32 or 36?

[Barry Winner]

I have a friend who builds flintlock longrifles and I have decided to have him build a rifle for me. It will be used for small game(squirrel/rabbit), varmints(crows/ghogs), and, of course, fun plinking. He is getting ready to order the barrel, so it's crunch time. 32 or 36? Any guidance? Thanks.

 

[musketman]

If economics is an issue, the .32 will be cheaper to shoot than the .36 caliber in the long run...

Less lead, less powder, but hey, the same patches...

The .36 will have more knock down energy due to it's larger size, but for the game you intend to take with it, both will excell...

I never owned a .36 caliber, but I wished I'd never sold my .32 caliber Cherokee... (sigh)

How about a middle of the road approach, tell him you want a .34 caliber, just to be different...

 

I've had 2, 32's and 3 or 4, 36's. I much prefer the 36's for several reasons. First of all they're easier to clean and get "stuff" for. You can load it with 20-30 grains and they're fine for squirrels and with up to 50 grains they're pretty good for bigger stuff up close....coyotes, foxes, ***** and such. Both calibers can be pretty destructive on small game with body shots. One is as accurate as the other. The 36 is better for a little longer range than the 32 but neither are going to win any prizes for long distance shooting. I confess to a liking of a slim 32 cal. flint in a Southern Mountain or Pennsylvania style rifle but would still go with the 36. I have owned and shot both. I just prefer the 36. Here's an idea!!! Get one of each!!!

Vic

 

[Birddog6]

I have had & still have several of both, and I would go with the 36 cal. Larger ball as it is easier for my fingers to handle, more knockdown than the .32, RR is larger & not as easy to break, basically the same powder loads & ball costs about the same, so cost to shoot is not really a factor unless you are destitute & you are not or you would not be having one built.

However, I woulds strongly consider a .40 cal. for a small bore & varmint rifle. Flatter shooting for a longer range thatn 32 or 36 cals., .40 shoots real fast & much more knockdown power at 100 yards & extremely accurate caliber. Much better for coyotes & groundhogs as of the added range, and still wonderful for squirrel hunting & etc. Any squirrel hunting ya do should be head shot only anyway so 32/36/40 caliber is not an issue in that respect. Also the barrel will be considerably lighter if you go with a 40 caliber vs 36 or vs a 32.

 

[Zonie]

I lean towards the .36 partly because you can have a stouter ramrod and partly because I think the larger ball is easier to load in a fouled barrel.
Although it isn't much, you might also note that the gun swings a little easier because the barrel weighs 1/4 pound less (in a 42 inch barrel).
My comments on the ramrod size may not apply to you but I use a 5/16 dia commercial stainless ramrod (with nylon muzzle protector cone) to do most of my range shooting. Because 5/16 equals .3125, that makes it about a line to line fit in a .32 barrel. A .32 cal would mean I would have to buy a 1/4 inch ramrod and while it would be stout enough for the .32 it would be kinda flimsy to use in my .54 or .58s so it would be just another thing I would have to remember to take to the range.
Just my 3 1/2 cents worth.

 

[Haggis]

I agree with BDVI, get a .40.

I've had .32's, .36's, and even an original .38 percussion that when I was too young to realize it's value and beat it to pieces, but given the choice I'll not go smaller than a .40.

Big enough for deer and black bear, small enough for squirrels, rabbits, and whistle pigs.

 

[BrownBear]

I only own a 36, but chose it over a 32 because I was (right or wrong) a little nervous about an even smaller rod. Whichever you choose, I think you will be delighted with performance on small game. I've been whacking snowshoe hares with mine and finally managed to get close to a flock of ptarmigan. No problems with feathered head shots either. Only one word of advice- Don't let your wife shoot it unless you are prepared to buy two! I let mine shoot my 36, and now I'm hunting hares with my 54 any time she wants to go out. Rest assured that there will be another 36 in the house before winter has passed.

 

[Slowpoke]

I like 32, you can use buck shot and its very accurate. Also, If I could, I would recomend a Rice barrel. I have used a couple of them and they are great.

Slowpoke

 

[Chuck Deaton]

I just built a non-traditional 32 using a DeHaas barrel and a small Siler lock. A freind has a 32 caliber Caywood and loves it.

If you are concerned about a ramrod, do what I did and go to Home Depot and buy a fiberglas rod, they use them for tomato stakes, bike flags and mount drive way markers on them. Buy a set of ends from Track of the Wolf.

 

[Birddog6]

IMHO, a fiberglass ramrod is the worst ramrod thing you could possibly buy for a barrel. They Do & Will cause extensive wear on the rifling at the muzzle to the extent that it will need cut off & recrowned. I know this for a fact as I used the years ago & had to cut off & recrown 2 barrels because of it.

Best to use Wood, Brass, or Stainless Steel. They make some teflon (unbreakable ?) ramrods that are OK but some of the carbon deposits will get imbedded in the teflon & could cause some wear.

I use wood when hunting & SS or Brass when at the range & have a muzzle guide on both of the range rods.

 

[LRB]

Birddog6 got ahead of me. He is absolutly correct, do not use fiberglass unless you use a muzzle protector.

 

[Allan]

Wick, Birdog, et.al,
I've been reading this last string and was wondering if you guys had any good sources for brass rod. I thought the glass at Home Despot was clever.
The thought of breaking my wood RR is always formost on my mind deep in the woods and would much rather have brass with me.

 

[Haggis]

I one lives in country where Hickory grows or if you have a friend living where it can be found, "riving" your own rods would a good skill to learn.

A riven Hickory rod just about won't break. Most of the trash out there for sale is some kind of imported puke wood sawn across the grain and turned round.

A fellow can make his own rods in just a few minutes once he learns, and these home made jobs will last about as long as your gun.

On top of all of that making your own RR is traditional:
"Pursuing a westerly course, nearly parallel with the Kansas, for three successive days, we passed the 14th encamped at Big Vermilion, for the purpose of procuring a quantity of hickory for gun-sticks and bow-timber. Hickory is unknown to the Rocky Mountains, and this being the last place on the route affording it, each of our company took care to provide himself with an extra gun-stick. Small pieces, suitable for bows, find market among the mountain Indians, ranging at the price of a robe each, while gun-sticks command one dollar apiece, from the hunters and trappers." Rufus B. Sage

If you've never done anything like this and would like to try I'd be glad to outline the process; it's a hoot, it's old-timey, it's traditional, it's independence, and it's better than store bought.

 

[kvistads]

Never owned a .32 or .36 rifle but probably will now that I've built pistols in each. .36 is #00 buckshot and .32 is #0. Hornady has the swaged buckshot in 5 lb boxes for pennies! I never shot so much in my life after owning this little .32! You can't beat the price.

 

[Zonie]

Haggis: What ye say sounds good but ah'm a livin West o the Rocky Mountains so ye can guess how many Hickory trees is a growin down har in the desert. Ah cant remember the last time I heard someone say "Ya see that big ole Hickory tree right down thar next to them Saguaros what's on the other side o them jumpin cactus? At's real good fer makin wipen sticks out of."
Ah guess we'll just have ta use am crummy things they are sendin us from back East.

 

[djnye]

haggis couldn't agree more about ramrods

i will be doing a workshop at friendship next june for the spring shoot on that very topic.

take care, daniel

 

[Chuck Deaton]

Well so much for fiberglas rods and they are $2.69 at Home Depot. Guess I will have to ride up to Pleasant Plains and see if the mill has some hickory.

My problem is that a 32 caliber gun uses a small rod and I am afraid of breaking a wooden rod off in the barrel.

What is a muzzle guide. Be kind keep in mind my self professed ignorance.

Actually I was intending to cover my fiberglas rod with heat shrink tubing, just to give it some color.

 

[Chuck Deaton]

Another thought is that if the mill is cutting hickory it is green and cheap. I would be willing to accumulate orders and buy enough to make lots of ram rods.

The shipping would be most of the cost.

 

[Deadeye]

Re the ramrod. As good as hickory is, brass is better. I use solid brass for range rods and small caliber under rods, hollow brass for the
larger caliber under rods and never put a rod down my barrels without a guide unless it's a hurried loading when I'm hunting. With a .32 you just about have to have a 1/4" solid brass rod.
Re the .32/.36. I've owned .36 and .40s and still have a .32 but over the years have come to the conclusion that a .45 will do anything that the smaller bore will do and some things it won't and can be had in a very light and easy to handle rifle.
For whoever asked about the guide, it's a cone with a hole thru it for the ramrod thats inserterd in the muzzle so that the rod never touches the barrel.
Deadeye

 

[djnye]

dolittle

that is a generous offer and you are right that it doesn't take a lot of hickory to make a lot of ramrods. however,, if you get the hickory from a mill that implies that it will have been sawed. that is not good in the sense that if i is sawn, the grain and natural strength of the wood has been violated. that is why haggis mentioned riving the stock, thereby preseerving the integrity of the wood. it is essential to ending up with ramrods that are truly straight-grained. put the saws away and split that green hickory. it is easy , fun, and in addition it is the best way to do it.

take care, daniel