Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ethical use of a 32-20?

Would you shoot a whitetail (at relatively close range: 100 yards or less) with a .32-20? I've got a m92 that I'd like to hunt with at least once because of who it belonged to, but I'm on the fence. The energy is pretty anemic, but it's still almost an 8mm.

And yes, I know a .22 to the head would work... but I don't plan to shoot behind the ear, so I'm asking about standard vital shots.

No. No I wouldn't. Used to have a 25-20 and I only used it on varmints.

A local guy and his son and daughters all used a 25-20 to kill deer and it did fine. I would say try it. Just use the right bullet and don't stretch it too far.

I have both the factory Winchester and Remington ammo. But they're more or less the same.

I have , worked fine with no issues. Smallish buck, 50 yards or so, speer 100gr HP from a 20" Contender Carbine. Have also shot several medium sized pigs with the same...again no issues.

Deer took a couple of steps & fell over, broadside double-lung shot that also ruined the heart a bit.

I'd only add that i would never use factory loads, but handloads will get you 800-1000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy in the 32/20......i pack around a couple of contender carbines in 32/20, plus a marlin 1894classic also....fun guns...occasionally a pig, coyote, etc happens to get shot with those, plus a whole lot of the usual vermin likes skunks, coons, etc.

if the rifle has some sentimental value, i think it'd be a cool hunt, but if i would feel better with 50 yards, and take extra care to make sure it was a classic broadside shot, etc.

I looked and it shows a 100 grain lead round nose at roughly 1210 fps. If you are not going to handload for it. Treat it like a bow and arrow. Only take shots where you will miss heavy bone, i.e. quartering away behind the shoulder.

Fyre - would you feel comfortable using your hotter handloads in a circa 1911 production? I'm not a reloader, so I'm always leery of over pressure in an old gun.

I am planning to use a S&W Model 16-4 converted to .327 Federal on deer and the .32-20 is about the same. It should work fine for you

I'd looked at 32 mag revolvers before settling on a 44. But from what I recall, the factory loads, even in pistols, were generating exponentially more energy than factory 32-20 loads in a m92?

First rifle I ever hunted whitetail with was a Rem.pump in 32-20..All I can say is it worked. Dead deer

The Jordan buck, that was the number one typical B&C whitetail until the Hanson buck was killed, was taken with a 25-20.

I kind of remember an article some time ago that had some .92 specific load data for the 32/20....the stuff i was using was above those pressure levels so might be a bit excessive for 1892's.

will see if i have that data; was thinking that article had suggested 100gr bullets at around 1800fps, and 116-118cast bullets at 1500-ish.

Shot several with trans-sonic Speer 170 gr .308 FN bullets. About 45 years ago.

All shot in a field. Just behind shoulder. No apparent expansion, all exited w/minimal or no discernible blood trail. All animals were recovered but after runs of between 50 (shortest) and 200 (longest) yds.

No interest in repeating the experiment. Sure it would work. The variable I would not overlook is surrounding cover. A 200 yd run in an open field is nothing to fret. Thick cover is another matter.

I've had several .32-20s over the last thirty-five years. While they're fun to shoot and have mild recoil and little noise, I question the usefulness of a .32-20 on anything other than close-up coyotes or turkey. I suppose if you loaded hot for a strong action like the modern Marlin lever actions, the .32-20 would be adequate for small deer in the hands of a skilled game shooter. Sort of a "stunt" cartridge in this regard, like using a .223 for deer hunting when better cartridges are available.

It only took 13 shots too.

Most of them poorly placed. It only would have taken one placed right. I know this to be fact as I've killed several with one shot each using ..22LR, 22 mag. and 5mm Remington mag... The LR kills were all head shots but a few with the .22 mag. and 5mm were lung shots and none went very far.

The Chadwick Ram was taken with a .404 Jeffery but that doesn't make it a good sheep rifle.


Okie John

Elmer Keith would have disagreed with you about that.

I’ve seen it used for deer a few times with no issue. I’d stay within 100 yards for sure and pick my shots.

There are a few old Winchester’s chambered in that floating around the north woods.

I have lever actions both in 25-20 & 32-20. Use is primarily for small game. Sure they will kill deer if your shot is placed precisely, very precisely. But how many deer have been wounded & lost because of these anemic rounds. It is a living animal your shooting & it deserves to be dispatched quickly & humanely. You will always hear some one go on about how they took a deer or a hog with their 32-20, but you will never hear from the hunters that wounded & lost game. Not one. Always use s cartridge that is easily capable of taking game cleanly. This is known as hunter ethics.

Can you hit them behind the ear?

Theoretically, yes. But with open sights that's not a shot I would ever take on something other than paper. Not saying others can't or shouldn't... just not something I'm comfortable doing.

Thirty years ago lived in NE PA. Matriarch of a family we became friends with kept a .32-20 propped by the kitchen door during deer season. During the time that we lived there, she took several deer that were unfortunate enough to meander thru the side yard during deer season. Meat in the freezer. Never any complaints.

When I was a boy I know a man who was a WW2 vet, living outside of Eureka Nevada who had killed a few deer with an M-1 Carbine. He fought in the Pacific and my dad and he used to talk a bit about the war. The m1 Carbine was not legal for deer, but he didn't care. He told my Dad and I he'd "shoot-um in the arm-pit". He had a lot of deer on his place and he shot them up close. I can't know for sure, but I doubt he ever lost one.

The 32-20 and the 30 Carbine are pretty close in ballistics so if you heart-shoot them or brain shoot them I am sure it would be OK. The real trick is to have some hunting ethics and never shoot those that you "think will be ok" but only shoot when you KNOW you are going to make the kill.
Many hunters today will not be so disciplined.
If you are, then I'd say to go ahead.

I have shot 2 sitka blacktails with a 22 hornet. Shot placement is key.

If you take only shots that are within about 50 yards or so, broadside and/or no “obstructions” (i.e. not quartering) in the way and you are proficient with the rifle then I’d say it’s ethical. It’s killed plenty of deer in it’s day and they were most likely as above. Getting the bullet where it needs to be is the key - pretty much no matter the range, caliber and/or size of animal. I have a Winchester 1873 in .32-20 that I’ve taken out for deer but the “right” opportunity had not presented itself and as others have stated it’s about humanely dispatching the animal not “stunt” shooting to brag about how great YOU are.

PennDog

It isn't something I would try, although it can and has been done. I have used my .44 Mag B92 Browning, but my load has 3x the energy at 100 that the .32-20 has.

If I were to use it, I'd probably try to keep shots inside 50 yards.

This all pretty much confirms what I've been thinking... 32-20 is a no go next deer season.

Definitely an ethical decision.

If your .32-20 is anything like my .25-20 M92, it was used back in the black powder corrosive priming days and while I'm sure that I could hit a 50 yard deer with mine, that bore isn't as pristine as I'd like. Accuracy coupled with that buck horn rear sight it would not be a big confidence booster compared with anything else in the gun safe. While Jim Jordan gunned his big buck with a M92 .25-20, if he hadn't broken it's back with one of his multiple shots, I don't think that there would have been a Jordan buck. Use enough gun. I have never found a good use for that little cartridge myself. Fun, but kind of useless imo.

Mine was built in 1911. Don't know anything about the first 50 years, but it sat unfired from the mid-60s until I got it around 2008. It has some rough bluing spots, but the bore is in very good shape and it's a solid shooter.

Or go with a "big gun", like my 38-40, 1910 vintage 1892 Winchester. It's very slick, very accurate. Bore is shiny with a few pits.

DF

If you are starving and it's the only gun you own, use it. If that's not the case, then find a more powerful caliber.

While the 32-20 wouldn't be my first choice for a deer rifle, I have one in a Browning 53 and wouldn't be afraid to use it on deer. Within reason.

The 92 is a strong gun. There are a number of good cast bullets in the 120-135 grain range that safely make the 32-20 in a rifle a considerably different round than the factory loadings.

'92 is probably the strongest action in its class, thanks to JMB. You could crank up a pretty potent load. But, it would still be a 32-20, just a more powerful one.

I'd rather be shooting a full house 38-40, or even better, a full house 44-40.

DF

I agree. I'd rather have a 38-40 or 44-40 but still wouldn't stay home if all I had was a 92/53 in 32-20.

I have a Martini in .32-20. It's accurate (with the right "oversize" bullet) and the Martini action will hold astonishingly high pressures because of its design- but the limitations are based on cartridge brass strength. I wouldn't be afraid to employ it in the deer woods with a hell-for-stout load with a lot more "snap" to it than what a factory round delivers, with careful shot placement, but I would much prefer one of my "regular deer rifles" given a choice.

A case can be made for using little mild cartridges like this. I think it basically boils down to how cool/calm/collected the guy is who uses one. I had an old timer friend who started his deer hunting career back in the 30's with a .25-20 Winchester and stuck with it for a long long time, killing a metric ton of deer with it. One of my uncles killed a sh*t ton of deer with a .22 Hornet. (Pennsylvania in both cases.) Their hunting prowess more than made up for deficiencies in their armament.

Agreed

May be missing something??! - one of the “funnest” guns I shoot is that Winchester Model 1873 - it has a single set trigger and with the right load can keep them clustered around an inch at fifty yards with the factory iron sights.....I use this rifle almost exclusively for pistol cartridge silhouette, fall turkeys (here in PA) and squirrels (again with the “right” load) it is a hoot and I have no doubt would kill a deer with the aforementioned caveats......I don’t have to take any shot on deer and haven’t yet but then again hunting has become much more about being out there than having to kill something (for me).

PennDog

Like other rounds from that era, there are two levels of .32/20 loads, 1873/revolver and 1892 Winchester family. I'd steer clear of using the first type, and use the other up to maybe 100 yards. Back in the day, lots of deer were taken with the high-speed loads, but serious hunters will use something with more power and range under most conditions now. For shooting does, say over a food plot, sure, but not with the anemic factory loads out there now, which are small-game or turkey loads.

Do some research, load up some hot ones, and go for it. Paco Kelly has some good stuff on his site, IIRC.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/3220wcf.htm

Pappy that’s a good point and one I should have mentioned - the 1892 loads are much more suitable if a deer is really what you want to take.......if I ever do take a deer with that 1873 it will be with a 115 grain lead load that the ‘73 likes and the deer would be within 30 yards or so - and like I said before if that never happens so be it.

PennDog

Yes, I would if I could make up some H.V. loads. say a 115 gr at 1800-2000 fps. I wouldn't use it much past 100 yards though. The .32-20 and .30 carbine were pretty popular around Foster, OR in the 50's as kids guns. The shots were pretty close and the deer weren't usually very large but a lot of them died. The first rifle I was given was a .32-20 Model 1892. It had been my older brother-in-laws first deer gun. He had killed several blacktails with it. I couldn't find any H.V. ammo though. His dad even used a .25-20 Remington pump on a few deer.

When I got a bit older I was lent more powerful rifles. Two different 25-35 Model 1894 Winchesers. They killed deer just fine. .

'73 clones are the best CAS guns due to straight line feeding, fast actions that can be short stroked and run fast.

The '92's are some of the worst CAS guns due to angle feed, COAL sensitivity and tendency to jam when pushed fast and hard.

For hunting, the table turns. The '73's are weak compared to the '92's which are the strongest in class, including the Marlin.

You can't push '73 loads like you can '92's.

So, it's the best of both worlds, the worst of both worlds, depending on the game.

DF

I'll tell you my experience hunting whitetails with the 32-20.

I originally bought an old, very well used Savage Model 23-C . I bought this rifle to hunt a few areas that were very close to civilization, more like a bow hunting patches. I don't bow hunt.

The first deer I shot in the lungs at a bout 40 yds. The buck ran of course and I found one pin drop of blood. I moved the deer out of some thick brush and a hunter close by shot him (thank God) within 3 minutes.

The second deer was a few days later at 50 feet. I took a neck shot and dropped the deer right there , dead. Bullet did not fully penetrate. I was using 100 gr Hornady XTP's.

The third deer was at about 80 yards. I shot the doe in the neck and it nearly did a back flip and laid motionless. As I approached her, within 25 yards she got up and ran. I think I shot her 3 more times in the lungs until she laid down down 60 yards away. My 357 magnum revolver ended her life.

I don't shoot deer with a 32-20 anymore. If it's a survival thing and that's all you've got, a neck or head shot close range will do I guess but there's many more ethical calibers to choose from otherwise.

Dan

I don't blame you. The 30-30 is about as low as I go for deer.

Best feral cat revolver and rifle I ever owned. Deer, no doubt it will do it but in 40 years of owning several 32-20's...I've not seen the need to use it. Had a friend whose brother only used a '92 in 32-20. To my knowledge he never lost one but he shot 'em up close and said he always waited until he could "shoot 'em in that white spot on their throat".