Tell me about a 32 cal

[BROKENHAND]

A friend of mine likes my Tenn style flintlock. It is a 50 cal. I have had a 45 and own several 50's. Anyway, this friend wants me to build him a 32 cal. My gut feeling is that It would be hard to pick up the balls and load and the ramrod would be awful small and fragile. However, I think it would be nice to have a thin and trim squirrel rifle. I have never shot anything smaller than a 45. Anyway, please tell me of your experience with a smaller cal. Thanks

 

[Wes/Tex]

Most .32's I've had could use buckshot for loads. Granted, they take a bit more care than larger bores but not enough to make it a real job loading. Mine liked 25 to 30 grains of FFFg. Try it!

 

[Blivetmaker]

I have a Le Page target pistol in .31 and have found it to be an extremely accurate and very economical (only 15gr Swiss at 25m)tack driver. BUT. Slight variations in powder
charge, barrel fouling, patch thickness, lube, ramming pressure and so on lead to a greater deviation in vertical
POA than these factors would if using a great big lumbering
.50 or greater. I also use a dry felt over powder wad. A greasy patch can kill a (varying) few grains of powder, and when you've only got 15 to start with, this plays hob with vertical accuracy. You get fliers that go high or low. For range shooting I use a long funnel to get the powder into the chamber without coating the barrel and contacting greasy gunk on the way down. Not such a big deal while hunting with 30gr.
If you get a careful and precise loading regimen down, small calibers are great and mastering one is a true accomplishment.

 

[kmeyer]

My favorite rifle for shooting is a cheap cva percussion .32 cal and it is a blast. I only shoot patched roundball. I am so happy with the .32 that I am planning on ordering parts in the next few weeks to build a real nice flintlock .32. I'll probably then get rid of the cva one then. As far as loading, it is real easy.

 

[big bore 75]

Good previews so far now a con I just got rid of mine , it was beutiful and built by a good friend, it wood shoot with a .311 cast round ball and only liked a oiled .010
patch and 30 grains of 3fg KIK and would shoot like h@@@
the problem I had was all we could find was a fiberglass ram rod ,wood will be real flimzy, and real barrel heavy the barrel was a green mountain 7/8 across the flats, that was its only drawback I had with it . if it were up to me the next small bore I'll get will be in a .40 cal, but thats my humble opinion. bb75

 

My .32 Tenn squirrel rifle was made by a local gunmaker and is a hoot to shoot and hunt with. I use 12 to 24 grs fffg and a patched .310 ball (plinking-hunting loads). I am short and he scaled it down for me. It is light and slim and accurate. No more trouble loading or cleaning than my other big bores. The wooden rod is a little slim, but I bought one of those flexible synthetics from TOW for a "range rod" and it works great.

 

[redwing]

I have an old DGW Tenn."Poor Boy" .32 flint. Granted
these were not the best MLs every bilt. But I worked
this one over and it shoots and sparks.
It likes 20/Swiss and a 10 Oxyolk with a RB. The
only problem I had, was cleaning it with the tiny jag.
So I went to a .30 long cleaning jak for a C.F. rifle
use surplus .30 patchs works great.
After elk season is over, I hunt cotton tails with it
lots of fun.

Redwing :redthumb:

 

[Stumpkiller]

If I'da knowed Dixie was going to discontinue their .32 I'da kept mine and worked at it more. That was 20 years ago, and a flintlock was as common as Yugo's are now. It was a very fun gun, but not especially reliable. Never a strong sparker, it was maybe a 30% reliable ignition. My first flintlock. I traded it off to someone who wanted it more tham me (for a s/s Ruger Mini-14, also gone now). With the knowledge here, I am sure I could have brought it around with a few hours of time and tinkering.

Someday, I'd like to get another .32 for squirrels, holding rabbits & plinking. It is a fun caliber, no two ways about it. Woodchuck hunting at anything over 75 yards was a real challenge.

Definately worth hunting down a split hickory rod (or two), but my original held up fine.

 

[merdean]

:agree:I have a .32 and love it. I have had it since '84. It is a CVA Squirrel Rifle and came with a .45 barrel to boot. Never shoot the .45. I hunt squirrels with it and load a .311 ball with pillow ticking patch over 20-30gr Pyrodex P. Last year I tried 777 for first time and found that 30gr allows for 1 hole targets out to 35 yards. Short, lightweight and fun. And it SMOKES! My rifle came with an aluminium ramrod and it works great. I also have a couple of .36cal that are also fun to shoot. :imo: :results:

 

[musketman]

Economics is another reason to shoot the .32 caliber...

A .310 round ball weighs in the neighborhood of 45 grains (depending on if it is spureless of not), that gives 155 balls to the pound of lead...

My brown bess shoots a .735 round ball that weighs a whopping 545 grains each, that comes to almost 13 balls to the pound...

The .32 uses about 25 grains of FFFg per shot, that's 280 shots per pound, I get 70 shots to the pound (100 grain load average)...

 

[dodgecity]

I've got another of the DGW poorboys. Been shooting it for a lot of years now, and it's still going strong. I use mine for target shooting, and a variety of small game and varmints. Mine is a pretty decent shooter. I don't find that handling and loading the small roundball is particularly difficult since I use a bullet board to hold the patched .310 swaged balls and a short starter to push them out of the board and down the muzzle. Likewise, the smaller diameter hickory ramrods are quite servicable and not at all prone to failure if used properly. With a full charge, the .310 roundball is suprisingly effective on anything up to coyote size. Incidentally, I notice that TOTW lists a very good quality replacement lock for this rifle.

 

[swquiro]

Have had two .32 rifles, one a TC Cherokee with an extra .45 barrel (yea, one of those "should never a sold it rifles") and a custom flinter which I still have and will never sell. The TC worked well with 15 gr FFF Goex and for some reason my flinter works well only if it has 25 gr, but I have never tried any other powder. Some will say that the .32 is finicky and requires a lot of swabbing, and maybe it takes a few more seconds work (?), to keep it performing the way it should. But are we really in that big of a hurry? Whenever we are using BP we are automatically in the slow lane, and for my money that is a great place to be, especially as the years roll by. If I miss a squirrel, by the time I am ready to shoot again the same squirrel may reappear, or at least the woods have calmed down enuf that other bushytails are already back to their normal routine. Yea, just like the .22 rimfire, you got to love a .32 front stuffer.

 

[jackc]

I opted for the .36 when I had my Tenn. flinter built in the early 80's. I knew several guys who were experimenting with the .32s and they seemed to be having problems figuring them out...my gunsmith assured me I would not have any trouble with the .36 and he was correct. Shoots great with either 25 or 30 gr. FFF and standard pillow ticking patch. Have killed one coyote with it--great job.

Good luck with your new small bore. I absolutely love mine and shoot it more than the bigger stuff.

jack

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

When I had my custom flinter built, I asked the smith about .32 caliber. He was concerned, like you, about the slender ramrod and difficulty loading. We settled on a .40, partly because it's the largest legal bore in a squirrel gun match, and it could be had in a 7/8" barrel. Real neat, slim and trim. I think a .32 with a long barrel would require too flimsy a ramrod to be much fun. Might risk it in a shorter barrel, though.

JMHO
Gene

 

[Dave K]

I have had two different 32cal. I really like them. I also have a 40cal. The thing with a 40cal. is that a 3/8" rod is a snug fit almost more snug than a 5/16" rod in a 32cal. If you haev to use the same rod in both guns, the 5/16" rod is less likely to break in the 32cal. I think my 40cal. is kind of a "pita" on ramrods. Much more so than my 32cal. I am going to take a 3/8" rod and thin it, till I get a good fit for my 40cal.

 

[reddogge]

I could have sworn I replied to this thread this morning but can't find it so here goes: I built a little .32 flinter, So. Mtn style, and it is a hoot to shoot. I cast my balls, shoot a light load and it recoils like a .22 mag. and gives a nice crack downrange. Use a hickory rod and never broke it.

 

[BROKENHAND]

Thank you all for your replies to my question. Sounds like there is quite a few folks shooting these small caliber rifles. I may have to give it a go.

 

[Old Dave]

I,ve been shooting one of Ed Rayl,s little 3/4 inch .25 cal. barrels. siler deluxe flinter on the side .(42 inch barrel) ramrod is sanded down 1/4 inch hickorey . hornady no. 3 buckshot .250 dia. .015" ticking on top of 25 gr. gox fffg powder . thumb nail size groups at 25 yards . killed a turkey 35 yds last fall ,rite through the boiler room ,didn't take a step . several rabbits and squirrels also .you do have to be carefull with that little rod but remember what you're shooting and you won't have much trouble. I ordered 6 ramrods to begin with and I'm still on the first one .(now watch I'll probably break one next time out.) don't be afraid to try one. I clean after every shot to keep the fowling down. good luck and keep em in the black.

 

[Bob J]

My daughter has a .30 Allentown flintlock with a Bill large barrel. What a blast! 25 grains 3f, .285 cast balls, and .014 Indian Head patches and it makes a neat little cluster at 25 yards. Watch out squirrels :haha:

 

[[email protected]]

I just had to try a .32 and a fellow forum member had one for sale in the classifieds......I snatched it up and am not the LEAST BIT sorry that I did. It is the TRADITIONS
Crockett. Nice and light and holds cloverleaf patterns at 40 yds. Takes a bit of getting used to the small crack instead of a hugh BOOM. I have no trouble loading even with my big hands...I weight 265 lbs.
Can shoot all day at a fraction of the cost of a Big bore.
The .32 can do a number on a chuck.....got 5 saturday.
Yep....I love it!!!

**** WV SCROUNGER ****