First 32 caliber.

Found a pretty nice T.C. Cherokee in 32 caliber for what I considered a decent price. I have heard that the 32 caliber can be somewhat persnikity to load and shoot. Any loading and shooting tips will be appreciated. Pretty sure a range/cleaning rod will be a must as original is wood.

I have pedersoli 32 and it shoots well but likes to be swabed after every other shot.

Have several 32 Cherokees and you will love shooting your new rifle. My every day shooter loads easily with either 12 grains Swiss 3F or 15 Grains Goex 3f with a .010 patch lightly lubed with Hoppes BP Lube and a .315 cast or swaged ball. Both powders work really well and I use Goex because I was gifted a large quantity and it lets me shoot for free. As far as patches all of my rifles use either .010 or .015 cotton patches from Eastern Maine Shooting Supply and I order them a thousand at a time. I use a short starter then wooden rod with no issues.Just use short strokes on the ram rod gripping it about six inches up from the barrel. As far as swabbing I am kind of a middle of the road Guy. If using wetter patches I can shoot all day without swabbing but have gotten best accuracy swabbing after each shot and using a lightly lubed patch.I swab with a spit patch using Zonies method of wet the patch, slide slowly down barrel , let sit for a few seconds and then pull out in one swift motion. Do not pump the swab up and down or you will force fouling into breech. Next dry patch and reload.If you have any pitting or rough patches in the barrel definitely swab as these hold fouling. When developing your load start at 12 grains and work your way up 1 or 2 grains till you get dialed in I have talked to others who shoot as much as 30 grains. I like to keep about a one inch group at 30 yards so don't need a lot of velocity. Good luck with your new rifle if you have any questions feel free to PM me I love talking about and shooting Cherokee and Seneca rifles in the smaller calibers 32/36.

You can't go wrong with a .32 for small game hunting. As stated above, start off with 10-15 grains, and work your way up to a load that prints tight groups at the range you most commonly shoot at small game. The Cherokee has a 1: 30something twist, so it can shoot conicals if so desired. I have 5 .32s, and they all have their preferences for loads, patches and ball size. You will have to experiment, but the .32 is very economical to shoot, and a lot of fun. Enjoy your new rifle.

I have several 32s and they differ in their preferences. The Cherokee likes a 10 or 15 grain load, the Crockett rifle and pistol do better with 20 to 25 grains. I use .310 balls with .015 patches lubed with Hoppe's 9 Plus BP lube for all of them. Time to experiment. I don't hunt anymore so I just use a range rod for all shooting at the bench and for cleaning. I also have a Green Mountain drop in barrel for a Renegade but I don't use it much except with a rest at the bench. It's a 32" barrel, 1 inch across the flats, and weighs a ton compared to the Cherokee and Crockett. I seem to recall it did better with 30 to 35 grain loads but that is an old memory.

The 32 is a satisfying caliber. No recoil to speak of, mine are very accurate, and I like the idea of getting several hundred shots out of a pound of Goex 3F.

Jeff

I've owned 2 .32 rifles and found them to be no trouble to load or shoot. Mine shot well with just about everything I pushed down the bore.