32 Special

Ambrose

I got a couple boxes of empty .32 Special cases with some stuff at an antique sale. It got me thinking that I should restart the loading project with the Marlin 336 "deer rifle" (24" barrel) in my collection. I would think with the extra barrel length and larger bore that velocities with 170 gr. bullets should exceed .30-30 loads in the typical 20" barrel. Any ideas or suggestions? I've got RCBS dies and Hornady and Speer bullets. There's even a part box of recent factory Winchester loads on my shelf.

Rocky Raab

You have to ask yourself how much extra velocity you might get, and then whether that much is of any benefit. Considering that the effective range of a .30-30 or 32 Special is normally under 200 yards, the risk and effort of boosting pressures to gain a few feet per second probably outweighs any advantage.

The 32 Special is a fine old cartridge. Any differences between it and the .30-30 are purely imaginary, though. It even uses .30-30 load data almost exactly. Your longer barrel may give you a bit more speed on its own; I wouldn't push the load data.

MIKE WISKEY

you migh gain a little but you just don't have the 'boiler room' to do much. still it will save a bunch over factory ammo, and you can get 'ole bettsey' shooting again.

gotstolefrom

I agree with your choice of heavy pills to do the work. That said, you're not going to get dramatic velocity increases, regardless of your load combination or that extra 4 inches.

I confess, when I considered loading for my 30-30 I also hoped for dramatic improvement over factory ballistics. I settled on a load that grouped very well before touching a chrono..when I did it settled in at 2050 fps.

Now I had a sweet, reliable load , near the max load for IMR-4320. I ended up right where everyone told me....the 30-30 just isn't a 'hot rod' platform.

gravley

When I first started reloading in 1962, I bought a bought a used Model 94 in 32 Win. Spl. Not satisfied with the selection of bullets available, I started using 8 MM bullets. Lots of selection to choose from then and as they are slightly larger (.321 vs .323) my groups tighten up a considerable amount. Sierra still makes a 150 and 175 spire point that I use for a 2 shot deer gun.

Riomouse911

About the only way to "soup up" a .32 Spl or .30-30 and stay within the pressure limits of the lever guns they're usually found in is to Ackley Improve them. Even then, you're not getting that much more oomph, and the extra juice is pretty much wasted because of the flatnose bullets. Mebbe the new rubber-tipped Hornady bullets in an AI hull might make a difference, but is it worth the cost of the AI conversion?

edharold

Those old relics look really nice hanging on the wall.

machine gun moran

While factory ballistics put the .32 Special slightly ahead of the .30-30 with a 170-grain bullet (and they stretch both), there is no practical difference. Neither cartridge is a candidate for significant ballistic improvement by going over-pressure. Like Gotstolefrom's experience, I settled on a .30-30 load of a 170-grain at a shade over 2,000, and I would do the same in a .32 Special (I use 3031, 4064, and 748).

BTW, when the 190-grain Silvertip RN's (the old .303 Savage bullet) were still available from Winchester, I loaded them in the .30-30 for single-shot use, at about 1,900.

Michibay

Just some trivia....Many years ago...a survey was done asking hunters their most effective deer round with "one shot" kills....Interesting the 30-30 with "150 Grainers" beat out the 170 Grain!