I've got a T.C. kawken kit gun in .32 cal. I use it now and then on squirel and the ocasional sitting rabbit.I've been searching the blackpowder forums for any one else that has one.so far no luck.I have one question Does anyone know where to find a miniball mold for the .32cal That will do more than one at a time?


"Revenge is a dish best served cold" Klingon proverb

I've seen a few pea rifles over the years but most smokepolers I know are deer hunters or reenactors so the small game guns don't get a lot of play. Sam Fadala covered them in some detail in his blackpowder digests. A multi-gang mold throwing a .32 minie would be a complex and custom propostion. I wonder if there is a cap and ball conical that might serve? Otherwise a fella might figure a way to swage a hollowbase bullet.

quote:

Does anyone know where to find a miniball mold for the .32cal

Depending on your bore diameter and rifling twist I wonder if a .314 hollowbase wadcutter http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=481857 would work?

I have used a .32 caplock for nearly 30 years and still take squirrels with it every year. I have shot game up to beaver size (30 pounds) with it and uncountable squirrels and quite a few rabbits and birds. Actually it is too powerful for squirrels with roundball and I only take headshots. I shoot buckshot in mine and do not mold for it. I have never seen a minie ball mold in .32. That said I have shot several hundreds of Hornady hollow base, knurled wadcutters in .312 diameter both paper patched or seated using a .005 precut patch. I have also molded Lee's .314 semi-wadcutter, solid, tumble lube bullet and shot it the same way. They shoot exactly as good as rb at 25 and 50 yards and to the same POI with rb charges for me. My rifle accepts.321 buck and a .010 patch and 15 and 30 grains of fffg shoot nearly the same out to 50 yards or so. I use the 30 grain load during deer season on the off chance a head shot will present but would not hesitate on the perfect shot with the 15 grain load. In my gun Hornady hardened buckshot shoots well but needs a .005 patch. Make speedloaders from fired .38 or .357 cases with the primers in by adding powder and pressing the rb in with a patch on it. Wipe moderately every other game shot for ease of loading. Mine has a 39" barrel. This is the best small game muzzleloading caliber there is.

Thompson/Center made MAXI-BALL single mold blocks for their Cherokee .32 ..... Product #7273
Drops a 103gr. bullet and is extremely accurate.

Lee catalogs a 93 grain 32 caliber round nose boolit in a 6 cavity mold.
Depending on your barrel diameter this may work.
It lists 0.311" so it may well be too small.
BP barrels are sometimes very liberal in measurement both pluss and minus.
I have shot 45-70 boolits out of my GM 45 barrel.

Maybe you can either slug your barrel, or get some different boolits from folks on the cast boolit site.

Try this site, Bluegrouse underhammers uses them to make his production molds for .32 cal om up.

http://www.neihandtools.com/mold_info.html

Not only do many still use 32s, many re-enactors still use the 32 in reenactments. My daughter learned to deer hunt BP with a 32 and has taken to dat at least 10 deer during BP season with her 32. I just bought another 32 for a 4-H shooter to use BUT I will laso use it to hunt rabbitsm, squirrel, and otehr game with.
Many do not realize that the 32 was one of the rifles that was sought after a lot in teh 18th century. There is documentation of teh Spanish ordering several hundred 32 SMOOTH BORE southern style rifles to trade to the southern tribes in the southern area of the US. ONE reason many carried the 32 was the idea of carrying more balls on a trip due to less weight than a 45 or bigger rifle. Many who came intio KY only began to carry 45 caliber and bigger due to the Elk and Bison that were found grazing the open glades of the forests of KY. In an indian fight between a long rifle man and natives, the 32 would cut down an enemy as well as any rifle and there was usually more balls in teh bag for the 32 than largers calibers. Now the 32 was NOT the smallest caliber in teh woods. Many a 25 caliber and even 20 caliber rifles were carried into the woods. I acually have atrue 22, shoots a 210 patched RB, that was sold as a boys squirrel rifle and as a "parlor" rifle where it was used to shoot for drinkls in a tavern.
Yes the 32 is still used, we still deer hunt with it but shot placement it critical (my daughter has NEVER lost a deer to a 32), 32 is used a LOT in 4-H shooting sports, and IMHO the 32 is a fun little round that is great to carry into the woods for a week or 2 trek where you need a good all round rifle to feed your self.

With the above said, a smooth bore of 25 caliber up to 80 caliber is the MOST used, traded, and carried rifle that was used due to teh versitility of it, Shot round ball, bird shot, busk and ball, shot and ball, glass, rocks, nails, acorns, and anything else you could drop down the barrel.

I love the 32's. Have a late Lancaster in 32 that I've hunted with for 25+ yrs. Mostly squirrels, but have taken a few deer & hogs while Sq. hunting. I've also won a few matches with it. I shoot a .32 ML pistol in matches that's a modified Yazel and have won the state match with it, last 3 years. I like being able to just use 0 buckshot (.320 dia.) in it. I cast everything else, but the Hornady's are very uniform & accurate and cheap! A guy was selling 32 maxi's on one of the gun auction sites awhile back along with 32 underhammer kits. I think it was AA?? He sold them by the pound & I bought some. Very well cast & reasonable IIRC.