.32-20 reloading, Colt Army Special

[hanover67]

I am looking for loading data for a .32-20 Colt Army Special revolver. I have some Bullseye and IMR 700X powder on hand as well as .314" 90gr Lead SWC bullets. I haven't slugged the barrel, but the bullets are a snug fit in each cylinder chamber. I would also be interested in loads using Unique powder. Also, I have seen data listing both small rifle and small pistol primers. Which is better (safer)?

[5knives]

32-20 can be a problem child.

Part of the problem is properly loaded in a revolver in good condition is that it makes an excellent small game, plinking and all around good "Trail Gun". Very often the favorite of some very knowlegable folks.

Another part of the problem is the fact that revolvers chambered for the cartridge span the black powder era right through some modern versions. Obviously the BP guns won't stand up to loads tailored to use in the newer metallurgy.

So, safest is to load the old ones with BP or Pyrodex (or equivalent).

But even the old ones can be safely loaded with smokeless powder, just not as much.

Unique can be a good to very good or even an excellent choice.

Bullet weight can vary from 85 grains to as high as 115 and give good results, with velocities ranging from as low as a perfectly respectable 750 fps for the heavier ones to as high as 1000-1100 in the very solid newer pistols with the lightest weight bullets.

Cast at .314 may be a tad snug for your revolver, 32-20 recomendatoions are usually in the .308 to .312 range, lead or jacketed, with maybe a cast or swaged .313 working okay.

In any case, you can't really go by the chambers, gotta go by the barrel dimension. Snug in the cylinder might not be a good sign.

I might get pretty nervous about Bullseye, Red Dot or 700x, pretty fast burning, need to be measured very carefully.

Here's what I'd suggest.

Check out the Bullet Mfrs. sites listed at the top of this Forum, and Hogdon Powders also.

Find their recommendations re: bullets and Powders, cut the powder charge of the minimum recommended load by 10%.

Unique would be a very good choice for this task, IMHO.

Load up 10 or 20, get to the range and see how they work out, be aware of any signs of high pressure, carefully load some more with just a bit more powder ( 1/10 grain increments are ALWAYS the smart way to go.) and do it again. Stop when you get your best accuracy, and never go over the Max loads. Actually there's very little reason to ever get anywhere near the Max loadings.

Use whatever primer the data specs call for. Rifle primers are not necessaarily "hotter" than pistol primers from the same company, but they are uniformly harder.

I'd caution aggainst taking anyones personal data and using it, there's simply too much variation in the firearms chambered for the 32-20, and the use and care (or lack of it) they've received in their lifetime.

Almost forgot, whatever data you find, be sure your working from Handgun load Data (NOT for T/C Contender) and NOT from data for rifles.

Just a few thoughts on the subject, hope it helps.

Have fun and stay safe.

Regards,

[Rew]

I have never loaded the 32-20 and the only published data I have is rifle only. The Army Special was introduced in 1908 and made from the beginning for smokeless powder. It was chambered in .38 and .41 Colt as well as the 32-20. Serial number range is from 291000 to about 513216. It became the Official police in 1927. That gives you a 19 year window of production at a time powders were in the middle of a revolution of change and improvement. So like 5knives says be real careful and watch for pressure sign's. No reason in the world to hot rod your old warhorse.

[Pogo]

Here is a web page that has info on the 32-20.

http://www.reloadammo.com/3220.htm

I would do what they say, and start at 10% lower than their listed data, and work up.

A question, what is it you want to do with the firearm? If you are wanting it for just plinking, and target shooting, I would keep the velocity down anyway. No need to put any undue wear on a fine old firearm.

I'd like to see a picture of your old Colt. Sounds interesting.

[hanover67]

Thanks for the advice and info. I was hoping to find a fellow Army Special owner who had been through this process.

I have an old (1964) Lyman reloading manual that lists handgun loads for the .32-20. It doesn't have a 90gr bullet load, but it does have a 95gr that lists xxx of Unique as a starting load @ 720fps. The bullet is a Lyman cast lead bullet No. 313226, presumably .313" as cast. I've read that the .32-20 spikes rapidly in pressure as the powder charge is increased. I only intend to use it for target shooting, so I'm looking for accuracy rather than velocity.

Regarding bullet diameters, I don't know how to slug the bore. Perhaps one of you has a suggested technique? But, I tried fitting a .308 and a .312 rifle bulletin the end of the barrel and neither would drop in, so maybe .314 lead bullets are a tad tight.


I almost didn't catch it, Sorry Hanover but we don't allow powder charge amounts to be posted. It looks like a perfactly safe load but we have to stick by our own rules. Rew

I've tried to attach a photo of the gun to this reply. I hope it is viewable. I'm just learning to use a digital camera.

[hanover67]

Follow-up to earlier reply. Reduced photo size.

[5knives]

Lyman #48 lists the same start for a Sierra 90 gr. #8030 @639fps and a couple less tenths for thei #31108 SWC (n0 2 alloy) @ 684. So it sounds like your close to a starting load there.

Good looking gun, sorry for the typos, gotta run!

Regards,

[Pogo]

Originally Posted by hanover67

Regarding bullet diameters, I don't know how to slug the bore. Perhaps one of you has a suggested technique? But, I tried fitting a .308 and a .312 rifle bulletin the end of the barrel and neither would drop in, so maybe .314 lead bullets are a tad tight.

The way I've done it is to use a bullet cast out of pure lead which is 2 or 3 thousands larger than the diameter of the bore I'm going to slug.

I clean the barrel first, and I very lightly lubricate the bore with lightweight oil, and drive the bullet thru with a hardwood dowel rod. Then I measure the diameter of the slug after it's been pushed thru the bore.

Meister bullet company makes a kit for slugging guns. http://www.meisterbullets.com/ But, I've always just used a bullet that I've cast out of pure lead, and it seems to work OK.

Yeah, neat old firearm. It would be interesting to hear the stories that old revolver could tell.

[hanover67]

Pogo:
I tried your technique for slugging the bore, but used a .314" Hornady bullet of unknown hardness.

The bullet measured .314 before slugging. I bought a new LED display caliper for the project, and this was a geat excuse to make the purchase! I cleaned and lightly oiled the barrel, as you recommended, clamped the gun in a vise with the barrel pointed up, poised the bullet in the bore and started tapping it down with a 1/4" hardwood dowel. At first it resisted, but then moved down with moderate resistance and dropped out the breech end. It measured .312", with several measurements all agreeing. So, that is the actual diameter, at the high end of the range of possible widths. Also, there are six lands and grooves.

Given the moderate resistance I encountered, I don't think .314 bullets are too tight, and thankfully, the cylinder bores are larger than the barrel, rather than the other way around like some old Colts.

I queried Hornady about the lube used on their bullets, but all they said was that it is a wax-based lube. It is all but invisible to the naked eye. This particular bullet (a 90gr Lead semi-wadcutter) has a surface that looks like checkering on the side, so maybe the lube is down in the grooves between the high points of the checkered surface.

Thanks for your help and advice. I avoided the cost of the slugging kit, but spent more than that on the caliper...

[Pogo]

I have used those pre-lubed Hornaday bullets with a clear wax like surface, and they work fine.

Lee makes an Alox lube which is very similar, and that is what I use on my 45-70 bullets that I cast.

[hanover67]

We, I finally got all the necessary equipment and ingredients together to reload and shoot .32-20's in my 1923-vintage Colt Army Special. I had to buy, in addition to the reloading dies (Lee), a new shellholder for my Auto-Prime, a pound of Unique powder, and a .32 caliber pistol cleaning brush.

I used a very mild starting load, and fired 5 rounds using that load, the 90gr. Hornady LSWC bullets and Winchester small rifle primers. The primers are hard. I had one failure to fire, partly due to the fact that the hammer point strikes the primer near the side not in the center. I put the round in another chamber, fired again, and it went off. I had increased the powder charge by 1/10 grain for each of five different sets of cartridges to see if there were any signs of high pressure, so the final group of five cartridges was 4/10ths higher than the initial five, 25 rounds in all. There wasn't much difference in recoil until the last batch, which had a much louder report than the others. It was also the most accurate. I was shooting at 15 yards from a rest, and all of the shots went into a group about 1 1/2 inches wide, and three inches high. Not bad for an old timer (the gun).

One unanticipated side effect is that this load is really dirty. After 25 rounds, the combination of lead spatter and powder residue covered the front half of the cylinder, the face of the cylinder, and gummed up the front bushing so it was hard to turn. It took a lot of work to get it clean later. I put the spent shells nose down in an MTM box, and when I got home there was what looked like unburned powder at the bottom of the box. That doesn't seem possible with light charges of smokeless powder, but that's what it looked like.

I was happy with the first outing, and I appreciate all the help and advice from the members of this group. I have an affinity for old guns with odd calibers, so we'll all learn something the next time I find one.

[5knives]

OOOOPS!

Forgot to mention one little fact about Unique, ... umm .... it's not the cleanest burning powder on the market.

Sorry abnout that.

(But you should have seen it before they" improved " it and made it "cleaner burning".)

I'd guess you did have a fair amount of unburnt powder, strangely enough, it might well be from your lighter loads, the louder crack and the improved accuracy, indicate your last loads were in the ballpark, accuracy improved as you hit a powder charge heavy enough to cause the bullet to obdurate (upset) enough to filll the lands and grooves, hence a tighter seal.

Lead spatter suggests the timings probably a bit off, as does the off center firing pin strike, no surprise in a workhorse gun of that age. That's curable too!

Isn't it funny how your experimenting with the loads and working up the right one, somehow makes that fine old Revolver more "YOURS".

Very Special now!

And that's a good thing!

BTW, You did good Mr. hanover67, REAL good!

Regards,

[Pogo]

You might want to try IMR's Trail Boss. It was developed for Cowboy Action Shooters. And, it allows light loads without being so dirty. It's kind of expensive, but you probably won't be shooting all that much of it in that old 32-20.

[hanover67]

Its all expensive! I now have enough Unique for about 2000 rounds. The reason I originally asked about 700x for this cartridge is that 26 years ago when I moved to California I bought an 8 pound can...and I still have 7 1/2 lbs left. As I recall, 700X is pretty dirty too. I figure I can spring for another new can of powder when I'm about 94 years old.

[Rew]

I've loaded a lot with 700x. In Germany it was about the only powder I could get most of the time. It is a little slower than bullseye and a little faster then unique. Try some lite loads (target) for the .38 special from one of the manuals. Should work fine.