Reloading .32 s&w (Short)

[jason.h]

Hi All,

I'm currently looking to reload .32 s&w (short) for my old top break US Revolver Co. I plan to use a 76 grain .311 lead bullet with Unique powder. I was also only able to get small Magnum pistol primers which I don't think will made a big difference because I plan to load it extremely light.
I want to load it as lightly as I can I actually primmed brass and seeded a bullet in one without loading any powder. I fired out of curiosity to see what would happen and to see if the revolvers firing pin would strike hard enough. I was very surprised because the bullet actually left the barrel and appeared to grab the riffling all around.
I can't really find much load data on it I was thinking of using somewhere between .5 grain to 1 grain. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[SHR970]

With loads that light why bother..the Unique will most likely fizzle due to underpressure. Bullseye or Red Dot would serve far better at those weights.

 

[ligonierbill]

I loaded a Meister 78 gr RNFP over 1.9 gr HP-38. Good for 727 fps out of an old H&R. By comparison, Magtech commercial 85 gr rounds go 701. FWIW, the weak point in these old pistols is the latch.

 

[TruthTellers]

I agree with post #2, but Trail Boss would be better given it's so bulky and takes up space in the case.

No load data for the .32 Short, but there is for .32 Long.

{Edit: Please read board policy on posting copyrighted material}

 

[Unclenick]

.32 Long data is not useable in the .32 S&W Short. There is typically in the vicinity of a 2:1 difference in charge weight.



CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond or not covered by currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.

Jason,

Magnum primers may cause you accuracy and velocity irregularities by initiating unseating of the bullet before the powder starts making enough pressure to do it. This is common in short powder space handgun cartridges. I think with that bullet weight you will land somewhere around 1.0 to 1.3 grains of Bullseye. This is based on QuickLOAD predictions, which I have found to be pretty accurate for .45 ACP with target load pressures in the range of the 32 S&W Short. Unique looks like 1.3 to 1.6 grains, which should also be weighed, but I have less faith in the powder model for Unique as I haven't done much comparing as I have with Bullseye. If you find the Unique leaving a lot of unburned flakes, go to Bullseye.

With charges that small, weighing is advisable as the usual powder measure errors seen with Bullseye begin to become significant to pressure difference in these little short cartridges..

 

[TruthTellers]

Apologies for posting that data, just wanted to give the OP a starting point for his research.

Yeah, for these small cases and the slow velocities desired, maybe it would be best to use black powder or substitutes? That's the powder stuff like .32 Short, .38 Short, etc. were meant to be used with.

 

[Unclenick]

That's a thought, too. I understand that, unlike the compression-sensitive Trail Boss, the Vihtavuori N32C Tin Star powder does a very good job of making a smokeless substitution in old revolver chamberings. In this case, though, it looks like it would be substantially compressed to get the old 32 up to pressure.

 

[jason.h]

Thanks for the input guys, I did end up loading a few rounds with .6 gr of unique, seemed to work fine but I will definitely up the powder next go around and try to find non mag. Primers.
Looking back I think trail boss would have been a good powder for this round though

 

[Unclenick]

The problem with Trail Boss is its low density will have it fill the powder space with less than one grain. Also, it can't be compressed without it getting spiky from the grains breaking, But if you are satisfied with the performance you get from sub-grain loads, it is certainly something you could try. Good luck with your experiments. Let us know how they go.

 

[Don Fischer]

I have data for Bullseye, #6, Unique and 2400 rifle. It's in Lyman manual #41. Have more data in an even older manual, no # on it. I also have some data in Lyman manual #45, pretty old!

 

[SHR970]

Here's a link that you should find informative.

http://www.massreloading.com/loading32SW.html

 

[McShooty]

Here is a link to an S&W FOrum post that I made some years ago'

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/218050-handloads-32-smith-wesson.html

 

[ligonierbill]

This whole thread got me thinking, and I thought I should add more of my experience with this round. I've attached a picture of my H&R, with a closeup of the latch and the "former" latch. I don't think I overstressed it, but there it is. Numrich had a replacement for a few bucks, but it was a pain to fit and install.

When I got this thing a couple years ago, I cautiously loaded some 85 gr Magtech, hoping to match their commercial load. Well, the commercial rounds went right through a 1 1/2" plank, while my reloads (later chronoed at <500 fps) literally stuck in the surface. I did better with the 78 Meister load I mentioned earlier. But I wanted to match the only commercial round I had. Magtech advertised 705, and my chrono said 701. So I added 0.1 gr to my initial HP-38 load. Only got 511, and the latch failed on the last shot.

It could be it just wore out. This revolver was made from 1892 to 1904. Or it could be that smokeless loads, including Magtech's commercial rounds, just beat it to death. In any case, I'm going back to blackpowder (actually Black MZ) for mine. Given the timeframe it was made, that's what it was designed for. These are actually pretty well made little guns, and fun to shoot.