Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Agreed. It's justifying the $$ outlay that stops me.
.32 H&R
- Thread starter richhodg66
- Start date
Totally get it. Probably why I don’t own so many things.
I have money that could buy a Dillon 750 but do I need it? Does it do something that I need over what my 550 does?
Part of why I can afford certain things is because I don’t have them.
CWLONGSHOT
Well-Known Member
My buddy got a 650 couple years back. I have had 550's for years. I helpd him set it up he loves it. I appreciate my 550 more. 
He is not a reloader. He is a ammo processor. Would like 2 bullets every pull of handle cause its never fast enough. Wont load a cartridge that has to be trimmed. He is a competitor speed everything...
He is not a reloader. He is a ammo processor. Would like 2 bullets every pull of handle cause its never fast enough. Wont load a cartridge that has to be trimmed. He is a competitor speed everything...
richhodg66
Well-Known Member
"He is not a reloader. He is a ammo processor"
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
I have never, and will never own or use one of these progressive monstrocities. Besides the safety thing (EVERY gun blow up story you see seems to involve one), such a souless thing. Just couldn't bring myself to try one.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
I have never, and will never own or use one of these progressive monstrocities. Besides the safety thing (EVERY gun blow up story you see seems to involve one), such a souless thing. Just couldn't bring myself to try one.
That's what the 22LR is for.
Casting and hand-loading are probably a bigger part of enjoying shooting for me. It's sort of like drag-racing - there's a LOT more to it than the few seconds it takes to get to the other end of the strip.
And it isn't about ME being the "best" or the fastest - it's about the gun, the bullet, the load and everything that goes into it - which is a LOT.
richhodg66
Well-Known Member
I'm with you. It's gotten to the point where the reloading tools are about as satisfying as the guns they are to support. There's one of the Herter's Super O presses in a shop nearby, very good shape and been sitting there a long time. Gonna go in and makle an offer which they'll probably take soon. Clearly it was owned by someone who knew what he was doing and cared for it, most certainly an estate sale situation. That thing just stirs me when I've gone in and held it. When quality and precision and "made in USA" meant something. You can just feel the hours and care the old man had with that thing for decades. The idea of just yanking a handle to watch rounds fly off sounds as wrong as wrong can be to me.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
That is one of the reasons I collect bench mounted presses from 1910 thru 1945. The progression from hand tools to modern tools all took place during that time period, as everything since is basically a reiteration of those designs.
richhodg66
Well-Known Member
I have quite a few old presses, they seem to follow me home like stray puppies. Almost none are that old, and I'm smart enough to know there are modern presses that are better in most respects (though not as much better as many think) but I like them.
I've don 98% of my reloading on the Rockchucker Dad gave me right after I git back from Desert Storm. I really can't see a single stage press doing much better, though it has some short comings. I kind of did a "rescue" of an old Lachmiller Model 100 I found and a Herters Super 9 and that started the addiction. My plan, which has stalled, is to have a 20 foot long bench across the back wall of my shop to mount all of them up.
I've don 98% of my reloading on the Rockchucker Dad gave me right after I git back from Desert Storm. I really can't see a single stage press doing much better, though it has some short comings. I kind of did a "rescue" of an old Lachmiller Model 100 I found and a Herters Super 9 and that started the addiction. My plan, which has stalled, is to have a 20 foot long bench across the back wall of my shop to mount all of them up.
I just wish Id kept one or two of the original LEE Turret Presses I got cheap and gave away to get someone started. Should have had the foresight to tell them "it's a LOAN! I get it back when you upgrade."
I do admire the old stuff and the pride of workmanship in it, the care to do things right and put a nice finish on it though.
I do admire the old stuff and the pride of workmanship in it, the care to do things right and put a nice finish on it though.
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
Just to get back in the 32 H&R and basic 32 Revolver mindset, here’s my $0.02 worth.
I played with the Single-Six in 32 H&R Mag back when that cartridge and gun combination was fairly new. In one of my more bone-headed moves, I parted with the gun and all the related gear many years ago. At the time I wanted something else, and I can’t even remember what that something else was. I traded/sold the gear. Not bright on my part but there you have it.
I feel the 32 S&W Long is an excellent cartridge but lacking in power in some applications. The 32 H&R Magnum corrects that deficiency and is still a fun cartridge. I understand the 327 Federal Magnum but it’s just not for me. In my world, the 32 H&R mag provides about the perfect combination of power/accuracy/economy and usefulness in that caliber. If I want more performance, I’ll step up to .357 Mag or something else.
In 32 S&W Long AND 32 H&R Mag – a bullet around 95-105 grains is where you want to be. I have settled on a 96 grain WC for my current 32 S&W Long loading and see ZERO need to wander from that. When I was shooting 32 H&R Mag, I used a lot of 98- 100 grain bullets (all commercial cast in those days) in SWC and full WC designs. For most common handgun ranges and tasks in 32 caliber, I think the full WC is probably the most universally useful bullet type. YMMV.
In the family of straight walled, 32 caliber revolver cartridges (32 S&W, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Federal Mag) I think the 32 H&R Mag was the pinnacle.
.
I played with the Single-Six in 32 H&R Mag back when that cartridge and gun combination was fairly new. In one of my more bone-headed moves, I parted with the gun and all the related gear many years ago. At the time I wanted something else, and I can’t even remember what that something else was. I traded/sold the gear. Not bright on my part but there you have it.
I feel the 32 S&W Long is an excellent cartridge but lacking in power in some applications. The 32 H&R Magnum corrects that deficiency and is still a fun cartridge. I understand the 327 Federal Magnum but it’s just not for me. In my world, the 32 H&R mag provides about the perfect combination of power/accuracy/economy and usefulness in that caliber. If I want more performance, I’ll step up to .357 Mag or something else.
In 32 S&W Long AND 32 H&R Mag – a bullet around 95-105 grains is where you want to be. I have settled on a 96 grain WC for my current 32 S&W Long loading and see ZERO need to wander from that. When I was shooting 32 H&R Mag, I used a lot of 98- 100 grain bullets (all commercial cast in those days) in SWC and full WC designs. For most common handgun ranges and tasks in 32 caliber, I think the full WC is probably the most universally useful bullet type. YMMV.
In the family of straight walled, 32 caliber revolver cartridges (32 S&W, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Federal Mag) I think the 32 H&R Mag was the pinnacle.
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CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
The 32 H&R Mag is a dandy, all right. The RCBS #32-98-SWC at 900-1000 FPS is tractable and accurate as all get out. I've run an odd one--Lyman #313631 to almost 1500 FPS in the 30 Carbine BH. It's a weird bullet--even with GCs in place it remains inaccurate until about 1200 FPS, then behaves itself splendidly. I limit it to about 1350 in S&W Model 16-4 x 6", but let it rip in the BH. The faster loads get real darn loud. The 4" SP-101 in 327 is unreal with full-tilt loads. I avoid fault zones when I uncork those loads.
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
Yep, there is something about the noise those .308”-.314” handgun projectiles make above the speed of sound that is disproportionate to the cartridge. All supersonic loads are loud but those little creatures punch way above their weight when it comes to noise.
Thumbcocker
Active Member
Is the .30 carbine Blackhawk an honorary. 32?
richhodg66
Well-Known Member
I'm told one can run .32-20 brass through a .30 Carbine sizer snd use rimmed cases in one eliminating some problems. I haven't tried it yet.
CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
The 30 and 32 nominal-caliber handguns are cousin-in-laws to each other. I call them 'Mid-caliber handguns', and have a ton of them in the gun safe.
I haven't tried using 32/20 brass in my 30 Carbine Blackhawks, mostly because I haven't had any problems using 30 Carbine brass in any of the three BHs I have owned. These 'Problems' often stem from trying carbine-fired brass in the BH chambers, which are more closely-toleranced than are the carbine battle-rifle chambers. That's the rumor, anyway. 40 years ago I had both a Rock-Ola carbine and my first 30 Carbine BH. I resized the brass from both with an RCBS steel sizing die, and used the same brass back and forth. I have surmised that the true culprit might be the tungsten-carbide sizing dies in use by some folks, but I dunno. I recall that carbine-fired brass was an ironclad puppy mother to run through a sizing die at times. I haven't had the troubles that others have reported, in any event.
All three of my 30 Carbine BHs have been quite accurate--more so than the M1 Carbines ever have been. I recall a vignette from the mid-1980s with my Dad that I call "The Unluckiest Ground Squirrel Ever Born."
Dad and I had been prospecting for trout in the feeder streams that fed into the Upper Santa Ana River along Manzanita Flats Road in the local mountains. It was a fine Spring day in May, and we had CPR'ed a couple dozen fish each over the morning and afternoon. It was about 4 P.M., and we finally got around to finishing our sandwiches after ending our day at Fredalba Creek. This creek cuts down through a flat and forms a small canyon, and the banks are well above canyon-level. Dad and I parked the truck and were eating atop the west flat.
A ground squirrel was chirping obnoxiously atop a big rock 80 yards south of us. The Rock-Ola carbine was at hand, so Dad said "You should shoot that rat". He DID NOT LIKE these vermin, they beset my Grandma's house and chicken coop something awful in San Bernardino.
I didn't think the carbine could meet the challenge, but I charged the chamber and held the sights on the chirpy irritant. I fired, and I'm not sure who was more surprised when the rat cartwheeled and a THWOCK! echoed back our way--me or the rat. "GOOD SHOT!" hollered Dad. Good times afield with my Dad.
Dangit, you guys!
I've no other problems sticking to the few gun/cartridge combos I've settled on, but the 32 Mag still tempts me. If only I could find exactly the right one. I shot a 4", six-shot Charter in '85 pretty extensively. Just out of the Army, "between jobs," and a neighbor had one he wanted to work up severely economical loads/practices for. When he went to work at a factory in the afternoons, I took over his loading/casting areas and worked up loads and tested them in our shared "back yard."
I cast up a bunch in LEE moulds, lubed them in a pan and used a cake-cutter, no sizing and little pinches of Bullseye, Unique and 2400 worked up several really accurate loads. The lube was candle stubs and crayons left over from a couple generations of kids/grandkids. I watched the 32 Mag from the first article and wanted one - still do.
I never came across another Charter like he had, but I envisioned a stainless, six-shot in 2" for my wife and a 3", fixed-sight, plus 4" adjustable-sighted one for me. Never found those guns. I found a 2" stainless six-shot during the Charco era and ended up giving it away with a bag of 500 or 1000 32 Mag cases I sold at a show. Guy hesitated at the price, but it wasn't that easy to find. I handed him the Charco and asked "what if I throw THIS in?" He took the bait. That Charco was an embarrassment.
Since then, I had a beautifully blued, 4" Taurus which shot great but split new brass longitudinally on the first firing. WAY oversized chambers. ALMOST had a 4 5/8" Single Six, but $200 was beyond my means at that moment in the early nineties.
STILL want one but settled on the 357 instead. If I ever come across an early Charter in 3" or 4" I can afford, I still won't be able to afford it, because it'll cost me an extra $1,000 for another Contender carbine barrel, another action and a stock set....
I best stop reading this thread.
I've no other problems sticking to the few gun/cartridge combos I've settled on, but the 32 Mag still tempts me. If only I could find exactly the right one. I shot a 4", six-shot Charter in '85 pretty extensively. Just out of the Army, "between jobs," and a neighbor had one he wanted to work up severely economical loads/practices for. When he went to work at a factory in the afternoons, I took over his loading/casting areas and worked up loads and tested them in our shared "back yard."
I cast up a bunch in LEE moulds, lubed them in a pan and used a cake-cutter, no sizing and little pinches of Bullseye, Unique and 2400 worked up several really accurate loads. The lube was candle stubs and crayons left over from a couple generations of kids/grandkids. I watched the 32 Mag from the first article and wanted one - still do.
I never came across another Charter like he had, but I envisioned a stainless, six-shot in 2" for my wife and a 3", fixed-sight, plus 4" adjustable-sighted one for me. Never found those guns. I found a 2" stainless six-shot during the Charco era and ended up giving it away with a bag of 500 or 1000 32 Mag cases I sold at a show. Guy hesitated at the price, but it wasn't that easy to find. I handed him the Charco and asked "what if I throw THIS in?" He took the bait. That Charco was an embarrassment.
Since then, I had a beautifully blued, 4" Taurus which shot great but split new brass longitudinally on the first firing. WAY oversized chambers. ALMOST had a 4 5/8" Single Six, but $200 was beyond my means at that moment in the early nineties.
STILL want one but settled on the 357 instead. If I ever come across an early Charter in 3" or 4" I can afford, I still won't be able to afford it, because it'll cost me an extra $1,000 for another Contender carbine barrel, another action and a stock set....
I best stop reading this thread.
Thumbcocker
Active Member
I, for one, am proud to enable another .32 addict.