Tiny
Handgun Cartridges Are Also Rifle Small Game Rounds
© 2014 - Ed
Harris
After
fooling around with a pair of chamber inserts using .32 S&W Long or .32 ACP
ammunition in the .30-30, I thought about building a light, “walking rifle”
which would be handy and quiet. I wanted
something more effective than a .22 LR, which could
approach the ballistics of the .32-20 Winchester. The .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R Magnum
cartridges are ideal for such use, but the only factory produced rifle is the
Marlin 1894 Cowboy, which is neither inexpensive, nor very handy. I wanted something which carried more like a
fly rod than a wrecking bar.
My gun safe
contained a seldom used H&R .410 single-shot, on the tiny pre-war action,
which weighed 4 pounds. John Taylor made
for me two rifle barrels chambered for the .32 ACP and .32 S&W Long (which
I later re-chambered to H&R Magnum). The .410 barrel remained intact and
package cost was less than a new Marlin Cowboy lever-gun.
Because I
frequently carry a .32 revolver or .32 ACP pocket pistol around our country
place, I wanted to use those same rounds in a light small game rifle. I would
have two barrels made to compare results obtained with the .32 ACP and .32
Smith & Wesson Long. My reasoning
was that for very light, quiet “.30 cal. CB cap” loads, that the tiny .32 ACP
case would have advantages, whereas the larger .32 S&W Long or H&R
Magnum case would had more capacity if I wanted more energy. I opted for an 18” barrel chambered in .32
ACP for the most-handy configuration and a 26” barrel in .32 S&W Long for
optimum sight radius and minimum noise.
The .32 ACP
barrel was fabricated from a pulled-off M1 Garand barrel, cutting off the
muzzle behind the gas port, and the breech at the chamber neck, turning the OD,
fabricating and beam welding on the shotgun underlug and fitting the ejector. The bore is of standard 4-groove .30 cal.
Government form with ten inch twist and was chambered with a custom reamer
resembling the front half of a .30 M1 Carbine chamber, which headspaces on the
case mouth instead of the semi-rim. The
.32 S&W Long barrel is rifled to normal .32 revolver specs with six
grooves, right twist, one turn in 16 inches with a bore of .302 and .312 groove
diameter.
Firing tests
indoors comparing both barrels with iron sights, I am satisfied that any
handgun ammunition averaging an inch or so over a series of 5-shot groups at 25
yards is adequate for hunting small game.
I managed to do so fairly easily with several loads to prove the
concept. Winchester .32 S&W Long 98-grain LRN, and .32 ACP Fiocchi and RWS
73-gr. hardball all averaged just under inch groups at 25 yards.
Lead 98-gr.
LRN factory loads from the .32 S&W Long 26 inch barrel gave 884 f.p.s. From
the 18 inch .32 ACP, Fiocchi 73-grain hardball clocked 943 f.p.s., and RWS
hardball was 1214 f.p.s. Fiocchi 60-grain JHPs which gave 1200 f.p.s. from a
3.5 inch Beretta pistol screamed out at 1463 f.p.s. in the 18” H&R.
Handloads were next.
My goal was not high velocity, but subsonic,
quiet small game loads approximating the .32 Long rim fire (from .32 ACP brass)
or standard velocity lead .32-20 loads (from .32 S&W Long brass). These objectives were met handily using the
Saeco #325 98-grain SWC and the #322 122-gr. flat nose .32-20 bullets. The RCBS 32-90CM is a good choice for a
common production mold suitable for either caliber. Those not casting their own
bullets can buy commercial Meister 94-gr. LFN bullets of .312 diameter. These
have the same profile as the flat-nosed factory bullet for the .32 Colt New
Police and works well as a heavy .32 ACP bullet. Its ogive length enables a .98” overall
cartridge length when taper-crimped in the .32 ACP and when so seated its base
does not protrude so deeply into the case that it bulges cases. Velocities of
the .32 ACP cast bullet loads with the 94-grain Meister and 1.7 grains of
Bullseye fired from my Walther PP, CZ27 and Beretta 1935 pistols approximate
the performance expected firing a 4” revolver using the same bullet in the .32
S&W Long with 2.5 grains of Bullseye.
When fired from the 18” .32 ACP rifle, the minimum 1.7 grain charge
which reliably functions my WWII-era Euro auto pistols, approaches the velocity
expected of standard velocity .32-20 Winchester factory lead bullet loads fired
from a four-inch barreled revolver.
Trying to
drive a non-expanding cast bullet intended for small game to supersonic
velocity in a small game rifle is a waste of powder. This is not a 100-yard rig, but a woods “walking gun.” Its
iron-sights have a hard 50 yard zero coupled, with reliable 4 moa
grouping (2 inches at 50 yds) and greater striking energy and penetration than
a .22 LR. It shoots clear through critters, making reliable kills on raccoon,
groundhog, wild turkey or the occasional marauding feral dog. The rig is
practical in its simplicity.
The 26 inch
long .32 S&W Long barrel is noticeably quieter than the shorter .32 ACP.
After initial testing I re-chambered it to .32 H&R Magnum and shot it
again. My reasoning was that doing so would enable using HRM
brass and factory loads, but wouldn’t significantly hurt grouping with my .32
S&W Long revolver ammo. After re-chambering
the tiny 4.5 lb. rifle it still shoots inch groups at 25 yards with .32 S&W
Longs using either the 94-gr. Meister .312" LRN or the LBT
.312-105FNBB with 2.5 grs. of
Bullseye. The longer chamber permits
seating heavier bullets out in S&W Long brass to increase powder capacity.
With the 122-gr. Saeco #322 bullet for the .32-20, seated to 1.32” overall
length in .32 S&W Long brass, crimping in the top lube groove using either
2 grains of Bullseye or 6 grs. of #2400, either load
will shoot an inch and half at 50 yards with iron sights over a long
series. The same loads fired in a
relined English rook rifle I built later approach an inch when using an old
Unertl 6X Small Game scope.
Some .32
H&R Mag loads listed in manuals caused ugly looking fired primers in the
converted H&R shotgun because of its large shotgun firing pin and un-bushed
breech face. I found this a useful indicator of chamber pressure, so I use no
load which causes hard opening or smeared primer cups using standard small
pistol primers upon opening the rifle.
Firing trials quickly reveal when a load is “too hot,” because
hard-opening occurs before primer cups noticeably flatten firing the same loads
in my revolver. Federal factory .32 H&R loads rub a shiny ring around the
firing pin indent, but the action opens with little effort. I therefore presume
that a load causing hard opening is over 20,000 psi.
My general
purpose load for use in modern .32 S&W Long revolvers and the single-shot
H&R uses either the 115-gr. Ideal #3118 or 122-gr. Saeco #322. I cast these of soft scrap, 10BHN, tumble in
Lee Liquid Alox, size .314, loading in .32 S&W Long cases with Federal 200
primers and 2 grains of Alliant Bullseye at 1.32" OAL. This gives not quite 850 fps in the rifle and
720 fps in various 4-inch revolvers. It is accurate in both the Ruger Single
Six and S&W Model 31. An added benefit is that this load pokes out the
front of the cylinder of my old I-frame S&W .32 Hand ejector, which keeps
me from putting this warmer-than-factory load in the old gun.
A
flat-nosed, solid lead bullet, with large meplat at subsonic velocity is fully
adequate in energy and penetration against feral dogs or coyotes. My testing of
the Saeco #322 at 850 f.p.s. gave 30
inches of water penetration. If you want a bit flatter trajectory to reach out
to 100 yards at the expense of a bit more noise, you can increase the charge to
2.5 grs. of Bullseye in S&W Long brass or 3 grains
in H&R Magnum brass and it shoots well at a little over 1000 fps in the
rifle and 800-850 fps in the revolver.
I have not
fooled much with slower powders, because specialized rifle-only loads defeat
the purpose of using the same ammo in both the walking rifle and revolver. I briefly tried #2400 in H&R Magnum
loads, up to a nominal “case full” in the .32 Long case. While faster, it was
very much louder and less accurate than my mild loads with Bullseye.
The final
journey in my search of “Bunny Gun Nirvanna” was in obtaining a real English
rook rifle and having it lined to .32 S&W Long. I located an Army & Navy Cooperative Society rook rifle in .255
which had been inexpertly re-chambered to .25-20 Winchester, with some botched
scope block holes and jackleg barrel re-stamping I was able to get cheap. I sent it to John Taylor to have it relined
and re-chambered to .32 S&W Long, and then upon its return it went to
Connecticut for Lucas Geiger to do a full exterior restoration. I now have a
plain walking rifle for rough use, and a pretty art piece for yard and range
shooting. Both shoot equally well, an
inch and a half or less at 50 yards with my chosen loads with low noise which
doesn’t disturb the neighbors. Now to walk the garden.
Where are
you mister bunny rabbit?