Range Report: custom 32-20 bullet (photos)

[KirkD]

I am finally beginning to get some time to do some shooting. Last winter, I asked Tom at Accurate Moulds to modify one of his 32-20 existing designs. The result was #31-112M http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_det ... 112M-D.png , a 115 grain plain base bullet.

The rifle I used today was an original Winchester Model 53 made in 1929, chambered in 32 W.C.F. (32-20). When chambering a round, the front driving band around the bullet made contact with the rifling just before the lever was fully closed, resulting in a snug fit and a bit more resistance during the final few degrees of closing the lever. The bullets were what I call 'soft cast', pure clip on wheel weights, air cooled. Here is a photo of the rifle ...



The Accurate PB 115 grain bullet sat on top of 9.5 grains of 5744, and averaged 1,239 fps with an E.S. of 17 fps. At 100 yards, the four-shot group with the Accurate mould #31-112M was 1 & 7/8". To compare, I fired a four shot group with the venerable Lyman 3110048 bullet and got a 4 & 1/2" group at 100 yards. Since I use the 32-20 for mostly Woodchucks down in the bean field, and most of my shots are offhand at 50 yards, I was mainly interested in how it would do at 50 yards. I only had five rounds left. The white bullseye was 2" in diameter and way too big for 50 yards. Although I could line the sights up perfectly in windage with the centre of the bullseye, the vertical was a lot harder trying to cut through the centre of the bullseye with the top of the front sight; I was never exactly sure whether I was cutting through the exact centre. The result was a slightly vertically elongated five-shot group at 50 yards of 1 & 3/16" vertical x 5/8" horizontal. I think the 5/8" is more indicative of the group size if I were to use a finer bullseye (or cut through the exact bottom of the bullseye instead of cutting through the centre of the bullseye). Anyway, here is a photo of the target ...



My 32-20 is a 50 yards hunting rifle and I am very pleased with this bullet for that purpose. I have tried a lot of bullets but this is the best I've found so far. I also tried a 3-shot group at 50 yards with a 100 grain Remington JSP bullet and got a group of 1 & 1/8" spread horizontally. Not sure what is going on there; I would have expected better than that.

[AJMD429]

Beautiful gun, in a classic cartridge. Between the 500 S&W and a 32-20, there's not much one can't cover...

Let us know if you find out why the 100 grainers spread out so much.

[KirkD]

The Remington 100 grain JSP gave me a three-shot group of 1 & 3/8" at 100 yards, but vertically strung. Might have something to do with barrel harmonics. I used 11 grains of 5744 for 1,333 fps, so the velocity was a bit higher.

[Sixgun]

It's hard to beat that Kirk. When you find a load that shoots that good, experimenting is all but done.

Plain base bullets usually do their best at match velocity (1050) or 1400. I guess you found the sweet spot.

The reason the Remington's don't do so well is that they are undersized. I have a thousand of them here and they do about what yours do. They mike out at .310 so I have been shooting them out of my M1 carbine to which they do very well......for an M-1.

BTW, where have you been hiding at? Ain't heard from you since you snagged that last rifle.------6

[KirkD]

BTW, where have you been hiding at? Ain't heard from you since you snagged that last rifle.------6

Been pretty busy, actually too busy.

[Les Staley]

Beautiful rifle..have not seen an original Winchester 53. I was lucky enough to find a Browning 53 in the used rack at Cabelas in Sidney Ne..also 32-20. My Marlin 1894C in 357 mag got too valuable to keep..so the 53 is taking over the squirrel shooting here in N. Idaho. It sports a wind age adjustable Marble tang sight, and is showing some promise of accuracy. (Squirrels are hating it)

[EdinCT]

Love the 53 and am impressed by its accuracy. I am on a tighter budget and feel blessed to have the Marlin 1894CL and have finally got the factory crimp die working on the 311008.
I was wondering why you choose the brass molds? I have noticed you have several, I have always used the Lee aluminum or Lyman iron molds.
Have you found the brass better?

[JerryB]

That sure is a shooting combination Kirk. Glad you were able to work up a good load, I know you'll enjoy it.
Those beanfield ground hogs will be some good eating, the younger ones fry up like rabbit.

[earlmck]

Nice! It looks like you have her doing just what you need her to do for you, Kirk: I'd like to see that size group come out of my Browning M53.

I haven't been able to get that small a velocity spread out of my loads: I'll have to give your 5744 a try...

[Old Savage]

Kirk, comparing the Dems to these, 1 3/8" at 100 yds would seem less vertical deviation than 1 3/16" at 50.

[OldWin]

I'd say you got it runnin' Kirk. That's good shootin. That is a beautiful 53. I really like the wood.

[InTheWoods]

Beautiful rifle! I have a Browning 53 and love it, but there is nothing like the 'real thing' as you have. Photo of my Browning with refinished stock:



Like your rifle, mine has an extremely short throat and requires bullets specifcally designed for the 32-20. The only jacketed bullet I have found that works (as in 'fits') in the chamber is the Remington 32-20 jacketed soft point and they seem to shoot reasonably well in my particular rifle. I usually shoot LazerCast 115 grain bullets at about 1400 feet per second in this rifle and reserve the jacketed bullets at higher velocity for when I think longer shoots at coyotes are a possibility. Unfortunately, I don't think the Remington jacketed bullets have been available for some time now and all of the other .32 jacketed bullets presently on the market (Speer, Hornaday XTPs, etc) don't taper quickly enough to fit in my rifle's short chamber. I thought about shortening some cases enough to shoot XTPs. Not really a big deal anyway, I guess, as I shoot mostly cast bullets. My supply of the Remington jacketed bullets (500 or so) will last longer than I will at the rate I shoot them.

The 53 is my favorite off season 'woods rifle.'

[KirkD]

Kirk, comparing the Dems to these, 1 3/8" at 100 yds would seem less vertical deviation than 1 3/16" at 50.

You are right, but I think the vertical spread at 50 was due to the plus or minus 1/2" vertical uncertainty introduced by trying to cut through the centre of the white spot with the top of the front sight. I should have cut through the bottom of the white spot for consistency.

[Bill in Oregon]

I don't think it gets much better than this: a nice, tight cast-bullet group out of a drop-dead gorgeous Winchester.

[KirkD]

I was wondering why you choose the brass molds? I have noticed you have several, I have always used the Lee aluminum or Lyman iron molds. Have you found the brass better?

Ed, I have used iron, aluminum and brass moulds, but I prefer the brass for two reasons:

1. It holds the heat very well
2. It does not rust, not even any surface corrosion.

Tom at Accurate Moulds gives you all three materials as options, so a fellow can pick according to his preferences. He also has a little write-up explaining the pros and cons of each.

[Old Savage]

Kirk, possible, more controlled testing needed. Side by side, same distance, same day, same target type.

[KirkD]

Kirk, possible, more controlled testing needed. Side by side, same distance, same day, same target type.

All of the different loads and bullets were tested on the same day, same targets and same distance.

[ollogger]

Awesome as always
Next time id pill the trigger would be on a chuck



ollogger

[Old Savage]

Kirk, I am referring to the lead vs Remington on the vertical dispersion issue.

[KirkD]

Kirk, I am referring to the lead vs Remington on the vertical dispersion issue.

I shot both the 115 grain Accurate plain base bullets and the Remington JSP bullets at 100 yards and 50 yards within a few minutes of each other. I think that before I could say anything definitive about the Remington bullets I would need to shoot more of them. I only had 40 Remington bullets and I want to ration them out, so I only shot 3 at 100 and 3 at 50. That is not a very good sample size. I usually like to shoot at least two groups of 5 or on 10-shot group to get an idea where the bullets are going on average. Still, I'm happy with my Remington JSP bullets, but my main, long term bullet will be the plain base bullet, since I can cast my own.

[Old Savage]

Gotcha Kirk

[carbluesnake]

When you say off hand, is that from standing or another position? If that is from standing, I am in awe of your shooting.

[KirkD]

When you say off hand, is that from standing or another position?

I was referring to when I take care of the Woodchucks in the bean field. The target in my post and the other ones I shot to compare bullets, was shot from a rest, not offhand. When comparing bullets and loads I like to eliminate the human factor as much as possible so I always shoot from a rest when testing loads.

[Nath]

Great report Kirk. Many thanks.
Forgive my presumption Kirk but did you clean the bore between switching bullets?

N.

[Ysabel Kid]

Great range report Kirk, as always. Glad to hear you had a chance to get out and shoot!

[KirkD]

Great report Kirk. Many thanks.
Forgive my presumption Kirk but did you clean the bore between switching bullets?

N.

Well, I did cut a few corners there. No cleaning at all. I did my 100 yard shooting first, starting with the lead bullets I was confident would not lead (Accurate PB) and then moving to the Lyman bullets. Then I shot the JSP's. After that, I did the 50 yard shooting, but this time started with the JSP's and finally the Accurate PB's. The target in my first post was the last group of the day. I know for cast bullets, one should really clean the bore between different bullets, however I did not think it would affect the JSP's much and I used the JSP's to clean up the bore for the 50 yard cast bullet shooting. Not recommended, but that is what I did. Still, the last target of the day shown in my first post was decent.

[Old Savage]

Well Kirk, that is how I often go about things and on one 45-70 found it to shoot better after cast. But, you did go into the vertical stringing issue. Knowing you to be a good iron sights shot I was interested in what you came up with. But the conclusion seemed opposite to what I would make. I ran into a vertical stinging sight issue with a gold bead at 100 and bright sun with a 26" 30-30 with 3 out of five in about 3/4" in the middle.

[Nath]

Great report Kirk. Many thanks.
Forgive my presumption Kirk but did you clean the bore between switching bullets?

N.

Well, I did cut a few corners there. No cleaning at all. I did my 100 yard shooting first, starting with the lead bullets I was confident would not lead (Accurate PB) and then moving to the Lyman bullets. Then I shot the JSP's. After that, I did the 50 yard shooting, but this time started with the JSP's and finally the Accurate PB's. The target in my first post was the last group of the day. I know for cast bullets, one should really clean the bore between different bullets, however I did not think it would affect the JSP's much and I used the JSP's to clean up the bore for the 50 yard cast bullet shooting. Not recommended, but that is what I did. Still, the last target of the day shown in my first post was decent.

This pleases me no end!
I use jacketed bullets but for fear have not tried lead for the bad press of crossing over the two.

So just maybe I should give a try

N.

[KirkD]

I ran into a vertical stringing sight issue with a gold bead at 100 and bright sun with a 26" 30-30 with 3 out of five in about 3/4" in the middle.

I would say it was the same thing here for sure. I simply could not tell exactly where the middle of the large 2" white spot was. Once the front bead cut off the bottom part of the circle, I could not tell for sure if I was in the centre or 1/2" higher or lower. I think that added an extra 5/8" to the vertical measure of my 5-shot group.

Nath: You never know till you try it out.

[Griff]

Great report Kirk. Many thanks.
Forgive my presumption Kirk but did you clean the bore between switching bullets?
N.

Well, I did cut a few corners there. No cleaning at all. I did my 100 yard shooting first, starting with the lead bullets I was confident would not lead (Accurate PB) and then moving to the Lyman bullets. Then I shot the JSP's. After that, I did the 50 yard shooting, but this time started with the JSP's and finally the Accurate PB's. The target in my first post was the last group of the day. I know for cast bullets, one should really clean the bore between different bullets, however I did not think it would affect the JSP's much and I used the JSP's to clean up the bore for the 50 yard cast bullet shooting. Not recommended, but that is what I did. Still, the last target of the day shown in my first post was decent.

This pleases me no end!
I use jacketed bullets but for fear have not tried lead for the bad press of crossing over the two.
So just maybe I should give a try
N.

I do run a wet patch or two between any two strings, regardless if cast or jacketed... "just because!"

Depending on the amount of jacketed I've shot before switching to cast, it's made VERY little difference. If a rifle has been shot with nothing but jacketed, it will require some extra scrubbing to get the copper fouling out... as leaving that there will cause the cast bullets to lead something awful. But, with just a few jacketed thru an otherwise clean bore... I don't see a real need.

[Old Savage]

Anything I am going to shoot something with goes through a barrel fouled by th he same type bullet.