Right now, I have over, a 1000 new cases to reload for 32wcf or better known as 32-20.

Also got a new set of Hornady dies and there is no belling die, just 2 dies in the set.

I also got 2000 Penn 115 Grain Round Nose with a .313 sizing, mainly because these will be for a old 1919 S&W revolver, which has a unheated cylinder.

But since these are a thousand over the regular .312 do I have to chamfer the cases first to a .14 degree angle?

I know these small bottle neck rounds have very thin necks but since their brand new and unprimed, can I also skip the sizing/depriming step and just use the seating step with no crimp and use my Lee fcd for crimp.

I would like to do this because it will give less resistance and a better feel on the seating step.

I want to use 3.8grs of Universal and small pistol primers.

You've picked a great round to work with..Since you have no belling die, try using any round object, such as a round punch to bell by hand..The cases are relatively thin and bell easily. All you need is enough bell to start the bullet without shaving any lead,the crimp will straighten it out..You should be able to skip the sizing step this time since the brass is new but expect to re-size after firing..Try putting a round together and see how it chambers... Good luck.. TIN..

I'm also interested it reloading 32-20. If belling by hand how far down the case neck should you go opening it? 1/16"? More?

I'd probably look for an expanding die, especially if I had 1000 cases.

Lyman lists an "M" die (neck expanding) for the 32/20 under their rifle "M" die list.

I certainly would want a neck expander if I were loading for the 32/20. I suspect it would pay for itself shortly by avoiding damaged cases by trying to seat a bullet in an unexpanded case neck.

Dale53

I second the Lyman "M" die suggestion. 32-20 brass is very thin in the neck area and easily collapsed if treated roughly during the reloading process. The "M" die properly adjusted makes bullet seating an easy and fairly fool-proof process.

Bugs,

I have no idea why Hornady chooses to use a 2-die set for .32-20, it certainly isn't appropriate. 2-die sets of any caliber are typically for loading jacketed bullets only, as they do not require case-mouth belling due to their hardness. Any lead bullet needs a 3-die set using a separate expander/belling die.

While the Lyman M-die is theoretically a good choice, it only works well with bullets of nominal-for-caliber diameter. It the case of .32-20 hat is .311. The larger upper step isn't large enough to expand the case sufficiently for larger bullets. Even the Lee set is to be preferred over the Hornady.

Any of the majors, RCBS, Redding, or even C-H4D will work just fine. The belling only needs to be sufficient to allow the bullet to enter the case mouth. One way to judge this is use your seater die as a guage. Only expand the case until you can feel the bell dragging in the neck area, anything more is over working the brass for no reason.

FWIW, I have been re-loading the .32-20 since 1960.

Great information I'm going to order a belling die.

What gets my fat old butt is, I ordered the 32/20 dies from Hornady by phone and they were big bucks.

When they came there was only 2 dies in the box and there was no belling/expander die. I just figured I would get 3 dies. They were more than twice the price of the Lees, but I've never been overly fond of lee dies.

If I had ordered them from any one else, I would have gotten all of them.

Bugs100;
I think that you have a legitimate beef with Hornady. Why don't you take that up with Hornady before you dig into your pocket for someone else's expander? They just may help you out. It will only cost the price of a phone call to find out...

Good luck!
Dale53

Dale, I called Hornady the day I got them.

The answer I got was just, that's the way we sell them..

Personally, when loading cast bullets in my .32 WCF, I steal the expander die out of my set of .32 Long set for use (of course, I do have a Hornady LNL-AP press with enough stations to use an extra die) and just barely open up the neck with it. Works great!

No shaved bullets!

quote:

Dale, I called Hornady the day I got them.

The answer I got was just, that's the way we sell them..

That's just sad! Hm-m-m, sure know what I would do the next time I need dies (and Hornady would NOT be the ones I would call upon).

You'll just need to add an expander (with my Dillons, I expand with the powder drop die).


Dale53

Bugs100,
Just a note...after reading about you finding just two dies in your box, I grabbed the Lyman dies that came with my .32 Vaquero (this gun came with two cylinders--a 32 H&R Mag Cylinder as well as a 32-20 Cylinder) and found this box of dies included the neck exp., sizing and seating dies. (and a shell plate)

Don't know why you did not find all you needed.

Good luck.

Bob

I load these on my Dillon 550. The Dillon system of powdering provides 'belling' as needed with it's 'powder funnel'.

If you have the 550 you can bell without buying any more dies.