The 32-20 has always intrigued me, because it was mentioned by Mcllhenney as the round of choice for hunting turkeys back in the day. Sadly, none of the states I hunt allow hunting turkeys with a rifle. Still . . .( the shaman gets a distant look on his face)
I don't own a 32-20, but I do have a Marlin 1894 that shoots 38 SPL and 357 Mag. If I took a 125 grain cast lead bullet, what would be velocity that would come close to mimicking a 32-20?
I've got a Ruger Buckeye Special and I'm gonna have to try some of JB's recipes. The one I'm using now is with the 115 gr. Cast Performance gas check and 2400.
NRA Life,Endowment,Patron or Benefactor since '72.
A bullet you didn't use in the 32-20 loads is the 115gr speer gold dot that was designed for the .327 federal
Far as I can tell that bullet has been discontinued ... maybe quite a while ago.
Tom
That's a shame if it has. I still have several thousand as I bought in bulk a few years ago. I still see the loaded .327 ammo with it for sale, but maybe that's old stock. It's a great bullet I use in my 32H&R, 327, and 32-20. I'll have to see if I can find anymore.
My first year hunting with a Savage Model 23 in 32-20 was with mixed results. I settled on a Blue Dot load behind a Hornady 100gr XTP giving me around 14-1500 fps.
The bullet expands nicely but doesn't fully penetrate the deer. Deer were shot between 75 feet and around 50 yds. Neck shots will be the only shots taken and at 50 yds, I feel I need to hunt as an archer with the 32-20 and not a rifle hunter. It's great for too close to civilization hunting which is what I actually purchased the rifle for.
I ended taking two deer with this rifle, a third deer shot was collected by a neighboring hunter after I gave it a 30 yd lung shot.
If you find that I'm wrong, if you find a source, please let me know. I'd like to try them in my Single Seven. Looks like a good bullet. At the moment, even the 100 grain XTPs are tough to find. 85s are around and so are the 90 grain Sierras.
Anyone who thinks there's two sides to everything hasn't met a M�bius strip.
There is a fourth regime of the .32-20, though it is very much a niche use: In the ten-inch, bull-barrel Contender, it is possibly the single most useful handgun silhouette cartridge. With 175gr cast bullets at around 1100fps, it is very competitive for the standing events on full-size targets, and with the Lyman 311008 it is hard on the heels of the Hornet for top Field/Hunter pistol.
[quote=BullShooter It's interesting that Robert Johnson thought the 38 Special was "most too light". Perhaps he was corresponding with Elmer?
Actually, Elmer Keith claims he killed a running doe with a .32-20 revolver, just because that's what he was packing when it ran (partway) past him. George Nonte claims dead deer with .32-20 and .38 Special revolvers.