Winchester Model 94 in 32 Win Special Thoughts?

TheHobbyist

TheHobbyist

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I recently purchased an old Winchester Model 94 in .32 Win. Special. I have always enjoyed the old Winchesters and this one was a surprise find at a local shop.

The next surprise was when I went to buy ammo :eek: Cheapest I could find online was about $1.30 a bullet IIRC. I think it will be fun to reload and just ordered some components and some factory boxes.

Ballistics are comparable to a 30-30 I guess; this is my first one in the caliber.

Seems like it would be a good deer gun.

Anyone have any experience with these and can share their thoughts or opinions?:)
 
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Shot my firs two deer with one back in the 1960s. A very popular rifle in the northern woods where your shots will normally not be over a 125 yards. most much less that that.

A good bet more deer and other animals have been taken by that one and its brother the 30.30. Some people say it hits harder than a 30.30 but to me its a wash. There not a target rifle but a very good hunting gun! Reasonably accurate and very easy to handle.

OP enjoy your new gun its a keeper!:cool:
 
.32

If I remember correctly, The 94 in .32 Special had a different rate of twist to be adequate for either using smokeless or black powder to reload with. Came about because of the logistical problems during the Alaskan and Canadian gold rushes of the beginning of the last century. Could be incorrect.... but a neat theory.
I would consider it to be the ballistic equivalent of a 30-30, with more expensive factory ammo.
Cool gun, especially if you are into having something....slightly different. (I have one).
O.Z.
 
I like old lever guns and this one just didn't seem to be getting any attention because of the caliber. The price was very good and I though, shoot, I'll probably spend more on bullets then the gun, but it will be fun to take to the range or out here on the farm.

I still have my grandfathers Winchester single shot .22 short or long single shot bolt action rifle. It was the first gun I ever shot with my Dad, guessing when I was around 8,9, or 10 years of age at the range. That one rifle started it all for me when it came to Winchesters. Funny how I ended up marrying a gal related to the Remington's but always liked the Winchester's over Remington. (Distant relation, I still have to work! Ha!)
 
I don't think any deer would know the difference between .32 Special and .30-30 WCF. I believe Winchester came out with the caliber to compete against the popular line of Remington Rimless rounds, one of which was the .32 Remington.

It would be a bit more of a challenge and would offer more satisfaction to take game with obsolete calibers and firearms. I wouldn't bother reloading for it as most of these rifles saw the light for deer season and not much else, are fired too few times to warrant the investment unless you already have a full reloading set-up and just need dies and a shell holder.
 
@ Italiansport, it might be because this is a carbine. Less weight equals more felt recoil.Not sure. Just my guess.
 
Hornady Leverevolution works well out of many guns. If yours groups it well, then consider it for a good hunting round. Ive been impressed with the performance of it in 30-30, .44 mag, and .35 Remington.
 
I had a Savage 99 takedown that had been rechambered to 32 Winchester. It was sold to me as a 30-30 first shot keyholed, stopped right there took a chamber casting scratched my head a bit as I had no experience with the 32 Win. I finally with help of Cartridges of the World figured it out. Reloading is your friend bullet selection is slim though
 
Winchester 94 in 30-30 was as far as I understand the first cartridge for smokeless powder. When it was introduced a lot of people did not want it because they could not reload it with the black powder they were used to and had on hand, so Winchester released the .32 Win Special, as a comparable caliber that could be reloaded with black powder to satisfy those customers.
 
I had one passed down to me from my mother's husband. Fantastic guy. I think it is a 1949 vintage. Family "legend"is that it only ever fired two shots. I received a old box of shells that contained 18 rounds and two empty casings. Fit and finish is phenomenal. Definitely not a rifle i would ever part with.
 
A 1941 Winchester Model 94 Carbine in .32 Winchester Special lives here as well as a 1928 Winchester Model 54 Carbine in .30-30. Both possess sparkling bright 20-inch barrels. I once acquired two brand new boxes of Winchester Western 170 grain ammunition, one for the .32 Winchester Special and one for the .30-30 and chronographed them side-by-side.

Averaged 10 shots from each rifle. The .32 Winchester Special offered 10 feet per second more than did the .30-30; 2114 fps to 2104 fps.

Don't really see the extra power that once was claimed for the .32 Winchester Special.

Over the years I've taken five deer with each cartridge. Actual after-shot interviews with ten different deer on the ground found that they couldn't tell the difference either.
 
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I've got 1906 and 1948 Win 94's and a 1950 Marlin 336SC in .32 WS. I picked up about a dozen boxes of factory ammo years ago. I shot a couple of boxes and have been reloading that brass ever since. If it ever wears out I'll shoot a couple more boxes.
 
A couple of years ago, an elderly neighbor decided he needed to sell his firearms since his house was being sold and he was moving into an apartment. One of those firearms was a 1947 vintage Win model 94 in 32 Win SPL. His father gave him the rifle as a birthday gift for his 14th birthday in 1947. He was a deer hunter in PA and told me the rifle has bagged over 75 deer.

Winchester's production was geared back into civilian production in and about 1947, and the company re-entered civilian production following the end of the war.

That vintage model 94 is known as the "flatband" given the flat shape of the forward barrel band.

These rifles had a 1 in 16 barrel twist to accomodate black powder loads and reloading.

I've had good results using the Hornady 165 grain FTX projectile over a dose of IMR 4064.

Here are pics of rifle and a couple of sample plinking shots:








All in all, a classic lever rifle!

Bayou52
 
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For hunting purposes, there is no appreciable ballistic difference between the two calibers (.30-30/.32 WS). It is very simple to form .32 WS cases from .30-30 brass (just run it through a .32 WS full length resizing die to neck it up), but the resulting brass will have a .30-30 headstamp. That could cause an ammo mixup problem if you have rifles in each caliber, but if not, then it's not an issue. I would think that a set of .32 WS reloading dies wouldn't be too difficult to find. I don't know how difficult it is to find correct .321 jacketed RN bullets for hunting. The story I have frequently heard is that a rifle in .32 WS will group very poorly if the bore is worn much. True or not, I can't say. I don't quite understand (1) why rifle makers continued to offer the .32 WS chambering for so long, as BP didn't last long into the early 20th Century, and (2) why didn't they go to a faster rifling twist after BP largely disappeared?
 
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DWalt said:
I don't quite understand (1) why rifle makers continued to offer the .32 WS chambering for so long, as BP didn't last long into the early 20th Century, and (2) why didn't they go to a faster rifling twist after BP largely disappeared?
Click to expand...

One word simple answer: TRADITION!

more words, same answer: If it works, don't fix it!

Ivan
 
I borrowed my Aunt Bea's Winchester 94 in .32 Special when I first started deer hunting many years ago. It was a great rifle.

Winchester also made a lever gun in .33WCF in the 1886 model. I believe it was 1902 when it was available. Many different calibers were around back then also.
 
My buddy had a Marlin waffle top in that caliber. As has been said, no advantages over the 30-30, but he preferred it. For a while. I think he sold the Marlin and bought a Winchester 94 in 30-30. Found ammo for the .32 at Wal Mart, priced the way it was back then.
 
One time I went Deer Hunting up in the Michigan UP.
The Brothers who owned the place, my Buddy Russ’ Dad and Uncle,
Both had Lever action Rifles.
One was a 30-30 and the other was a 32.
They did a ongoing comedy sketch grabbing each other Guns.
 
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