Home Forums Lever Action Central Cowboy Levers New 1894 Cowboy 32-20 limited

Just picked my new 32-20. Asked my dealer to call Davidson's and bingo 6 days later he said come get it. Everything works and it is perfect just like I would expect. There was some question on the old MT as to the twist rate. Some thought it might be 1 in 38 based on a misprint in Marlin's advertizing. I measured mine and it is 1 in 16 like it is podabe. It is also #154 off the assembly line out of 501. I wonder who got # 1? Probably a VP, I guess thats a benny of working for Marlin. Cain't wait to shoot this puppy.

If you do mind my asking, what did it cost you? I have a Colt Bisley in 32-20 and an old Marlin 1894 rifle. Thinking about getting into SASS now that I am back and a new shooter to go with the Colt would be perfect for the boss lady. Thanks. TM

Travilingman1,
Don't mind at all, It was $ 660.00 out the door. Got it to go with my 38-55 cowboy. Figure I can shoot this almost as cheap as 22RF with hand loads. Practice for cowboy siloutte. Now all I have to do is find a accurate load for it when spring gets here. Comonnnnnnnn SPRING. It just ain't fun,shootin in 10 degree weather. Its a nice light little rifle, the Boss would love it for Valentines day.

Ricoshea, Thanks for the input. Will start looking for one. Be interested to know how she shoots, handles, etc... TM

TM,
Just as soon as I get some loads worked up and the weather warms up a little, I'll let ya know. Seeya
Mick

You might want to check Paco Kelly's old articles about the .32-20 on sixgunner.com or sixguns.com. If I remember correctly, Paco wrote that the new Marlin CL 1894 .32-20 rifles had a longer cylindrical body length and a shorter neck in the chamber than Winchester products did. This meant that a reloader faced a real problem if he tried to do anything more than neck-sizing with an industry standard full-length resizing die. Be sure to compare your once fired brass to one you've just full-length resized. I'm sure that there are other .32-20 shooters in your local SASS club. Talk to those folks before you order a custom sizing die from Redding or RCBS. You may need to invest in a custom die. Just send a few fired cases and a check to the die maker of your choice. It's so easy but it's not so cheap! And don't forget that a good .32-20 Cowboy load is probably a good squirrel load too!

Thanks TwentyTwo,
I'll check out Paco's articles.I thought after all the info on the 38-55cb chamber size differences of Marlins the rest of their calibers would be normal, DAH on me! Don't ya just love these forums, just when you think you know it all somebody say's hold on there pilgrim, you ain't done learnin yet. That's life, somethin new every day. Thanks for the heads up. Seeya
Mick

Apologies to everyone for giving incomplete and partly incorrect information. My statement that Marlin 32-20 chambers are longer at the shoulder is correct. But the full info is in an archived thread at leverguns.com. AmBraCol started the thread ".25-20 in the '92 Winchester" on 04-30-2003. I used the Search Function, entering ".32-20 Marlin chamber" ino the input box. Then I checked "Search for all words" and "Archived Posts." That search yielded eight results, and AmBraCol's thread had the desired information. I wrote earlier from memory. At age 60, I should know better.

I just ordered a new Marlin .32-20 barrel from e-guns for my 1894CL in .25-20. Little did I know that some of you fellows were sly enough to discover another way to get a .32-20!

Let us know how she does.

Hi 22,
Received your PM and sent one back. Found the info you refer to under .32-20 Winchester using your instructions. It was great info and should keep me out of trouble. Thanks for all your help. The new Marlin is at the gunsmith's getting a trigger job and a old Redfield receiver sight installed. It should be back in about a month and I'll have loads ready to go. I'll let you know what it does. Seeya
Mick