Another .32 Crockett Thread

[user 43911]

I had a Crocket . . . however it never shot well for me . .

I wonder if something had been done to the gun by the previous owner before you purchased it, was this a factory gun or a kit, I'm surprised the factory looked at it as the life time warranty only applies to the original purchaser (they still make you pay for shipping, that should change).
When they test fired it at 50 yards, did they say if it was bench or free standing, who did the shooting (good shooter, kid that sweeps the floors).
So many variables.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Do these rifles have a patent breech?

 

[user 43911]

Do these rifles have a patent breech?

Yes

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Yes

Good, thank you.

 

[user 43911]

Kinda like this

 

[user 43911]

So, questions for people that have tried shooting bullets in the Crockett, I'm working on something and I'm interested in what others have done.
1) what bullet style (RN,SWC,WC,Maxi)
2) what weight
3) what velocity
4) paper patch or not

 

[Newtire]

I use that .311 Lee Mould and in spite of the big flat spot, they are very accurate out of any of my .32’s. I haven’t had the fill out problem but if you are experiencing that, try setting the mould on a little hot plate.

 

[user 43911]

Somebody has to have tried to work up a bullet load for a Crockett (not round ball).

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Somebody has to have tried to work up a bullet load for a Crockett (not round ball).

Mostly for squirreling, hence a roundy.

 

[Cattman]

if you have to shoot a bullet, do this. size a short soft bullet to 9 thousands under the top of the lands diam. then two wraps of number nine paper, tight dry wrap. fold the ends over the base.. place on top of a 60 thousands wad just in the muzzle and then down on to the powder. shoot about 30 to 50 grains of powder behind this bullet. if it is too loose in the bore, knarl up a little by running it between two clean large flat files. their you are, how to shoot paperpatch. if you have a bullet no longer than two roundballs it should give you what you want. the way i look at it the round ball gives me what i want with 50 grains of powder. that would be a deer load and mountain lion load for one in my yard. otherwise i would shoot 30 grains of powder behind the ball. i have even tried 70 grains of powder and it worked just fine. that would drop any deer or mountain lion that comes around and they do come around where i live.

 

[user 43911]

I tried it with .32 HBWC but they didn't work out. Since I only use patched ball in all guns that's what my Crockett was fed. At 36 yards (this target) 4 shots went into a 3/4" group with a flier, my fault, opening it to 1-1/16"

Did you chrono the HBWC ?, what was the size (.310)?, paper patch ?, I think I'm getting a handle on the problem, have to do some testing for sure, RPS and velocity theory works but no substitute for rounds down range.

 

[user 43911]

Mostly for squirreling, hence a roundy.

But some people want to stretch the distance with accuracy, shoot other game etc.

 

[user 43911]

if you have to shoot a bullet, do this. size a short soft bullet to 9 thousands under the top of the lands diam. then two wraps of number nine paper, tight dry wrap. fold the ends over the base.. place on top of a 60 thousands wad just in the muzzle and then down on to the powder. shoot about 30 to 50 grains of powder behind this bullet. if it is too loose in the bore, knarl up a little by running it between two clean large flat files. their you are, how to shoot paperpatch. if you have a bullet no longer than two roundballs it should give you what you want. the way i look at it the round ball gives me what i want with 50 grains of powder. that would be a deer load and mountain lion load for one in my yard. otherwise i would shoot 30 grains of powder behind the ball. i have even tried 70 grains of powder and it worked just fine. that would drop any deer or mountain lion that comes around and they do come around where i live.

Thanks for the reply, the questions were more a case of what did you do, not how to.
In red, I knew I was making it too complicated
In blue, with this twist two times is too long, the reason the HBWC used by Hanshi did not work out (I think, short some info), the math for RPS and subsequently velocity to get the RPS correct, bullet weight needs to be 78 to 89 grains approximately and length under .500 about, still working on this and probably will just shoot round ball down the road, for now the challenge is on the table.

 

[bigted]

Kinda like this

Is this per chance a plug from a CROCKET?

 

[SDSmlf]

Somebody has to have tried to work up a bullet load for a Crockett (not round ball).

Personally, have used my 32s as a 25 to 35 yard gun with a roundball over 12 grains of 3F Swiss. If I wanted more wack at further distances I believe I would go up to a 36 or 40, possible even 45 caliber. Tried some of the 32 caliber conicals a number of year ago, and to be honest, while they could be accurate, they were a PIA. Kind of like taking a great shooting 22 RF and trying to get 223 performance, at least in my opinion.

 

[user 43911]

Personally, have used my 32s as a 25 to 35 yard gun with a roundball over 12 grains of 3F Swiss. If I wanted more wack at further distances I believe I would go up to a 36 or 40, possible even 45 caliber. Tried some of the 32 caliber conicals a number of year ago, and to be honest, while they could be accurate, they were a PIA. Kind of like taking a great shooting 22 RF and trying to get 223 performance, at least in my opinion.

Kind of over the top (22-223), not the same correlation at all, seen posts in the past of people trying to get more accuracy in the 32 with a conical, many have tried the Maxi that was designed for T/C that has 1 in 30 twist. Yes, we can all get a bigger gun, I'm experimenting with the .32.

So the short answer is your .32 conical loads did not work out and have no info on load work up to add, thanks for the reply anyway.

 

[SDSmlf]

Kind of over the top (22-223), not the same correlation at all, seen posts in the past of people trying to get more accuracy in the 32 with a conical, many have tried the Maxi that was designed for T/C that has 1 in 30 twist. Yes, we can all get a bigger gun, I'm experimenting with the .32.

So the short answer is your .32 conical loads did not work out and have no info on load work up to add, thanks for the reply anyway.

Tried 32 Maxiball in TC Cherokee, Traditions’ Crocket and Pedersoli Scout carbine without much luck. Roundball seemed to be better projectile as far as accuracy in all, at least at 25 yards. Varied powder charges and use of felt wads. Maxiball group size never approached roundball group size, at least at 25 yards. . Doubted accuracy would tighten up or improved past 25 yards, but personally did not test. Would be interested in hearing your results, as I still have a 32 Maxiball mold if I wanted to perform additional testing.

 

[user 43911]

SDSmlf,
If you still have the 3 rifles listed could you measure the bores on them, land and groove depth.
I think they will run 5/6 thousandths for groove depth but I'm not sure, Crockett should be 11 thousandths groove.

 

[gonpce]

Id like to see how this works out, I have a 32 Cherokee I would like to shoot different bullets out of

 

[SDSmlf]

Only have the Pedersoli, but do not recall what is slugs. I’ll try and measure it in the next day or so. As far as shooting it, I use a relatively thin wet patch and ball (#1-1/2 buck) over a dry hard felt wad that is 1/8” thick by .38” diameter. Accurate and can shoot pretty much all day with it.

Have no recollection what the TC measured, but believe the Crocket had about .005” deep grooves. Shot round balls great at 25 yards, usually with all shots touching. Maxiballs, maybe 1”-2” plus on a good day, with some looking like they wanted to keyhole. Gave up on them pretty quick.