i am new to reloading the .32 and currently use very basic equipment (Lee aniversary kit) i would like to upgrade to something a little faster and more accurate as i have to weigh each load on the scales using a trickler very slow!
i have heard that the Dillon has problems with the small powder charge required, would the Hornady powder thrower with the pistol rotor be suitable for such small loads?
i am using W231 1.7gns & 98gn HBWC.
any help would be appreciated.
reloading 32
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Ernie Rodriguez
- Posts: 344
- Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:50 pm
- Location: Tennessee
32 S&W Loading
I use a Hornady progressive LNL press and the small pistol drum type (powder measure) works extremely accurate with WST,B'eye or N310.
Last edited by Ernie Rodriguez on Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Fortitudo Dei
- Posts: 256
- Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 8:30 pm
- Location: New Zealand
If you are on a tight budget, I suggest the new(ish) Lee "Classic" turret press. It's a four station semi-progressive (so you can fit a fourth crimp-only die) and is a huge improvement over their older aluminium turret press (i.e. the non-classic version which they still sell). It will accept the Lee Auto-Disk Powder Measure on the powder-through die. When fitted with the Lee Micro Disk, the powder measure throws tiny loads very consistently.
Another budget option is to fit the powder-through die with the little plastic funnel that Lee sells and use the little yellow plastic scoop that comes with every set of Lee dies. Push a tiny blob of blu-tac down into the bottom of the scoop with a matchstick and see what powder weight it throws, giving a wee tap after each "scoop" to knock off the excess. Adjust the amount of blu-tac in the bottom of the scoop until it throws what you need. I used this method for a couple of years after starting reloading and found it to be incredibly consistent (1.5 grns of WST for my .32 loads) and reasonably speedy.
Another budget option is to fit the powder-through die with the little plastic funnel that Lee sells and use the little yellow plastic scoop that comes with every set of Lee dies. Push a tiny blob of blu-tac down into the bottom of the scoop with a matchstick and see what powder weight it throws, giving a wee tap after each "scoop" to knock off the excess. Adjust the amount of blu-tac in the bottom of the scoop until it throws what you need. I used this method for a couple of years after starting reloading and found it to be incredibly consistent (1.5 grns of WST for my .32 loads) and reasonably speedy.
Reloading
My Dillon 550 worked 'OK' with the micro powder bar loading 32 (7.62x26), but I wasn't all that convinced and made a micro-micro bar.
Not sure its made a difference but I feel better.
I wasn't so keen on 231, Bullseye and WST are better for me.
Dillon is well ahead of budget presses, just bear in mind the 550 isn't fully progressive, you have to turn the 'spider' each time so there are opportunities for screw-ups.
OTOH if you screw up its easy to clear.
Oh, and order the calendar too.
Not sure its made a difference but I feel better.
I wasn't so keen on 231, Bullseye and WST are better for me.
Dillon is well ahead of budget presses, just bear in mind the 550 isn't fully progressive, you have to turn the 'spider' each time so there are opportunities for screw-ups.
OTOH if you screw up its easy to clear.
Oh, and order the calendar too.
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Bill Poole
- Posts: 435
- Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:50 pm
- Location: Scottsdale, AZ
- Contact:
I have been using vv n319 in the dillon (square deal B) with the small charge bar
I find that 1.6 or 1.7 gr (90gr hornady) dumps powder ok almost every time (bullet yaws though, different issue)
But if I try to load 1.2gr. (For that 100gr dewc) I often get a squib load , maybe bottom of the paper, 1 or 2 such shots in a box of 50.
I was thinking of trying Trailboss since is is fluffier to see if that helps charge volume consistency.
To correct the bullet yaw problem I want to increase the charge , how much more is safe in a pardini?
Poole
I find that 1.6 or 1.7 gr (90gr hornady) dumps powder ok almost every time (bullet yaws though, different issue)
But if I try to load 1.2gr. (For that 100gr dewc) I often get a squib load , maybe bottom of the paper, 1 or 2 such shots in a box of 50.
I was thinking of trying Trailboss since is is fluffier to see if that helps charge volume consistency.
To correct the bullet yaw problem I want to increase the charge , how much more is safe in a pardini?
Poole
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Anders Turebrand
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 6:27 pm
- Location: Stockholm Sweden
The Dillon X-small powder bar differs from the small only in that the end of the dispensing cavity is flat instead of triangular.
In my opinion it has a too wide adjustment slide (about 10mm or 0.4") which has the effect that the dispensing cavity becomes very narrow when you adjust it to small charges, say less than 1.5 grains.
It seems that some powders will sometimes stack in this narrow space giving a smaller load in that instance.
I personally haven´t weighed charges but a friend ("Axel" on this forum) did maybe two years ago and he found occasional light charges using N310 with a small charge, if I remember correctly 1.3 grains, with lighter charges being around 1 grains.
We talked about this and I made a powder bar from delrin (polyacetale) with a 6mm (0.24") wide, round ended opening and a flat ended adjustment slide with an M6 adjustment screw (close enough to the original ¼" screw to work with the locking piece after turning a slot in it)
Axel tested this one with good results, in fact he did not want to give it back to me...
So I made another one with a 5mm (0.2") wide, round ended opening and an adjustment slide with a circular cutout in its front which means that the dispensing cavity is circular when set to about 1.1 grains of N310.
I did choose to go to a M4 adjustment thread on this one which meant a little more lathe work turning it from an M6 screw.
This one works very well for small charges of N310 (that´s what I have tried) and probably with other powders as well.
Anyway, I have included pictures that show (hopefully) what I mean.
-Dillon1 is an X-small powder bar
-Dillon2 is a comparison small/X-small
-ultrasmall is my second try
Sorry for a lenghty post...
/Anders
In my opinion it has a too wide adjustment slide (about 10mm or 0.4") which has the effect that the dispensing cavity becomes very narrow when you adjust it to small charges, say less than 1.5 grains.
It seems that some powders will sometimes stack in this narrow space giving a smaller load in that instance.
I personally haven´t weighed charges but a friend ("Axel" on this forum) did maybe two years ago and he found occasional light charges using N310 with a small charge, if I remember correctly 1.3 grains, with lighter charges being around 1 grains.
We talked about this and I made a powder bar from delrin (polyacetale) with a 6mm (0.24") wide, round ended opening and a flat ended adjustment slide with an M6 adjustment screw (close enough to the original ¼" screw to work with the locking piece after turning a slot in it)
Axel tested this one with good results, in fact he did not want to give it back to me...
So I made another one with a 5mm (0.2") wide, round ended opening and an adjustment slide with a circular cutout in its front which means that the dispensing cavity is circular when set to about 1.1 grains of N310.
I did choose to go to a M4 adjustment thread on this one which meant a little more lathe work turning it from an M6 screw.
This one works very well for small charges of N310 (that´s what I have tried) and probably with other powders as well.
Anyway, I have included pictures that show (hopefully) what I mean.
-Dillon1 is an X-small powder bar
-Dillon2 is a comparison small/X-small
-ultrasmall is my second try
Sorry for a lenghty post...
/Anders
- Attachments
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- s
- dillon1.JPG (13.67 KiB) Viewed 4938 times
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- dillon2.JPG (11.71 KiB) Viewed 4938 times
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I dont wont to start a Lee vs Dillon war, but Lee progrssive presses work well and are relatively cheap (< $300 Australian with dies). The accuracy of their powder thrower (through the die), particularly the 'delux' model with the teflon wiper, is very, very good. I regularly throw 1.6gn of WST with no variation between throws. Have used this powder thrower down to 1.1 gns of Bullseye, with the same level of accuracy.
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Guest
Reloading .32's
Reloading the 32 S&W can be a daunting task.
I have seen groups ranging from 20 to 100 mm @ 25 meter, from the same pistol, in a Ransom Rest, just by changing some seemingly insignificant components.
The first problem with the .32, is the relative large amount of free space in the case, even with a full field grade load, wich is unpractical, if not dangerous in a target pistol.
There are several solutions, such as using powder with a low density / weight ratio, or using wad fillings and the most effective: High quality magnum type primers!
Yes, i know it, it's against everything you have learned about reloading and it's may even be dangerous, if not done properly and everybody reading this, shall hereby be warned!
First of all, make sure your cases are of the same make and be certain that they are cleaned and un-damaged.
After de-priming it's a good idea to deburr the casemouth, just a bit, it will prevent the case to lodge the bullet when it's crimped.
About primers, my best results has been achieved with CCI 550 small pistol magnum, but be sure they are seated properly and if using Hirtenberger cases, the primer hole MUST be deburred!!!
Powder choice can be tricky, as what's on the local market, plays a major role, but my favorite is VV310, followed by HP 38 and Unique.
My usual charge for a 98 or 100 grain bullet is 1,5 gr VV310, but start at 1,3 gr and work it up from there.
Bullet quality may vary a lot, again, it depends on what's on the market in your area, but i prefer 3-D hard swaged 100 gr for my training loads and Händler&Nätermann 100 gr for competition.
Working up your loads can take some time, but be patient, the first goal is to make your pistol function flawlessly with the ammo and when this is achieved, you can start making small incremential changes, such as seating dept, crimp amount, powder charge and so on, until the desired result is reached.
I hope you will find YOUR perfect load and put it into good use.
Bjarne M. Nielsen
I have seen groups ranging from 20 to 100 mm @ 25 meter, from the same pistol, in a Ransom Rest, just by changing some seemingly insignificant components.
The first problem with the .32, is the relative large amount of free space in the case, even with a full field grade load, wich is unpractical, if not dangerous in a target pistol.
There are several solutions, such as using powder with a low density / weight ratio, or using wad fillings and the most effective: High quality magnum type primers!
Yes, i know it, it's against everything you have learned about reloading and it's may even be dangerous, if not done properly and everybody reading this, shall hereby be warned!
First of all, make sure your cases are of the same make and be certain that they are cleaned and un-damaged.
After de-priming it's a good idea to deburr the casemouth, just a bit, it will prevent the case to lodge the bullet when it's crimped.
About primers, my best results has been achieved with CCI 550 small pistol magnum, but be sure they are seated properly and if using Hirtenberger cases, the primer hole MUST be deburred!!!
Powder choice can be tricky, as what's on the local market, plays a major role, but my favorite is VV310, followed by HP 38 and Unique.
My usual charge for a 98 or 100 grain bullet is 1,5 gr VV310, but start at 1,3 gr and work it up from there.
Bullet quality may vary a lot, again, it depends on what's on the market in your area, but i prefer 3-D hard swaged 100 gr for my training loads and Händler&Nätermann 100 gr for competition.
Working up your loads can take some time, but be patient, the first goal is to make your pistol function flawlessly with the ammo and when this is achieved, you can start making small incremential changes, such as seating dept, crimp amount, powder charge and so on, until the desired result is reached.
I hope you will find YOUR perfect load and put it into good use.
Bjarne M. Nielsen
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David Levene
- Posts: 5617
- Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2004 12:49 pm
- Location: Ruislip, UK
What do you mean by "the bullets are quite high".buonvento wrote:I'm using 1.3 N310, CCI 500 and 100 HBWC in my Pardini HP new, but the bullets are quite high. I must change charge?
Any suggestion will be very appreciated...
If you mean that they don't go all the way into the case then you need to adjust your seating die. If you need to seat the bullets lower you might also check that your expander plug is correctly adjusted. Remember that HBWC bullets are longer than the eqivalent weight/alloy solid bullets.
If you mean that the bullets are making holes too high on the target then adjust the sights.