Is 15 grains of 3f goex enough powder

[ike]

I have a 32 cal mule ear rifle that I would like to use on squirrels, rabbits, **** or other small game out to about 35 Yds. I want to make clean kills with mostly head shots. With 15 grains I can keep a 1 1/2 inch group from a rest. Would like your opinion. Thanks Ike

 

[mooman76]

Plenty.

 

[Zonie]

Doing some rough number crunching, I figure the muzzle velocity of your .32 caliber rifle shooting 15 grains of powder would be somewhere around 1700 fps.
If it is shooting a .310 diemeter lead roundball, that velocity will fall to around 1150 fps at 35 yards. More than enough to take any small game animal.

 

[ike]

Thank You for crunching the numbers Ike Squirrels look out.

 

[MountainSmoke]

I like between 10 and 20 grains best for all of my 32s.15 grains in a 32 will put a hurtin on any small game animal at 35 yards.

 

[Bassdog1]

I find it to be about perfect in my three 32 caliber rifles

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

If you can hit them at that range with that load, absolutely. Should still be giving way more than enough to kill.

 

[Professor flintlock]

I have a 32 cal mule ear rifle that I would like to use on squirrels, rabbits, **** or other small game out to about 35 Yds. I want to make clean kills with mostly head shots. With 15 grains I can keep a 1 1/2 inch group from a rest. Would like your opinion. Thanks Ike

Ike I'd like to know what barrel you are shooting. I shoot a GM 32 in a Vincent half stock. That barrel will shoot a tight clover leaf at 50 yards. You need to keep working on your load if you only get one and a half from a rest. I shoot 28.2 hrs goex .319 or .315 ball with either .022 sailcloth or .020 pillow ticking from Wally world. Takes a good lube bees wax bear oil and clean beef tallow. I win alot of offhand shoots as well as squirrels and **** and 100 yard ground hogs. I do shoot an old peep sight as my eyesight sucks these days . An ideal or lyman steel mold sure beats swaged. Try tightening things up a bit and speed her up a bit. I think you will be happier.

 

[SDSmlf]

My 32 caliber Pedersoli flintlock with a patched 1-1/2 buck over 12 grains of 3F Swiss has taken three coyotes this year. None dropped where shot, but all were down and out within 15 feet. About the same as with 22RF hi velocity hollow point loads. Shot placement as always is important.

 

[Bob McBride]

1.5” groups at 35y means squirrels in the pot 80% of the time and 15g will put that little .32 rb through a deer at 35y. I’d use the most accurate load between 12-20g.

 

[megasupermagnum]

I would sure think just about any load will kill what you have listed. I've even killed a raccon with a .177 pellet gun, a 7.4 grain pellet at 800 fps. One shot into the ear did it. A repeat performance found a half deaf, really pissed off raccoon, but the 357 magnum handgun finished it off. I would recommend more than a .177 pellet gun, but small game isn't hard to kill

.Not to steer this off course, but has anyone tried poof loads in a 32 caliber, as in 5 grains of powder, maybe less? The reason I ask is that noise and bullet over travel can be a concern in some spots. The neighbors usually don't mind, but I don't like to push it, nobody wants to listen to full power shooting every day.

 

[Professor flintlock]

1.5” groups at 35y means squirrels in the pot 80% of the time and 15g will put that little .32 rb through a deer at 35y. I’d use the most accurate load between 12-20g.

What through its ear. I 've been shooting my .32 since 1980 and have been deer hunting even longer and I sure wouldn't shoot one with 15 grs. Post your postal target let's see your shot placement . I won last month.

 

[SDSmlf]

I would sure think just about any load will kill what you have listed. I've even killed a raccon with a .177 pellet gun, a 7.4 grain pellet at 800 fps. One shot into the ear did it. A repeat performance found a half deaf, really ****** off raccoon, but the 357 magnum handgun finished it off. I would recommend more than a .177 pellet gun, but small game isn't hard to kill

.Not to steer this off course, but has anyone tried poof loads in a 32 caliber, as in 5 grains of powder, maybe less? The reason I ask is that noise and bullet over travel can be a concern in some spots. The neighbors usually don't mind, but I don't like to push it, nobody wants to listen to full power shooting every day.

Settled on 12 grains of 3F or 4F Swiss in 32, as things started going south at 25 yards with less than 10 grains. Feel free to try out with less and report results. Always interested in expanding knowledge.

 

[Bob McBride]

What through its ear. I 've been shooting my .32 since 1980 and have been deer hunting even longer and I sure wouldn't shoot one with 15 grs. Post your postal target let's see your shot placement . I won last month.

I’m not sure what you’re talking about about ears and postal matches but a 50grn .32 cal rb @1200fps would go through a whole queue of squirrel heads (if you prefer that to the deer analogy) and so be plenty for a ‘clean kill’ on a squirrel at 35y as per his OP.

With a moniker like yours I would be surprised to hear you hadn’t won. Nicely done. I won a raw oyster eating contest in Houma, LA one time. No easy chore, this I can tell you.....

 

[Heelerau]

I use 15 grains of FFFg in my .36 Navy Colt, plenty

 

[toot]

remember that the squirrel and racoon won't know if it was 15 GRS, or not? dead is dead. so go for it! any head shot is fatal!

 

[azmntman]

15 gr in my crockett is messier than a .22 hollow pt. Develop the most accurate load and stick with it, at that point nobody can offer you better advise!

 

[bradly_tx]

What through its ear. I 've been shooting my .32 since 1980 and have been deer hunting even longer and I sure wouldn't shoot one with 15 grs. Post your postal target let's see your shot placement . I won last month.

I can and I do. Deer are small in The Big Thicket of East Texas and I don’t shoot at anything that’s out of range, YMMV.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Thicket

 

[FishDFly]

Doing some rough number crunching, I figure the muzzle velocity of your .32 caliber rifle shooting 15 grains of powder would be somewhere around 1700 fps.
If it is shooting a .310 diemeter lead roundball, that velocity will fall to around 1150 fps at 35 yards. More than enough to take any small game animal.

Gotta go with Zonie's "rough number crunching", 15 grains is a winner..

 

[SDSmlf]

1.5” groups at 35y means squirrels in the pot 80% of the time and 15g will put that little .32 rb through a deer at 35y. I’d use the most accurate load between 12-20g.

What through its ear. I 've been shooting my .32 since 1980 and have been deer hunting even longer and I sure wouldn't shoot one with 15 grs. Post your postal target let's see your shot placement . I won last month.

Professor, you’ve been shooting a 32 for 40 years.... curious how you came to your conclusion? Sitting in a treestand (archery season) reading this thread and had a good chuckle. Question for you. Ever wonder why deer poachers used 22 shorts? Quiet and with shot placement effective. I’d put a 32 swaged round ball (a little harder than pure lead) over 15 grains of 3F up against any 22 short, long or long rifle round and and at worst come to draw performance wise. While smaller than deer, I get a complete pass through on 40-50 pound coyotes with 12 grains of 3F Swiss, and get a relatively impressive exit wound.

Where do you put a blowgun (no jungle poison potions on the darts) as far as killing and penetration performance when hunting? Effective? Useless? Let me guess, betting you would say no way a blowgun would work, correct? Less effective than @Bob McBride ‘s 15 grain load in a 32? Being a professor and all, betting you would put a blowgun way down the list. But yes, there are folks out there with blowguns using hatpin sized darts with small broadheads on them getting pass throughs on deer and killing black bear and hogs. All comes down to knowing your quarry’s anatomy and shot placement. But I do agree with your statement about ear shots, they won’t work, at least in my opinion. Unless you put that roundball in the deer’s ear hole.

And congratulations on the postal match win.





Enjoy the video.