Hello I scored some old ammo at auction recently. Included was an opened box of 32-40 winchester ammo. The box said the ammo contained black powder. My question is can I use the brass for smokeless powder? I've take the rounds apart. I'm not sure if it was black powder but it was very hard and stuck. The brass looks like it's not been fired. Thank you
Black powder brass
- Thread starter hardek
- Start date
Original black powder ammunition? That would be really old. Is it balloon head? It would probably be OK to reload with modern powder. You aren't loading to high pressures in .32-40. But that is really old brass. I'd be cautious for that reason alone.
hardek: What brand is marked on the box? If Winchester, chances are your ammo is the modern, solid base type. When Winchester introduced the Model 1894 rifle...which was well into the smokeless powder era, one of the chamberings was .32-40. Many cartridges of the time were being produced with the new, solid base design. The .32-40, among them. Though it's known that early, .32-40 ammo was loaded with black powder. Several sources mention that Winchester produced black powder .32-40 ammo, up to around 1940. So, this may be what you have.
Only way to know for sure, is to cut one in half, lengthwise. Then, it should be easy to see which type it is. If the older, balloon-head type, don't load them. They are often too weak to handle smokeless powder operating pressures.
By the way, if you can't find any new .32-40 ammo or brass for reloading, 32-40 brass is relatively easy to make. Either resize .38-55 brass. Or: .30-30. Easiest to form from .38-55 (long) brass. Rusty Wood shows Starline brass, in stock.
Only way to know for sure, is to cut one in half, lengthwise. Then, it should be easy to see which type it is. If the older, balloon-head type, don't load them. They are often too weak to handle smokeless powder operating pressures.
By the way, if you can't find any new .32-40 ammo or brass for reloading, 32-40 brass is relatively easy to make. Either resize .38-55 brass. Or: .30-30. Easiest to form from .38-55 (long) brass. Rusty Wood shows Starline brass, in stock.
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BlackPowderBurner
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Black powder 32 ACP? Are you sure it wasn't 32 Short Colt or 32 S&W? 32 ACP was an autoloader cartridge from the start and introduced long after the invention of smokeless. It would be extremely rare to find it factory loaded with black.
One point not yet mentioned is that you may wish to anneal those cases before loading them again. Brass cases can harden and crack with age especially if they were not properly annealed during their initial manufacture.
