.32 win special for moose?

gonecountry said:
I'm not sure why it was made either but I read a magazine article this spring that said . (and I think this was mostly speculation by the author) that in the early days of reloading brass cartridges it was hard to get smokeless powder.
But black powder was easy to find and the larger bore and different twist of the .32 special made it more efficent with black than the 30-30.

Again just speculation.
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The 32 Special was was a smokeless powder cartridge but more suitable for reloading with black powder. As gonecountry mentioned, smokeless powder in 1900 was not that readily available.

The 30-30 (30 WCF) rifling is 1-12 and tends to foul the bore badly with blackpowder. The 32 Win Spec. has a twist of 1-16 making it acceptable with either smokeless or black powder.

The 30-30 with a badly worn barrel will still shoot reasonably well; but the 32 Win Spec with an equally worn barrel is inaccurate beyond use.

If a hunter can hit what he shoots at and limits his shots to under 100 yds., the 32 Win Spec will bring down a Moose like it's been doing for a 100 years.

Rod
 
wow that's a lot of replies... :D

Thanks a lot for the info guys/gals. Now I can be confident that I'm actually helping him... :p

And I will take him shooting to get used to the gun.

Thanks again everyone.
 
Rod said:
The 32 Special was was a smokeless powder cartridge but more suitable for reloading with black powder. As gonecountry mentioned, smokeless powder in 1900 was not that readily available.

The 30-30 (30 WCF) rifling is 1-12 and tends to foul the bore badly with blackpowder. The 32 Win Spec. has a twist of 1-16 making it acceptable with either smokeless or black powder.

The 30-30 with a badly worn barrel will still shoot reasonably well; but the 32 Win Spec with an equally worn barrel is inaccurate beyond use.

If a hunter can hit what he shoots at and limits his shots to under 100 yds., the 32 Win Spec will bring down a Moose like it's been doing for a 100 years.

Rod
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Isnt that the truth. A worn out 32sp is a door stop or pry bar.
 
gonecountry said:
I'm not sure why it was made either but I read a magazine article this spring that said . (and I think this was mostly speculation by the author) that in the early days of reloading brass cartridges it was hard to get smokeless powder.
But black powder was easy to find and the larger bore and different twist of the .32 special made it more efficent with black than the 30-30.

Again just speculation.
Click to expand...

I also read 32spl was only good for the loader with LOTS of black powder around.
The author goes on to say the 32 spl is one of the most useless rifle cartidges out there!?! (written in 1974, mind you)
I have my eye on a lever in 32spl.
should i go for it or leave it?( I just want a lever for deer in the fall)
HELP!!
 
The only thing that counts if you want to buy one of these old timers is that the rifle is in good (read safe to shoot) condition, the price is right and you take the time to get reliable with it.:)

The drawbacks are that folding tactical stocks, flashlight and laser attachments, etc are very difficult to find and there are no "banana clips".:(

I suppose you could paint it with trunk paint, or get it chromed, then it would be a sure fire tactical killer for up to medium mooses!:D:p
 
The 32Sp. is the equivilent of the 30-30. These two calibers have probably taken down more game than all the other calibers together.Excluding of course the long distance shooting which limits these guns. At close range, they cannot be beat when bullet placement is correct. I shoot both and they have never let me down. Just holding one of these old guns gives a good feeling. I also like my 38-55 winchester for hunting deer, the 25-20 for vermin.
 
Pathfinder said:
I cant see how its so much better....
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Why did you take my quote out of context?

Here is what I said:

Because of his great hunting ability, the 32 Special was known far and wide as a much better calibre for moose, than was a 30-30!

Read the whole thing and quote me correctly, if you are going to quote.
 
I had a 32 Spl in a model 64 Winchester and the only difference between that and a 30-30 that I'm aware of is the 0.14" difference in bullet diameter. Other than that, the two are 'same as same as'.
 
My dad got a .32 WS. from his dad and said you can shoot .32 WS. or 30-30WCR shells out of it. I know the cartridges are similar, but I told him he was on glue and it would wreck the gun just to be safe. Is this true?
 
HairTrigger said:
My dad got a .32 WS. from his dad and said you can shoot .32 WS. or 30-30WCR shells out of it. I know the cartridges are similar, but I told him he was on glue and it would wreck the gun just to be safe. Is this true?
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You can shoot 30-30 cartridges in a 32 WS, but not accurately and is a waste of time and good ammo. 30-30 is .308 in diameter. 32 WS is .321 in diameter.

One thing though, do NOT under ANY circumstances shoot 32 WS in a 30-30. You're setting yourself up for a kaboom, possibly injury and death.
 
Hornady just started putting out .32 win special in the leverevolution bullets. If the rifle is in good shape, pick up a box of these and head to the range to see if the rifle likes them. I can guarantee that if they even shoot ok in that gun, the extra velocity and expansion of the bullet will drop any moose you put in the crosshairs. Now mind you, I dropped a decent cow 2 years ago with my marlin 30as in .30-30 with 1 shot using 170 grain flat nose winchester bullets. She was at 80 yards and when hit, went about 15 paces and did a nose dive. She was 750 pounds so I can vouch that either a .32 or .30-30 will do the trick. I wasn't even hunting moose at the time, just with a friend who was hunting black bear. Luckily I had a tag with me cause I haven't seen another moose since then.
 
I know someone who uses a semiauto .32 winchester.

I thought that was an interesting combination.

uses it for everything
 
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A .32 Win for moose? and others say that a 30-30 is OK? I'm shocked! I thought we lived in the age where only the latest 375 WSSSSAUM was considered the smallest cartridge that any hunter should use for moose (and low flying aircraft).

Seriously though, I agree shot placement and proper range are key. If you do a pass through on a moose with arrow, a 32 Win or 30-30 will be fine.
 
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