Does anyone reload the 32-20?

Yes. I do. I am sure there are other people out there who do also. It is hard to find 32-20 ammo in the market place so it is easier to roll your own.

Quite a bit, both rifle and pistol. My favorite bullet was the Ranier 100 grain plated but they shut down. I've got a couple of hundred left, not sure what I'll try next.

Yes, for both rifle and revolver.

My favorite bullet for both handguns and rifles is a cast 115 grain flat point. For the rifle, I also like the Hornady XTP bullets for higher performance in a Marlin 1894.

I generally neck size with a collet type die so I can adjust the internal diameter for bullet tension easily.

For my older S&W revolver (Hand Ejector), I load on the conservative side with faster pistol/shotgun powders and for the rifle I use powders in the range of 2400 for higher performance with the strong Marlin action.

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Keep your powder dry.

I was out shooting my Winchester (Miroku) model 53 just the other day. And I tried some 100 grain Hornady XTPs on top of 13 grains of IMR 4198. The gave me the best accuracy to date of several loads that I have tried. H110 shows promise as well.

Sure. I do.

How one reloads for this caliber depends on what you have to shoot. Having reloaded this caliber many years for early S&W 1899s, 1902, and 1905 revolvers, I have found a few loads that give great accuracy at moderate velocities. My goal for the old ones is to keep velocities around 750fps and use 93g LRN. I have tried 95g SWC with good results as well.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

I have a Mid 90's Marlin 1894 CL in 32-20. (I guess now days we need to say mid "1990's") and a Colt Police Positive Special from 1919 and a M&P 1902 (no change). I you have both antique and Modern firearms in the same cartridge, you need to make a way to not confuse the different ammos.

The Colt and S&W revolvers were made to shoot lead bullets. So all my hot loads are with Jacketed bullets! (I love that XTP on groundhogs!)

Ideal/Lyman came out with a mold for 32-20 right after it was introduced. When they got around to assigning a number to it, it is the famous 3118! A 117 grain (if cast in lead, 118 grains if cast in Lyman #2 alloy) flat nose bullet. I special ordered mine in the early 80's to have a Gas Check. I size this bullet in .308, .309, .311, & .314" and load it in all the small 32 caliber rounds (except 32ACP) and I also load it in 7.62x39, 30-30, & 303 British (never tried 308 Win., 30-06, or any of the big 300's)

My Best friend split 1000 Winchester 32-20 brass in the 90's and I have several hundred I picked up "Once Fired" plus 500 Starline from a few years ago. You just cannot have too much brass! I have RCBS loading dies and a Lee Loader (Whack-a-Mole) and an old Ideal 310 "Tong Tool".

A 30 Caliber ammo can with a Lee Loader, A brick of WSP Primers and several hundred bullets and a can of Bullseye or Unique (or WW231) always road in my camper (and the same type kits for 38 special and 45-70 too) So sitting at a picnic table, under an awning if raining, was a common lazy afternoon pastime! You will need a whumper of some kind, a rock, a framing hammer or a piece of firewood will do, but I prefer a broke off 18" hammer handle for casting and loading this way. (if you load 100 an hour, you are flying, and working too hard!)

In my opinion, bullets are too important to cast on a campfire, but some people like the feel of the olden days!

Have fun and keep shooting, especially during the pandemic!

Ivan

I load the Lyman 3118 and 311316/GC. I have two old M&P revolvers and two old Colt Army Specials. All are in the 100 year old range. All have good bores but because of their ages, I go with light loads of Bullseye. One of the Smith’s has a 6 inch barrel and I mounted a Wonder Sight on it. Kind of awkward looking but works great with my old eyes.

The .32-20 or .32WCF is very much alive and well here. Load it frequently for both revolvers and a Remington Model 25 from 1923. Starline brass is great stuff for this round and loads vary considerably depending on which firearm they are intended for. If you load .32 S&W Long you already have some appropriate projectiles and powders to work with.

Yes, for my 1903 S&W hand ejector pistol

Yes I do, for an old 1902 hand ejector. Don't have a mold for 32 bullet yet, so I just load a 115 gr. #311008 from Western Bullet. Just enough powder to get it moving. Need to be careful with those antique revolvers. Here's my recipe. Good plinking load from 10 yards.

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What could possibly go wrong?

I do reload the 32-20 for an 1894 Marlin CL (built 2005), and the jacketed bullets get shared with a S&W 631 32 magnum. When I first started loading the 32-20 I was a bit heavy handed with the press, and ruined a few of the 500 Starlines I bought for it. They are a somewhat fragile case I believe.

I've gotten better at it eventually, but have not loaded all of the brass yet. I've got a few different loads worked up in batches of about 10 each, so I can sort out what the rifle likes best. I don't load them hot, mostly just for paper punching. But I did print out some load data from an article on that cartridge, written by Paco Kelly, some of which look pretty "warm". Anyone tried any of his load data?

I keep thinking I'll run across an old S&W that shares the same cartridge, but I haven't looked real hard lately. I think it's a fun round to play with.

I recently picked up a 1923 Colt SAA in .32 WCF. Im still shooting factory loads in it. It shoots much better than i do.

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It is really fun to have a pistol and rifle chambered for the same cartridge. I had a chance to buy a Henry rifle in 32-20 that was NIB quality, but I flinched at the $1200 price tag. Looking back I regret not scratching that itch. The 32-20 is a very enjoyable revolver to shoot. Next to no felt recoil. Shoot all day if you want.

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What could possibly go wrong?

I think the OP, Max, may be pulling our leg. He has over 4,000 posts so I'm pretty sure he's seen our 32-20 fan club.

On the topic of 32WCF, it was my very first caliber growing up in the 1950's in a little Texas town, Albany. The hawgleg of course was a first gen Colt SAA.

We could not fall in love as a young cowboy with a Colt SAA. The caliber was just the bonus, with great accuracy and almost no recoil.

Handloading is almost a prerequisite. I have Army Special shooting mouse farts and Ruger Buckeye shooting fire breathing dragons rounds. They are both impossible to find.


Prescut

Just started loading 32 WCF.....for an oler hand ejector. I’m new to the revolver and new to 32-20.

Just started with a minimal load of titegroup and some 100gr coated lead.

In the words of the ever immortal Elmer Fudd: "Oooooooh, that waskowy wabbit"

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What could possibly go wrong?

I don’t have a 32/20 revolver at present. Have been after a 1905 Target version for a good while. Have had several HEs fixed sights. I have a 100yr old Marlin 1894 in keepers. Don’t hot rod revolver or rifle. The RCBS RNFP 115gr is favorite/ Unique.

I’ve loaded about every pistol class round in 32 including a few in 32-20. I’ll only say that anyone planning to load any 32 should take a hard look at the old Ideal 3118 (now Lyman 311008) mould, either by the folks who have made it pretty much continuously for well over a century or one of the copies made currently by other makers as well. There is a reason that design has been around so long.

Froggie

Yes, 1902 Colt SAA Bisley and Winchester 1892 carbine from 1922. Main thing to keep in mind with .32-20 is that the brass cases are not as heavily constructed as more modern cartridges, particularly in the neck and shoulder areas. I resize with a full-length die (for use in both firearms), but I do not use the expander ball, relying on the Lyman M-die for easy and precise neck sizing to accept the bullets with minimal working of the brass cases.

.32-20 is a bottle-neck case so we must lube the cases for resizing, then clean off the lube prior to loading the cartridge. As stated, I do not use the decapper/neck expander button, just resize the cases and deprime separately, then expand the case necks with the Lyman M-die to accept my cast bullets, moderate crimp to secure the bullets in the case mouths.

Easy to damage the cases by trying to do things the same way we might with other calibers having heavier case walls and thicker neck walls. Treat them gently (including modest loads) and they will last much longer and provide better performance in revolver or rifle.

I hand load, using my own cast bullets, for my Colt Police Positive Special, manufactured in 1911.

Despite the internet lore, the .32-20 is not a difficult cartridge to re-load.

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Been reloading the 32-20 for rifle and revolvers for some time. As said previously, easy to ruin a case if you are not paying attention or in a rush. They are a thin walled case and easy to damage. There is also a considerable difference on case length between manufacturers so it is best to keep cases sorted or you will have fits if any crimp is needed. Too short and you wont have a crimp and the belled case neck wont be reduced. Too long and you will collapse the neck into the shoulder. In either case the round wont chamber fully in a revolver. Case trimming is an absolute must.
I've been using an RCBS three die set and a Lee factory crimp die when needed. I also full length size as there is a bit of difference between chambers with my various firearms.
The old Lyman 3118 is the ticket for this caliber if you want to cast your own but I have also had good accuracy with the Hornady swaged SWC bullets.These are the .314" dia. soft lead bullets. I bought my 3118 off of Ebay and size to .312" when using the Lyman 450 Lubrisizer press.
Usually load up with Bullseye but have used Unique and Trailboss as well.
I like the cartridge and have three well worn S&W Hand ejectors, an Uberti SA colt clone, a 1892 Winchester and a Stevens Model 44 single shot to feed.
It's can be tedious to reload at times, but if you can reload the 32-20, you are good to go for anything else that comes along.

John