100 yards with a .32 cal

[kaintuck]

wow....100yd compititions~ with a 32!

I did shoot one of my buddies at 150yds with a BB gun when we were teenagers.....i was holding way up to get it to drop in on him....and it still stung his ankle! :youcrazy: :surrender:

i have a 32, but have yet to shoot it...GM barrel, and i guess if i overloaded it....it would just blow un-burnt powder out the barrel~

 

[Rifleman1776]

Anyone ever patched a bullet for the 32-20, and used it in a 32 cal. muzzleloader? The 115 grain bullet for the 32-20 is .311 dia. Maybe a paper patched bullet would work. Just wondering.

Not a valid comparison. Balls and elongated bullets are different critters.
A round ball is about as ballistically efficient as a thrown brick. Bigger balls carry energy better than the much lighter small ones.

 

[woodse guy]

Would it be possible that I would need a different lube and patch to be able to shoot at 100 yards. Then what my gun likes for 30 yards?

 

[Semisane]

Would it be possible that I would need a different lube and patch to be able to shoot at 100 yards. Then what my gun likes for 30 yards?

The thing is, woodse guy, if a load is not accurate at 30 yards it will be terrible at longer distances. That's why everyone is telling you to find the most accurate load for your gun at 25/30 yards and go with that.

 

[Richard Brinkman]

Yes it would be possible that a different load will shot a lot better at 100 yards. You will need to spend some time shooting and learning at 100 yards to be sure. You will find that wiping the barrel very consistently and you will need to wipe it every shot. A bigger ball heavier or thicker or maybe a tighter weave will make a difference maybe even Teflon. I don't really care for the stuff myself but I have used it and at 100 yards it is hard to find something that will out shoot it. You'll need to work with the powder charges up and down and pay a great deal of attention to measuring the powder and try to seat the ball and patch with the same pressure every time. And get some wind flags and learn to read them. The Dutch Schoultz method is the best way to go. You are really headed into a world where every little cotton picking thing is very important and it will take some time to learn but when you do it will be very satisfying.

RB

 

[woodse guy]

At 30 yards I can put 3 balls all touching in the target. I have the load at 30 yards but the same load at 100 looks like a shotgun.

 

[don hepler]

I know what you're saying, but addressing the original post, would a conical bullet be the most accurate projectile at 100 yards? If the answer is "Yes", then, would it be possible to paper patch a .311 conical bullet? It just seems like the patched ball, ain't going to work(at 100 yds.), and maybe another style bullet, would be better(if allowed, in the match). The 40 cal. will have the advantage, but he has a .32 so that's, what we have to work with.

 

[galamb]

Looking back at the original post I kinda get the impression that the "squirrel match" is just a few of the guys at the range trying "hail mary" shots with small bore's at a 100 yard target.

If that's the case and nothing more is at stake than a round of beer, then I would say give it a try with a 32.

No, not ideal and have lot's going against you, but hey, I hunt deer with my 40 cal and many would say that is three steps "below ideal".

 

[woodse guy]

It's called a Squirrel Rifle Bench match. 10 pound max on gun 40 caliber max and have to use open sights. Patched round ball only 10 shots at 50 yards and 10 at 100 yards.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Give it a whirl if you'd like. Except for the Cherokees, I don't know how well all the other slower twist rifles would do. After a few times around the Minie/Maxi ride, I started using PRB for everything. If I do my part, balls will do it all. Older I get the simpler I like things. I'd have been ready for a straight jacket after this last season 20 years ago...now it's heart warming and funny. If the old smoothbores and ball & shot can't do it, I'll try again tomorrow. I'm turning into a real, live Old Fart! One of my favorite fishing stories was about a popular author Art Scheck who wrote about meeting the local curmudgeon on a little trout stream in New Jersey. The guy was alwasy there catching fish like a pro. Art said he figured he was an artist in matching the hatch and all the right stuff. When he finally talked to him, turns out he carries a box of all the same fly in different sizes and took the attitude that if the fish bite, fine...if not he told Art, "and if the fish don't feel like biting, they can go to hell. I go home and find a ball game on TV!" I'm becoming the Bastrop County curmudgeon! :wink: :haha:

 

[Bill/Ms.]

You didn't say what the barrel brand is. I have had two different .32 caliber rifles with which I have fired many thousands of rounds in competition, including 100 yards. The first one I used had a Douglas barrel and it liked 30 grains fffg at 25 and 50 yards, and 50 grains fffg at 100 yards. I was using a .323 round ball patched with .017 "plain ticking" lubed with saliva, and it would shoot at 100 yards if you did your part and watched the wind flags. All this shooting was offhand. The second .32 I had was made using a Green Mountain barrel- different twist rate and different steel from the Douglas. After much shooting, I settled on 35 grains ffg, that's right ffg, .323 ball and the same .017 plain ticking lubed with saliva. I used the same powder charge at 25, 50 and 100 yards and just adjusted my sight picture. Both these rifles were extremely accurate at 100 yards, so don't buy into the old BS about a .32 won't shoot at 100 yards. I can tell you it isn't going to with the under bore sized balls.
Be Well,
Bill

 

[Richard Brinkman]

When you are try out your load at 100 yds try to pick the very best day possible and you really need some wind flags even on a what appears to be a calm day. The very first thing that I would do is try some bigger balls if you don't have any .318 -.319 I would be happy to send you some to try out. Back to the wind flags they don't have to be real fancy if nothing else a cloth strip nailed to the top of a wood lath but you will need at least three and four or five would be better. PT sent.

RB

 

[azmntman]

.323 ball and .017 patch is a .34 load in a .32 barrel How difficult is getting that to sit on top the powder?

 

[Bill/Ms.]

It isn't hard to start or to load. I used the same combination for squirrel hunting and never had any problems reloading. Remember we're talking about a relatively minor difference in ball size and SOFT LEAD. What I am shooting now is a .36 caliber green mountain barrel and my best load is 35 grains fffg Swiss, a .360 ball with the old tried and true .017 plain ticking, lube is saliva for target shooting and olive oil for hunting. One thing I have discovered through the years is that just about anything you put down the barrel will shoot okay at 25 yards. It is past 25 yards that the bore sized balls make a difference.
Be Well,
Bill

 

[Rifleman1776]

Would it be possible that I would need a different lube and patch to be able to shoot at 100 yards. Then what my gun likes for 30 yards?

Pretty well answered already. Work up an accurate load for 50 yards and stick with it. Small calibers can be tricky. There is not a lot of room for thick patches, etc. Depending on your rifling cut a very thin patch might be best. But do try with ticking and experiment from there. As said, going to 100 yards will involve learning how much 'kentucky' to over hold on your target to allow for ball drop. Reading wind will also be very critical for you.

 

[woodse guy]

The builder that I bought the gun from didn't remember who the barrel maker was for sure. He said he thought it might be made by Montana Arms.

 

[kingsax26]

As a person who loves the small calibers, you are really shooting well beyond the capability of the bullet. There is just not enough mass in the tiny .32 for it to remained stabalized at 100yds. I wouldnt beat yourself up....you will most likely never get an accurate 100yd load for that .32 The bullit just cant do it. Its kinda like racing a dodge omni down a snowboard half pipe in the middle of a hurricane.....it just wont happen. but ....they are still alot of fun to shoot at that distance to be sure!

 

[azmntman]

I Challenge Alden to a match! (Dodge Omni on Snow!) :blah:

 

[kingsax26]

first you ahve to find 2 dodge omnies that still run! My father had one ...i remember when he sold it it had a wooden 4x4 for a bumper..and multicolored doors. hell that thing would be 30 years old almost..... ahhhh the memories

 

[Bill/Ms.]

You may listen to whom you choose. The Montana barrel will shoot as good as a Green Mountain. When you are shooting at 100 yards, your best friend is velocity. I have seen a 100 yard offhand target shot with a .32 which scored 44 on the NMLRA big bull target. This was shot with a Douglas barreled flintlock. I have personally shot a score of 43 on the same target with my Green Mountain barreled .32. It is all a matter of learning what load to shoot and shooting enough to get good with it.
I really do not care one way or the other if you heed what I have to say, I'm only telling you what I know works- not speculation.
Be Well,
Bill