Picked up a .32-20 1905 4th Change

[tlawler]

Sometimes it pays to attend a gun show on the second day. Conventional wisdom would usually dictate getting there early on the first day for the good deals, but towards the end is when some dealers want to unload their “white elephants” that they may be tired of lugging around. I was at the local Port Charlotte show today after doing the Lakeland show yesterday. I like this show; it has a nice small town feel and I know most of the vendors at least by sight. I was walking the last row and getting ready to head out when I spotted this little beauty. The guy at the table had marked it down from $450 the day before to $350 today. I asked if he’d take $275, and we settled on $300. It needs a good cleaning and a bit of rust mitigation, but mechanically, it’s tight and doesn’t appear to have been shot much. The s/n matches on all the parts including the stocks. Based on the s/n of 93833, my SWAG estimate of shipping date would be 1924 or ‘25. But after seeing Charlie’s thread on his .32-20 s/n 105xxx shipping in 1921, mine must be ‘19 or ‘20 maybe? I’ll have to wait until next week to ask Roy since I just submitted a ship date request for the M39-2 I picked up yesterday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go track down some .32-20 dies and brass.

 

[DWalt]

From nearby SNs on my list, it probably shipped sometime in the second half of 1920. Dies are easy to find; brass, maybe not so much from what I read here. $300 is far from a bad deal today for any M&P in reasonable shape. The main problem is finding ammo and/or brass. Fortunately, I have an adequate inventory of brass. Not a recommendation, but it will go Bang with .32 S&W Long.

 

[tlawler]

From nearby SNs on my list, it probably shipped sometime in the second half of 1920. Dies are easy to find; brass, maybe not so much from what I read here. $300 is far from a bad deal today for any M&P in reasonable shape. The main problem is finding ammo and/or brass. Fortunately, I have an adequate inventory of brass. Not a recommendation, but it will go Bang with .32 S&W Long.

I am finding both, but at different sites. Places with brass in stock are out of stock on good dies (tryin to stay away from Lee), and vise versa. I’m trying to only have to pay one $15-$20 shipping fee. Still looking, though.

 

[Model19man]

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go track down some .32-20 dies and brass.

Good luck with that - the only way you are going to get some 32 WCF brass is to pay dearly for it. I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for some - these folks say they have one box of ammo in stock. That's all I found in several hours of looking other than some pricey collector ammo.

https://www.mainegundealer.com/product.cgi?group=41775&product=41780

 

[moosedog]

Great deal. I just started reloading for the 32/20 and I am really enjoying the cartridge.

 

[DWalt]

Places with brass in stock are out of stock on good dies (tryin to stay away from Lee), and vice versa.

What’s the beef with Lee dies? I have four Lee sets (one being in .32-20), no cause for regret. In fact, I have no complaints about any of the die makers, but for no concrete reason I am attracted more to Lyman dies. Maybe it’s because I like the orange boxes.

I did have a problem with one Lee die set in .303 Savage. When received new, there was a burr inside the FL resize die that scratched the case wall. I called Lee and they sent me a replacement body right away. My only bad Lee product was their bench priming tool. Big mistake, I would never recommend it to anyone as it jams constantly. A very poor design.

 

[tlawler]

Good luck with that - the only way you are going to get some 32 WCF brass is to pay dearly for it. I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for some - these folks say they have one box of ammo in stock. That's all I found in several hours of looking other than some pricey collector ammo.

HSM Cowboy Action 32-20 Win 115gr LRNFP 50rds Ammunition

I thought I’d found some at a company called Texas Gun Store LLC. I was going to buy 200 Starline cases and went to the checkout. It wouldn’t let me, saying I have to make a $150 min. purchase. Ok, so I bit the bullet and ordered 500…put me just over the $150 threshold. Then I checked out with a credit card and got a notice that I had to respond to an email which stated that I had just reserved the order with my card and that I’d have to checkout with zelle or paypal because “credit card companies are targeting gun related sales” or some such nonsense. Nope Nope Nope…smells like a scam to me. Why would they have it in stock when the whole country is OOS? Unless some of you guys have dealt with them and can vouch for them, I’m pullin’ the plug. Sigh…the search continues.

 

[tlawler]

What’s the beef with Lee dies? I have four Lee sets (one being in .32-20), no cause for regret. In fact, I have no complaints about any of the die makers, but for no concrete reason I am attracted more to Lyman dies. Maybe it’s because I like the orange boxes.

I still have many Lee dies from my early Lee turret days before I switched to a Dillon. I’ve slowly been replacing my Lee dies with RCBS, Lyman and Hornady that I’ve been picking up second hand at gun shows and off armslist and Florida gun trader pretty cheap. The Lee dies have served me well, so no complaints really, I’m just upgrading.

 

[DWalt]

Smells like a scam to me. Others here have reported that new .32-20 brass is presently in Unobtanium territory. I am happy to have about 200 fired cases plus two full boxes of elderly factory ammo.

 

[Model19man]

Starline discontinued 32 WCF brass years ago. They are not taking any more orders for it. If you are lucky, you might find some Remington ammo for sale. It's from maybe 2015 but still works great.

 

[DWalt]

I have to believe someone somewhere will step up and begin manufacturing at least brass. There are many Cowboy Action shooters who use .32-20 rifles and revolvers, or at least there used to be. Sort of surprising that Starline (or someone in the world) would not make a production run of cases every few years for inventory. After all, the tooling still exists.

 

[Igiveup]

I just got a set of Lee dies. I have a set for .43 Mauser and .303 enfield. I don't load much of those calibers, so took the least expensive route. The 32-20 Lee dies will suffice my needs. Got primers and powder, and "think" I have lined up a couple hundred of new brass, price depending. We will see. I still need to find and order bullets, just not sure what I want yet.

 

[dsf]

What’s the beef with Lee dies? I have four Lee sets (one being in .32-20), no cause for regret. In fact, I have no complaints about any of the die makers, but for no concrete reason I am attracted more to Lyman dies. Maybe it’s because I like the orange boxes.

I did have a problem with one Lee die set in .303 Savage. When received new, there was a burr inside the FL resize die that scratched the case wall. I called Lee and they sent me a replacement body right away. My only bad Lee product was their bench priming tool. Big mistake, I would never recommend it to anyone as it jams constantly. A very poor design.

I use Lee dies and generally no issues for the bottle neck cartridges. What I don't like on their pistol straight walled is that darned floating button that expands the case mouth. Maybe I've been doing something wrong for 50 years, but the darn thing sizes the inside case and expands the mouth, and stays stuck until on the upstroke (I use a single stage Lyman) gets unstuck with a distinct "ker-thunk" as it's pulled loose. Annoying as heck.

 

[Green Frog]

I’ve decided I need to load a batch of 32-20s, and I found myself low on brass for it. Fortunately I am “networked in” with a bunch of 32 lovers on another, all reloading forum. A member with whom I have dealt before found a 100 round batch of Remington 32-20 and since he needs some of the 327 Fed Mag brass I have in good supply, we hope to get together tomorrow for a one to one swap. I’ve got an old brown 32-20 M&P, but I especially want to load a batch for my Blackhawk Buckeye Special 32 combo… it needs both 32 H&R and 32-20 to feed it properly.

Froggie

 

[cmansguns]

can't even get that 1 box!

Model19man posted a link to a Maine gun dealer site that had 1 box in stock and sure enough their site does say 1 box is in stock at $99.95 but, the site also states that they ship nothing from the website. All their stuff for sale is at their store ONLY, first come, first serve.

I am not complaining....I wish I lived somewhere closer to this store in Maine.

I also found a site on line that had several boxes of Cowboy Action 32-20 in stock at ridiculous $179/box, but the only acceptable forms of payment were BitCoin and some other crypto currency. Read some reviews and for sure a scam...unbelievable that so many reported getting took for $700, $500, never received any notices, no ammo, no recourse.

Yep..........me.........like you others.......keep looking. I'm not a reloader but I'm on the watch for 32-20 brass..in any quantity that I'll post on this Forum for sale for whatever I pay for it if some found. Locally I still attend estate sales, especially farms, but there are also a few little Mom & Pop side of the road places that survived the pandemic. These are not LGS, but they had some ammo in popular calibers for local farmers, fishermen, hunters. So hopefully an old box of 32-20 WCF lays behind that old box of 22 Hornet, or 303 Savage!

 

[Drm50]

I got about 1K + of 32/20 about same in 25/20. Been fooling with those for a long time. Have bullet molds for same. My guns are all originals and don’t do well with jacketed bullets. Under normal circumstances they are cheap shooting. Under first ammo panic they were cheaper shooting than 22Rf.

 

[smithra_66]

They are nice little guns. I have a 2nd change made in 1907 and I shoot it regularly with a case full of Swiss 2F and a 115 gr. bullet.

I get the best accuracy from that load. Lots of fun.

 

[4K2022]

Heat treatment cylinders around serial number 80,000 in the 32-20 k frame. Post 1921 manufacture date,, no more round butts. Great job bringing that one home, and sharing.

 

[Green Frog]

“They are nice little guns. I have a 2nd change made in 1907 and I shoot it regularly with a case full of Swiss 2F and a 115 gr. bullet.

I get the best accuracy from that load. Lots of fun.” smithra 66

“Heat treatment cylinders around serial number 80,000 in the 32-20 k frame. Post 1921 manufacture date,, no more round butts. Great job bringing that one home, and sharing.” 4K2022


Well, both of you hit me squarely! My old M&P is in the 75XXX SN range. I’ve always been a little hesitant to get very enthusiastic with my reloads, but BP loads might be a possibility. Of course like any self respecting 32-20 loader, I have a good old Ideal 3118 mould for 115 gr bullets and just happen to have a can or two of Schuetzen Cartridge grade BP. I may have to whomp up a small batch of BP 32-20 cartridges to see how they do… I’m not going to start out by using up these hard found new cases, but I do have a small odd lot of once fired cases I could clean thoroughly and devote to such an “experiment”.

Froggie

 

[StarlineBrass]

Starline discontinued 32 WCF brass years ago. They are not taking any more orders for it. If you are lucky, you might find some Remington ammo for sale. It's from maybe 2015 but still works great.

Starline has not discontinued 32-20 brass. We are working our way currently through an enormous backlog from the most popular calibers to the less popular ones, so a run has not been made in a couple years of 32-20. We will produce this brass again in the future when we get caught up more.