Hey Isom, look what I got!

Abilene · December 21, 2020, 07:22:54 PM

I know that Isom Dart, as well as the moderator of this '92 forum, is a fan of the 32-20. I picked up this 1909 vintage 32wcf carbine off the SASS Wire from a pard in Alaska. The wood has been refinished at some point and the sights are not original. Front sight is a 1987 penny. Might have to find an older silver coin to replace that. It is a VERY skinny sight picture. Holds eleven rounds and cycles my dummies fine. It will be a week or two before I get to shoot it. It will fun to pair it with my brother's 32-20 Colt, which he has never shot but I shoot a couple times a year.

My only other '92 was a stainless Navy Arms short rifle in 45 Colt (back when I first started shooting BP and thought stainless guns would be needed). It was a nice rifle but crunchy action even after some work. This one is fairly smooth and, despite being a .32, still feels very light and lithe since I'm so used to my '73's. It weighs almost 2 lbs less than my 20" 32-20 Cimarron. Do these originals have overly-strong ejector springs like the repros? This really flings the empties. Haven't noticed it dinging the case mouths, though.

Abilene · December 21, 2020, 07:24:11 PM

Couple more

Major 2 · December 21, 2020, 09:15:14 PM

Very nice... I have a circa 1891 73 and a Colt . I picked up a Cattleman & JM Marlin too, to join with my Dads Hand Ejector S&W.

32/20 is a sweet cartridge .

DeaconKC · December 22, 2020, 09:58:11 AM

I wonder if the front sight was replaced in 1987?

Abilene · December 27, 2020, 06:34:24 PM

Deacon, the PO said his daughter used to shoot the gun, and had won a Junior category at state match 16 years ago, so he's had it for a while, but he said he had not shot it since changing the sights, so the penny was a few years old when he used it, I guess.

Since he hadn't shot it, I was a little concerned about the sight alignment, so when I took it to a match yesterday I shot three practice shots at a freshly painted target about 20 yards out. Centering the tip of the penny in the buckhorn gave 3 rounds on top of each other, an inch or so to the right of POA. The penny is a little loose in its position so flops side to side a bit, but good enough for CAS. I had no misses in the match, and the empties were actually pretty well behaved in landing close together. I only lost 3 pieces of brass out of 64. The case mouth is slightly dinged, not bad, but I will probably want to lighten the ejector spring at some point. Needs a lever wrap, my fingers slipped out a few times while trying to run fast.

My smokeless load is 2.7gr of Trailboss with a 115gr bullet. I did not have enough 32wcf BP rounds loaded to shoot a match with it, but will get that done. There is a fair amount of pitting (grooves perpendicular to the bore), so hopefully it will be okay with black. I won't be shooting this a whole lot, but it will come out a few times a year to join the 1st gen Colts, and maybe NCOWS.

DeaconKC · December 28, 2020, 10:10:06 PM

Thanks! Since the penny is a little loose, maybe replace it with a buffalo Nickel? It might be wide enough to not flop.

Isom · December 30, 2020, 12:50:49 PM

Hey Abilene,
you've got a good caliber there. It's my #3 behind 38-40 and 44-40 . You must have read the problems I had reloading it a few years ago, it gave me a fit. After I got it straightened out it's all good. When I first loaded it with b/p , I didn't think it would have enough BOOM and SMOKE ,,,,,, but boy was I surprised. Mine ejects pretty snappy but doesn't dent the mouths. I'll lose a couple here and there. The barrel is fair/good. I like to see peoples eyes when I tell them I only paid $65.00 for it ,,,,,,,,,,,,, in 1966. HA ! My LGS lady went to the SHOT show in Atlanta, Ga.in '03 ,, I think , and ordered a pair of SAA's for me (Uberti's). Then, I got a pair of 3rd gen. Colts. Then a pard of mine gave me his when he stopped shooting , ( medical problems). I'd always wanted a deluxe model '73 ,,,,,, soooo in 32-20. Now I'm 32-20'd out.

They're fun shooters no doubt about it. Mine was born in 1890, 24" oct. bbl. Just saw your post , hadn't been here for a while, Christmas and everything. It's an anniversary caliber ,,,,,,,,,, I only shoot it once or twice a year. Or let someone/newby use it. They usually like it ,, but I tell them go 357/38 ,,,,,, easier on the wallet ,,, but !
Have fun, YMMV,
Isom

Abilene · December 30, 2020, 01:23:26 PM

I haven't had much problem reloading the 32wcf. I was loading it for my brother's old SAA, then when I got my .32 deluxe '73 in 2013, I discovered I needed to push the shoulder down a bit for the Uberti chamber. That was a simple die adjustment, no grinding needed. Maybe I've been lucky.

cactus joe · January 04, 2021, 07:36:36 PM

Yeah Abilene talk about flinging empty casings. I have a '92 made in 1915 in .25-20 and yes i'm always trying to find my empties. Our shooting tables are on a concert slab, but behind that are small rocks that the brass always finds it's way into. add to that this time of year snow and i might look for a casing for about 5 minutes. .25-20 casings are hard to come by, so i hate losing one of them.

Abilene · January 04, 2021, 08:43:10 PM

Brass picking is my usual posse duty and I always pay special attention to pretty much any caliber other than 45 and .38. If I find them later I know who to give them to. At yesterday's match we found a shiny 38-40 which must have come from a shooter the previous day's match. But we didn't know who, and it was sort of sad.

But 25-20, now that brass is like holy grail stuff! I actually have hundreds of .32-20 cases from buying loaded for my brother's old Colt years ago, mixed R-P and Starline. Then a few years ago Pettifogger sold me 1000 new R-P. Most of it has never been loaded yet. But I still hate to lose them! I broke down a few years ago and put a short stroke in my old .357 '73, and now it throws empties forward, but they are old multi-loaded .38's, no biggie.

Abilene · January 04, 2021, 08:46:11 PM

Quote from: DeaconKC on December 28, 2020, 10:10:06 PM
Thanks! Since the penny is a little loose, maybe replace it with a buffalo Nickel? It might be wide enough to not flop.

I should try to find a suitable 1909 vintage coin. Not a 1909 SVDB penny though. We already know that is too skinny.

cactus joe · January 05, 2021, 08:05:31 AM

Abilene if you were to use a 1909 svdb penny it might be worth almost as much as your gun!

Abilene · January 05, 2021, 11:20:01 AM

Quote from: cactus joe on January 05, 2021, 08:05:31 AM
Abilene if you were to use a 1909 svdb penny it might be worth almost as much as your gun!

Not after it was cut in two.

cpt dan blodgett · January 11, 2021, 10:08:10 PM

could solder the penny a bit

Abilene · August 23, 2021, 10:05:02 PM

Time for an update. The rather ugly bore had me a little concerned on how it would do with BP. A month ago or so I took it to a match, and after the match I ran 20 rounds of BP through it and accuracy seemed fine at these short CAS distances. So this past weekend I decided it was time for my annual "antiques shoot" and shot BP in the carbine with some 1st gen Colts. After stage 2 and stage 4 I put an empty case in the chamber and ran a patch of moosemilk down the bore. No misses! So I'm satisfied. This club had no Cody-Dixon or other longer range targets for me to try it out on, so I'll save that for another time although I'm not expecting too much at long distance.

I contacted Nate Kiowa Jones and he told me his ejector spring will fit originals, so I am going to order one of those to help with the slight case mouth dings. It also should keep it from throwing the empties so far. I got back 41 of 50, so 18% loss is not good.

I found a coin I think will make a better front sight, although I have now misplaced it

. I think it is a French franc? It is silver with ridged edge, sort of like a dime but a little bigger and thicker.

wildman1 · August 26, 2021, 02:31:09 PM

Try firelapping that bore if you have trouble with accuracy.
I have a 94 in 25-35 that would not group under 5" at 50 yds.I firelapped and then shot a 2 1/4" group at 200 yds. The bore was still pitted but if I clean it after every shooting session it is very accurate.
wM1

Abilene · August 26, 2021, 02:37:53 PM

Thanks Wildman1, I will keep that in mind.

I found the coin, it is a 1/2 Franc. But even though the penny is a little loose in the slot on the front sight, I think this coin may be a bit too thick for that slot, so will have to think about it.

Abilene · September 27, 2021, 10:43:20 PM

Another update. First, I had done up a simple lever wrap before I shot the BP match, and thought maybe I would throw together a simple butt cover. I mean REAL simple.

I did not have much faith in the super thin material (I'm not even sure if it is actually leather), and I was right as the second photo shows what it looked like after one match. It did work fine, though.

So next I decided to change out the front sight. I was all prepared with a punch and small hammer to get the pin out, but when I pushed against it with the punch the pin just came out with finger pressure. I was expecting the coin would just need to be cut in half and then drilled for the pin, but when the penny came out I found out I needed to cut a notch in the coin. Dremel and a file took care of that. Also had to thin the center part of the half-franc so it would fit into the slot on the front sight. Haven't shot it yet but I like the sight picture a lot better. I also ordered a lighter ejector spring from Nate Kiowa Jones. When I open the gun to install that, I might lighten the main spring some as well.

Abilene · September 27, 2021, 10:44:52 PM

The front sight, old vs new.
Since it is half of a half-franc, I guess I should call it a quarter-franc.

Coffinmaker · September 28, 2021, 09:33:43 AM

Hi Ho Silver Away

Yepper Abilene!! That "quarter" Franque looks quite the biz as the front sight. Your fitment also looks a bunch better. Very Well done. Kudos and all that fer sure !!!

Play Safe Out There

PS: With some simple spring changes and some judicious rubbin-n-buffin, a '92 can be righteous fun and FAST. If Nate is still offering his CD and you have a player, grab it up. It ain't real difficult and it does make a HUGE improvement!!