Reloading 32 SW long wadcutters

Bigbubba

Bigbubba

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So I am thinking about reloading some of these.
I am an experienced reloader with progressive shotshells (Hornday 366) and single stage rifle, but have not loaded pistol rounds before.

These would be wadcutters set flush to the top of the case.

What equipment (as in press etc) would I need to do this reasonably efficiently?

I have lots of brass. Just need wadcutters and powder and primers (which might be hard to get at the moment)

THanks

Next Q - is there a commercial reloader (like Wolf) that reloads this round?

Thanks again
 
Bigbubba: Since you already load rifle rounds on a single stage press, all you really need now, are: reloading dies, bullets, powder and primers. This will at least get you started. Depending on how many rounds you wish to reload at a time, a progressive press might be worth considering in the future. I'd start with the Lee Turret Press(A simple, solid performer) and go from there. Ultimate choice will depend on your shooting needs and budget.

Lawry's shows .32 cal wadcutters on their website. Both Lawry's and Hummason should also stock suitable powder. They may even have primers in stock. Worth contacting.

Al


Note: Just did a quick check on the Higginson site. They do list Lee .32 Long dies. SKU: 90624. Not sure whether the dies are in stock, but if not, can be ordered . I also took a quick look at the Wolf site. No .32 Long, as far as I could tell.
 
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I second everything Alex McKr has said. A single stage will get you going, albeit slowly; a turret will double or even triple your output at modest extra cost; if you find yourself shooting them by the thousands, a progessive is the way to go.

So you need dies. Those from most makes will do all the related revolver cartridges, namely .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum, .327 Federal.

One thing that might be a challenge is powder handling. The charges you will be using are tiny, below the range of many measures. I load 98gr SWC on a Lee Turret, and my auto-disk measure would not drop a small enough charge. I ended up filling one of the disk holes I've never used with JB weld and drilling it out with a 4mm bit to get down to a proper charge for the little .32.

In general, the small size causes several minor handling issues. You will pinch your fingers when lowering the press to feed a little bullet from your fingers into a little case, and it hurts. Also I have to slow down to make sure the little case lines up with the little hole in the die, or the little expander mandrel, otherwise the edges catch and it crushes the case mouth.
 
Our club buys commercially reloaded ammo from various sources and I haven't seen anyone that loads .32 S&W Long.

I've purchased lead WC bullets from Henry at Budget Shooter Supply but he's closed until September. Harvey at Airguns Plus sells Lapua match bullets.

There is load data from many sources; I have good luck with VV N310, Titegroup and Bullseye.
 
I shot thousands of that round, including casting all my bullets... If you'll end up shooting a lot, I suggest a progressive press, if you don't have one I would look into Lee progresives.

I've used RCBS Carbide dies. I always seat and taper crimp separately, a bit less messy with cast bullets...

I've reloaded using CCI primers and Win 231 powder with great success.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I happen to have a Hammerli SP20-32 (and a SP20-22) that I use. It is very nice pistol and very accurate.
Very nice trigger and easy to adjust, and just like a Pardini, very easy to strip and clean.

I have about 1800 rounds left and then I will have to make a decision.
Probably shot about 500 so far of the batch that I had
 
I nerve did 32, but loaded lots of full wadcutter 38sp for smith Wesson 52 pistol and colt revolvers. I used a Hornady progressive press. That will load any rounds you want to.
I never did rifle on it as I do not shoot much centerfire rifle. I see a good used set up complete for 450.oo at last gunshow.
When loading full wadcutter, you need a little lead sticking out , so the crimp has something to clamp on.
your mag length will tell you that, or just keep a factory round for reference for OA length. Feeding problem, check length
I always bought lead, as I never got into casting, and never wanted to, or had the time.
That press I used would load 1000/ hr. but I never ran it that fast. Always used RCBS carbide dies.

I also knew a fellow that loaded 10's of thousands with single stage presses for 9mm, 38sp, 45 acp, and he was a full auto shooter as well.
Guess it depends on what you want to spend your live doing.
 
Used Lee turret, and Hornady LNL AP press,. Dies RCBS 32 H&R mag. Powder Titegroup 2.0gr measured on Hornady drum powder measure with pistol drum and Micro adjust pistol stem.
Forgot where I bought the bullets (R&R Bullets Maitland) but know he does not make them anymore. Once you get good think about Lapua cast HB wadcutters. You can use an single stage rather easily for low volume.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...istol+Micrometer+Metering+Insert#post11845837
 
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I load 98 gr. wadcutters that I cast from my RCBS 2 cavity mould. Granted it's a little slow and I usually use Lee 6 cavity moulds but they don't make a .32 wadcutter mould in any configuration so i didn't have much choice as to what mould to use. On my Lee Classic Turret press I can do about 200 rounds per hour if I'm in a groove. I use the Lee micro disk in my powder thrower that drops lighter charges than their smallest regular disk and I find that something in the range of 1.8-2.1 grains of Bulleye gives very accurate results.
 
One thing to double check is bore size. Most euro pistols shoot best with .314" bullet not the .312" originally for revolvers. I'm not sure about bore size in Manurhin revolvers.

The classic load is VV-310 1.4gr with a Lapua 98gr HBWC. Most accurate handgun load ever out of most Pardini's Walther's etc. I load these on a Dillon with an Arrendondo micrometer powder bar.

I do anneal my Lapua cases very carefully and they last much longer.

The big challenges are case to case consistency, neck tension (annealing helps) and powder charge consistency.

Primers matter but I can't give a conclusive answer. Recently I've been trying to stick with Federal but the differences are small.

Everything has to be incredibly consistent because all the elements are so small. A minor difference in neck, powder charge etc in a 308 are far bigger porportionately in a 32.
 
I agree that incredible consistency is paramount. Using a small turret press will make it a bit easier than a single stage. I suggest finding a powder thrower that can measure accurately down to 1 grain...old Ohaus Duo or old Bonanza/Foster will do this. I also suggest using a Lyman 'M' die for expanding and a Redding profile crimp die as you should seat and crimp separately. You choose which dies you like for sizing and for seating. I used 98gr HBWC with 1.1 and/or 1.2 gr VVn310. If you can't find a powder thower, as mentioned, you could look at other powers i.e., Bullseye. They're just so dirty compared to VV310. I hand prime with Century 21 tool.

Did I (and Heddok) say consistency is key??
 
My Dillon .32 dies come with 2 neck expanders; one for regular hard cast bullets and one for the softer lead HB wadcutters. Using the longer expander lessens the chance of the bullet getting deformed if the case is too narrow.
 
I load for .32 S&W Long on a Lee turret press. I use the Lee Micro Disk & the Lee Auto Disk Powder Measure. I load using the .21 cavity for 2.0gr of Bullseye using a Lee cast 93gr round nose bullet tumble lubed. I also use the same cast bullet in .32ACP.
 
BattleRife said:
Which is great, except the micro disk was discontinued almost ten years ago and a new guy is unlikely to be able to find one.
Click to expand...
Lee idscontinued them but i recall that I have seen aftermarket micro disks on Ebay or Amazon (can't remember which but a quick search should find them).
 
I would encourage him to properly weigh his charges with such a small cartridge instead of using a goofy LEE product that isn't even made anymore.
 
You can also fill one of the largest cavities with epoxy and after it sets, use numbered drill bits and work your way up until you get the charge you want.

Auggie D.
 
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