Who is using a 32 caliber

[sportster73hp]

After starting this thread i am surprised at how popular this little caliber is. I have always adhered to the bigger is better attitude and a 45 rifle was the smallest that i liked. I did shoot a 36 cal flint for club events this last summer.

 

[Kansas Kid]

I built a 32 flintlock Tennessee Mountain rifle and have a Crockett 32 pistol. Paper targets and fox squirrels.

 

[Rawhide67]

I have a 32 flintlock built in the 70's by a guy no one has ever heard of. I shot it once, multiple shots at one event. It's a curate and no recoil, but I Did not care for the cleaning difficulty. It hangs on the wall now.

 

[mooman76]

Who shots a 22RF? Pretty much the same reason. It's just fun and these days you might need to economize.

 

[jim mencken]

south florida called limb rats good eattin

 

[JohnL]

I carry a .32 brass sidebreak derringer made in the 1980s...fits in the palm of my hand, my coat pocket, hip pocket, looks good on the bookcase at home too. I carry it mostly because it makes me happy. Beautiful plain and authentic little gun...

Do you have a photo to post? I’d love to see it.

 

[William Lincoln]

There is nothing intrinsically weak about the .32. In the modern
guns it is the .30s that rule. The problem is that a ball is not a
bullet, and has less mass. Also, muzzleloaders in general are
built to looser tolerances and do not require the precision
of ultra high pressures. In the day when the Colt Patterson
stopped a powerful Comanche warrior, the .32 was not
relegated to only the squirrel or rabbit--it was an all
around rifle- and rightly so within limits. Remember
that Crockett used "old Betsy" for general use.

 

[Dale Lilly]

you never ate squirrel? i rather eat squirrel than a deer,,,best meat,,make a gumbo,,stew rice and gravy,,try it u wont forget how good those tree rats taste,,,don't forget the head

The head? What on earth do you do with the head [most often has a hole in it]? Polecat P.S. I shot a lot of tree rats when I was young. It helped feed the family.

 

[mushka]

I like my Crockett and the only problem I have with it is that my arthritis just doesn't like those little .32 cal. balls.

 

[Billy Boy]

I had a conversation with another club member last night . She questioned why anyone uses such a small caliber and squirrel hunting is all i could think of. I use shot for small game and the 32 doesn’t always knock steel down at matches.
Who is using the 32 and for what?

Very fun caliber. Mine is very accurate, shoot it all year for peanuts, maybe 300 -350 pops per pound. With a 105 grain maxi at 1700 fps it is a HV 32/20,
which has quietly provided groceries up here for close to a hundred years..
just sayn’

 

[Billy Boy]

you eat those ?

If you followed a chicken around the farmstead you would never eat it again….

 

[BrianL]

Ballistic Products sells .310 (#1 1/2) buckshot in 8lb containers. LOTS of balls in 8 lbs.

 

[hanshi]

I hunted with a Traditions Crockett for many years and that little .32 would group under an inch at 50 yards. The .32 in my battery now is a flintlock and likes one hole groups.

 

[Whitworth]

The head? What on earth do you do with the head [most often has a hole in it]? Polecat P.S. I shot a lot of tree rats when I was young. It helped feed the family.

Crack the heads, remove the brains and deep fry them. Not my cup of tea but had a family member who loved them. Since Mad Cow disease I think eating brains has fallen out of favor.

 

[swamperkk]

The head? What on earth do you do with the head [most often has a hole in it]? Polecat P.S. I shot a lot of tree rats when I was young. It helped feed the family.

shoot thru the ribs, or guts,,never the head,,crack the head cooked from a gumbo and eat the brains,,try it,,not bad at all

 

[golden sky]

i'll stick to eating fruits

 

[Crowtalks]

you eat those ?

I grew up eating all kinds of small game, including squirrel. I was raised to only hunt what you will eat as the game was put on the earth for our sustenance.

That being said, my wife thinks squirrels are nasty and would almost rather eat slugs.

I hunt squirrel with a 32 crockett.

 

[Crowtalks]

shoot thru the ribs, or guts,,never the head,,crack the head cooked from a gumbo and eat the brains,,try it,,not bad at all

I used to eat brains and eggs as a kid, but never tried squirrel brains...we only did them fried or with dumplins.

 

[Bassdog1]

Great for all small game and a really cheap way to keep and improve shooting skills my favorite caliber.

 

[sawyer04]

32 for light game, less powder and lead for over 40 years.