Per my measurements last night, I can stuff up to a .308 bullet in my converted Nagant brass for a .32-20 reload and still make spec for external neck diameter.
Which tells me .32-20 brass is probably thinner than your average brass at the neck.
Well, we'll find out, after spending an obscene amount for 200 pieces of once-fired .32-20 brass on gun broker.
Something about hand-turning necks for 50 pieces of revolver ammo seems just beyond reasonable to me.
Bought a S&W in .32-20. Wanted one for roughly thirty years now, but never really ran across any at the shows I frequented. Until lately. Now I have a well-used nickeled example.
I'm well aware that the days of plentiful ammo, which also equates to less common ammo at least being obtainable via the internet, are gone for the foreseeable future. But as far as I can tell, newly manufactured .32-20 doesn't exist. Although I could buy a nice vintage box for somewhere between 3 to 6 bucks a round. That's a no-go.
So, maybe I'll just convert some brass. If I can make .42 Berdan (Russian) out of .348 Winchester, how hard can it be to make .32-20? 7.62x38R Nagant brass is actually available; cutting down the case, no problem; I've got .32-20 dies from reloading for my ex's dad back in the early '90s (I throw *nothing* out). Turned out some nice little cases, slipped right in the cylinder, extracted just fine.
Until I seated a bullet. Looked like the early stages of a snake swallowing an egg. Well, maybe those old Lee dies in the green plastic case are a bit tight. Let's see what happens when loading.............and, no. Stops short. Well, that was a .314 cast and sized bullet. That's a perfect size for exiting the cylinder, but not so much for loading. How about a .311? Same problem. Ok, that should be happening.......What the hell, let's throw a .308 90 grain jacketed bullet on there, that should be fine and......*still* looks like the bullet is way oversize in the case, and still won't chamber.
Did I buy a gun that somebody messed with a put a different cylinder in? Nope, matching serials numbers on cylinder and frame. And I'd be pretty impressed if some basement 'smith actually managed to shrink chambers. I find it pretty unlikely that S&W accidently bored out the cylinders wrong, and this gun has been fired plenty.
At this point, I have to wonder if the PPU Nagant brass, being cut back around around a quarter inch, has enough wall thickness and the chambers are tight enough to create this problem. Now it's on to the measuring calipers and reference books to look up specs beyond just cartridge OAL. And if that doesn't do it, I guess I'll be digging out the cerrosafe from its crypt.
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and for the Chilean Mauser M1895 in 7.62 x 51:
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Got around to shooting some handloads through the MAS 49/56 that I loaded five years ago. 7.5 x 54 French made from 6.5 Swedish with 147-grain FMJ bullets. Nothing phenomenal for a group, but just fine for recreational shooting. The 49/56 was very pleasant to shoot, but having only twenty rounds was unsatisfying. Fortunately, Graf & Sons happened to have 7.5 x 54 brass, so a hundred rounds was ordered that night. Along with a pack of 150-grain FMJ bullets. I thought. What I have is a hundred rounds of correct brass, and one hundred 168-grain HPBTs. Too heavy for a round originally set up with a 139-grain bullet. I'd be irritated but......even if I didn't pay close attention when ordering, I also shot twenty five rounds of 7.5 x 55 Swiss through the K38 that day, topped with 180-grain cast bullets. Which are a little tougher to close the bolt on with a straight pull compared to most of my other bolt guns. I generally prefer to shoot cast through my bolt guns, because it's cheap and light recoiling, but I think I'll except the K38 from that. I have some 147-grains I can through on the French brass, and the Swiss normally runs a 174-grain.......
I can work with what showed up.
With limited time to shoot lately, I more often grab a handgun for some range relaxation. Poking about in the safe today, I noticed a long-ignored Brazilian M1937. As I had a recently made box of 230 grain LRN handy, that was the choice of the day.
Although I'm not a Smith & Wesson collector, I do think highly of their revolvers. And the .45 ACP is my favorite handgun cartridge. That said, today's range session reminded me that the original grips on this model are not conducive to extended shooting sessions. As in, each shot is like catching a strongly thrown baseball without a glove. The cylinder release plowing a groove into my thumb isn't the enjoyable either.
That said, I doubt I'd notice either of these were I to actually need the revolver instead of shooting it for fun, a sentiment I'm sure Brazilian soldiers carrying these in the Italian campaign of 1944 shared.
A Savage No.4 Mk I, being fed 190 grain cast bullets, with gas checks and a diameter of .314. Powder charge was 30.9 grains of Winchester 760.
At 100 yards, with five shot groups I had a frequent pattern of 3 round inside 3 inches, and two round within 3 inches, with a gap of about 6-8 inches between the two.
I have a feeling I'll need to look at the bedding on this rifle. Perhaps a touch of Brownell's Acraglas.......
Good day to head to the range with a Swedish M96 rifle built in 1900, last fired in the '90s, with ammunition assembled from components purchased and put away about about the same time.
Nice change from living in an area where I'd probably be throwing on a set of Carhartts to stay warm while shooting now.
