.32 what to do

[Sean Gadhar]

I blame all of you :grin: , If there hadn’t been all this talk about squirrel guns I’d a been happy with my rimfire. Now I have a Crockett .32 on the way and I need some patch & round ball advice.
Patch: I have pillow tick patch in .018 and dry cotton in .015, but they are sized for .50 cal. does anyone use these larger patches, start the ball and cut the extra patch off? Or is it too much bulk & I need smaller patches?
Round ball: I was thinking .310” is there a brand that has done better for you?
The Rifle should be here in about 10 days & I would like to work up a load, I want to try to get out on rabbits and the season ends the last day of Feb.

 

[pab1]

Both my Crocket rifle and pistol are very accurate with .310 balls and .010 patches. I've been so happy with that combo I have not tried anything else. I have cut down larger (.50/.54) patches to use in mine. I'm not sure if it would make a difference but I didn't want all that extra material in the bore. You're going to love your Crocket! :thumbsup:

 

[Matt85]

the oversized patches wont hurt as long as the patching doesnt get caught on the rod durring loading. i use the same size patching for all my calibers 50 threw 71 and have never noticed a difference in accuracy.

-matt

 

[buford87]

I belive that I would trim the patch after short starting the ball and then load as normal. A .310 ball would be a good place to start and I would suggest a 15 to 20 grain load of FFFg goex powder. Have fun and make good smoke..............watch yer top knot................

 

[Shifty]

Well let me tell you for the price that is a great rifle,you will love it,i think it is good up Coyotes.
I use Hornady .310 RB,pillow tick,and Mink oil lube,15 grns FFFg Black Powder,start the patched ball with the short side of the short starter( I use strips of lubed patch material about 1 1/2" wide for every thing)till ball is just a little below flush with muzzel gather patch material give a slight twist trim with patch knife,then use long side of short starter push ball down farther then seat with ram rod.I get dime size groups a 25 yds good for squirrel . Then for bigger stuff I use 30 grns FFFg BP 1" plus groups at 25 yds.That is just what I do but maybe you can get an idea from this.I also have used single O buck shot they are not as accurate weights vary a lot in them.I would like to try a 40 cal some day but they are harder to find. Shifty

 

[Spikebuck]

When I had mine (just sold it here) I used .310 Hornady RB and .010 patch and 20 gr 3F for best results with me shooting it. Have fun!

 

[hoochiepapa]

Yep, .310 ball, .010 muslin patches cut at muzzle, mink oil, and 20 grs. FFF.

 

[buttonbuck]

the forementioned load works good in the crockett pistol. I have an IBS 32 by green mountain on a 54 hawken stock, heavy but points good. The crockett rifle was my first choice but 125 for the barrel and 175 for the hawken made the choice for me.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Use those patches by short starting them and trimming off the exta. As mentioned before, the jag or ramrod tip can grab that extra patch material and pull the ball up partially when you remove the rod. GW

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Thanks for all the Ideas, I'm getting an assortment of patchs & a Loading block from TOTW.
Thought I would try trimming .50 cal patchs on the block. When gun & gear get here I'm thinking I'll burn some pto & try to get a snow shoe or two. :grin:

 

[Squeeze]

The problem with most of the .32's available today is they all have a 1-48 rate of twist. on almost all of them, this requires a load of 20-30 grains of powder + for best accuracy. On a squirrel, for anything less than a headshot, a load that big will about blow a squirrel in two and spoil a lot of useable meat. One of the better .32's was the old TC cherokee with a twist of 1-30 allowing you to load down to 15grns and still have great accuracy to 20-30 yards.

 

[Shifty]

My 32cal Crockett is the most accurate with 15 grns FFFg BP more than that and the groups start to open up, but you know I'm not sure what the twist really is I have never checked it.

 

[longrifle32]

Welcome to the club! :thumbsup:

 

[Rev_William]

I have the crockett, Twist is 1-48" I get best results 15-30 grs trip 7, all I have on hand right now, I don't really see a difference in accuracy til beyond about 50 yds then would go with 30 grs or if I know I may have a chance of larger varmints like coyote or raccoon out to 30-40 yds. I use the hornady prb right now but have some mini's from TOW I haven't had a chance to try out yet

 

[Blake]

Try a maxi ball and 20gr 3f

 

[ryoung14]

Get some .010" patches. They'll save you a broken ramrod. I use the .310 ball over anywhere from 10 to 20 gr. of Pyrodex P. 15 grs. is about ideal.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I have .010, .015, &.018 in my TOTW order, Dang TOTW always gets in my pocket :v: :rotf: