I have a vintage single action Colt revolver. Original caliber was .32WCF. That was later changed to .32-20.

Gun was shipped to Sears & Roebuck in 1907.

It is in superb shooting condition but I ran out of factory ammo a few years ago. Did find some from Georgia Arms about 3 years ago, but none since. The GA ammo was cowboy stuff & dirty as hell to shoot.

Anyone have any good ideas, I love to hear about.

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Yes. Load your own.

Yep. For 32-20 fans, like me, Reloading is normally a preferred option. I enjoy handloading as a hobby almost as much as shooting. I can do it at home any time I want. I can build better ammo for my guns than the factory.

But
Right now almost all supplies and equipment are expensive and can be difficult to find. I suggest reading local news and web sites to find an old timer giving up his shooters and gear. You should let everyone know you are looking. Local shooting ranges are also great places to post and get to know folks.

If you find the right folks, some might be willing to let you use their gear or even load for you (rare). I strongly recommend a mentor if you go the reloading route.

I just did a search on ammoseek.com and found nothing for 32-20. I thought there would be some, but expensive. I was surprised.

You will find almost no reloader willing to SELL any reloaded ammo.
You will find very few shooters willing to shoot other people's reloads.
Danger and Liability.

Please let us know what happens.


Good luck.
Prescut

Once it's available you will find it wherever cowboy action loads are sold. Presently, AFAIK, none is available. Rolling your own is an option for hobbyists who like that sort of thing. If you don't , which is me, totally, it will be a long while before you find .32-20 cartridges.

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Come and take it!!

Old ammo is a problem for me because I'm lazy, and hate hassles. I have a fair amount, including .32-20, that I'd love to get rid of but the local mailboxes place won't ship it, and a shipping hub is more than an hour from me. I've gotten advice from a gunshop that once you put the hazmat sticker on the box it's none of the mailbox place's business what's inside as long as it isn't illegal, and from a shady guy to just ship via ground as an ordinary box of stuff. But I'm too pretty for prison, and too poor for a good lawyer.

I gave up and bought a set of 32-20 dies for my local super-reloader to use for me to keep my ammo flowing.

Though most forum members know this, it bears mentioning that 32WCF (Winchester Center Fire) and .32-20 are the same, exact, cartridge, and always have been. Thus it is unlikely the revolver was re-chambered, or "changed," from one to the other. If the reference is to the common name for the cartridge, and not the firearm, that's correct.

Colt, and other manufacturers, were never overly excited about stamping another company's moniker on their products. Generally the 32WCF became more commonly known as the .32-20 based on projectile diameter and standard black powder charge.

I have several .32-20 chambered firearms including Colt and S&W revolvers and some long guns as well. I doubt I would have acquired them had I not been a hand-loader. This cartridge hasn't been "commonly" available in my adult lifetime - meaning it is seldom been seen on LGS shelves. Fun and easy cartridge to reload and quite economical too. However, as stated several times above it is hardly a great time to begin reloading. Good luck to you!

Bryan

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Ordnung muss sein
SWHF #789

32-20 is very hard to come by. At the Cody gun show in December I was talking with John Linebaugh and he noticed I had a box of Winchester jacketed 32-20 on my table .He jumped on 'em like a duck on a junebug. He said it was the first box he had seen in over 3 years. I do load my own but mostly with cast bullets.Starline usually makes a run of brass most years and they are not hard to load. I even bought a set of RCBS Cowboy dies at the same show for 35 bucks and sold John my new set of Lyman dies. He even told me they were the first set of 32-20 dies he had seen in a few years. I even found a couple hundred Star line cases at the show....as well as 200 32 H&R Mag cases.

The best answer is what some others have said. The 32 WCF is a GREAT cartridge, but it is a reloading proposition nowadays. It's basically a defunct cartridge that will always be last on the list for the major manufacturers to turn out.

It also is usually encountered in old guns that you must make sure you are feeding proper ammo.

An added complexity is that it is loaded to rifle specs in some cases because it is technically a rifle round.

For all these reasons, for goodness sake, get yourself a small reloading setup. It doesn't cost much and it's easy after some trial and error, and then you're off and running and you don't need to rely on the ammo companies for ammo, and you KNOW the ammo is right and proper for your particular gun.

For another hundred or so bucks, I'd also recommend getting yourself set up to cast bullets!

The 32-20, with a case full of 2F, spg lube, and a 20-1 soft lead bullet fired out of a 1st generation SAA or a very early Hand Ejector, (or early model 92 for that matter) is about as pleasurable a shooting experience as one can get!

Over the last forty years or so, I’ve had about a half dozen 32-20 guns, both revolvers and rifles, pass through my hands. I always seem to have at least a half box of factory stuff stashed away, but if I’ve wanted to shoot any of them more than just enough to try them out, I was and am ready with reloading dies and an old Ideal 3118 bullet mould available with all my other reloading gear. This reminds me… I “need” to load up a box or two for the Ruger Blackhawk combo 32 I bought right before the Wu Flu hit. I’ve shot it with the 32 H&R cylinder, but not with the 32-20 yet.

Froggie

Some years ago, I loaded some .32-20 cases with 00 Buck pellets and Pyrodex. They shot fairly well. I don’t think I even resized the brass.

look on GB. It's there, but it ain't cheap, $1.65 to $2.75 per sound. So bite the bullet and buy 50 rounds and then get some dies or even a Lee loader and keep shooting those.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Good ideas. I haven't bought any loading equipment in years, but it seem you could get setup with a basic press, balance beam scale, dies, manual, and minimal components for no more than the cost of a few boxes of factory ammo.

I’m in eastern Alabama with friends in charlotte NC, I inherited a Colt police positive 1922? I’d be interested in that 32-20 ammo and any others I might be able to use.

32-20 is the reason I got into reloading back in the 1980s. Before SASS revived the caliber, and now we are back to the way it used to be. It was the first set of dies I ever got. I can't bring myself to shoot my factory ammo.

.32-20 (.32 WCF) is one of my favorite calibers. OK, I have a dozen other favorite calibers.

Colt SAA Bisley Model and Winchester 1892 carbine, both over 100 years old. All of my brass is over 30 years old. Bullet mold is also about 30 years old.

Now into my 51st year as a reloader and 50th year as a bullet caster. I can't imagine relying on factory ammo! I also can't imagine paying retail prices for factory ammo.

Metallic cartridge reloading has been around since metallic cartridges became generally available about 150 years ago. Minimal expense involved. Modest skills and knowledge that are readily available for anyone interested. A very enjoyable hobby, beats the heck out of network television as a way to spend a little of your free time.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

I reload and keep my eye open for 32-20/ 32 WCF brass. Haven't seen any for sale in at least 3 years. If you want to reload bite the bullet and pay for the ridiculous priced load ammo on GB and then you'll have the brass to reload.

Thanks. Looks like only option. I'm down to 50 Cowboy loads. Sent about a fair amount of brass to factory loader. Can't get that back. Was supposed to be loading more. Bad move on my part.

I'm in Minnesota. If you have 32-30 handgun ammo i can check w/ my shooting club to figure out a way to ship it. I get ammo shipped w/ noting a FFL #.

Midway has Winchester 32-20 right now.

Interesting read. Back in mid 60’s my Dad had a Colt Lightening in 32.20 that I learned to shoot centerfire revolver with. Will Never forget my Dad complaining at Breakfast about a mocking bird waking him up about 3 AM squawking from tree in the back yard. My mother said to him, “ do not shoot my mocking bird”, she liked them. Well few days later I was in back yard on the way to the range we had when low and behold the mocking bird was in a tree squawking away. Hardly without thinking I aimed and fired the Colt. Mocking bird fell DRT. Picked what was left and buried it behind the barn.Never mentioned it until Dad and I were in in basement woodworking shop and made the comment,” something happened to that dag gone mocking bird”, he smiled. Good enough for me…

In no way am I recommending the practice, but .32-20 revolvers will chamber and fire both .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long cartridges. Accuracy will be low and having some case splits is likely. But at least you can make some noise. In an earlier posting, I have related personal knowledge of a man being shot and killed by another man using a .32-20 revolver loaded with .32 S&W Long cartridges. It was an accident, not murder. They were slaughtering a cow.

I never fail to learn something on here. I had no idea you could fire 32 Long in a 32-20.

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SWCA 3417 HF 642 NRA-TC

And you can fire .32-20 in a .38 Special revolver. I once accidentally loaded .32-20 cartridges in a .38 Special revolver. They all fired and some bullets even hit the target. I did not discover what I had done until I ejected the empties and found that all of them were bulged and split. I was just distracted by something else when I loaded the .38. No damage done.

I don't consider it dangerous to fire .32 Long in a .32-20 revolver, but it is not something I would get into the habit of doing and accuracy will probably suffer. But in a pinch, it will work.

Now is the time to buy. Larry

Back in my badge toting days, I worked two different murders where the offenders used .32-20 revolvers loaded with .32 S&W Long cartridges.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Just did a search on AmmoSeek and there's 13 sellers that have the 32-20, none of it cheap but it's there.

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Life Member GOA and NRA

I just went to all of those websites. No stock on any of them. Only Midway USA shows any 32 WCF available.
Access Denied

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

My reloading buddy, GH is going on a 32-20 rampage. With over 500 cases and a new die set he started out with 50 rounds for my S$W revolver. 115 gr. flat nose over 3.1 700X. Next up will be a "hot" load for my Savage 23C Sporter. He has already honed his skills on some 32 Colt short for my 1891 Marlin. It's great to have a friend like GH. More experimentation coming.

I saw some Win at the gun show in Thermopolis last Saturday. 4 boxes...fellow sold them all at 60 dollars a box. The seller also had Starline brass in the caliber...75 cents each I think...just went and checked....50 cents each. 3 boxes of the ammo resold for 75. dollars a box. It really does go high. sold an older box of Winchester Silvertip 250-3000 for $100.00 Winchester 2 piece tan box...also have the same in 30-30 300 Savage and 35 Rem

For the heck of it, you might poll your local shooting club/range, see if there’s renough interest to invest in a loading set-up for the group (assuming there is one). Set up the rules for using the stuff, each guy is responsible to supply his own material. Not the easiest way to go, but could defer the initial cost of a (nicer) reload set-up. Bulk buy brass, etc too. It may not be worth it, then again, it might…

I am wondering at this point if the ammo makers will ever load rounds like the 32-20, 25-20 218 Bee or even the hornet. There are so many calibers that seem to be forgotten these days even rounds like the great 35 Remington. I understand there mav have been periods when they pretty much quit many rounds...but they still made a run of hard to find ammo. Looks like it is farthest from their minds these days. I can say that all the 32-20s I have found were old stock

Winchester made a batch of 32 WCF in December 2023. All gone now. I bought two boxes.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

Has 2 loads listed for 32-20, might want to check them out.

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Retired trap shooter

A Lee Hand Press Kit ($67.00) and a Set of Lee 32-20 Reloading Dies ($38.00) .

Become the Master of your own Ammunition Supply ...

For $105.00 You can have the tools to be your own little ammo making facility ... The Lee Hand Press Kit and Lee 32-20 WCF dies are on sale and available at Midway USA .

With the present day ammo availability situation ...
You may want to think about it .

It's also a Fun Hobby !
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I reload my own but always have my eyes open for any i might stumble across. Brass is in short supply so even partials are likely to be bought if the price isn't totally insane. Saturday at the Tri-State show in Lima I picked up a half full box of 60's era 32-20 for $1 a round from a guy who had an assortment of ammo on his table. Didn't notice till I got home it was the Western High Velocity load. So I guess I won't run them through my S&W........... Put them in my cartridge collection instead though if I ever get a suitable rifle they might get shot!

If that is really the case just use an inertial bullet puller and dump the powder, then reload them. The brass is worth the trouble.

Such "High velocity rifle only" ammo would be unusual and hard to find since it has not been made in 100 years.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I may be wrong, but I believe it was still being made in the late '50s-early '60s,

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Show us a box.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I have a Lee single stage reloading press, dies and factory crimp dies for my 32-20 reloading. It’s slow but rewarding. Everglades makes a 85 gr. RNFP for easy reloading. Lyman’s 50th reloading manual has recipes. If you’re really into it you can cast your own bullets.

Many years ago, I saw the firearms industry from the inside. The firearms and ammunition companies used to be operated and managed by "gun guys". They understood and appreciated their customers. The big ammo companies kept many old cartridges in production, even in cases when few, if any, new guns were being chambered for them, out of respect for the loyalty of their customers.
NOT ANY MORE!
Today, far too many of these great old companies are simply subsidiary assets of large holding companies that really don't care about their customers or even our firearms rights (cough, cough, Vista, cough, Outdoors, cough). And, it's not just obscure chamberings, it's the reloading components as well!
I absolutely agree that 32-20 is a reloaders proposition if you want to get the best out of it. Having said that, you have to be able to find brass, primers and powder; all of that is in short supply.

There is an answer to old calibers like the 32-20. It takes a bit of doing. You might have to reload, find brass and bullets, even cast them. But it’s worth it. Think of the rewards. I’ll provide what I can in advice.