Who shoots the 32?

I recently dug the little stainless Ruger single six out of the safe
Got it for my wife three or four years ago, she's interested in wearing it around the ranch
I'm thinking 110gr loads at 1200+ FPS would be hell on coyote out past 100yds
It'll make a good piece for her while she has the goats out browsing

I'd like to hear what's worked for y'all



Cheers
Tinker

I'm shooting 9.0 grains of 2400 behind the old Bull-X 100 grain SWC bullet. Hunter Supply makes a LFN profile in 115 grains that shoots well from .32-20.

The above load averages 1,268 fps from my revolver and is very accurate. I used this load for shooting metallic silhouettes before I customized the revolver. This load is most effective on animals up to small deer.

Holy Mackeral, Rob! Bull-X? Man, they made some great bullets. I wish they were still in business. You must have squirreled away a bunch. I did, too. I just recently loaded the last of my .45 230 FN's from my old Bowling Pin days.

Yes Ken, I bought several thousand and after they went out of business; use them sparingly these days just to make them last longer. The Hunter Supply bullet works well and I have several thousand of those as well.

John Gallagher has my .32-20 currently replacing what was left of the front sight after a previous owner filed it down. The revolver is very accurate, just has a 200 yard zero with the way it was.

I have a Ruger SP 101, what bore diameter cast bullets are you guys shooting.
I pick up at a yard sale a box of 500 100gr. .313 ,I have no way of checking how hard they are. But your finger nail cannot put a mark in it.

These bullets run nominally 0.313" diameter. 0.314" is fine as well.

Did some touring around the shops today looking for brass, no joy.
Looks like it's time to call huntingtons or midway or graf's

Anyone seen plated brass in this caliber?

quote:

Originally posted by a.tinkerer:
Did some touring around the shops today looking for brass, no joy.
Looks like it's time to call huntingtons or midway or graf's

Anyone seen plated brass in this caliber?

Have not seen any plated brass. Been using Starline brass in .32 Mag for years. It has worked well for me.

quote:

I'm thinking 110gr loads at 1200+ FPS would be hell on coyote out past 100yds

Unless your Ruger Single Six has a barrel longer than the 6 1/2" on mine that is asking a bit much of the .32 H&R and the Ruger Single Six. You might safely get 1200+ gps with a 85 - 90 gr jacketed bullet but 1200+ fps will be stretching the capability of the cartridge and revolver with 110 gr bullets, jacketed or cast. I can safely (I measure the psi in a 10" Contender barrel with an Oehler M43) push 1150+ fps with 115 gr cast in the Ruger or 1250+ fps with a 105 gr cast but both are on the upper ragged psi limit for the Ruger Single Six revolver.

There are some .32 H&R loads out there that some use safely in the Contender or the Ruger BHs. However, they are really too much for the thinner cylinder walls of the Ruger Single Six.

Don't know about "hell" but they will kill a coyote out to 100 yards but with that small a bullet, placement is all important as it is with any bullet. Especially on a tenacious animal like a coyote.

Larry Gibson

The load I like in my Single Six is the 100 gr. Speer HP with H-110. The load is listed in the Speer manual - I think max. is 10.5 gr. From the 5-1/2" barrel I get just over 1100 fps with the max. load. If I do my part, it will consistently group 6 shots in 1" at 25 yards. I have been using Fed. brass, but will switch to Starline when it is worn out.

Cut and pasted from a Handloader article on the little magnum on a Single Six frame:

The new Ruger proved accurate at 25 yards, as most handloads dropped into less than 2 inches, with several loads going into less than 1 1/2 inches. The single most accurate load consisted of a Lyman 311316 cast bullet, a 115-grain gas check, backed by 11.0 grains of H-110 for a velocity of 1,231 fps. As long as I could do my part, this load consistently dropped five shots into one to 1.1 inches and with further experimenting would probably perform better. Eleven grains of H-110 is a compressed charge, and 10.5 grains gave similar results without as much effort to seat bullets.

It is important to keep in mind that several loads in the accompanying table were developed specifically for the strong Ruger Single-Six and should never be used in any other type of revolver. For H&R or similar type revolvers, it is recommended to reference a loading manual that limits data to SAAMI specifications of 21,000 CUP.

And FWIW, my experience with H110 is that as projectiles get heavier for the given cartridge, somehow the powder seems to slow its burn, in effect giving what seem to be lower pressures. I have seen the same thing with AA #9, although to a lesser degree... But I am quick to admit I have nothing to measure pressures with.

Larry-

It's hell getting shot.
Eating a goat is a picnic.
Coyote are vermin and around here you can't kill enough of them.

I very much appreciate the load information!

A local shop had some 100gr XTPs so I grabbed them.
I'll look through my moulds to see if I have that Lyman mould.
Going to make an order somewhere for some brass too.

Wifey is thrilled with the new holster and bullet-loop belt.
Good thing I have some federal factory ammunition here for her to run in the meantime...



Cheers
Tinker

Found a Cramer 52-b and a Cramer 52-d as well as an interesting looking Modern-Bond E-314-656 gas check SWC mould. Looks like it might throw about 100 grains.

Doublas

Read that article also when it came out. I worked up to that load with that very bullet. It is one of my two favorite cast bullet magnum loads in the .32 H&R. However, i have 3 Oehler chronographs; the Model 11, the M35P and the PBL M43. I only gt 1170 to 1180 fps out of all of them (measured numerous times) from my 6.5" barreled Ruger Single Six. Now out of the 10" Contender it is a smokin' load but that's another story.

BTW, with the M43 I also pressure test and if you could get more H110 in the .32 H&R case under that bullet you really, really don't want to be shooting them in the Ruger Single Six. The author of that article considers the Ruger "stronger" than the H&Rs simply because of the solid frame of the Ruger. The chamber thickness over the case is not all that thick and I wouldn't advise loads above 21,000 psi (not to be confused with CUP). Federal Factory runs 18,200 - 19,000 psi so loads above the factory perfomance level are pushing pressures. Just a word of caution is all.

Larry Gibson

Larry, it wasn't a recommendation, I just copied the article for information... I never hotrodded the 32. I had three Model 16s, and the last thing you wanted to do was blow one up, as they are virtually irreplaceable.

I sold all three of them, am now waiting to get back to TX where I can play with the Erma Target that had lengthened from 32 S&W Long to 32 Mag. That one I will shoot... the Model 16s all became safe queens. That is why they are gone.