Another .32 Winchester Special question...

nralover · Post by **nralover** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:14 am

Guys, I am curious about something. What is the rate of twist of this barrel? My Winnie 94 was made in 1971, and I was told that it may have a different rate of twist than .32 specials made before 1964. Any help would be appreciated, NRA

Post by **Hobie** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:34 am

I thought they were all 1-16" but maybe (lurking in the dark recesses of my aging mind) the later ones were rifled 1-12"...

nralover · Post by **nralover** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:59 am

Dang Hobie! I wish I had a fraction of your knowledge- is there anything you don't know?

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:01 pm

Nope, I believe they are all 1-16. I am currently having a 32 Spl. relined as I wanted a long heavy bullet to be accurate for NRA silhouette. I told my guy I wanted a 1-12 but he said the best he could do was a 1-14 and that's the fastest that's offered. So................I'm assumming (I know about the assum thing

) that if a shootist could not get a faster twist than a 1-14, I would not want to bet the farm on Winchester using a 1-12.

Also, I looked in my manuals from early to late editions and they all say 1-16.-------------------Sixgun

nralover · Post by **nralover** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:04 pm

Sixgun wrote:Nope, I believe they are all 1-16. I am currently having a 32 Spl. relined as I wanted a long heavy bullet to be accurate for NRA silhouette. I told my guy I wanted a 1-12 but he said the best he could do was a 1-14 and that's the fastest that's offered. So................I'm assumming (I know about the assum thing ) that if a shootist could not get a faster twist than a 1-14, I would not want to bet the farm on Winchester using a 1-12.

Also, I looked in my manuals from early to late editions and they all say 1-16.-------------------Sixgun

Oh well, I bet a whitetail deer wouldn't know the difference anyway. I can't wait until November to test the theory:)

Post by **Hobie** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:20 pm

Sixgun wrote:Nope, I believe they are all 1-16. I am currently having a 32 Spl. relined as I wanted a long heavy bullet to be accurate for NRA silhouette. I told my guy I wanted a 1-12 but he said the best he could do was a 1-14 and that's the fastest that's offered. So................I'm assumming (I know about the assum thing ) that if a shootist could not get a faster twist than a 1-14, I would not want to bet the farm on Winchester using a 1-12.

Also, I looked in my manuals from early to late editions and they all say 1-16.-------------------Sixgun

I think you're right which is why I emphasized MAYBE...

Could have been associated with another 32 or I read it when I was 32 or I $32 in my pocket one day...

However, it is easy to check with a cleaning rod and tight patched jag...

jtaylor1960 · Post by **jtaylor1960** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 3:58 pm

I think Hobie was right and if I can find the box I will check.I bought a 1970's 32 and I'm almost positive it is a 1 in 12" twist. It is widely known that the early models were 1 in 16".

oldgerboy · Post by **oldgerboy** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:02 pm

About two years ago I fit an old 8mm Mauser barrel to my one Winny 94 ... .323 is pretty close to .321 and the twist would allow heavier bullets.

I never finished the critter because we didn't have a .32 Spl reamer ... duh!

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:24 pm

The Douglas barrel on my .32-40 will handle 180gr cast very well at
1 in 14 twist. It is a .323 (8mm) barrel and I shoot the same bullets sized the same in my Win. 94 32sp. but those bullets are barely stable at 16-1700 fps. so I`d guess it`s 1 in 16" twist.

Marlin .35 · Post by **Marlin .35** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:01 pm

Ken Waters in his Pet Loads lists the .32 Special with a 1:16 twist. Never heard of a 1:12!! Art

w30wcf · Post by **w30wcf** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:45 am

The Winchester '94's in .32 W.S. had a 16" twist.

However, regarding Marlin's, BruceB reported that he has a late 1940's Model 36 that has a 10" twist.....possibly Marlin found a source for 8MM barrels and used them in that time period. Here's the link:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... hlight=.32

w30wcf