Anybody have a .32 wadcutter mould gathering dust that you would part with? Prefer non-Lee, and more than one cavity. I picked up another .32 (S&W 1903 Hand Ejector, 4th variation) to go with the rest of them and figure it's time to expand my .32 pistol repertoire from just an occasional SWC I've been using.
Hi, gnoahhh! hope you are recovering well. Can't help you with a mold, but just acquired a Hand Ejector .32 also. Mine was supposedly made in 1919, and is the Third Model. Worn finish but the action is tight as a tick, trigger pull wonderful in both SA and DA. The Bad is that the bore, which is bright and shiny, seems to have very shallow grooves and lands.
Is this a normal characteristic of these or evidence of a LOT of shooting and cleaning? No pitting or corrosion; just looks like there isn't a lot of rifling to grip the bullet. The chambers show evidence of a lot of shooting of .32 S&W (I gather it is pig ignorant to call them "Shorts") with not enough scrubbing of the throats afterwards. No visible pitting rings on the throats, just some darkness where the mouth of a .32 S&W would sit. I've seen similar symptoms in very old .357s shot with many .38 Specials and not scrubbed enough.
Won't get a chance to shoot this little guy until it gets out of CA "gun jail" in nine days, but I'll report to ya what the results are. I'm going to try it first with some Fiocchi .32 wadcutter factory loads which have shot very well in my S&W Model 14-3 chambered for .32 H&R. If they go into the paper sidewise, I'll know I got a turkey and may be looking for a wadcutter mould that's oversized (probably not--it would cost a lot more than I paid for the revolver).
These old .32s are some sweet handling little mouseguns! It's hard for me to believe that TR, when he was police commissioner in the Big Apple, had the cops armed with Colt "New Police" .32s, and that S&W once called the J-frame .32 DA the "Regulation Police" model!
Mike, it's been my experience that these .32's do indeed have shallow rifling. It doesn't seem to make any difference as they're as accurate as they are cute. It's not like we are driving bullets through these barrels at super-sonic velocity where they run the risk of stripping themselves through the rifling.
Yeah, sounds like someone shot a lot of .32 S&W's in those Long chambers. No big deal if you can get them cleaned up. I've resorted to spinning a tight bronze brush bathed in solvent on a drill chuck to clean obstinate .22, .32, and .357 chambers.
As with any revolver, it's way more important for a bullet to fit the throats than anything else if accuracy and zero leading is a concern. Make the bullet be soft and pass through the throat with a teeny bit of resistance and you're good to go.
Let no man denigrate the effectiveness of the lowly .32 revolver bullet. May not be a modern whizzbang but they've been getting the job done for a long time. Besides that they're just plain fun.
Unfortunately, all I have left is a somewhat used RCBS 98 grain SWC mold and a brand new Lyman 115 grain (.32-20?) mold, no WC molds.
You thinking of letting that 115 mold go TOM? I have been halfway keeping an eye peeled for one to use in my 32 magnum.