[Gizamo]

Thinkin' of workin' up the amount of Unique that I've been using in my .32 H&R Mag loads in my SA Rugers. Kinda a Ruger Only load for the little cartridge. Start going for true magnum territory. My typical Sunday go to meeting load is about 4.0 grains of Unique with a 100 grain SWC. Gonna bounce this up to 4.5 grains next week and work slowly up to 4.7...which should start to see the load get snappier.

Folks that have gone up to and beyond 5 grains note that the brass is the weak link, after the 4.7 gr loads....5 grains and above have experienced primer pocket widening and brass failures at about 5 rounds. Although some are having better success with Starline.

I'm hoping for the day that I run down a Dan Wesson in .32H&R, as that is a DA that is also quite capable of handling a hot-rodded round.

 

[c pierce]

Giz I bought 500 starline cases, and the case is defiantly the weak link. they are very fragile for a magnum case. You can put your next primers in with your thumb.

 

[Gizamo]

It is a crying shame that the load is limited by the brass. I'm sure this is done intentionally to limit damage to the guns not designed to handle the pressure. Folks have used H110 behind 115 grain bullets and pushed this well up into true magnum territory. One bullet manufacturer was hitting close to 1600 fps with his experiment. I'd settle for 1350 fps if the brass was able to last.

So what about trimming .327 Federal... :twisted:

giz

 

[xtimberman]

Giz,

Back when I was dinking around with .32-20, I noticed that my very best loads for that cartridge had exactly 1/2 the powder charge of my very best .45 Colt loads with a 250-255gr bullet. This was with a 105-115gr. bullet in the .32-20.

For instance, my favorite Unique powder charge for heavy +P loads in the .45 Colt is 9.0 gr. and for the .32-20 it is 4.5gr. This worked for many different powders, and if I could find a published (Non-Ruger) load for 255gr .45 Colt, I would whack the powder charge in half, try it in the .32-20, and it would always be mighty close to the best load for that powder.

Several years ago, I was sharing this observation with someone who was working with .32 H&R, and he had observed something similar with that cartridge. Powder charges are similar, but the .32 H&R can be loaded up just a little hotter than the .32-20 in a heavy revolver. The 1/2 rule mentioned above seems to be a good starting point for that cartridge, too. Besides Unique, HS-6/W-540, Herco, BlueDot, & IMR-4227 were excellent gunpowders my .32-20. I never tried any H-110 or 2400, but I bet they'd both be good choices.

xtm

 

[Gizamo]

xtm,

Between what you've said and what C typed above...I'm really wondering if the new .327 has a beefed up head on it. It must. Rather then going out and having my Rugers chambered for .327....I wonder if I couldn't put them on a Steroid diet with that .327 cartridge trimmed back... :mrgreen:

giz

 

[c pierce]

Giz I've had no experience with the .327 your in new territory as far as I go. :?

 

[xtimberman]

xtm,
....I wonder if I couldn't put them on a Steroid diet with that .327 cartridge trimmed back... :mrgreen:

giz

Wouldn't hurt to try. My only concern would be fretting a bit about the possibility of the short .327 brass being too thick at the mouth when trimmed back - and the cartridge not wanting to chamber once the bullet is seated and crimped. If so, you might have to ream the case mouths.

Sometimes it's not the thickness of the brass that cause primer pockets to expand, but it's the fact that some brass has been improperly annealed and is just too soft.

xtm

 

[Gizamo]

xtm,

I wonder, good point...guess there is only one way to find out. Ask!

I might have to go to a few of the reloader forums and find out if anyone has gone this route, before ordering any brass...

giz

 

[azmick]

When I change over to 307 brass in the 7-08 barrel, the recommended starting point was 5% less than the starting point for 7-08 brass as the 307 brass has a thicker web area. I ended up dropping my loads by a full 10% because of pressure signs. If you do use 327 brass, start slow. Your post count will slow a bit if you have less fingers and one eye kubvcabo

 

[Gizamo]

Good advice...

I think I'd start back at around the 4 grains of Unique and work it up from there. Wouldn't it be cool to get a real performing load out of the little 32 without having to go through the conversion to 327...

Just after something with a little more zip in a hunting carry gun used for potting a rabbit or grouse.

giz

 

[xtimberman]

Giz,

Have you tried more than one brand of H&R brass?

.327 brass is probably gonna be difficult to find. I read somewhere recently that Starline said they were not going to be offering .327 brass! I hope they change their mind!

xtm

 

[Gizamo]

OK fellas and any of the ladies that have joined lately :mrgreen:

A lot of folks have made the mistake of thinking the .32 H&R is a wimpy load...and years ago I was guilty of that assumption.

Worked up to 4.5 Grains of Unique on a 100 grain SWC today. Using the Ruger Single Six, this is still on the mild side. No evidence of barrel leading, and definitely a bit snappier then my plinking loads. The Ruger was yawning at this load, the primer pockets look fine, and the cases still extracted easily. So I'm stepping this up to 4.7 grains of Unique next week.

Still staying with the .32 H&R brass for now, until I can source some .327 Mag. I may just end up buying a box and stripping it for the brass...

giz

 

[bobf]

I'm sure I can find a few 327 cases for you. E-mail me a mailing address.

Bob

 

[Gizamo]

Bob,

Thanks and PM being sent....don't need many...one to cross-section to compare against a standard H&R, and a handfull to really hot-rod if the brass looks like it should. I'm thinking the 1500 fps mark is obtainable, as has been recorded and reported on elsewhere. The goal is to destruction test the brass and not the guns :mrgreen:

giz

 

[Gizamo]

Well Gents...

Bobf has graciously offered up some brass. I'm going to cut one in half and show a comparison to the regular H&R stuff. We all can decide if it's beefed up enough to go to the H110 or W296 loads. NFrame (Chris) shot me a supply of fully jacketed bullets....so if things look good, I'll trim the brass to length and make some truly magnum .32 H&R loads out of the lot....

I'm wondering if the .32 won't stack up to the .327 Federal in a Ruger Only loading....

giz

 

[Gizamo]

Well, John Taffin let me know that the Federal .32 brass that I have is weak. He suggests that the Starline Brass is excellent. So there you go....

giz

 

[bobf]

Giz

Did the 327 brass make it to you yet?
Bob