old West Molds makes one. The same fellow that offers the brass also sells the 299153 bullets.  I noticed that he recommends trimming the cases to .82" long instead of the original .78" length. Perhaps bullets from his mold work aok with the .82" length case in the Marlin.
http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx?Keywords=299153

Note that in the catalog illustration, mention is made that the ".32 Long Rifle"  cartridge was developed for the Marlin, no doubt due to the internal lubed bullet....no external lube to rub off in the magazine.

After extended testing with modified bullets from other .32 molds over a few years span, I decided that I wanted to use solid based internal lubed bullets in the fired .91" case which would require no resizing, I contacted Tom at Accurate Molds and sent him a sketch of the bullet I wanted. It is now his 31-090A.  I chose a heel diameter of .305" since that would be a snug fit in brass fired in my rifle's chamber.





Thankfully, that bullet has worked very well.

POWDER:
Original factory smokeless .32 Long Colts used 2.0 grs of Bullseye as the propellant. Advertised velocity was 945 f.p.s. as I recall. I have tried other powders / charge weights but would prefer not to go into detail on that.

Original b.p. charge weights were either 12  or 13 grs (see catalog illustrations).  Reported velocity was close to 1,100 f.p.s.  I have used Swiss 3F in some replication loads and they are fun to shoot.  

Have lots of fun with your '92 .32.

w44wcf









 



 

[dusty texian]

I want to thank all of you for the help with the .32 Long Colt and the 1892 Marlin  subject. Blair,Pettiefogger,  Sir Charles deMouton Black,The old( Waddie! Watson Ellis), pony express, and w44wcf.  I cant think of another place that a person can talk ,and share knowledge of these old time firearms and the loading for them, with this kind of support.  It is good to be able to talk to like minded people ,I cant thank you feller's enough. When I get the little Marlin in I'll post a pic.  ....Dusty

[Blackpowder Burn]

Dusty,

I happen to have 11 rounds of Remington Peters 32 Short Colt ammo - the outside lubed version.  I found it in some stuff I inherited from my grandfather many years ago.  It's been laying around and I have nothing to use it in.  If you'll tell me where to send it, you can have it.  It should be in someones possession with the appropriate gun to use it.

[dusty texian]

Many Thank's Amigo. Will Do .....Dusty

[w44wcf]

Known mold sources for .32 Colt heeled bullet molds.....

http://www.oldwestbulletmoulds.com/
makes a copy of the original 299153 mold  

for the .91" case length
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=31-090A-D.png
for the .78" case length
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=31-090S-D.png

another option
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=31-090C-D.png

.32 Short Colt bullet
http://www.buffaloarms.com/Buffalo_Arms_Moulds_it-160124.aspx?CAT=4155

http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
select .313 then 313- 95 heel
Western Bullet offers that bullet for sale
http://westernbullet.com/nei7gr32co.html

One thing that is important for the best accuracy with a solid based bullet besides knowing the groove dimension of ones rifle is to also know the bore dimension.  For best accuracy, the bullet heel should be at least as large as the bore diameter to give the bullet the best guidance possible as it travels down the bore.

Of the above mold suppliers, Accurate mold is the only one that will make the mold to your requested dimensions since they are lathe bored.

w44wcf

[Adirondacker]

Dusty,  If you haven't already obtained cases, I can place one box at your immediate disposal in so worthy a cause.  I'm as surprised as I am delighted to stumble on to this discussion, but what a blessing all this loading data would have been a dozen years ago when I was struggling to resuscitate a No. 2 Marlin-Ballard in .32 Long, and the same reversible firing-pin.  My own trials and tribulations I related in a short piece published in the March, 2001, Single Shot Rifle Journal, "Thirty-Twos: Chronicle of an Obsession."  (Would post copy if I knew how to do it.)

But I must report that, though I succeeded in contriving shootable cartridges, "only accurate rifles are interesting"...which this one, with MY handloads, certainly was not.  With many misgivings, I therefor had it re-chambered to .32 S&W Long–a cartridge long noted for accuracy.  Best results with the latter (using tang sight) were on the order of 1.5" at 50 yds; nothing to crow about, but decidedly superior to the original cartridge. This little gun is now my favorite short-range squirrel-rifle (and does that big slug dispatch them!). 

[dusty texian]

Welcome Adirondacker,Yes I do have some cases, and bullet's on order ,but would be interested in purchasing more ,if you have some you would be willing to part with. I will send you a PM.You are right ,all this info given here for loading the .32 long Colt in the 1892 Marlin is a blessing ,and I cant Thank the Folk's that have helped enough.I do appreciate the help from everyone and look forward to relating my up's and down's with my .32 long Colt Marlin journey ,as my friend w44wcf kindly put's it.The little 92 is due to arrive today,hope some of the loading component's will start to arrive soon ,as I am anxious to get started in the loading and testing of this rifle & cartridge combo.The No. 2 Marlin-Ballard in .32 sound's like a very neat rifle .I will try to find the article you mention in the Single Shot Rifle Journal.( "Thirty-Twos:Chronicle of an Obsession).I do believe it is looking like these little .32's can become addicting.Thank's for your Kind offer ,Good Shooting ,and Again WELCOME..............Dusty Texian.

[Galloway]

I bet marlin could tweek the model 39 and reintroduce the model 92. It could offer a much needed ammo savings in 32short centerfire and add a new replica to the market. The round would be perfect for cas.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I bet marlin could tweek the model 39 and reintroduce the model 92. It could offer a much needed ammo savings in 32short centerfire and add a new replica to the market. The round would be perfect for cas.

Didn't they do that awhile back?  In .32 S&W Mag?

Maybe its time to do it again.

[dusty texian]

The Little 1892 Marlin .32  longColt came in today. To say I am pleased with it ,would not realy describe how much I like the little rifle . The  previous owner described the condition very well and was a pleasure to deal with. He had the Marlin restored in the mid 1960's and say's it has been a safe Queen since. The action feel's and sound's  like new . The finish on metal and wood is flawless , the marking's are great and the bore look's great. Another Cool part of this little rifle the SR.# is 1892xx, yr. 1899 I think I am going to enjoy getting this little rifle shooting . I can tell it is going to be a handy small game rifle . Here is a pic. of the Newest Old Gun.......Dusty

[Pettifogger]

I bet marlin could tweek the model 39 and reintroduce the model 92. It could offer a much needed ammo savings in 32short centerfire and add a new replica to the market. The round would be perfect for cas.

Marlin is long out of business.  When they sold the .32 H&R Mag version of the 1894 Cowboy they only sold around 500 units.  Remington has had a lot of problems retooling to make new Marlins and it's hard to see how they would make the investment to sell a gun that would only sell a few hundred units.

[dusty texian]

Bullet's and cases are starting to arrive ,for the .32 Long Colt .Thank's for the Tip's on getting started with the Heel bullet loading  w44wcf,and Thank's for the cases Adirondacker . Getting closer to hearing this little Marlin Bark.......Dusty