I'm looking for a mid-caliber levergun. 30-30's are "a dime a dozen" and Marlin's in 35 Remington while not plentiful are relatively easy to find. I should note that I am looking for an older pre-safety rifle.

How does the 32 Special rate in a 20" levergun? How does it compare to the other two calibers? I should note that I have my eye on an early WWII Winchester 94 in 32 Special but, I have no experience with the caliber which appears to be a 30-30 with extra oomph. THANKS!

Sid,

I own a 1920's vintage 94 in 32 Special. At moderate ranges it kills very well. I shot a cougar a few years ago with it and the cat was literally dead before it hit the ground. I'm taking it on another cougar hunt in December and expect the same results. Buy it. You might love it. I just now put a red dot sight mine and I like it so well I'm think of taking it to Africa next time.

Mark

It's a ballistic twin of the 30-30.

Thanks Mark!

I'll most likely use in an area where the longest possible shot will be ~100yards with most in the 50'ish range against feral hogs and possibly the occasional deer.

An ideal application for that older rifle...and it will be darned good at it too. Basically it is a very close sibling of the .30-30. [.321" bullet diameter compared to the .306-to-.308" of the .30-30 (depending on when it was made).] These days both are generally factory-loaded with the same weight of bullet...giving a tiny red hair more sectional density to the .30 caliber, and an equally less need for the .32 to open up. Both will penetrate plenty well for hogs.

Glad to see you're gonna use it regularly. Those old guns deserve our respect and friendly attentions.

Buy a 30/30. Ammo for the 32 can be tough to find.

.32 Special ammo and brass harder to find, ezpecially in these times. However,.32 Special dies are always listed on ebay and 30-30 brass is easy to find. .32 Special bullets are also somewhat scarce now. However, it's not like you need a huge menu of bullets to be satisfied. My 1960 vintage Winchester Model 94 seems to prefer the Hornady FTX over the Hornady 170 grainers and I do notice a slightly flatter trajectory while plinking at 300 meters with the spitzers. I believe Speer and Sierra also make .321" flat noses, if you can find them.

quote:

Originally posted:
.32 Special ammo and brass harder to find, ezpecially in these times. However,.32 Special dies are always listed on ebay and 30-30 brass is easy to find. .32 Special bullets are also somewhat scarce now.

So use cast bullets. More than adequate for 100-yard hogs.

Love my .32 Special. It was passed on to me by my Grandfather, 29 years ago. It's priceless to me and my most treasured gun.

I took a 170 mountain lion with it, a few months back. My son shot a large hog with it as well.

You will love the .32 special or, the 30-30!

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
Buy a 30/30. Ammo for the 32 can be tough to find.

Where I'm at, everything is tough to find except for 12 gauge buckshot. The good thing about 32 special is that ammo hoarders/whores aren't preparing for the coming Zombie Apocalypse with a 32 Special levergun. The "preppers" aren't feeling any love for the 32 Special either.

Considering its linage, I can cast bullets and use older powders to get something effective. Sure, shiny new Hornady FTX ammo would be nice but, fireformed brass and cast bullets should serve me well if it ever comes to that. Heck, maybe I need to consider working up some loads to go with my BlackPowder handguns. I'm not into SASS but, I bet I could get a good start with fellow shooters at a local match.

I feel no love for the .32. It is about the same round as a 30-30 with the problems of limited ammo, very limited bullet selection and hard to find brass. Why pick it over a 30-30?

I bought my first 32 Special in 1962 with money I got for my 4H pigs. I had a Marbles adapter to shoot 32 Colt's in it. I did not have a 22, so this was my do all rifle. I killed a lot of groundhogs and quite a few squirrels and rabbits with it. Didn't get any deer with that one, but it was the rifle most guys I hunted with used, and we killed a lot of deer with them. In those days ammo was much harder to get than today. The country store a couple miles down the road used to have a pickle jar of mixed ammo on the counter. You bought shells by the piece. There were usually some shotshells and slugs and some odds and ends of rifle ammo. We often would buy 30/30's and shoot them in out 32's. You couldn't do that the other way around. Of course we ringed shotshells when we couldn't get punkin balls.
I got the urge for more power and traded it. My current 94 in 32 Special is a post 64 that I've used hard. I've killed a bunch of deer with it.
I have not tried the new Leverevolution ammo yet. I still use my original load of 4320 powder and 170 flat nosed bullets. It is the only gun that I've used a lot that I've never had a miss with or a poor shot with.
Ammo is not a big problem where I live. I buy a new box or two every other year and reload both jacketed and cast bullets. I've always had pretty good accuracy from my 32's, contrary to tales of poor accuracy.
Yeah, I like the 32 Special.
Bfly

As to the original question, the 30/30 and 32 Special are pretty similar, and really not much separates them in the field. The 35 Remington has a bit heavier bullet and a couple thousandths more diameter. It gives the impression of more thump at woods ranges, but probably not much in reality. It doesn't shoot as flat, but in the woods I hunt, range isn't a big thing.
In the 94 or 336, the 32 and 30/30 and the 35 in the 336, are just great deer and black bear rifles, if they fit you. Not a lot of difference, but enough for a gun guy to prattle on and on about.
Bfly

There is no advantage to a 32 Special, and ammo is hard to come by and that will be an increasing problem for the non hand loader..

The 30-30 is just a better choice any way you look at it, but it is a choice and the choice is the individuals..

balistically they are the same. The reason the 30-30 is common is because Win. made umpteen jillion more 30-30s than 32 Specials. The 32 Special was never a big seller. A 32 Special today brings a tad more value as a collector because fewer were made..you can usually get a much better buy on a 30-30

Also according to what I have read on more than a few ocassions, the 32s were harder on barrels than the 30-30?? Personally I believe thats mostly hooey, I can't imagine such a thing, Maybe the old timers spread that rumor. I have also read that the 32 spec. was not as accurate but again accuracy usully depends on the individual barrel so I don't buy that either.

That about sums up the 32 Special...

Black Fly,
I learn something new all the time..I was not aware that Win ever produced a post 64 rifle in 32 Special..

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted:
.32 Special ammo and brass harder to find, ezpecially in these times. However,.32 Special dies are always listed on ebay and 30-30 brass is easy to find. .32 Special bullets are also somewhat scarce now.

So use cast bullets. More than adequate for 100-yard hogs.

As far as brass goes, 30-30 brass into a 32 Spl FL sizing die and you've got it. Cast bullets are easy to come by.

I agree with much of what has been posted above. the .32 shoots a little shorter, but hits a little harder, than the 30-30. the primary difference will be in the shooter's mind.

the ammo is more available here in so cal than 30-30 or .35, but it costs more. ammo selection is more limited but so what. if it shoots with what is on the shelf, you are good to go.

I would buy one for the right price. I have a 30-30 and a .35, they need company.

if you like the gun, and the price is fair, get it.

I see this thread has the nitpickers out in force again. "Gee, Mary, that is CORRECTLY pronounced Toh-mah-to, not Tom-eh-toe."

Really? Are you a dependable judge of such things? Even if you are...So who cares?

Thing is, if one likes a rifle (any rifle), likes the price, and has the money, they should buy the danged thing. They don't have to justify it to ANYONE unless it's something like a Class 3 they bought at the local tavern with no paperwork last night.

Anyone with a brain alert enough to tell daylight from darkness can, with a little effort, feed just about any rifle he'll ever have.

Things are sort of wandering all over the place. So far, what I have found is that I can buy a pre-64 32 Special Winchester for less money than a 30-30 in a shooter grade rifle. Barrel twist will be slower and the "odd" caliber gives you less bullet choice. Comments in various threads about it being a black powder feature because it's easier to clean, doesn't foul as easy, etc. is total rumor and invalid speculation.

I handload, can fireform brass if I must, and could cast lead if I needed to. What various threads in random places suggest is the slower rotational energy puts more energy on target and the larger bore also helps efficiency. This seems advantageous for me considering where and how I will use it. Sure, I could go with a heavier Marlin in 35 Remington or a new Winchester in 307/356/375 ... but, the classic has some appeal and I'll take fire formed brass over the hunt for the new Winchester calibers anyday.

Coming back full circle, the 30-30 is well respected for good reason but it still appears that the 32 Special has advantage for me ballistically plus it has some history all its own and isn't the common run of the mill rifle in every pickup gun rack.

It seems like I have arrived at a decision. Don't worry, I have an older Marlin 30-30 I used in college get my DCM M-1 Garand so I can always use that one if I need to....

Bought one new about 1952. Could not hit a thing with it. At the time an oldster told me it had a poor twist for the factory loadings. Never bought another. roger

Sid,
Congrats, Have fun with it.
Bfly

If you buy that 32 WS and can't find brass, drop me a line and we will try to work something out.

Mines a 1947 "flat" band, shoots straight, kills what you point it at, and I reload so no ammo problems. I also have a 1921 model in 30/30- does the same.
Buy the rifle, shoot and enjoy- that's my story and I am sticking to it!

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
Bought one new about 1952. Could not hit a thing with it. At the time an oldster told me it had a poor twist for the factory loadings. Never bought another. roger

Yes, it is a little ammo picky if you run the wrong ammunition through it.

quote:

Originally posted by LeonardC:
If you buy that 32 WS and can't find brass, drop me a line and we will try to work something out.

Sort of odd but, it turns out my local Arizona "big box" place has 32 Special on the shelf for a reasonable price. I guess the local preppers are all hoarding 30-30.

They did mention two men flew in from Colorado and bought over $3K in ammunition and cleaned them out of the normal calibers.

I can empathize with the nostalgia of the 32 Special. It was originally a way to cure a worn 30-30 barrel by re-boring the rifle. Any ballistic difference between it and the 30-30 are incidental and it is one of the "cool" old cartridges that lost popularity to the faster and newer cartridges. It can fire slightly heavier bullets at the same velocities but the twist rate will be a limiting factor in the length of the bullet.

I say if you want a gun in that cartridge then do it! It is kind of nice to have a cartridge that is unique due to it's age or lack of following. Your reasons for wanting it are similar to my reasons for having a custom Remington 700 built in 358 Winchester. I have had to fire-form brass to get it at a reasonable price and it is a fun and very accurate rifle.

Do it or spend the next decade wishing you had.

Ray,
I bought a brand new Win 94 Canadian Pacific Railroad Commemorative Rifle in 32 Special in 1984 or so for my Uncle who had shot out his old 32 special. When he passed away, he left it to me so it sits alongside my dad's old Model 94 carbine in 32 Special. So they made some anyway.
Best regards,

If you want a 32, go for it; same ballistics as the 30-30, basically. You can easily make brass from more common 30-30s so that is not an issue. I have and like both, but never actually use them. The 32 WS was developed with a 16 inch twist so you could re-load with black powder; that is documented in Win literature.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
The 32 WS was developed with a 16 inch twist so you could re-load with black powder; that is documented in Win literature.

From studying the cartridge and old literature, I didn't run across anything to support that statement. I did run across some Winchester literature from the early period that made absolutely no mention of it being made to support black powder and a lot of information to refute such from various credible sources.

Do you have actual Winchester literature or copies that supports it as a Black Powder solution to the 30-30?

Hornady (1967). Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading. vol I (1st Edition ed.). Grand Island, NE, USA: Hornady Mfg Co. p. 218.
Jump up ^

quote:

Originally posted by Sid Post:

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
The 32 WS was developed with a 16 inch twist so you could re-load with black powder; that is documented in Win literature.

From studying the cartridge and old literature, I didn't run across anything to support that statement. I did run across some Winchester literature from the early period that made absolutely no mention of it being made to support black powder and a lot of information to refute such from various credible sources.

Do you have actual Winchester literature or copies that supports it as a Black Powder solution to the 30-30?

The use of black powder for reloading the 32 Special is covered in this article from Handloader Magazine:

https://www.riflemagazine.com/...cfm?tocid=32&magid=7

I would consider the source credible.

Thanks for those links! I didn't see them in my original research for this cartridge.

Sid,

FYI: As of a few days ago Bass Pro had 32 Special ammo available. It was the Remington 170 gr loading which should work perfectly. I ordered 4 boxes. I did try 4 other outfits before Bass Pro and they all were out of stock with no back order available.

Mark

Lots of discussion about it over the past 40 years but it is documented as fact.
Jan 1902 catalog; I do not have a copy of it but I have seen it in print before. "With a charge of 40 grains of black powder, the .32 Winchester Special develops a velocity of 1385 foot seconds, which makes it a powerful black powder cartridge." It makes sense; smokeless powder was a new thing and reloading black powder was familiar and easy for those in remote areas.

I've never heard of the rebore idea for Winchester bringing out the 32 WS. Doesn't make sense to me.

I have a Win 54 in 30 WCF and a Win 94 in 32 WS. I don't remember any difference in results on the deer I hit well with either one.