maybe parent case availability, I know some are based on the 357Max case and others use a standard 357 case.  The Journal and the website here have both had articles/discussions on the Miller/Dell that tend to be pretty intense loads better suited for the newer stronger actions

also maybe "just because I can"   Most of the guys who are playing this game are inveterate tinkerers and tweakers and 'ginning up your own  case is part of the fun.

Re: the Basset,  I'm assuming that it's something Marlin cooked up and probably has an interesting history.

ST, the 30 32-20 referenced earlier uses the standard 32-20 cartridge case, but a .308" barrel.  I decided to use it when I built my Ruger No. 3 because a:  I had the barrel, and it was paid for, b:  I had a bunch of decent .30 caliber bullet molds, and c:  it had similar case capacity to the various short .32 cartridges like the Miller, and I could use that load data as a starting point in my load development.  As was said, the short cases do develop more pressure, and must not be used in weaker actions such as the Ballard or Low Wall Winchesters.   

David Kaiser
Montezuma, IA

Well here goes with what I think I know.
John Merz made the 32-30 IMP from almost full length 357 Max because it's easier to handle and maybe because he thought the 32 MS was too short. I agree and think his cartridge is about ideal for our kind of shooting.
Dave Stahl made the 32 Basset from full length 357 Max with a neck (kind of like running 357 Max into a shortened 32 Special die) so he could shoot fixed ammunition for offhand. He felt the advantage of the speed & convenience of fixed offset the advantage of accuracy gained from breachseating when shooting offhand. Since he has shot better targets offhand than some people can off the bench, it's hard to argue. He named it 32 Basset because Bass was always trying to get fixed ammo to shoot as good as breachseated, so that when conditions were right you could send those bullets into the center quickly while the condition held.
Hope I have not muddied the water too much; I welcome correction.

Fritz'
Off the top of my head I think 1.6", but John can confirm that.

Jeff, Fizt, Set-Trigger
I developed the 32-30 IMP after a particularly frustrating weekend of shooting a High Wall that I had chambered in 32 X .357 Dell. The case is just too short! The only way that I could load the rifle was to set the case on top of the block and partially raise the block until I could poke the Dell case into the chamber then lower the block and seat the case then raise the block and fire then start all over again. What A pain. It dawned on me that what was needed was a case that was a little longer so you could hold the case and start it into the chamber, but still short enough so that a double charge would be evident. 
  When I got home I decided to design a case that would meet my needs. I was aware that Dale Reynolds was using a 32-30 Remington on a .30 barrel and was starting to see some success. I thought that something along those lines, only in true .32 and adjusted for length so the much cheaper .357 Max brass could be used for a parent case would be what I was after. I took a .357 Max shell and ran it up into a 32-30 Rem. form die, then expanded the case mouth to a true 32. What I ended up with was a case that appeared to have no shoulder but if you ran your thumb over it you could feel a slight bump. I knew that the shoulder that was left had no real function and would just make a reamer grinder nuts so I set the case down to think. I just happened to set the new case next to one of my Dell cases and while I was thinking on what to do it hit me. The new case and the Dell case were very similar; the new case was just longer. I ran the new case through a Dell trim die and let the neck just come out the top. Then I trimmed it to 1.600” to clean up the neck and viola the 32-30 Imp was born. It could be made up from stuff I already had and it met all the criteria that I had set when I started to conceive the project. I tweaked a few things when I drew the reamer print and had one ground. It has been successful and a few friends have asked

Probably for the same reason[s] there are as many variations of choice in modern centerfire BR, some guys want to shoot something different.

So I guess what you guys are saying is that after all the years of modern Schuetzen shooting there is no "go to" cartridge like the modern Bench Rest shooters have ( 6 PPC ),  and if a shooter is looking for smokeless powder accuracy in a Schuetzen Rifle all he has to do is pick one of the short 32's and have at it, no matter how much guys beat there drum about how much more accurate there cartridge is over some other cartridge no one cartridge is really any better than any other one when it comes to accuracy. 

So if I was to have a CPA Schuetzen Type Rifle built it would not make any difference if it was done up in a 32 Miller Short or a 32 Dell, or any other short 32 like a 32-20, as they would all shoot the same accuracy wise in the same match barrel. I thought for sure that after all these years there would be a special "go to" Schuetzen cartridge. Thanks for all the input guys. Now all I have to do is decide which short one to pick.

  S T