Beginner reloading .32 rounds

[Leon]

Mihec also make molds for both .32 and .38 HBWC - http://www.mp-molds.com/index.php?pr=35 ... C_4cav_gal

Have both, beautifully made ....

[Fido82]

Are u still having trouble with the benelli .32?

i got one myself, and heres my recipe:
Vv n320 2,0 grain, Handler und naterman .314 100 gr lubricated lead wc bullets, cci brass, loadaed to 24,0 mm.
theese rounds will make holes that touches eachother on 25 mtr.

I use a RCBS deprimer and bullet seater, a Dillon expander and a redding profile crimp. It was the redding profile crimp that gave me the uniformaty that i had missed with all my .32 loads. Before i had my benelli, i had an older Pardini MP .32, and again, the redding die was the wonder.

if you are from finland, i can recommend shooting supplies in luxemborg, he has the redding dies.

[Fido82]

Btw, if it jams the next round, its the magazine lips that are to wide.
if you take a plier, bending them just a bit, it should sort the problem

please see this link for the correct didtance between the lips:
http://privat.bahnhof.se/wb810999arne/a ... p90_32.htm

[JiriK]

Pistol is working ok, replacing the magazine frames helped.
If only I could adjust the ejector so that empty shell doesn´t hit me...

Is that rcbs mould double cavity?

[David M]

[quote="JiriKIs that rcbs mould double cavity?[/quote]
Yes
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/246137 ... -wadcutter

[bruce em]

Doc Young loaded vv 320 I used his ammo and it worked very well

the key I find is the expander and type of shell (straight wall vs +P)

+P will bulge by the expander

[David M]

Doc Young loaded vv 320 I used his ammo and it worked very well

the key I find is the expander and type of shell (straight wall vs +P)

+P will bulge by the expander

My understanding is that +P brass is only available in .32 H&R Mag Brass, it
does not exist in .32 S&W Long brass.
All .32 S&W Long cases are straight walled internally then have a taper (wall
thickning) in the lower portion of the case. Some brands start this taper lower
down the case than others. Some have thicker straight side walls than others.
For the best accuracy you need to match your dies,bullets and cases to your
pistol chamber and barrel.

[deadeyedick]

For the best accuracy you need to match your dies,bullets and cases to your
pistol chamber and barrel.

In the years I have been shooting .32 I believe that the above statement provided by David M is the most beneficial change I have made.
As has been mentioned, most full length sizing dies are manufactured to suit the smallest bullet size requirements however for using larger projectiles such as .314 unless modifications are made to the FLRD then the larger bullet will be compressed in an attempt to conform to the smaller rim diameter brought about by the default size die.
I measured the ID of sized cases and then diamond lapped the internal diameter of my sizing die to better match the projectile OD that I use.
From memory I increased the ID of the FLRSD by .004" which has provided a uniform amount of case neck tension.
It is important to do your maths correctly and use the same case brand at all times then modify or pay someone to alter your full length resizing die for you accordingly.
I did however find that I had to fire new cases in my pistol before the newly modified sizing die could be used effectively. Cases that had been used in my pistol previously of the same brand did not necessitate this .
There may be other ways of getting from A to B however this was more simple than it sounds and best of all it works.
It provided consistency in my loads to match the consistency I am still trying to achieve in my technique.

[cnnhead]

I'm just starting reloading .32 for my old Pardini HP. It always worked great with factory Lapua 98gr but the current ammo prices are killing me and I need to switch for home production ;-)

I slugged my barrel, it turned out it was .313, so I think I should go for .314 bullets (probably Lapua rounds). I already got regular Dillon and Lyman dice but I gather from this thread that they won't be sufficient :-(. My sizing die formats cases to .3315 and the expander is of .310 diameter. So I will probably need a new sizing die and a new expander. The question is where could I get such oversized dice? Preferably somewhere in Europe :-)
Another thing is that most of my cases arę already formatted to .331. Any idea how to resize them?
I appreciate any tips.

[JiriK]

Here are a couple of moulds to try
98 gr
https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/MainSe ... te=C12J059

86gr
http://www.castbulletengineering.com.au ... gle-cavity

My favorite is a 84gn BNBB wadcutter cast in 5% tin, lubed with a home lube and loaded over 1.6gn VV N310 giving 780 fps.
Check to see if your mags will allow a button nose to be loaded for LOA.

I bought a slightly used rcbs 98gr wc mould a couple of weeks ago.
Have cast maybe 600bullets from range scrap lead. Sorted bullets by weight and then lubed with lee liquid alox.

Already tested those bullets unsized. Loaded cartridges fit well in the chamber, no feeding issues.

I received lee sizing kits today, .314 for .32 and .358 for .38 bullets. So real testing starts now.

What does that LOA mean?

[David M]

LOA length over all, ie if they are too long....they wont fit.

[Spencer]

LOA length over all, ie if they are too long....they wont fit.

in the magazine, and/or give rise to feeding reliability

[JiriK]

Ok. How long LOA should a cartridge with that button nose bullet have?

I have loaded my .32 cartridges to C.O.L. (cartridge overall
length) of 24.6mm like Lapua reloading data says.

[PFribley]

I solved the sizing problem by not sizing the brass at all. I use a 9mm sizer to knock out the old primer. I now can seat the .313 lapua wadds by hand. Use a roll crimp.

[Murph]

I'm just starting reloading .32 for my old Pardini HP. It always worked great with factory Lapua 98gr but the current ammo prices are killing me and I need to switch for home production ;-)

I slugged my barrel, it turned out it was .313, so I think I should go for .314 bullets (probably Lapua rounds). I already got regular Dillon and Lyman dice but I gather from this thread that they won't be sufficient :-(. My sizing die formats cases to .3315 and the expander is of .310 diameter. So I will probably need a new sizing die and a new expander. The question is where could I get such oversized dice? Preferably somewhere in Europe :-)
Another thing is that most of my cases arę already formatted to .331. Any idea how to resize them?
I appreciate any tips.

Lyman offers an expander die that expands for .314 bullets. Works great for me. Lymanproducts.com

[oldcaster]

Bringing up old discussion..

I bought bullet casting pot a couple of months ago so I could cast my own projectiles for a BP revolver.
That pot could be used for casting other things, like .32 wc bullets and maybe .38 WC/SWC bullets

What type of bullet mould produces a bullet that works well with Benelli .32?

The favorite mold of a group of us is the Saeco #323 shot with the button forward and the velocity needs to be around 670 -720 fps. Friend would sell his 2 cavity because he bought a 4 cavity.

Your alibis are probably caused by too much velocity and or because your recoil spring is getting too weak. Load some down a bit and see if the alibis stop.

As far as trimming your brass, my new Lapua brass measured from .910 to either .918 or .919 I can't remember but wrote them down somewhere on this site as to how many and how long. I think it is more important to have the fronts square than it is exactly how long they are. One of the problems is that some cases get longer and some shorter as they are shot. I have no idea why and it seems quite strange to me.

Some of the guys get away with taper crimping so length is not important but I got poor results unless I used a roll crimp. Both of my friends shot Remington brass and liked it. I used some CBC and think it is possible that Remington makes them and I had good results with them. I never mixed brass when testing but if I had to buy some new right now it would be Remington.

[JiriK]

More on old topic.

I was testing an old Toz-96 revolver today.
Makes good groups with Lapua 6.35g wc factory loads, but not good with my own loads.
Barrel slugs .312 and has twist of ca. 266mm/revolution (~1/10.5)
Twist is a bit hard to measure accurately as the barrel is 136mm long from forcing cone to end.

Is it possible that the bullets I have cast, rcbs 98gr wc, sized .314 are too big?
Also, I use CH4D seating&crimping die. I read that it makes a taper crimp.
Roll crimp might be better? Do you know, what Lapua uses?
Their cartridges dont´t seem to have much crimp at all.

[oldcaster]

If your bullets have a BHN in the 8-9 range they can be sized wrong a little more than if they are hard but you can only get away with a certain amount. What that is, probably varies from one project to another but I like to be the exact size the barrel is. Perhaps you could find someone who has a smaller sizer to see if it matters. Have you measured a pulled bullet to see what size they are after coming out of the brass.

[JiriK]

So the bullets are too big?
I have only .314 bullet sizing die..
I´ll ask a clubmate if he still has some bullets I cast with Lee 6-cavity mold. Tumble lube 86 grains.. or something.
Those didn´t work well in my Benelli, but they were so small that there was no point in calibrating them with .314 die.

I visited a local gun shop last week. They have a Hornady .32 reloading die set, no. 044509.
I can´t find info online if the seating die in that set makes taper- or roll crimp..

[oldcaster]

I don't know which it is but would expect it to be roll since that is the standard for 32 long. Whether your bullets being too large for the barrel cause you to have inaccuracies or not, I don't know but would expect that it is quite possible. I could size your bullets or send you a smaller die but shipping would be prohibitive. I have never shot any of those bullets but only the Saeco #323 and H&N and they both were considered by several of us to be the best and equal to each other. I had a .314 barrel on my Benelli and changed to a .312 and got worse accuracy. I was only sizing my bullets down to .313 and that may have been too big. I never did check the internal diameter of the replacement barrel but it may have been smaller than .312.