Thoughts and photos of the 32 WCF (32-20)
It’s hard to say sometimes why certain cartridges can have such a powerful nostalgic hold on a fellow. My first introduction to the 32-20 cartridge was back when I was a young fellow growing up in a rural area. My best friend on a farm four miles away bought a box of 32-20 cartridges for an ancient, well-used Marlin rifle that had obviously been heavily used on some homestead back in the late 1800’s. The afternoon when he opened that box, pulled out some of those little cartridges, and fed them into that old rifle is still fresh in my memory. Perhaps it was the sight of that old homesteading rifle and those fascinating little cartridges that got a nostalgic hold on me that is at least as strong some 45 years later.
Here’s a shot of my own 32-20, originally known as the 32 W.C.F. Mine is an original Winchester Model 53 made in 1929, with ’32 W.C.F.’ marked on the barrel. It is both my daughters’ favourite gun to shoot …. no noticeable recoil and not much of a bang. As for me, it's my all time pet varmint cartridge. With a 115 grain bullet at 1,257 fps, I do have to sneak up a little closer, but that is part of the fun.
I’ve purchased a bunch of Starline 32-20 brass and started loading them this week with my pet load of 9.5 grains of 5744. It is an accurate load but this new batch of 5744 sure meters poorly, often plus or minus 0.4 grains. For that reason, I’m planning to develop two new loads this weekend using Blue Dot and 2400. I know that 2400 meters like a dream. I’ll be saving my 5744 for larger capacity cartridges where plus or minus 0.4 doesn’t make much of a difference.
In the meantime, here is a close up of some of my loaded cartridges for your viewing pleasure. My wife thinks they are cute. By the way, the book is an original copy of Frank Tose' Trapping Tanning and Taxidermy. It is a gold mine of good info and you can get reprints of it still.
It’s hard to say sometimes why certain cartridges can have such a powerful nostalgic hold on a fellow. My first introduction to the 32-20 cartridge was back when I was a young fellow growing up in a rural area. My best friend on a farm four miles away bought a box of 32-20 cartridges for an ancient, well-used Marlin rifle that had obviously been heavily used on some homestead back in the late 1800’s. The afternoon when he opened that box, pulled out some of those little cartridges, and fed them into that old rifle is still fresh in my memory. Perhaps it was the sight of that old homesteading rifle and those fascinating little cartridges that got a nostalgic hold on me that is at least as strong some 45 years later.
Here’s a shot of my own 32-20, originally known as the 32 W.C.F. Mine is an original Winchester Model 53 made in 1929, with ’32 W.C.F.’ marked on the barrel. It is both my daughters’ favourite gun to shoot …. no noticeable recoil and not much of a bang. As for me, it's my all time pet varmint cartridge. With a 115 grain bullet at 1,257 fps, I do have to sneak up a little closer, but that is part of the fun.
I’ve purchased a bunch of Starline 32-20 brass and started loading them this week with my pet load of 9.5 grains of 5744. It is an accurate load but this new batch of 5744 sure meters poorly, often plus or minus 0.4 grains. For that reason, I’m planning to develop two new loads this weekend using Blue Dot and 2400. I know that 2400 meters like a dream. I’ll be saving my 5744 for larger capacity cartridges where plus or minus 0.4 doesn’t make much of a difference.
In the meantime, here is a close up of some of my loaded cartridges for your viewing pleasure. My wife thinks they are cute. By the way, the book is an original copy of Frank Tose' Trapping Tanning and Taxidermy. It is a gold mine of good info and you can get reprints of it still.
Last edited:
