.32 winchester self load

[crooked barrel jed]

I posted this down in the reloading section(nothing but the sound of crickets) thought I'd try here as some of you guy's work with some obscure things. A friend of mine's son inherited a Win 05 in .32 win self load, can a guy find brass for it? or what can it be made from? I read somewhere .30 carbine might be made to work,any input would be helpful.
thanks
Jed

 

[mooncoon]

The dimensions of the 30 carbine are not listed in Cartridges of the World but it is a rimless shell and the 32 SL is semi rimless. You could try an empty shell and see if it will extract dependably. Your other alternative would be to make shells from one of the 32-20 family of cases. They would need to be shortened a bit and the rim reduced in diameter plus the base over the solid web would have to be thinned by 2 or 3 thousandths. The issues with the rim and base probably mean using a metal lathe although with a bit of ingenuity you could do it in a drill press, using a bullet to support the neck area and gripping the shell by the neck in the chuck and pivoting the base on a blunt point in the primer pocket

It is important to use a fast powder and enough of it to cycle the action or you can get a bullet stuck in the barrel. I had a 35 SL briefly and started with a fast powder and then went to a slow powder. That was a mistake as there was a pop the fwam with lots of flame at the breach. The primer ignited the powder partially, pressure dropped but the breach was moving backwards and then the rest of the powder ignited. The bullet lodged in the barrel and the case burst because it was half way out of the barrel by the time of the secondary explosion..

cheers mooncoon

 

[mooncoon]

duplicate post

 

[boogieman]

Donnelly's manual of cartridge conversions says-

Made from .32-20WCF.Taper expand the Win. case and F/L.size or fireform,with corn meal,in the SL trim die.Trim and Chamfer.11/32" dia tubing can be used to re-body a .38 ACP case head.

 

[boogieman]

Forgot load.

165 gr.lead bullet 12.5 gr. 4227

 

[stevejones]

Would it be possible to re-chamber the gun to 30 M1? Or some other caliber. I'm no gunsmith and I suppose any collectible value would be gone as well.

Steve.

 

[mooncoon]

The real issue is whether or not the self loader will extract a rimless case since the original shell was a semi rimless case. I forgot to measure the length of a 30 carbine shell but the base is about 8 or 10 thou over that of the published dimensions of the self loader. The bullet of a 30 carbine I presume to be .308 vs 320 is the published diameter of the 32 self loader

cheers mooncoon

 

[smellie]

That .320-165 slug for the .32WSL sounds very like the same slug as used in so many of the old .32-40s.

Lots of old moulds around at gun shows, not expensive.

Getting an original .32WSL back on the range: now THERE is a worthy project! There weren't all that many made and there has been no ammo for years and years (I was gonna say "for a coon's age" but the Moderator might take it amiss!).

On a historical note, too, the .32WSL was the direct ancestor of the .30 Carbine, although the Carbne round ran at MUCH higher pressure. Value entirely aside, personally I would not even try the conversion of a .32WSL to the Carbine cartridge.

Starting with .32-20 seems much safer.

BTW, Barnes (COTW6) gives 12.5/4227 for 1440 ft/sec and 760 ft/lbs with a 165 for the .32WSL: dupes factory ammo.

BTW, .351SL for the very similar 1907 rifle can be made from .357MAX, just in case you have one of those cluttering up your closet as well.

Hope this helps.
.

 

[mooncoon]

for years and years (I was gonna say "for a coon's age" but the Moderator might take it amiss!).

Just because I have the head of a trophy velocoraptor over my fireplace :>)

cheers mooncoon

 

[crooked barrel jed]

thanks for the info,sounds like it could be a fairly in depth project. I will have to see the rifle and see if it's condition warrants the work. I have a lead on some factory ammo so if that pans out it will simplify things greatly. I hope the collector value of the ammo doesn't get in the way of shooting fun

 

[pmatuk]

32wsl loading

for what it is worth 6 months later ,I have all 4 of the wsls and load for all of them the easiest is the 32 which I use 32-20 starline brass .I have a set of the CH dies ,I run the case through the expander die ,then the fl die trim to length ,re expand charge and I use a hornady 180 rn ,seat and then I reset the die and crimp .The rim on the starline is good to go in my rifle so there is no messing with it and shoot away roughly runs a 2 1/2 group at 75 yards and the ammo is very economical made that way aprox $65/100 the first time and way less if you pick up the spent .I found the rim was thicker on the win and rem brass

Cheers Peter