32 accuracy at 50yds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

olskool · Sep 12, 2024

how accurate is your 32 at 50yds? i bought my wife a crocket investarms in 32 caplock, i have never had a 32. at 50yds off the bench the groups stink! i am casting balls from a lee gang mold. the balls weigh fairly constant. they patches are fine. i have tried from 20-40gr. of powder, none of that matters. i am just wondering if i am trying to stretch the little ball along with a short barrel beyond what it is capable of, although a 22 rimfire if fine at 50 so i would think a 32 bp should be also, what do y'all think? i haven't tried it at any shorter range because 50yds is what we shoot offhand. maybe you have some photos of your groups at 50,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Terry Lightle · Sep 12, 2024

My hunting partner has a Crocket.good at 25 yards squirrel killing distance.50 yards not good.only shot at those distances

Jappo · Sep 12, 2024

I had a Crockett 32. I hit a turkey at about 100 yards. 40 gr 3f with a .310 or .311 (don't remember, been over 5 years) patched ball. Hit it in the breast. Not a kill shot, the ball penetrated about halfway the breast. My dog finished it off. I hit cottontail at over 25 yrds. That's what I was hunting when I seen the turkey.

Rum River · Sep 12, 2024

I have a pair of .32 caliber Pedersoli Frontier model rifles, one flint and one percussion.
Each of them will shoot an 1 1/2" group at 50 yards, I haven't tried them beyond that.

Grimord · Sep 12, 2024

Both of my .32 caliber guns (Pedersoli Pennsylvania caplock, and Blivins North Carolina flint lock will shoot 1.5" @ 50 yards with no wind, At 25 yards they will both keep dime sized groups off the bench. I once took a squirrel with the flint lock at a measured 63 yards. It was sitting upright on a log with snow cover for a back ground. I used a tree rest. I thought i had missed, but when I hunted over to the log there was the squirrel shot in the head. I had to go back the next day with my range finder to check the range. It was pure luck, I held about 1" above the squirrels head.

Billy-by-gosh · Sep 12, 2024

olskool said:
how accurate is your 32 at 50yds? i bought my wife a crocket investarms in 32 caplock, i have never had a 32. at 50yds off the bench the groups stink! i am casting balls from a lee gang mold. the balls weigh fairly constant. they patches are fine. i have tried from 20-40gr. of powder, none of that matters. i am just wondering if i am trying to stretch the little ball along with a short barrel beyond what it is capable of, although a 22 rimfire if fine at 50 so i would think a 32 bp should be also, what do y'all think? i haven't tried it at any shorter range because 50yds is what we shoot offhand. maybe you have some photos of your groups at 50,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Here's a thread that offers some interesting suggestions:
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/accuracy-variables-32-crockett.118522/

CyrusP · Sep 12, 2024

I shot my Pedersoli .32 to 25 yards and accuracy was outstanding so I’d figure with no wind accuracy could be double the size of outstanding potentially. I think wind is the factor to 50 yards.

olskool · Sep 12, 2024

Billy-by-gosh said:
Here's a thread that offers some interesting suggestions:
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/accuracy-variables-32-crockett.118522/

the problem with shooting 25yds anything is outstanding. that really tells you nothing. that is one reason i didn't try it at 25 i just figured it would group well. you need to be at least 40yds to get a good read on what it is doing.

Ditt44 · Sep 13, 2024

At 25 yards, my .32 TC Cherokee shoots a .310 ball with an .018 patch and 20 grains of 3F to sub-inch if I do everything right. Often times three of five shots will be touching. I am stuck with the .310 ball for now but would prefer going back to a .315 but need a .012 patch material, which I've not found, nor put in enough time trying to find. Seems my barrel is happiest in that .327 to .328 overall thickness. At .325 it's just a bit too loose and accuracy suffers.

My practice baseline is 25 yards. I have taken squirrels out to 40/42 yards and that's been more luck. Last year I watched a bugger run up and down an Oak at about 42 yards, laser measured the limb he was on. I got tired of watching him so took a shot. I aimed at the top of his head, he was lying flat, and the ball went right thru this right eye ball. Pure luck.

Mine does Ok with 15 grains but isn't too fond of 25. Both of those groups will open up a bit more. At 50 yards, if I could clearly see and actually focus on a squirrel head, in dead air, I might take a shot. Everything would have to be perfect since I am having more focus issues by the day. I am also a peep sight cheat these day due to this. Oddly, I have a .36 Seneca that I seem to see fairly well with and it has the same factory style sights, maybe those extra few inches of barrel helps...

Anyway, I would be shooting off the bench at 25 yards to get your baseline accuracy. By the time you get to 50 yards, that 1-inch group at 25 could easily be a 2-inch group, if not 4-inch. Fancy math in there leads me to think it will be closer to four inches. And the ballistic drop could be significant at the same powder charge. I can ring the 50-yard gongs down to the four inch one with dead calm air but the impacts are not consistent. The four-inch is never 100% hits, but the six and eight inch are always 100% but are widely spread over the gong.

Sighting in I start with a 3-inch square, then cut one of those into quarters for practice time which I figure gives me about a squirrel sized head of 1 1/2 inches and I put three on one 8.5 x 11 piece of white card stock. Once season is near, it's a smaller 3/4-inch black circle that I can see well enough. Aim point seems good to about 35 yards then I have to start holding a bit higher. By the time I'm at 40, it's top of the head. At 50 I'm guessing at least an inch high but that's tough to do thru open sighting set-ups at tiny targets, at least for me. I'm a six o'clock hold also.

Duk · Sep 13, 2024

Ditt44 said:
At 25 yards, my .32 TC Cherokee shoots a .310 ball with an .018 patch and 20 grains of 3F to sub-inch if I do everything right. Often times three of five shots will be touching. I am stuck with the .310 ball for now but would prefer going back to a .315 but need a .012 patch material, which I've not found, nor put in enough time trying to find. Seems my barrel is happiest in that .327 to .328 overall thickness. At .325 it's just a bit too loose and accuracy suffers.

My practice baseline is 25 yards. I have taken squirrels out to 40/42 yards and that's been more luck. Last year I watched a bugger run up and down an Oak at about 42 yards, laser measured the limb he was on. I got tired of watching him so took a shot. I aimed at the top of his head, he was lying flat, and the ball went right thru this right eye ball. Pure luck.

Mine does Ok with 15 grains but isn't too fond of 25. Both of those groups will open up a bit more. At 50 yards, if I could clearly see and actually focus on a squirrel head, in dead air, I might take a shot. Everything would have to be perfect since I am having more focus issues by the day. I am also a peep sight cheat these day due to this. Oddly, I have a .36 Seneca that I seem to see fairly well with and it has the same factory style sights, maybe those extra few inches of barrel helps...

Anyway, I would be shooting off the bench at 25 yards to get your baseline accuracy. By the time you get to 50 yards, that 1-inch group at 25 could easily be a 2-inch group, if not 4-inch. Fancy math in there leads me to think it will be closer to four inches. And the ballistic drop could be significant at the same powder charge. I can ring the 50-yard gongs down to the four inch one with dead calm air but the impacts are not consistent. The four-inch is never 100% hits, but the six and eight inch are always 100% but are widely spread over the gong.

Sighting in I start with a 3-inch square, then cut one of those into quarters for practice time which I figure gives me about a squirrel sized head of 1 1/2 inches and I put three on one 8.5 x 11 piece of white card stock. Once season is near, it's a smaller 3/4-inch black circle that I can see well enough. Aim point seems good to about 35 yards then I have to start holding a bit higher. By the time I'm at 40, it's top of the head. At 50 I'm guessing at least an inch high but that's tough to do thru open sighting set-ups at tiny targets, at least for me. I'm a six o'clock hold also.

I'm shooting the same through my Cherokee 20 gr. Goex, .018 pillow ticking spit lube, .310 home cast balls. Three out of five ball touching at 25 yards (benched) the other two are right there. At 50 yards no wind if I do everything right they will be inside 4''.

JDBraddy · Sep 14, 2024

It depends, my .32cal T/ C Cherokee might or might not be as accurate as my T/C Hawken with .32cal Green Mountain barrell, but the sights are not as good, and I don't shoot it as well.

That being said, I have shot sub- 1" groups at 50yds.

stubshaft · Sep 14, 2024

25 grains is the bee's knees out of my Southern Mountain Rifle.

Rudyard · Sep 14, 2024

Grimord said:
Both of my .32 caliber guns (Pedersoli Pennsylvania caplock, and Blivins North Carolina flint lock will shoot 1.5" @ 50 yards with no wind, At 25 yards they will both keep dime sized groups off the bench. I once took a squirrel with the flint lock at a measured 63 yards. It was sitting upright on a log with snow cover for a back ground. I used a tree rest. I thought i had missed, but when I hunted over to the log there was the squirrel shot in the head. I had to go back the next day with my range finder to check the range. It was pure luck, I held about 1" above the squirrels head.

I made up a flint Baltic bird rifle of 290 cal. pleasant little rifle. My mould not that perfect .I think such are better with l big S G type balls SSG whatever .
Rudyard

Mike in FL · Sep 14, 2024

I have no use for a 32 caliber anything. That's just me though. Obviously I'm in the minority.

R Ellis · Sep 14, 2024

I traded a CVA 32 squirrel rifle that was 2 inches or less out to 50 yards it was from the bench because the stock was to short for me to shoot well off hand

windini · Sep 14, 2024

JDBraddy said:
my .32cal T/ C Cherokee might or might not be as accurate as my T/C Hawken with .32cal Green Mountain barrell,

@JDBraddy , what are we looking at here? It appears to be a peep sight with a brass aperture insert mounted at the muzzle/front sight position.

Is this the Hawken w/ the GM bbl? It appears different than the one on the bench.

As my eyes get worse, I'm intrigued by peep/aperture sights. Thanks for any info!

JDBraddy · Sep 14, 2024

The Gun on the bench was supposed to be my .32cal Cherokee, but on closer inspection is actually my .36cal Senica. The Cherokee doesn't have a brass nose piece or a patch-box.

The image above is the muzzle of the T/C Hawken that I put a .32cal Green Mountain drop-in barrell on, and added a Lyman 17 AUG globe front sight, with both the included front post and transparent yellow plastic insert, and a Williams FP Hawken rear appature sight. I just included the image to show it was a .32cal, and not the original. 45cal barrel.

JDBraddy · Sep 14, 2024

Mike in FL said:
I have no use for a 32 caliber anything. That's just me though. Obviously I'm in the minority.

That's OK, we don’t have to like what others do, and they don't have to like what you do. I have no use for sports cars, or golf clubs. Your mileage may vary.

Britsmoothy · Sep 16, 2024

When the OP says the patches are good has he held them up to the light?

tom in nc · Sep 17, 2024

I shot my .32 CVA squirrel rifle at about 30 yards and can put all my shots in a 3" target consistently.

32 accuracy at 50yds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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