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32-20 on Deer...
Highball
Member Posts: 15,755
The topic interests me.
I carried a Savage Sporter, 32-20, for about three years over in Arkansas.
I shot 26 deer with it..all but one one shot kills. Distances under 75 yards...only a couple over..125 yards being the max.
The only load I could get was the 100 gr standard velocity.
I had to trail up only a couple animals..and 100 yards is the most I ever had to trail one, save for one deer lost.
Not recommended for the trigger happy, nor those unwilling to wait for the shot.
Wish I could find another good one.
I carried a Savage Sporter, 32-20, for about three years over in Arkansas.
I shot 26 deer with it..all but one one shot kills. Distances under 75 yards...only a couple over..125 yards being the max.
The only load I could get was the 100 gr standard velocity.
I had to trail up only a couple animals..and 100 yards is the most I ever had to trail one, save for one deer lost.
Not recommended for the trigger happy, nor those unwilling to wait for the shot.
Wish I could find another good one.
Comments
My neighbor's seven-year-old grandson used it to take a deer.
He killed it at 54 yards and dropped her in her tracks. I don't know how a rifle or shooter could be anymore effective. Load was a W-W 32-20 standard velocity lead flatnose. I have become near obsessed with 32-20s and have begun using mine on feral hogs. I only shoot small hogs -less than 75 lbs- and it takes them out quick.
I would even use a 25-20 as well. My father carried a 1892 Win in 25-20 as a kid. It was given to him by a group of deerhunters. They shot it so much the cycling of the lever wouldnt cock the hammer anymore. I also have worked for an old gentleman in his 70s that has his father's 92 in 25-20. He said they hunted deer with it regularly and said it was very effective. It was quite a priviledge getting to use that old 92 to shoot a 200 lb boar...granted I shot him in the forehead so it was quick.
Most people these days don't feel comfortable going out with less than some belted magnum or death ray gun. I honestly have not noticed any real difference between the killing power of a 32-20 and a 30-30 when shooting hogs and varmints with them. They either drop like rocks or run off.
Not legal in my state.
We used to use them anyway when I was a kid.....game wardens rarely checked you and if they did they were in a hurry and just looked at the bore and moved on if it looked big enough.
It was not what I would call a good, reliable killer, but it will kill deer, of course, if they are hit in the lungs, preferably BEHIND the shoulder.
Ballistics sort of like the .30 carbine.
Highball, you should get yourself a T/C Contender with a 32-20 barrel that has a .308 bore. You will fall even more in love with it as the bullet possibilities increase quite a bit.
+1
I knew there was something we could agree on. The .32-20 is a neat cartridge. Have a nice Stevens 44 and a Colt Police Positive in .32-20. I personaly condsider it on the light side for deer but have no doubt that a good marksman could successfully take deer with it. Use mine for paper targets mostly but am looking for groundhogs and cyotes. Can not legaly use a rifle on deer in Illinois. Any sugestions on bullet weights and loads?
My Model 25 Remington is a super fine old piece..and I look at it and wish it were in 32-20...[:D]
While I don't neccessarily give loading data.. safety being foremost..I think the mid-eighty grain bullets would be pretty good. Lead bullets are just as good as anything, in this old caliber..again, IMHO.
I wouldn't grab a 32-20 to take a thousand miles after a trophy buck..but just for woods cruising, I wouldn't feel a bit undergunned.
I am sure it is superceeded by any number of calibers today..but there will always be a place for such as the 32-20 in the hearts of odl timers like me.