.32-40

637e

Gents , I have a chance to go on a wild feral hog hunt in southern Ohio .I have a boatload of suitable calibers to use , but I have a Stevens 44 1/2 in .32-40. I would be shooting a 200 grain cast bullet(20 to 1 lead) It would be a"Hoot" to pop one , but am wondering if it enough 'steam' for a 100 yard head shot ? What do you think ? 637e

richbug

a 22LR has plenty of steam for a 5 foot head shot. A 32-40 would have 5 times from at 100 yards.

11b6r

Well, can only go by reputation- this was basically a nice accurate lighter than 30-30 class cartridge. The older Ballard or Stevens rifles, well, reloading companies caution against using hot loads in them- as compared to a Winchester John Wayne Commerative type rifle. Think the original load was a 165 gr bullet, and, of course, 40 grains of black powder. ME ran about 780 ft lbs in light loads, topping out about 1300 in heavier loads. Not my choice for pigs, but I am a cautious kinda guy. Pigs is tough critters- and they bite.

MG1890

637a -
I, too, shoot a 32-40. Winchester single shot, 30" barrel, tang sight. I run 165 grain lead bullets, light charge of smokeless. Extremely accurate & fun to shoot.... I have to believe that in the period 1880 - 19whatever many game animals must have succumbed to carefully placed shots from 32-40's. Many of these rifles were sold, mostly in "hunting rifle" configuration. These old gents did not realize that their blackpowder cartridge rifles could not kill game due to their poor theoretical ballistics!! Go for it!! I would not be afraid of a good lung shot, you will have some tracking to do, but then again so do the bowhunters...

Greg

jonk

A bigger concern is that Ohio only allows shotguns and primitive weapons (muzzleloaders) for hunting deer, and I believe the same holds true for feral hogs. I'd inquire with the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.

Old Fool

I believe that a 100yd shot with that round would not be humane.

ladams

Pigs in ohio can be shot with any weapon, as can most everything else in this state, with the exception of deer, turkey, and waterfowl. I shoot an old Marlin 32-40, and I don't really think it would have the energy needed at 100 yards.

25wcf

For what it is worth, I have shot four deer in the past few years with the .32-40. Closest shot was 25 yards and longest was 190. My rifle is a Winchester single shot with a #3 nickel steel barrel, mounted with a Lyman Alaskan scope. I shoot 165-grain jacketed bullets with smokeless powder loads which chronograph 1,980 feet per second. All shots were behind the shoulder and broadside. The bullets all passed through, so it is hard to evaluate bullet performance, but the wound channels were fairly narrow, which might indicate minimal expansion. One deer went about 40 yards after being hit and the rest went down within 20 feet. Based upon this experience, I would not hesitate to use my rifle and loads on feral hogs, as long as I could take the time to insure good shot placement.

agostino

As an added comment to the power of .32-40, I believe Winchester offered a hot load for this cartridge for the 1885 Single Shot only.

Bert H.

quote:Originally posted by agostino
As an added comment to the power of .32-40, I believe Winchester offered a hot load for this cartridge for the 1885 Single Shot only.


Yep... the cartridges were marked "W.H.V." (Winchester High Velocity). The Model 1885 high-wall is a very strong action, and it can handle some very heavy loads for the 32-40. I have one load that pushes a 165 grain jacketed bullet at just over 2400 fps. However, I would never consider shooting it in a Stevens single shot rifle[B)].