Some 20 years ago i bought a used Walther PPK. Made in 1963, issued to the police. Gun didnt show any wear at all, bluing still intact on the rails, barrel sharp and clean. The gun did not seem to be fired after leaving factory. The test target, still in the box, showed a 7 shot group fired at 15 meters, measuring 2 inches. I tested some factory loads, Norma, Winchester, Geco and Hirtenberger. Only the Norma ammo was capable of holding 7 shots inside 2 inches. I then ordered a Lyman mould, 313249. The bullet alloy was Lino (I know,I know) bullet weight was 79 grs. Barrel was slugged to .308,5. I tried too size bullets .311, but it was not close to chamber. Due to different casethickness in my mixed brass, I went for .309 as sizing diameter. Powders tried was Vihtavuori N-330, Bullseye, Unique and Herco.
I shot 5 shot groups at 15 meters. Best groups. and what I have used since, was
2,3 grs Viht. N-330 at 940 fps
2,8 grs. Herco at 883 fps.
Both would regulary group 2 - 2 1/2 inches at 15 meters, like the best factory ammo did.
I have been quite happy with that, so has many youngsters that have tried the gun!
The I saw Mihec offering a mould for the .32 acp. Did i need it, NO. Could I resist ordring one,NO.
The mould was perfectly made, quality from top to bottom. Casting with it, was not that easy! Later I have used Mihec moulds in .357 and .44 and the problems with the .32 has to be connected, to the big brassblock and the small bullets! My final solution was to keep the alloy not to hot, 710 degrees(Again Lino). Heat the mould on a hotplate( a Must for this little pills!) till it was a bit to hot. The first cast would take a long time to freeze and i would drop them in the spruebox. If the next one freeze in normal time, I am on route. I would then cast 4-5 castings before the bullet start to stick in mould. Then i replace it on the hotplate, visually check the 20-25 bullets on the table. Then start casting again, the first pour should be good, and so the next four. If the first pour take to long to harden, it was to long on the plate, if I can pour only three pours, it was not long enough! Once I find the rythm, it would not take long to empty my 20 pound pot, and there would be close to none rejects,they would usually be seen in the visual check. The first session with the new bullets, was not from the bench, I just could not wait. The HP bullets seemed to be a tad more accurate then the solids.(Or maybe it was more fun casting HP`s!)
Anyway, HP bullets was used for this test. Alloy was Lino. Weight was 65 grs. (70 grs for the solid)
Sized to .309. Powders was HP-38, Unique and Herco. I fired 3x5 shots of each load.Distance 15 meters.
Every load tested would stay within 2,5 inches, not counting some called flyers. The best groups was
2,7 grs Unique at 890 fps. Groups 1" - 1 1/2" - 1 1/2"
3,2 grs.Herco at 970 fps. Groups 1 1/2" - 1 3/4" - 1 3/4"
3,0 grs Herco at 915 fps. Groups 1 3/4" - 2" - 2".
2,4 HP-38 at 940 fps. Groups 2"- 2" - 2 1/2".
Loads mentioned here was safe in my gun, yours might vary. Work up, a couple of tenths make a big difference in these small cases.
The HP-38 powder may have more potential, all groups had a vertical stringing. It was the last powder tested, light was fading, so was my eyes.
I would retest my HP-38 loads
Some hours with testing from bench, reminds me about beeing close to 60 and not 30.. I think i would have to prepare my Lyman mould for long time storage.
I shot 5 shot groups at 15 meters. Best groups. and what I have used since, was
2,3 grs Viht. N-330 at 940 fps
2,8 grs. Herco at 883 fps.
Both would regulary group 2 - 2 1/2 inches at 15 meters, like the best factory ammo did.
I have been quite happy with that, so has many youngsters that have tried the gun!
The I saw Mihec offering a mould for the .32 acp. Did i need it, NO. Could I resist ordring one,NO.
The mould was perfectly made, quality from top to bottom. Casting with it, was not that easy! Later I have used Mihec moulds in .357 and .44 and the problems with the .32 has to be connected, to the big brassblock and the small bullets! My final solution was to keep the alloy not to hot, 710 degrees(Again Lino). Heat the mould on a hotplate( a Must for this little pills!) till it was a bit to hot. The first cast would take a long time to freeze and i would drop them in the spruebox. If the next one freeze in normal time, I am on route. I would then cast 4-5 castings before the bullet start to stick in mould. Then i replace it on the hotplate, visually check the 20-25 bullets on the table. Then start casting again, the first pour should be good, and so the next four. If the first pour take to long to harden, it was to long on the plate, if I can pour only three pours, it was not long enough! Once I find the rythm, it would not take long to empty my 20 pound pot, and there would be close to none rejects,they would usually be seen in the visual check. The first session with the new bullets, was not from the bench, I just could not wait. The HP bullets seemed to be a tad more accurate then the solids.(Or maybe it was more fun casting HP`s!)
Anyway, HP bullets was used for this test. Alloy was Lino. Weight was 65 grs. (70 grs for the solid)
Sized to .309. Powders was HP-38, Unique and Herco. I fired 3x5 shots of each load.Distance 15 meters.
Every load tested would stay within 2,5 inches, not counting some called flyers. The best groups was
2,7 grs Unique at 890 fps. Groups 1" - 1 1/2" - 1 1/2"
3,2 grs.Herco at 970 fps. Groups 1 1/2" - 1 3/4" - 1 3/4"
3,0 grs Herco at 915 fps. Groups 1 3/4" - 2" - 2".
2,4 HP-38 at 940 fps. Groups 2"- 2" - 2 1/2".
Loads mentioned here was safe in my gun, yours might vary. Work up, a couple of tenths make a big difference in these small cases.
The HP-38 powder may have more potential, all groups had a vertical stringing. It was the last powder tested, light was fading, so was my eyes.
I would retest my HP-38 loads
Some hours with testing from bench, reminds me about beeing close to 60 and not 30.. I think i would have to prepare my Lyman mould for long time storage.