Dipnet wrote: been doing BE for ~7 years and now shoot better one handed than with two, especially with iron sights. cheers, dipnet
This happens all the time to newbies that come out for practice sessions and are afraid to not shoot one handed. We let them do it and after several weeks, someone will start to coach them with one hand and they are always astounded as to how well they can do it. Coaching means a lot in all kinds of disciplines but especially in Bullseye because it isn't possible to shoot accurately the way people think would be the best way.
I have taken people out and let them shoot bench rested groups and they typically put the dot where they want and then try to squeeze the trigger. After several tries, I tell them to instead, watch their dot and shoot a group. After this I have them watch the target for another group and then compare. The second two ways are always better.
The route I took was to buy a match capable .22 and work with that till I am ready to bother with center fire (I am still on the .22)
I bought a perfect Hi Standard Citation- boxed Hamden gun with the long barrel and two magazines for $700.
Every once in a while I drag a police style center fire out to the line to try a string.
I use my H&K USP- hardly worth bothering...
I will be listing a 208 and a 215 on the classifieds here- they will be listed in a few weeks time.
I think your High Standard is a very good gun to start with and also finish with. In the old days they were made right. I would suggest that if your gun is very reliable at this time to measure how far apart the lips and whatever else you can measure are and write it down so it could be readjusted if dropped or if the gun starts to alibi. This and the tiny spring that returns the slide holder can get lost if you take the grips off. Otherwise just shoot it and enjoy.
Focusing on the OPs original question, the 32 S&W long is the most popular 32 used in Bullseye, the 32 ACP is offered only by Pardini (I believe?). The S&W long is a full wadcutter, and I am unaware of any commercial jacketed ammunition (?). As Chris mentioned, Lapua and Fiocchi are readily available, both in lead HBWC. There are some other brands, but accuracy is suspect. The guns used for this cartridge (HBWC) seem limited to a few European "Olympic" pistols, e.g. the Walther, Pardini, Benelli, and Matchgun. All excellent target guns, and all available in 22lr as well.
Reloading the 32 long can be challenging, emphasis on particular components is mandatory and there is an initial investment required, but once mastered the resulting cartridges are very accurate and reasonable in cost. Keep in mind, the bigger challenge in reloading is for 50 yards, 25 is much easier.
I am 69 and starting to experience the joy of old age, in particular arthritis in my wrists. The light recoil of the 32 makes shooting a couple hundred rounds enjoyable.
When I started shooting Bullseye 18 months ago I had a customized Glock 34, a Glock 41 and a new Victory 22 (which I had extensive trigger work done on). . As I got into the sport I realized they were the wrong guns. I sold the 41 and the 34, still have the Victory, but never shoot it. Wrong guns for Bullseye, for the aforementioned reasons.
Currently, for CF, I shoot 32 S&W long which uses wadcutters. Not aware of any jacketed bullets available, so far I have found that only certain swaged bullets are accurate at 50 yards.
You can also use Saeco #323 bullets that are cast and they will do well. The problem is that you have to cast them yourself to make sure they are of the right alloy and also casted correctly. Most of the hollow base bullets available are too small of diameter. I don't know anyplace that you can still buy H&N size .314 bullets. I do have a mold that makes hollow base bullets but I don't feel that they are as good as the Saeco. I tried all kinds of hardcast bullets in .312 to .315 and they do not shoot very well in my gun. The Saeco #323 shoots as well as the H&N but both have to be loaded with a .314 expander and it is important which cases you use too.
oldcaster wrote:You can also use Saeco #323 bullets that are cast and they will do well. The problem is that you have to cast them yourself to make sure they are of the right alloy and also casted correctly. Most of the hollow base bullets available are too small of diameter. I don't know anyplace that you can still buy H&N size .314 bullets. I do have a mold that makes hollow base bullets but I don't feel that they are as good as the Saeco. I tried all kinds of hardcast bullets in .312 to .315 and they do not shoot very well in my gun. The Saeco #323 shoots as well as the H&N but both have to be loaded with a .314 expander and it is important which cases you use too.
Lapua makes a swaged HBWC IN .314, it's ok, but I didn't have a great luck with it at 50.
The Saeco bullets are interesting, however I'm too old, and imprecise, to try and cast my own bullets.
You are definitely correct re the importance of the dies and the actual brass.
Greg, Try some of these bullets if you want first but just buy a small amount. I doubt they will be accurate primarily because they are too hard for the application. If they just happen to be the exact size you need they might work because hard bullets are not very forgiving whereas soft bullets are. I tried Dardas .312, .313, .314, and .315. None were even close to accurate but with my Saeco #323 which look the same shape will work in .313 or .314 but they have a BHN of around 8-9. Send me a private message and I will send you some of the Saeco bullets so you can try them. I don't need any money for them. I will also send you a few pieces of brass that have been expanded to .314. I would suggest using 1.6 of Accurate #2 but if you don't have any, load so the bullets will go around 680 fps. I am 73 and still cast so unless you are a lot older it can be done. I would much rather buy bullets because considering labor it isn't worth making them but they are so much better I have no choice. I doubt you will be able to ask a commercial bullet maker to make some with a soft alloy because automatic casting machines don't work that well unless the alloy is harder and soft don't look as good after shipping especially since I also use a soft lube and it gets everywhere. -- Bill --
Thx Bill!! I have a new Start reloader, the expander is .314. I don't have AA powder, normally use WST. !.6 gr. of it is velocity of approval 700 (per my Labradar). I will definitely follow up on your generous offer. I'm leaving this morning for a month Moto trip to South America, will PM you when I return. I was able to borrow a custom swager, which bumps the standard Speer Plinker bullet to a precise copy of an H&N, which seem to work very well. Ahh, the joys of S&W 32l (lol).
