I know your OAL are closer to the factory specs. One of the complaines about the BB 32 ammo is the potential for rim lock, but I suspect they have to be this short due to the RNFP bullet.
Disappointed with my first 32 ACP reloads, Resolved!
- Thread starter walnutred
- Start date
I know your OAL are closer to the factory specs. One of the complaines about the BB 32 ammo is the potential for rim lock, but I suspect they have to be this short due to the RNFP bullet.
I’ve loaded .32 ACP for about 15 years now, for a pair of Walther PP pistols, an FEG APK7S and a Beretta Model 81.
.32 ACP has some unique eccentricities. Chamber dimensions vary. Walther PP and Beretta pistols tend to have tight chambers, while FEG chamber dimensions are pretty liberal (in both .380 ACP and .32 ACP).
European loaded .32 ACP / 7.65 Browning ammo is normally loaded with .308-309” bullets into brass with fairly thick brass at the case mouth. In contrast American loaded .380 ACP ammo generally uses .310-311” loaded into cases with comparatively thin walls at the mouth.
.32 ACP cast bullets run .312-313” and will *usually* work ok in The thinner walled US made brass, provided the chamber and leade are not too tight. The problems really start when you load a .311-313” bullet into European brass and try to shoot it in a tight chambered pistol.
If you load .32 ACP for tight chambered pistols, don’t want to continually sort your brass and want to use cast bullets, post sizing the loaded rounds works fine. I use a Lee Factory Crimp die intended for .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R, but with a spacer installed to allow it to work with the shorter .32 ACP. You can also use a .32 ACP sizing die with the decapping pin/expander ball assembly removed. Just adjust it so it sizes the finished round just enough to drop into the chamber on your snuggest chambered pistol.
Load wise, .32 ACP generally functions best and delivers best accuracy at the upper end of charge weights. I’ve had good results with Berry’s 71 gr plated bullets, as well as Rimrock 78 gr RN and 75 gr FP bullets for range loads and Hornady’s 60 gr XTP expands reliably as long as you have enough barrel length to get at least 1000 fps.
I’ve found a max load of both Red Dot and Bullseye give good results with all of the above.
For self defense loads however, PB produces excellent results with the Hornady XTP, but it was discontinued several years ago so when the few pounds I have are gone, that’ll be it. The good news is that at .32 ACP charge weights that day is still about 8500 rounds away.
.32 ACP has some unique eccentricities. Chamber dimensions vary. Walther PP and Beretta pistols tend to have tight chambers, while FEG chamber dimensions are pretty liberal (in both .380 ACP and .32 ACP).
European loaded .32 ACP / 7.65 Browning ammo is normally loaded with .308-309” bullets into brass with fairly thick brass at the case mouth. In contrast American loaded .380 ACP ammo generally uses .310-311” loaded into cases with comparatively thin walls at the mouth.
.32 ACP cast bullets run .312-313” and will *usually* work ok in The thinner walled US made brass, provided the chamber and leade are not too tight. The problems really start when you load a .311-313” bullet into European brass and try to shoot it in a tight chambered pistol.
If you load .32 ACP for tight chambered pistols, don’t want to continually sort your brass and want to use cast bullets, post sizing the loaded rounds works fine. I use a Lee Factory Crimp die intended for .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R, but with a spacer installed to allow it to work with the shorter .32 ACP. You can also use a .32 ACP sizing die with the decapping pin/expander ball assembly removed. Just adjust it so it sizes the finished round just enough to drop into the chamber on your snuggest chambered pistol.
Load wise, .32 ACP generally functions best and delivers best accuracy at the upper end of charge weights. I’ve had good results with Berry’s 71 gr plated bullets, as well as Rimrock 78 gr RN and 75 gr FP bullets for range loads and Hornady’s 60 gr XTP expands reliably as long as you have enough barrel length to get at least 1000 fps.
I’ve found a max load of both Red Dot and Bullseye give good results with all of the above.
For self defense loads however, PB produces excellent results with the Hornady XTP, but it was discontinued several years ago so when the few pounds I have are gone, that’ll be it. The good news is that at .32 ACP charge weights that day is still about 8500 rounds away.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
The 32 Auto load in the Lyman manual uses a 75gr LRN bullet Lyman mold #311252 and they list an OAL of .975".
Is it possible my you over-crimping which could cause the case to bulge so it may not plunk?
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ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Try this, readjust your crimp so that you only remove the bell put in the case and see if it plunks. If it does then add crimp in very small increments until you can put moderate pressure on the bullet pushing against your bench and when you can't set back the bullet, stop there. That will be your proper crimp. Give that a try and give us a report. I truly hope it's as simple as that to fix.
gwpercle
Member
Life will be easier if you match factory bullet weight and velocity .
Where a bullet impacts is directly related to weight and velocity ....
Change any of these and POI changes.
The box of factory ammo will give you the bullet weight ... Match It .
Now it's simple to work up a load that matches the velocity and have a load where POI is the same .
You may have to try a couple powders to find " The Load" ... but just do a little experimenting .
Gary
Where a bullet impacts is directly related to weight and velocity ....
Change any of these and POI changes.
The box of factory ammo will give you the bullet weight ... Match It .
Now it's simple to work up a load that matches the velocity and have a load where POI is the same .
You may have to try a couple powders to find " The Load" ... but just do a little experimenting .
Gary
After considering your suggestions I decided the problem was in my final crimp. I'm loading on a Dillon 450, mixed dies with RCBS taper crimp in the final stage. Bullseye powder, mixed brass, Rimrock RNFP 75gn bullets and CCI SP primers. I do bullet seating in the third stage with 4th being final crimp only.
This morning I tried multiple, at least a dozen, settings on the depth and taper crimp trying to get a dummy round to pass the plunk test with the barrel removed from the pistol, all failed. Looking at my dies available I decided to try a RCBS 32 S&W long sizing die with the decaping rod removed. At 0.930" OAL they were passing the plunk test. The bullets also passed the push test without setting deeper in the case. I think it's the shape of the bullet not the case dimension keeping longer OAL from working in this instance.
I loaded up a dozen with 1.8 gn of BE and a dozen with 2.0 gn of BE seated 0.93" OAL using the sizing die as a crimp die. At 25' they both shot close to point POA with the 2.0 being a a little better. By close to POA the 2.0 BE group centered about 1" low and 1" left@ 25', close enough I can work with. So far no rim lock.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
This morning I tried multiple, at least a dozen, settings on the depth and taper crimp trying to get a dummy round to pass the plunk test with the barrel removed from the pistol, all failed. Looking at my dies available I decided to try a RCBS 32 S&W long sizing die with the decaping rod removed. At 0.930" OAL they were passing the plunk test. The bullets also passed the push test without setting deeper in the case. I think it's the shape of the bullet not the case dimension keeping longer OAL from working in this instance.
I loaded up a dozen with 1.8 gn of BE and a dozen with 2.0 gn of BE seated 0.93" OAL using the sizing die as a crimp die. At 25' they both shot close to point POA with the 2.0 being a a little better. By close to POA the 2.0 BE group centered about 1" low and 1" left@ 25', close enough I can work with. So far no rim lock.
Thanks for the help and suggestions.
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I disagree with part of this and I'll explain why. It's my belief that the purpose of a taper crimp is to remove the remaining flare from the belling step. It isn't to help hold the bullet. Roll crimps, which preceded taper crimps, do help hold bullets in place. When straight walled semi auto cartridges were developed, the term taper crimp came about because the operation (not the purpose) was similar to the roll crimp. The word crimp leads most people to believe that it should help hold the bullet. Instead, it's simply a misnomer. A better word would be debelling or something to that effect.
When reloading straight walled semi auto cartridges, the case mouths should belled just enough to allow the bullets to seat. Any more than that and you're just removing case wall tension that holds the bullet in place. After the bullets are seated, there should be plenty of case wall tension to prevent the bullet from setting back. If not, then the case is sized too much or the bullet is too small in diameter relative to the thickness of the case. Don't attempt to solve such a problem by applying more taper crimp than is necessary to debell the case. Instead, figure out what the problem is. When you get to the taper crimp step, simply turn the die down enough to remove all the flare from the debelling step. Less than that and it can cause feeding issues. More than that and all you're doing is crushing the cartridge. Brass springs back more than bullets, so you might even be lessening the case wall tension by turning your taper crimp die down too much.
As for the Lee Factory Crimp die for straight walled pistol cartridges, I believe that it's simply a poor solution to improper reloading. I think the Lee Factory Crimp die for bottle necked rifle cartridges is great for it's purpose, but that's another subject. The names are similar though.
All this said, if what you do works for you then you can't argue with success. I'm just sharing an important thing that I learned over the past 25+ years of reloading. Also note that I only load jacketed or plated bullets.
