32 Cal

[lyman]

after reading RLowe's thread I was reminded that I have always wanted a 32 Cal rifle. My question is what are they capable of at 100 yards and at fifty yards, would they do a coyote and does the rifle come in a plinking size rather then those mile long kane tuck rifles.???
Bob

 

[sduve]

My guess would be that they have plenty of energy with a good shot on a yote at 100 yds.

 

[Dave K]

Some one mentioned in another thread that they consider the 32cal. as they would a .22. I agree. The weight of the round ball is the same as most .22's and the fps is similar. I really like my 32cal. and I use it like I would a .22. Personally though, I do feel there are better choices for 100yd. shots on game then a 32cal.But, as in all shooting, percise bullet/ball placement is what counts most of all.

 

[wtilenw]

The coyote is a much tougher animal than you might beleive. It has a will to live like nothing I've ever hunted. I would not recommend something with the energy of a .22 for any coyote hunting. Not saying it wont kill one, just saying from experience you will lose more than you recover with a .22 like round, especially with the time it takes to reload a ML. A poorly hit coyote will often go into a tail spin, when he straightens out from the spin, look out! if you cant get another round into him he will most likely escape. That is just my opinion based on lots of coyote shooting experience.
Idaho PRB

 

[Zonie]

I think 100 yards is stretching it a bit with a .32 cal rifle.
Running a quick Ballistics on a .310 dia ball (47 grains) with a muzzle velocity of 2100 feet per second and sighted in at 25 yards I get the following answers:

25 yards=1579 FPS, 249 ft/lb, 0 drop
50 yards=1196 FPS, 143 ft/lb, -0.1 drop
70 yards=1037 FPS, 107 ft/lb, -1.6 drop
100 yards=893 FPS, 80 ft/lb, -7.2 drop

 

[Jäger]

Running a quick Ballistics on a .310 dia ball (47 grains) with a muzzle velocity of 2100 feet per second and sighted in at 25 yards I get the following answers:

Are you pulling those out of somebody's manual? My Lyman BP manual is decades old and has no .32 data.

Just wondering if there is any published info for the conical bullets. I imagine I'll have the rifle out with the chrono pretty quick as soon as I have the barrel in my hands, but for now I have absolutely no idea.

 

[Walks Alone]

As another person who has called predators for a very long time I also believe the 32 RB is not a good choice for coyotes (and I'll addd bobcats), especially at 100 yards. Both can be hard to kill humanely. While it can be loaded approaching 22MAG velocities in some rifles, the RB looses velocity and knock-down quickly, trajectory turns rainbow and well placed hits less certain even at a standing target as the ranges increase. Too many variables to consider it a go-to coyote caliber for my ethics. Even my two 36's have have been marginal on some I've shot with them and required some tracking and finish shots to put them down and out. I realize a lot of deer have been taken with even the lowly 22 Short, but unless the range is very short a ML still doesn't necessarily compare favorably.

As for what's available as a lighter/shorter rifle in 32 without going custom... probably the old CVA Squirrel, then the TC Cherokee and maybe the Crockett that I know of. All are still available with some looking and can run from low to high prices. I have the CVA Squirrels in both 32 and 36, a 32 TC Cherokee, and a full sized 36 TC Hawken. The 32's are great for squirrel/rabbit size game, but I carry the 36's as my minimum for predators, or sometimes one of the 45's when I know ranges will be longer.

Really just comes down to personal choice I guess.

 

[sduve]

I would only suggest that a conical be used at 100 yards and not a roundball for coyote size game.

 

[Snowshoe]

I duno anbout a cyote but I shot a wood chuck @80 yards with my 44 inch douglas barreled home made and it made a mess out of him. I was using 40 graines of Pyrodex P and a round ball. you would have to place it well though.
Shoe

 

The .32 is IMHO not a good choice for coyote at 100yds--at 50 yds maybe, but not 100 yds. You can load up a .32 to reach .22 mag vel/energy but it falls off fast. I have cleanly killed 50 lb animals at 50 yds with .22 LR round, so would think the .32 properly loaded would do fine--so far all I have shot with mine is squirrels. My .32 is a custom Tenn style rifle scaled down with a small Siler lock and thin 37" barrel. Real lightweight for toting in the squirrel woods. If you can find the old T/C Cherokees they were real nice and the current Crockett rifle has good reviews...

 

[Zonie]

Are you pulling those out of somebody's manual? My Lyman BP manual is decades old and has no .32 data.
quote]

I picked the velocity based on the Lyman "BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK & LOADING MANUAL" although I rounded it off.
The Lyman book lists several loads for the .32 caliber roundball shooting gun.
For instance, shooting a .310 dia ball with GOEX FFFg in a 26 inch, 1:66 twist barrel gives the following muzzle velocities:

30 grains=1940
40 grains=2072
50 grains=2203
60 grains=2238
70 grains=2273

The Ballistics calculator I used is designed for roundball only and was downloaded from a link on the Muzzleloading Forum.

You might be interested in downloading the calculator:
BALLISTICS CALCULATOR LINK

 

[Pittsburghunter]

The maxiball for the .32 is 103-105g and when loaded up to a 35g powder charge of FFF seems to hold it's POI at 70yds after being sighted at 50 using roundball and a 30g charge.

Note, this is with only one rifle that I own and shoot a cheap Crockett by Traditions. I guess it would put a hurt on a coyote at that range but I have never atempted a 100yd shot with the thing.

I would recomend some range time with the .32 to see if it is up for the work you want to do with it.

Just think though even if the maxiball was going 1200fps it is more energy than a 9mm pistol. What if you could get that bullet going 1500fps :hmm:

 

[Jäger]

I would recomend some range time with the .32 to see if it is up for the work you want to do with it.

Not to worry. Sod poodles will be about the biggest critters it ever gets pointed at. Everything else will be paper, clay lumps on the bank, tin cans, etc.

 

[Jäger]

The Lyman book lists several loads for the .32 caliber roundball shooting gun.

I guess I should consign my current Lyman manual to "Archive" status and purchase the latest edition. Don't suppose there's any .32 caliber conical info, huh?

The Ballistics calculator I used is designed for roundball only and was downloaded from a link on the Muzzleloading Forum.

Here's a freebee version of ballistics software for you. I like it a lot. Doesn't figure out BC's for you, but they're easy enough to get for round balls - or figure out yourself.
Point Blank v1.8

Then there's some other online calculators...
Ballistics Calculator
Energy & Momentum Calculator

 

[Zonie]

RLowe: No, the Lyman 2nd edition book I have only lists .32 cal loads for roundballs. It does give loads for the roundballs using GOEX FFg, FFFg, Elephant FFg, FFFg, Pyrodex RS, P and Select though.

Just as a side note, the 70 grain powder load using Pyrodex P under a .310 (45 grain) roundball generates 25,600 Pounds per Square Inch breech pressure.
Keep this in mind when using elongated bullets because their added weight may well push this pressure up much higher.

 

[lyman]

Zonie
Thats what I was actually looking for was the numbers. So what I have surmized is keep the shots below 75 and mostly at 50, Small game under coyote size like all those pesky porkypines that are killing all my pine trees and tin cans up to a 1 liter. Sounds like fun and thanks every one for the rest of the info.
Bob,Nam,66-68-69

 

[Jäger]

No, the Lyman 2nd edition book I have only lists .32 cal loads for roundballs. It does give loads for the roundballs using GOEX FFg, FFFg, Elephant FFg, FFFg, Pyrodex RS, P and Select though.

Ah, too bad, but not surprising. I'll have to find a user manual for some model of .32 T/C. Seeing as how T/C made the conical moulds, I'm guessing they probably have loads for the conicals as well. I know my .54 T/C came with loads for both patched ball and conicals.

Just as a side note, the 70 grain powder load using Pyrodex P under a .310 (45 grain) roundball generates 25,600 Pounds per Square Inch breech pressure.
Keep this in mind when using elongated bullets because their added weight may well push this pressure up much higher.

Well, as I'm looking for a gopher killin', tin can slaughterin', paper pokin' load, hopefully I won't get into too much trouble when all I'm looking for is accuracy.

On the plus side if one is to find themselves developing a load with no manual maximums, having a .32 in a barrel that is sized for a .54 and 1" across the flats is a comforting thought if one is in search of the upper limits of performance.

That might be a good topic for those like me: if you were to find yourself in uncharted waters but with a high quality muzzlestuffer, how do you recognize you have reached the limit of safe charges. I'm not one for hotrodding my firearms - I just reach for one with a bigger hole as required - but it is an interesting technical question.

Rick

 

[Runner]

With 30 grains of T7 or 3f Goex, my 36 will completely splat the balls on plate at fifty yards. At 30 yards it dimples plate targets designed for up to 40 caliber pistols bad enough that you will move them farther out if you want to keep them long.
With the max 60 grain load, a coyote at 100 yards is no problem at all. I suspect that same applies to the 32. With a service load, I suspect the 32 would hammer any song dog ever made at 100 yards with proper shot placement. I know the 36 would. In a wind, placing those little pellets at 100 yards might be a challenge!
Traditions is selling out their cheap 32 on their website. Nothing PC about it, but the price is right for a starter gun in the smaller caliber range to see if you want to spend more on one.

 

[Jäger]

No, the Lyman 2nd edition book I have only lists .32 cal loads for roundballs.

Just as a side note, the 70 grain powder load using Pyrodex P under a .310 (45 grain) roundball generates 25,600 Pounds per Square Inch breech pressure.
Keep this in mind when using elongated bullets because their added weight may well push this pressure up much higher.

Well, whaddya know - dug up the T/C book that came with my .54 many moons ago. It has loads for all the rifles in it, not just mine. So here's T/C's version of how to stoke the .32...

.315" ball, T/C patch material, FFFG black powder
30 gr. 1714 fps 307 ft/lb
40 gr. 1929 fps 388 ft/lb
50 gr. 2055 fps 441 ft/lb

Maxi-ball, 103 gr., FFFG black powder
30 gr. 1418 fps 460 ft/lb
40 gr. 1628 fps 606 ft/lb
50 gr. 1749 fps 700 ft/lb

So there ya go...

 

[Walks Alone]

Well, whaddya know - dug up the T/C book that came with my .54 many moons ago. It has loads for all the rifles in it, not just mine. So here's T/C's version of how to stoke the .32...

.315" ball, T/C patch material, FFFG black powder
30 gr. 1714 fps 307 ft/lb
40 gr. 1929 fps 388 ft/lb
50 gr. 2055 fps 441 ft/lb

Maxi-ball, 103 gr., FFFG black powder
30 gr. 1418 fps 460 ft/lb
40 gr. 1628 fps 606 ft/lb
50 gr. 1749 fps 700 ft/lb

So there ya go...

Big difference in what the manufacturers show as min/max for their barrels.

CVA goes much lighter for their old 32 Squirrel with RB.

.310 RB .015 patch ... 10-30 gr. 3F black.