Handloads for the .32 Smith & Wesson

[McShooty]

I wanted to try Trail Boss powder in loads for the antique .32 top-break revolvers. Realizing this bulky powder was developed to provide good loading density in large cases, I was still curious as to how it would perform in the tiny .32 case. Loads of 1.5 and 1.4 grains proved to be practical. I used four projectiles, shown in the pic with loaded cartridges, left to right: Hornady .310” round ball; Hunter’s Supply 76 grain hard-cast flat nose; Berry 83-grain, copper-plated hollow-base wadcutter; and Magtech 85-grain soft lead round nose.

In spite of its large flakes, Trail Boss is promoted as a powder that meters well and user ratings seem to agree. I adjusted a Lee Perfect measure so that it would repeatedly throw ten consecutive charges with a total weight of 15.0 grains. The measure so adjusted gave individual charges of 1.5 grains with an occasional deviation to 1.4, but never to more than 1.5. Satisfied with accurate measure adjustment, I proceeded to load with no additional weighing except for a check-weigh every 25 loads. I used a Lee .32 S&W die set in which the seater die is the .32 ACP, which works OK. The 76-gr bullets from Hunter’s Supply measured .313” so I sized them to .311” to be closer to the slug measurement of .308” of my old pistols. A crimp was applied to all loads. Results with 10-shot strings for the 1.5-grain charge are:

S&W Model 1-1/2 Single-action Top-break (3.5” bbl).
Hunter’ Supply 76-grain: Ave 660 fps, Extreme Spread 56 fps, Std Deviation 17 fps
Hornady round ball: Average 645 fps, ES 144 fps, SD 46 fps.

S&W Double-action Top break, 4th Model (3.5” bbl).
Hunter’s Supply 76-grain: Ave 676 fps, ES 89 fps, SD 25 fps
Berry’s 83-grain HBWC: Ave 511 fps, ES 103 fps, SD 31 fps
Mag Tech 85-gr RN: Ave 691 fps, ES 64, SD 23 fps

I feel the very poor uniformity of the round ball load in the Mod 1-1/2 was due to the difficulty in getting uniform seating and crimping, not to powder performance. This needs more work. The Berry HBWC showed evidence of inadequate stabilization and might work better at 600+ yet to be tried. The MagTech load is equivalent to a factory S&W load and I suppose pressure is about the same, probably not dangerous but a little too high for my taste for old guns. Confined to one bullet I would use the HS 76-grainer. Its lighter weight helps keep pressure down for the oldies, and it gives good velocity and accuracy. I wondered what a tenth-grain difference would do in the teeny case, so I readjusted the measure to throw ten charges with a total weight of 14.0 grains. The average velocity of 10 shots (using the DA) for the HS 76-gr fell to 630 fps, and the MagTech 85gr dropped a whole 108 fps down to 583, a better and safer load for this bullet in antique iron.
Ten-shot groups (rest, tiny sights, poor eyes) generally went into less than 2 inches at 25 feet and some were considerably better. The cluster of eight in the last pic measures a smidge over 1 inch. Sweet little cartridge. Sweet little guns.

 

[sjmjax]

Thanks for the very interesting post. Thinking about reloading for this cartridge as well.

Can you clarify which load combination gave the best accuracy in your tests?

 

[McShooty]

Thanks for the very interesting post. Thinking about reloading for this cartridge as well.

Can you clarify which load combination gave the best accuracy in your tests?

They came out pretty close in my not extensive testing but I think the 85-gr MagTech has the most potential. These seem very uniform - think they are swaged - and they have concave bases. Shooting at a distance greater than 25 ft would probably make it easier to judge relative accuracy.

 

[M29since14]

That's interesting. I hadn't thought of trying round ball loads in my .32s. I may have to give that a whirl someday. Thanks for the info.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

Great post! I have more than a few .32 SW caliber top breaks and have only recently begun to use Trail Boss for them. 1.5 grains seems to be the load to use but I have only been using Hornaday's swaged 90 gr SWC thus far. I do have an old Ideal reloading tool/bullet mold and it casts a fairly decent 87 gr RN bullet. I'll have to play around it. Love shooting the little 32 and it's longer version as well.
A note to remember: I've shoot my 32 S&W loaded with Trail Boss at the pistol club located just up the street from my house. As part of the backstop they have heavy 3/4" conveyor belting hung just behind the target clips. At 25 feet most of my shots barely penetrate the rubber belting or just drop to the floor. Makes it easy to recover!
John

 

[McShooty]

Great post! I have more than a few .32 SW caliber top breaks and have only recently begun to use Trail Boss for them. 1.5 grains seems to be the load to use but I have only been using Hornaday's swaged 90 gr SWC thus far. I do have an old Ideal reloading tool/bullet mold and it casts a fairly decent 87 gr RN bullet. I'll have to play around it. Love shooting the little 32 and it's longer version as well.
A note to remember: I've shoot my 32 S&W loaded with Trail Boss at the pistol club located just up the street from my house. As part of the backstop they have heavy 3/4" conveyor belting hung just behind the target clips. At 25 feet most of my shots barely penetrate the rubber belting or just drop to the floor. Makes it easy to recover!
John

Boy, how I wish I had a pistol club up the street from my house! Glad to hear about other results listed in these posts. I think the very small case, mostly filled by 1.5 grains of Trail Boss, gave these rounds better performance than I might have expected. In a penetration test, the 76-gr hard-cast bullet went through two 3/4" pine boards and buried itself in the third. The softer 85-gr MagTech made it only into the second board, with much more expansion. BTW, combustion of Trail Boss in all the loads I tried was very clean.