Rusty Britches
Member
I can't find reloading dies for the .32 S&W short. Will .32 ACP reloading dies work? I have .32 long and .32 H&R magnum dies, but the expander is way too long for the .32 shorts. Thanks.
32 auto dies for 32 s&w
- Thread starter Rusty Britches
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No. Virtually every dimension of the .32 ACP case is a different dimension than the .32 S&W. Some of those dimensions are close, but I sure wouldn't risk it.
Mike
Mike
Have you checked MidSouth? Larry
Ivan the Butcher
Well-known member
Try it on just a few brass and keep the loads on the low end. See how they group & See how they chamber.
There are only two concerns! 1) Bullet diameter, .309 for ACP & .312 for S&W S. I have loaded Hornady .312 90 gr SWC with ACP dies in the long case with out a problem. 2) Case Length, The ACP case is .075" longer than the Short Case. You will be able to get a tapper crimp with the ACP dies but no roll crimp.
I load Lyman #313249 84 gr. RN in both cases with 1.4 gr. of WW231 It will cycle my autos and works fine in my top breaks. Use pure lead for the bullet alloy if you can. Overall length .930 max. (stick with the max length that will fit in your gun and allow the cylinder to rotate!)
Ivan
There are only two concerns! 1) Bullet diameter, .309 for ACP & .312 for S&W S. I have loaded Hornady .312 90 gr SWC with ACP dies in the long case with out a problem. 2) Case Length, The ACP case is .075" longer than the Short Case. You will be able to get a tapper crimp with the ACP dies but no roll crimp.
I load Lyman #313249 84 gr. RN in both cases with 1.4 gr. of WW231 It will cycle my autos and works fine in my top breaks. Use pure lead for the bullet alloy if you can. Overall length .930 max. (stick with the max length that will fit in your gun and allow the cylinder to rotate!)
Ivan
ReloadforFun
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OP
Rusty Britches
Member
the RCBS cowboy action die set is for the .32 long and H&R magnum, according to their website. I have the regular RCBS die set for .32 long / H&R magnum cartridge. It will decap and resize the .32 s&w short, but the brass is too short to reach the expander. I was hoping that the expander die on a .32 ACP die would work to expand the brass to start a .312 to .314 dia. bullet. The bullet seating die will only taper crimp the case.
Green Frog
Well-known member
I’ve even run into the same problem trying to load 32 S&W on my Lyman Truline Jr... I have to work at it to arrange and adjust dies from my old S&W Long set to bell case mouths on S&W Long cases! I just don’t believe die manufacturers think anyone wants to fool with loading the little 32 S&W. They sure don’t act like they do. 
Froggie
Froggie
Midsouth Shooters
.32 S&W Carbide 3 die set with Shell holder, 006-90696, Lee
$33.14 in stock
.32 S&W Carbide 3 die set with Shell holder, 006-90696, Lee
$33.14 in stock
32 S&W, 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Mag, and 327 Federal can all be reloaded with the same dies. Buy the 327 dies and you can do all of them.
Green Frog
Well-known member
This is true only if the mouth expanding and crimping dies reach down far enough for the shortest cases you want to load. In some cases, this just doesn’t happen, as described above. OTOH, one can usually back off to use dies for shorter cases on the longer cases.
“Been there, done that.” Of course I haven’t tried this with all brands and versions of 32 cal dies, but it is true of the small and large diameter Lyman dies and the RCBS set I have. I can’t speak from experience about the others.
For the off-the-press loaders such as the Lee Loader, one must use different bases so the case mouth reaches the proper depth in the (fixed) dies used.
Froggie
tndrfttom
Well-known member
Here's what I did.
I bought a set of Lee .32 S&W Long dies and shortened the die bodies of the die that holds the case mouth expander and the die that does the seating/crimping. These were done in my old bench top lathe. I can't remember how much the dies had to be shortened but I do remember the die bodies are harder than woodpecker lips! Nothing needed to be done to the sizing die.
I bought a set of Lee .32 S&W Long dies and shortened the die bodies of the die that holds the case mouth expander and the die that does the seating/crimping. These were done in my old bench top lathe. I can't remember how much the dies had to be shortened but I do remember the die bodies are harder than woodpecker lips! Nothing needed to be done to the sizing die.
Attachments
I shortened my RCBS .45 Colt seater die body so that I could use its roll crimp shoulder on .45 Auto Rim. I used what I had, a bench grinder. Technically its bottom is not true or flat but since it's adjusted by the function of its crimping shoulder and does not touch the shell holder that does not matter with either cartridge. If I was you that's how I'd shorten the seater and expander die bodies. It's free.
The auto pistol expander should be a little small for revolver bullets. That's less than ideal for soft lead bullets.
The auto pistol expander should be a little small for revolver bullets. That's less than ideal for soft lead bullets.
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Green Frog
Well-known member
The problem I’ve run into is not die length, but the amount of threads. Also, the length of the expander plug itself may be too short. I guess I’ve been loading long enough to figure there will be little glitches and just figure a way around them. 
Froggie
Froggie
OP
Rusty Britches
Member
OK, I went to Midsouth shooters and ordered the Lee .32 ACP die set. tndrfttom has the the right idea. Cut them down to make custom dies. I wish I had that talent.
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I do not understand which part was not threaded long enough for you. Shorten the die bodies, turn the whole dies down lower in the press and the crimping shoulder and expander should reach the shorter case. I have not reloaded .32 S&W.The problem I’ve run into is not die length, but the amount of threads. Also, the length of the expander plug itself may be too short. I guess I’ve been loading long enough to figure there will be little glitches and just figure a way around them.
Froggie
Green Frog
Well-known member
With a set of Lyman dies ostensibly in 32 S&W Long for my little TruLine Jr, the expander plug wouldn’t reach far enough through the die, even when cranked all the way down and I finally ended up taking the stop ring off of the plug and it barely reached. The only way I could have done this by altering the die body would have been to cut threads higher onto the di to let it go down farther or shave some off the top of the die body so the plug could go in deeper. This particular problem was unique (so far) to the 5/8 X 30 dies Lyman used to make in 32, but that cute little TL Jr press is scaled so perfectly for loading 32s, I may have to get busy with my lathe.
BTW, I’ve had this same experience with several 313 expanders on these dies so it wasn’t just a one off mistake from the factory... I have no real explanation for it, but I could use that same press fine for 32 H&R and 327 Fed Mag, even though they are labeled 32 S&W Long.
Froggie
BTW, I’ve had this same experience with several 313 expanders on these dies so it wasn’t just a one off mistake from the factory... I have no real explanation for it, but I could use that same press fine for 32 H&R and 327 Fed Mag, even though they are labeled 32 S&W Long.
Froggie
OP
Rusty Britches
Member
This is what finally worked for me. I used my RCBS 32 long/ h&r magnum resizing/ decapper die. Then I bought a 90490 Lee powder through expander die in 32 s&w long. The expander plug moved up too high in the die body, so I added 4 metal washers so the plug stays lower. Then I bought a RCBS 32 ACP taper crimp die. It's not a nice roll crimp, but it works. I reloaded 5 cartridges and they worked fine. Here are pictures of the expander die. What a long strange trip it's been....
Attachments
9/16" Ball Bearing for Lee dies
If you don't need the powder thru capability you can also try a 9/16" ball bearing to hold the expander plug further down in the die body. I use this method for other Lee dies where the expander or seater plug sits too high in the body for shorter cases like when I loaded 45 Cowboy Special. (45 Colt cut down to 45 ACP Length)
If you don't need the powder thru capability you can also try a 9/16" ball bearing to hold the expander plug further down in the die body. I use this method for other Lee dies where the expander or seater plug sits too high in the body for shorter cases like when I loaded 45 Cowboy Special. (45 Colt cut down to 45 ACP Length)
32sw Saami specs are 0.339" and a little greater for the chamber and 0.339" and a little less for the cartridge.
https://saami.org/wp-content/upload...FP-and-R-Approved-2015-12-14-Posting-Copy.pdf
Lee 32acp carbide sizer ring tapers from 0.333" down to 0.328" over 1/4".
The brass typically springs back 0.002".
That would make brass coming out of the 32acp die at 0.335" max, which will fit in the 32sw chamber [0.339"+] with 0.004" of clearance.
Always seems to work for me.
https://saami.org/wp-content/upload...FP-and-R-Approved-2015-12-14-Posting-Copy.pdf
Lee 32acp carbide sizer ring tapers from 0.333" down to 0.328" over 1/4".
The brass typically springs back 0.002".
That would make brass coming out of the 32acp die at 0.335" max, which will fit in the 32sw chamber [0.339"+] with 0.004" of clearance.
Always seems to work for me.
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