Winchester 94 32-40

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HawkCreek
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Winchester 94 32-40

Post by HawkCreek »

Anybody have one? I see on gunbroker the John Wayne 18" commemoratives are going for $1000 and up, there is one locally through a friend of a friend who needs money that I may be able pick up for cheaper. I have no experience with the round other than a little reading on google. I'm not huge on the sintered metal commemorative years but any excuse to add another lever gun to the stable is good right?
Wind
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Wind »

Hey there HC -- The 32-40 is a very nifty caliber, however... Factory ammunition for it is few and far between as well as being pretty expensive. New brass for reloading has dried up - as in not produced - and is only available from private sellers, usually at a premium and then some.

If the rifle comes with a fair amount of ammunition/brass, that would weigh into the equation if I was considering the purchase. Most folks loading for it now are resizing Starline long 38-55 brass.

Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind
HawkCreek
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by HawkCreek »

Thanks Wind, I know ammo isn't common anymore. Guess I should have looked into that part before asking here, sheesh that stuff is worth MONEY! I watched a few videos of you guys shooting some 32-40's. It looks like a fun little caliber, comparable to the .30-40 in an 1895. Not comparable in power but in a heavy for caliber rifle giving you very little recoil.

Hows the weather up your way? We got a little snow down here in the basin this morning but it's melted off already.
Wind
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Wind »

Hey there HC -- The 32-40 is no slouch for a caliber. They can be addicting in both lever guns and single shots. It is disappointing the components to feed them have become so hard to find/expensive. I'm reminded of that Statler Brothers song, sitting on my sack of brass!

On the plus side, RCBS does make Cowboy Dies for the caliber.

Snowed here this morning too and I'm happy to see has melted off.

Best regards. Wind
kaschi
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by kaschi »

My thinking about these older obsolete calibers is that if a guy has an affinity for them, then get them and have fun! Yes, they are a little on the expensive side, but it's not like you're going to be shooting them so much that you're going to go bankrupt. I too am into some of the old Winchester calibers (218 Bee, 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, 44-40, 25-35, 348 Winchester) as well as Remingtons (25, 30, 32 Remington) and shoot all of them occasionally. The worst case scenario would be if custom ammo/brass for these did not exist, and that fortunately is not the scenario.
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earlmck
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by earlmck »

Friend of mine has one in Savage 1899. He doesn't reload, but he bought the dies and we loaded him up a batch. We made our cases from 30/30, which as you know is readily available. It takes a little time and care but we did fine. If you have to buy new brass I would go with 32 Special brass as a preference, though the Lee 32/40 dies formed the 30/30's OK. Cases made from 30/30 or 32 Special are a few thousandths shorter than factory spec. Which just means to me that they won't need to be trimmed anytime soon.
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Bill in Oregon »

You can also form them from .38-55, but .30-30 brass is still easier to find and probably less expensive.
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earlmck
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by earlmck »

You fellers that make these from 38/55 -- do you have to ream or turn the necks afterward? That would be one of my concerns from necking down that far. That plus you'd want to anneal that neck.
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Rimfire McNutjob
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Rimfire McNutjob »

Wasn't the issue with using 30-30 as the parent that the newly formed case ends up about 1/10th of an in short of the original and thus performs "differently". I was interested in the 32-40 about 20 years back as it was the original chambering in the 1894 if I recall. At some point, I think Starline made a run of these in the original length. One of the guys on the forum back then, Duff-L-Bag, brought one to the range down near Daytona one weekend for us to shoot.
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earlmck
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by earlmck »

Yeah, the 32/40's I made from 30/30 were a scosh short -- I don't have any here to measure but might have been close to a tenth. When you are working with a cartridge that has about an inch and a half of neck I would have trouble getting in a lather about coming out a tenth-inch short. But that's just the view of a feller who is not fond of case-trimming anyway. I do know that they functioned just fine in the 1899 Savage.
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Wind
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Wind »

Well boys -- It's always nice to have head stamps match the rifle the cartridges are being used in. With the questionable availability of 32-40 brass you may not always get what you want. Forming 32-40 brass from Starline 38-55 brass is a snap. You can make it as hard or easy as you choose however.

I highly recommend using RCBS Cowboy dies and Hornady One Shot as a case lube for forming.

Here is a new Starline 38-55 case:

Image

Here are three cases. The left hand case is stock 38-55.

The middle case has been run halfway into the 32-40 sizing die.

The right hand case is fully formed.

Image

Here is the new 32-40 case length after forming.

Image

It took just about as long to squirt two cases and set them aside to dry as it did to dig out the shell holder and slip it in the press ram. Depending on the strength of your press and the leverage you get from the press handle - it's a no fuss no muss operation.

Trim, chamfer and off you go...

Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind
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earlmck
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by earlmck »

Hey, that looks like the way to go there, Wind. If you don't get too thick a neck from that 38/55 it will be easier for sure than making them from 30/30 which (for me) is slow because of taking several "passes" and re-lubes and also takes a pretty good "grunt" on the press handle. I see Starline just charges an extra $10/100 for the long 38/55 which you'd use to make the right length stuff.
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Wind
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Wind »

Well boys -- Letting the One Shot dry (as per directions) makes the operation run smoother. You can even squirt some into the die body in the beginning. I squirt a plastic reloading tray with cases from one side and rotate 180 degrees and squirt down all the other sides of the cases.

I use a Rockchucker press and may double clutch each case, but generally don't re-lube.

I measured the cases in the pictures and both the original 38-55 case and the two reformed cases had a neck thickness of .007".

When I form 25-36 Marlin cases from 32-40 cases, I use an intermediate step and run them into a 30-30 die to about the shoulder. Those cases I definitely double clutch in the 25-36 die.

Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind
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Sixgun
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Re: Winchester 94 32-40

Post by Sixgun »

I try not to over analyze.......like Earl says, use 30-30/32 Spl.brass. I've been loading that cartridge for 30 years and only use 30-30 brass...shoot it once..after resizing ...trim her up square and seat the bullet to standard correct overall length.

That does remind me as I know I have several hundred new W-W 32-40 cases in the gunroom...somewhere.....think I'll post them...in due time.---6
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