How is a .32 for target work?

[Widows Son]

I’ve got my eye on a .32 flintlock by Dixie Gun Works with a Miroku barrel. It’s got some age on it but seems to have been cared for.

All that I foresee using it for is target shooting (paper and swinging silhoutte). I’ve never had such a small caliber muzzleloader and I’ve read that they are comparable to the rimfire .22 in performance and energy.

If anyone has any experience with a .32, can it reliably hit targets out to 100 metres? I would think that wind would be a definite factor at any distance.

Thank you for your consideration

 

[ronaldrothb49]

.32's are nice plinking rifles don't use up much powder or lead. Good squirrel guns. Past 50 yards the wind tends to really mess with them.

 

[Kansas Jake]

My experience is similar to Ronald’s. They are a blast to shoot. At 100 meters with wind you will need to be really good at reading the wind.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I've had one since the 70's and it's a lot of fun to shoot. It is pretty destructive to a rabbit with a body shot using 20 gr. FFF. The other downside is that for shooting steel targets it doesn't ring them very loud or move the heavy gongs so it can be hard to tell a hit.

 

[BoomStick]

A 32 does well, for me, 25-50 yards. Beyond 50 I can get on paper but it's generally all over the target.
Tons of fun to shoot, but not a long range gun.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

I’ve shot woods walks with them and you won’t see or hear much from a 4” steel target, otherwise they work fine and are fun to shoot.

 

[sheriff john]

Once had the Dixxie .32 southern mountain rifle. Original ramrods are limber, but flimsy. Broke one off a ways inside the barrel, had to shoot it out by dribbling powder into the drum. Postage on the replacement was quite high.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Farther than 25 yards you will have wind problems for target work. The tiny caliber gunk up quickly. Wood ramrods are flat out dangerous to use as they have no strength, a Delrin would be best but hard to find. I used to sell Delrin rods but never had any that small because the demand for them was almost zero.

 

[R Ellis]

I have shot one a lot and do not have any gum up problems but maybe because I use good lubed patches and real black also swab after a few shots .Seems a lot of folks do have problems with buildup also dont really shoot them past 50 yards

 

[IanH]

I enjoy mine quite a bit, in fact for "woodswalks" and close target shooting (15-40 yards) it is my hands-down favorite. I use a hickory rammer turned down to .305", .018" spit patches, and .312" soft lead balls. 20 grains of homemade black, ungraphited. I have no ramming problems and no buildup, I wipe when I'm done shooting, which may be more than 30 shots. It's basically a .22 Long muzzleloader but the RB does fade out past 75 yards or so.

 

[French Colonial]

Opinions, opinions, opinions.

When first starting out I built a 32 with parts from Dixie and for a couple of years I used it for everything because that is all I had.

Loading for multiple shots in a row will depend entirely on the depth of rifling, the size of the ball, patch thickness and lube being used.

The Douglas barrel I have has pretty deep rifling and I have used a .310 ball after some experimentation, a pillow ticking patch and have always used a spit patch after blowing down the barrel in that particular gun and accuracy has been outstanding. It has a Hadaway lock that is very quick and it is deadly on squirrels.

As others have said, out to 50 yards or so it is very reliable but much further and wind becomes an issue and ringing steel past that is frustrating because even if you hit the target it is hard to hear the impact. Ask me how I know.

The rifle has the original hickory ramrod (dang thing is over 40 years old!), I am one of the lucky ones that through multiple guns and thousands of loadings I have never broken a ramrod and other than an 1803 hickory is all I have ever used.

All that being said, for target work I will ASSUME you will go to 75-100 yards and a 40 caliber is better suited to that kind of work. For the squirrel woods, nothing works better than a .32.

And that is MY opinion.

 

[garypl]

Agree with @French Colonial - my .32 rifles were hard to load after 4-5 shots when target shooting, but I started using a 1/8" Durofelt wad soaked in olive oil (and then squeeze out excess) over the powder and then use a wet patch when loading and I can shoot all afternoon with no fouling buildup.

 

[Mulemauler]

Have to agree with most comments about they being fun at reasonably close ranges, past 50 yards that little pill really loses energy and affected by wind. They also tend to foul very quickly so swabbing every couple of shots is needed. Get yourself a metal range rod with a muzzle guide and leave that skinny rod in the gun for show.

 

[Nick_of_time]

On a good day my built-from-parts .36 drives tacks. I've cloverleafed 4 shots at 50 yds. Like others say, it's a hoot to shoot, although it does foul quickly. My local matches are occasionally out to 100 yards at both paper and gongs. The gongs are the problem. The bullet is too light to hear the clang out past 50 yards. I need a small audience for the long shots. If nobody sees dirt fly, then I get credit for a hit. Also, larger calibers have an advantage for fun matches like cutting playing cards, or cutting a ball on an axe head. That said, a can of powder lasts a long time

 

[Absoroka]

My experience is similar to French Colonial. My 32 has a Douglas barrel and was built in the late 70's. It will still out shoot me. I am still using the original hickory ramrod. Hoppes #9+ has been my go to lube for pillow ticking patches. It will knock over silhouettes out to 75 yards with some consistency, but I shoot a heavy charge that produces 2000 fps at the muzzle. Absolutely fun to shoot.

 

[Wes]

I’ve got my eye on a .32 flintlock by Dixie Gun Works with a Miroku barrel. It’s got some age on it but seems to have been cared for.

All that I foresee using it for is target shooting (paper and swinging silhoutte). I’ve never had such a small caliber muzzleloader and I’ve read that they are comparable to the rimfire .22 in performance and energy.

If anyone has any experience with a .32, can it reliably hit targets out to 100 metres? I would think that wind would be a definite factor at any distance.

Thank you for your consideration

Never owned a 32 cal. but the small caliber rifles interest me. I do have a 36 Cal. T. C. Seneca and it was a blast to shoot but required swabbing the barrel after a few shots with black powder, Pyrodex P helped considerably with that and I could shoot longer without swapping.