.32 to .36 Smallest charge?

What is the smallest black powder charge that you shoot in your
.32 through .36 caliber and how well do they work?

How low of a charge is to low? For targets? For small game?

So.... I got a new to me gun, it’s in-between my .32 and .36

I had it out shooting it, my load was a .33 caliber round ball with a .015 pre-lubricated patch with 7.5 to 15 grains of black powder. Made it through my paper target at 25 yards, swung the .22 caliber steel gong at 75 yards.

I only had lead for seven shots and wind at 20 to 25 mph.
It did seem to shoots very well. Accurate if you can tell in seven shots. Five of the shots were the 7.5 grains. Two were 15 grains.

I also shot one of Hornady’s .32 caliber .314 90 gr. SWC slugs with the same patch, it was quite snug loading but shot as well as you can tell with just one shot.


so I am open to any and all comments, help and ideas.


Thanks
Tinker2

If it helps.
Rates of Twist of my rifling 1:34





Tinker2

I am shooting a .36 seneca. So far I have tried Graf's FF and FFF, and pyrodex RS and P. The most accurate load so far is 40 gr pyrodex RS with a .350 RB, it almost shoots one hole groups at 25 yds and will roll a pop can at 75. With a 36 maxi ball, 40 gr of pyrodex RS gives 2" 5 shot 50yd groups. However this load won't stabilize at 100 yds, I need more time at the range.

I've used 20 grains in my .32 and 30 grains in my .36. I know of shooters who swear by 10 grains for squirrels. 10 grains should approximate the .22LR. Going lower may not be worth the trouble.

My wife likes the sound her .36 makes with 40 grains of 3F. She shoots a .340 ball with .012 patching.

Many Klatch

I futz around with 15gr 3F in my .32. Accurate and fun to plink with.

I know this thread is about the .32 but it's difficult to talk about it without bringing up the .36. I picked my loads for both based on accuracy and came up with a 30 grain charge of Goex 3f for both the .32 and .36. 30 grains is a warm load in the .32 with real power. Nevertheless I've used it on squirrels for years without the damage some users report. In the .36 that charge will do 90% of what a .36 is capable of.

IMHO, the only way to find out what it likes is to try it on paper at 35-40 yards, 'cause that is about normal hunting range for my area.

I have found the 32 to blow the back of the heads off of squirrels, with 25-30 of BP, but only punches a 32 cal hole in 'em when shot through the ribs, so that's where I aim.

IMHO, it's all about accuracy. If that piece shoots well with 10gr or less, and does what you want it too, shoot the daylights out of it.

God bless

hanshi said:

I know this thread is about the .32 but it's difficult to talk about it without bringing up the .36.

Click to expand...

I went to my gun smith and had them mike the bore on my gun that I am asking about, it mikes at .350

My .36 caliber rifle mikes at .360 my .36 smooth bore mikes at .360

I shoot 20 grains in my .32 rifle and my .36 rifle only shoots good with way to much powder [ 70 grains ], I never tried less then 25 grains in that gun, maybe I should?

The Rates of Twist of rifling is 1:34 in my .350 I did not have the others checked. What is standard?


Thanks
Tinker2

J.D., I do the same thing with my .32. There's nothing in the middle that one can eat. Head shots can be messy. An alternative I've found is the "neck shot". It offers a greater margin for error than a head shot. I once shot a squirrel in the neck (on a deer hunt) with a .58 prb. There was a neat little hole straight through. It was a fox squirrel but the shot, I think, is still valid on grays.

I'm not all that knowledgeable concerning ROT but the small bores generally shoot best, and usually come as standard, with faster twists than larger calibers. 1-48" twist is common in both the .32 and .36. 1-34" sounds a little fast to me but should still shoot fine.

Bore sizes can vary, I've discovered, on about any caliber. I shoot .311" and .350" ball respectively in my .32 and .36 along with a .015 - .018 patch. 10 - 20 grains of powder in either will work on very small game, in my experience. 70 grains is off the scale, IMO. Most of that powder is probably not even burning. Start at 10 grains with both and work up. I settled on 30 grns as that was the best target accuracy in both. That load is approaching "screamer" in a .32, anyway.

Tinker: Loads depend on what range you are asking for performance. A .32 can be loaded as low as 10-12 grains and is more than sufficient to kill rabbits and squirrels out to 75 FEET! The .36 can be loaded down to the 15-18 grain range for hunting at that same range.

NOW, some of the guns in these calibers come with Powder chambers. In that situation, the length of the powder chamber, and diameter, and its capacity to hold powder may control the " Minimum" amount of powder you use in that gun. In a Flat faced Breeched rifle, you can go down to as low a powder charge that still pushes the PRB out the muzzle.

I have seen a .62-- Yes, that big a caliber---- PRB pushed out of the barrel fast enough to hit dead center on a Bang Plate at 25 yards with only as much 4Fg powder as we could squeeze behind the PRB that had been "dry-balled". We pried the PRB forward enough to be able to slip some powder behind it, with the TH liner removed. I doubt we had 5 grains of FFFFg powder in that barrel- certainly no more.

We were only hoping to push the PRB forward enough so that we could put more powder in the barrel, thru the TH, then replace the TH liner, and lock, seat the ball back on the powder, and fire it to clear the barrel of the obstruction! Instead, My friend, Don Latter, sat down at the bench, carefully aimed the gun at the bang plate, and fired the gun. The Sound was barely audible. You could see the ball fly to the target, hit and bounce off. We recovered the slightly flattened ball in the grass in front of the bang plate. It was in good enough shape that it could be loaded and fired again!

I don't know how LITTLE an amount of powder would be necessary to get a .32 ball out of the muzzle, and very little further. It would depend a lot on how long the barrel is, and how tight the ball/patch combination is.

You should be able to walk slowly up to a sitting rabbit, and get as close as 5-10 feet from it, if you learn how to walk, and when to move. You don't need a lot of powder in either a .32 or .36 to kill either rabbits or squirrels.

You certainly don't need a lot of powder to push any lead ball through a paper target at 25 yds, or even out at 50 yds.

15-20 grains of 3Fg powder should be more than enough for shooting small game with a .32. 20-30 grains should be more than enough to shoot small game out to 50 yds, with a .36. You can load more powder for longer shots, or if you are shooting larger PREDATORS- not small game, with thin skins like rabbits and squirrels.

I hope this helps you. :thumbsup:

hanshi said:

in my experience. 70 grains is off the scale, IMO.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree with that now.
When I got that gun, H&A underhammer .36 caliber serial number 2000, the directions that came with it new, said a .343 diameter ball [ came with a bullet mold ] and 70 grains of 3F black powder. This was my first store bought muzzle loader and I loaded and shot it the way the manufacture recommend.

In later years I tried finding reduced loads that would shoot as well and
never did. I shoot 70 grains in my Bess, 55 grains in my .62 trade gun.
I have not shot the H&A .36 from the mid 80’s I got it in the early 60’s



Tinker2

paulvallandigham said:

The .36 can be loaded down to the 15-18 grain range for hunting at that same range.

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You know that might be my problem, when I was working on trying to
find a reduced load for my H&A .36 I never went below 30 grains.

I guess if my, new to me, .35 that’s almost a .36 can shoot so well at
7 to 15 grains, that my H&A .36 could to

I may have been pushing my attempts at finding a reduced load to hard because it did shoot so well with the 70 grain load.


You gentlemen are all a great asset to us all. Thank you all. :bow:


So.... my future is bright with clouds of smoke.
Tinker2

H&A rifles were a bit odd with their bore dimensions. I have an ".45" underhammer
I got in the mid 60s. Numrich Arms recommended a .433 ball; the .45 was closer to a .44. I had a .440 mold and, though very snug, the larger ball worked great. You probably have the same situation with your .36.

hanshi said:

J.D., I do the same thing with my .32. There's nothing in the middle that one can eat. Head shots can be messy. An alternative I've found is the "neck shot". It offers a greater margin for error than a head shot. I once shot a squirrel in the neck (on a deer hunt) with a .58 prb. There was a neat little hole straight through. It was a fox squirrel but the shot, I think, is still valid on grays.

Click to expand...

I did something like that once. I was squirrel hunting with a light loaded 54 and saw a squirrel about the same time it saw me. It ran to the trunk of the tree it was in, and I saw it's head pop up in a fork of the trunk. I rested that old rifle on the side of a hickory tree and cut loose at about 60 yards. Couldn't see where the squirrel went because of the smoke, so I hid behind that hickory to reload and tried to put a sneak on the squirrel. When I got to the tree and looked around the back side, there was that squirrel laying there with a 54 cal hole in its throat. That ball caught that squirrel right under the chin without blowing it all to pieces. IMHO, that is probably the best shot I have ever made on game.

IMHO, either a 32 or 36 will do a fine job with light loads. It just takes time to work up a good accurate load and get used to judging the proper distance to shoot it accurately.

God bless

hanshi said:

I'm not all that knowledgeable concerning ROT but the small bores generally shoot best, and usually come as standard, with faster twists than larger calibers. 1-48" twist is common in both the .32 and .36. 1-34" sounds a little fast to me but should still shoot fine.

Click to expand...

The Greenhill formula is often used for estimating the minimum twist for lead bullets. For roundballs it reduces to 150*ball diameter at average ML rifle velocities. For a .315" ball, it gives a minimum twist of 1:47.25" ,so 1:48" is actually a fairly slow twist for that caliber. Note that these are estimates for the minimum twist for decent accuracy over normal ranges - somewhat faster twists generally give one more leeway with lower loads. For low rifle velocities, some use 120*diameter. I don't know what the constant would be for pistol velocities.

Regards,
Joel

Several things may help you determine what is the least amount of powder your gun will shoot. One is, if it has a patent breech. You really don't want air between your powder and patched ball, even in very low amounts of powder, if you can help it. The next thing is accuracy. I want what ever is the most accurate load for the range I intend to shoot. If that happens to be 15gr. that is fine. If it is 30 gr. that is good too. Time spent shooting will tell you.

I've used 15 grns of powder in my .36 tennesse but it will only shoot a 2-3" group at 50 with it, 20-30grns it'll shoot 1" groups all day long so I usually use 20 grns.

-----I've shot 10 gr 3f in my 45 TC Hawkin at 50 yards--did just fine on paper targets----- :idunno: