.32 Long Colt ,Need Help

[Chev. William]

Chev.   When I am trying something new, I do it one case at a time.  That is ALL steps!   When I have a satisfactory result I try a small batch to make a trial lot for the first range test.  Only when I know I can get good results repeatedly do I go into "mass" production.

Hint appreciated, Thank you.
I have not had 'crush' problems until the five that I lost in this sequence.  I usually start with a small number or a single cartridge cases to test the sequence then go to a small batch.  the first small batch of 50 wen Ok until the last several cases when I got a set of 'crushed' cases in one step.  I was just lamenting the lost cases.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[dusty texian]

Good New's w44wcf. Look's like your design is a good one. 1000+ fps. and that flat piont ,should be a Gamegetter. Thank's for the Great Report as always,,,,Dusty

[Chev. William]

Some interesting information from a magazine article.

Firearm used was a '92 Marlin.




w44wcf

I noticed the difference in penetration between the original 90 gr bullet and BP versus the 80 gr Commercial rounds of, I assume, later commercial manufacturer rounds.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

Added by poster:  The 1905 pine board thickness sounds like the actual era thickness, as mills at that time were delivering board sawn to nominal thickness and not deducting the 'saw curf' as they were burning the sawdust to runt the Steam powered mill.

The 1986 data is after the mills switched to 'finished 4 sides' that is smaller than the nominal dimensions so a '5/8' board would be the modern '3/4' equivalent size, the customer is now charged for the saw dust and its disposal as sawmills are noow no longer Steam Powered nor fired by sawdust in most instances.

Modern Methods and pricing.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Chev. William]

From the catalog charge and bullet weight info, it seem you are on the right track.  13gr of powder in the .32 Long Colt outside lube 90gr, the .32 Long colt inside lube 83gr, and the .32 Long rifle 81gr.

As all three list as 13gr powder, I would assume they are all BP loads.
the bullet weight change is most likely from the change from outside to inside lube and the accompanying change in bullet design and diameters.

From this information and the subsequent Range Report by w44wcf I believe the 31-090A style and weight bullet is best in these cartridges, giving the cleanliness of inside lube yet the accuracy and penetration potential of the outside lube heavier 90 gr bullet.

Now, if only some Commercial bullet caster would offer it for sale so I do not have to get into the start-up costs of home casting and the local 'clean air' restrictions . . . . .

I think I will take w44wcf up on his offer once I get my rifles back from the Gunsmith.  I already have the sample ones he already sent me setting aside until I can get my rifles and start shooting them.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Chev. William]

W44wcf,
"Finally had a chance to test the Accurate 31-090S @ 50 yards a couple of days ago.  The weather was pretty good although a touch windy.  Considering the less than good condition of my rifle's bore, I was very pleased with the results.  ;
Happy, Happy, Happy .... Grin Grin Grin

If any of you .32 LC enthusiasts would like to try some, send me a pm and I'll send you a couple dozen (unlubed) the next time I make a batch. 

Now to try some different powder recipies..........

I'm going to have to shim the tang sight a tad to center the group up."

I am Curious, do you still have the original rear sight mounted on the barrel?  if not, why not set the front sight over so you do not have to 'shim' the tang sight?

Not a complaint, just a question on reasoning and process.

Best regards,
Chev. William

[Chev. William]

This week I have been 'cleaning' dies for Hollywood Engineering.  These were on charred shelving and are soot and condensed smoke covered.   But this morning I found out that I have 'worn out' my Frankford Vibratory Tumbler.  It quit vibrating this morning after I unloaded it from an over night run.  adn tried to restart it.  I guess it is time to buy another one.

Any Suggestions for a reliable low cost one?

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[ndnchf]

You may recall that I had already converted 21 cases from .32 S&W long to .32 Long Colt Remington (LCR), but the neck walls were too thick at the mouth, so I ordered a .299" neck reamer from Forster.  It arrived a couple days ago.  So today I set up the Forster trimmer to ream the cases.  It worked beautifully.



After reaming, the Lyman 299153 bullets were a snug slip fit – perfect.  I loaded them up with 4.5gr of Hercules 2400, hand seated the bullet, then ran them through the Old West Moulds custom collet crimp die.  All went well and I now have 21 new soldiers ready to march off to war.



This has been a fun project and I've learned a lot over the last couple months.  Thanks to all of you for the advice, encouragement and especially to Dusty Texian for the custom dies.  I now have everything needed to make .32 Long Colt Remington (LCR) cartridges.   

[Chev. William]

A really nice consistent end product of the learning process and your hand work. 

Now Go out and Enjoy the Rifle.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Adirondacker]

I now have everything needed to make .32 Long Colt Remington (LCR) cartridges.   

Only one thing remaining--write your "32 Long--Complete Reloading Manual" for duffers like myself; better yet, go into mass production.

[ndnchf]

Ha - I think this thread will serve as the .32 Colt reloading manual.  This has been one of the best .32 Colt discussions anywhere on the net.  It has really been a team effort thanks to all who contributed their knowledge and wisdom. I'm too lazy to go into mass production.  I can barely keep up with all the different projects I have now.  But I'd be glad to help other to become self sufficient.

[Chev. William]

If you think it is good enough, submit it for conversion to a 'Sticky" Thread.

I do not know how to do it or I would try to submit it myself.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[w44wcf]

Fellow .32 enthusiasts,
Thank you for the kind words on the new Accurate Molds bullet. 

Chev Williams,
Yes, the easiest way to bring the group to center would be to move the front sight.  On my rifle the front sight is extremely tight in the slot so I decided that shimming the tang sight would be the best solution in this case.

ndnchf,
Good work! Neat idea and pics!

w44wcf

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I have shimmed tang sights to bring groups to center in carbines with fixed front sights.

I cut pistol cases by removing the base and dividing the case walls with snips.  The case walls are already tapered so drilling a hole for the screws and trimming to size leaves you with tapered washers.  Orient the taper to tip the sight in the direction you wish the POI to move. The degree of movement can be controlled by finding donor cases with more or less case wall taper.  e.g: .38 Spl for less taper and 9mm Luger for more.  A bit fiddly but once its done, well Robert's yer Father's Brother.

[ndnchf]

Just a quick update.  I went to the range today and tried out my new .32 LCR rounds.  They shot very well, I'm quite pleased.  I only saved one target.  I was talking with my buddy while shooting and thought I fired 5 shots at this target.  But when I went down to retrieve it, I realized I only fired 4 rounds, not 5    Well, its a nice 50 yard group of 4 shots. 





The group measures about 1-3/8" .  My best group yet with this rifle.  This was with the Lyman 299153 bullet and 4.5gr of 2400.  I got a wild hair and tried hitting the 8" gong at 100 yards.  After a couple shots to get the elevation, I was ringing the gong almost every shot.  Very cool! 

[Chev. William]

Very nice results of your Range trip.
Are you sure none of the holes is 'slightly' oversize from a double?
Best Regards,
Chev. William

[ndnchf]

Very nice results of your Range trip.
Are you sure none of the holes is 'slightly' oversize from a double?
Best Regards,
Chev. William

I wish that was the case, but I don't think so.  I just blew it and lost count.  Odds are I would have choked and pulled a flyer on the last shot anyway, so I'll call it a nice 4 shot group

[Chev. William]

Curiosity Questions:
On your range trip, what was the load used on the Gong and what was your hold on it?
I am making the assumptions that you sighted in on the paper target ad probably did not change sight settings when moving to the gong.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[ndnchf]

The load was 4.5gr of 2400, CCI SP primers and the Lyman 299153 bullet tumbled lubed in Alox.  The 50 yard target above was sighted right to point of aim.  Basically I set the big target ring on top of my front sight.  At the 100 yard gong I started aiming at the top of the gong and raised the front sight a little at a time until I hit it.   I didn't mess with the tang sight.  I'd estimate that I was aiming about 3"- 4" above the gong to hit it.  Maybe next time I'll shoot at a 100 yard paper target to see the difference. 

It took a while for the bullet to get there.  I'd fire, set the rifle down, have a sip of coffee from my thermos, and a bite of sandwich and then I'd hear the CLANG     Well, at least it seemed that way

[Chev. William]

That report of the Gong shooting sounds like reports of Thousand yard shooting at the turn of the 1890s fire, have a Cup while the bullet was in flight, and then Look to the Target pit for the hit report.

Seriously, I would expect there to be a noticeable 'arc' to the bullet trajectory even at 100 yards when firing a subsonic load.
Your 3" to 4" elevation over the 50 yard setting sounds like the 'Arc' to be expected.  I am sure that if it follows historically reported conditions it would be even more at the 'extreme' 200 yard range quoted for the .32 Long and .32 Long Colt from write-ups of the 1890s.

Thank you for the information on your load, I will keep it in mind for when I get my Stevens Favorites back from my Gunsmith ready to shoot.

Best Regards,
Chev, William

[Chev. William]

There is an old Marble's Tang sight on Ebay at the moment, Ebay#301008007199, it is the older type with the clamp lever that folds down over the stem and is reported to be 1-1/8 inch between mounting holes.

Best Regards,
Chev. William