Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 99 In 32 Special

Placebo effect?

I've heard and read this before as well. I did read an article a few years back where this was debunked.

Just to be precise and picky, if the original barrel was changed from .303 or .30/30 to .32 special, it was both rechambered and rebored.

I enjoyed this article about the .32 Special.

http://www.levergun.com/articles/special.htm

that "bad reputation" stuff is in old Speer reloading manuals claiming you can't hit the side of a house when the 1-16" twist barrel goes bad. i never really understood that statement, what rifle does shoot well with a worn out or pitted/rusty barrel? I really like the 32 Win Spl much more so than the 30WCF. It's a cast bullet machine. 2250-2300 fps with perfect accuracy, that slow twist is so forgiving.

Thank you. I enjoyed it as well.

I started hunting with a model 94 32 Win special that my paternal grandfather gave me in 1976. My father shot his first buck with it in 1956 and then my father dislocated his shoulder in a football game and my grandfather swapped my dad his model 8 automatic for the 94 so he could hunt without working the action. They each were happy with the arrangement so they never swapped back.

Anyway, everything I ever shot with that 32 Win Spec died. My son uses that gun from time to time now and everything he has ever shot with it died.

If that means anything...

The only thing I would say or add or think about is that the 1916 catalog that the author references was a full 15 years after the 32 Win Special was developed. I'm thinking that there wasn't anybody at Winchester thinking that black power was going to be making a comeback by then. That may not have been the case when they originally developed and marketed the gun and caliber in 1901.

Just something to think about.

Savage300 - Perhaps I didn't explain myself or make it clear enough for you. My question was basically why would someone take a rifle to a smith and have it re-chambered like this one has been? Was it lack of ammo availability? Ballistics? Wanted to try something? Or some other reason altogether? Just how common was it to re-chamber a 99 into a 32 Special? Have people on this forum seen loads and loads of these, or are they few and far between? I've seen 2 now in just the last year, so I really don't know. So there's the basis for my query. If you feel that is what constitutes a 'dumb post!' so be it.

Mad dog - Yes it is a crescent butt plate, 4 digit serial number. The number starts with either a 6 or a 9. The 1st digit has been rotated 90 degrees one way or the other so I really can't tell if it is a 6 or a 9. The digit lays horizontal to the rest of the digits. Is that significant in any way? Both the wood and the butt plate are stamped the same.

A couple other things to inquire about. It has a 20 inch barrel, but the front sight is not dovetailed. It has a band around the barrel that was barely soft soldered on. Under that there's a machined groove maybe 5/32" inch wide and 5/16" long that tapers towards the muzzle. Has me stumped. I'm guessing the sight is not original at all.

Several people on here use the term 'bubba d' to describe a weapon that has been modified either a little bit or a lot, and that certainly describes this one.

Have a good evening everybody.

If the wood is stamped the same are the cheeks on the sides rounded or pointed?

Well, I'm really looking forward to loading for mine. Something new and it should be interesting.

The, "why" of why people do things is something that is really all over the map. For example, some people purchase a rifle in a certain cartridge simply because they ran into a set of reloading dies that were priced very favorably. There are endless similar examples. A gunsmith might have rechambered a .32/40 to a .32 spl. mainly because he happened to have to have the right chamber tool to do it.

Or a guy simply wanted something hotter than a .32-40. There was no shortage of .32-40 ammo and components way back when.

Or the rifle had been a .30/30 or .303 and the bore was shot out. I'm not a gunsmith but had the impression that the jump from .308 to .321 was not enough of a jump when it comes to a rebore?

By the way, I remain curious if this rifle had been originally in .32/40. It's certainly a bigger deal with more involved to rebore from a smaller caliber than to just open a chamber up.

I'd say that was most likely the case. But who knows...

So, how many fairies can dance on the head of a pin?!

.419" dia. @ base 32 Spec.
.424" dia. @ base 32-40
.442" dia. @ base .303 Savage

I guess that's how many fairies could dance on the head of a pin ?? LOL Good one Gary !! BTW belated Happy Birthday.

So, probably won't get a lot of multiple loadings out of the .32 spl. brass. If the barrel were rebored and set back, the chamber dimension problem could be overcome.

I realize it's not possible but I would be very interested to know what year the rifle was reworked.

Mad dog - If by 'cheeks' you mean those areas of the stock just adjacent to the tangs, they are rounded and smooth. I am going to guess this may have some bearing on the identification of the stock? ? ?

boltman - I understand your curiosity about what this thing was originally. I am too. But not enough (not yet anyway) to pursue it.

gnoahhh - Goodness only knows how long ago it was re-chambered. Here's a question then. Without searching around for 32-40 ammo available right now, when did it fall from being a round commonly available? Available like, pop into your local gun store or sporting goods joint and grab a box or two off the shelf?

Thanks all for chiming in with your thoughts.