Today I stopped in at a local gunshop, just looking, you understand.  The four people there were deep in discussion, and after a few minutes, one said"If you se anything you like behind the counter, just come around and look at it."  Now, That's a gun shop!

There were three rifles that reall caught my eye... a Stevens 44, a Winchester 1885 low wall, and a Remington #4 Rolling Block.  All in very good + condition, all attractively priced.  Also, all chambered for the same cartridge... 32 Long Rim Fire.

Ammunition is out there, although very expensive.  You know where I'm heading with this... would it be a crime (or worse) to convert any of these fine rifles to CF as in 32-20?

Ed

Where is this Gun store? Pete

You could convert these cute little .32 long RF rifles to an available CF cartridge, but I'd urge you not to. Aside from historical interest, manufacturers had their own ideas about what the proper bore size should be for .32 RF. I own several in both RF and CF and the bores range from .3065" to .315". I was once sent a Ballard with a .3065" bore chambered in 32-40. I returned it with an explanation as to why it was a poor idea and a potential bomb.

What to do? Slug the bore, measure the chamber, and get a stock of .32 S&W Long brass, .32 H&R Mag. brass, and if you can find it, .327 Fed. Mag. brass. The brass will have to be reduced in size (swaged and lathe turned) to between .324" to .317" depending on the chamber size. Heeled bullet moulds are available from some mould makers in sizes that fit odd bores or that require minimum sizing. I swage some bullet bases to make them into heeled designs. Boring out a .32 Long Colt die set might be necessary too. The chamber length and the bullet design will determine which brass to use. CF is no problem - get everything the right size, pick a very conservative load to start with, and experiment. VERY CONSERVATIVE!!!

For RF, take the sized cases, drill out the primer pocket, and chamber with a match RF chamber reamer, offsetting as necessary to allow a good firing pin strike on the .22 rimfire case stuck in what is now a chamber adapter. Again, start with VERY CONSERVATIVE loads. Low end target loads for the .32 S&W Long will work to begin with, but considering the age of these old guns, black powder pressures shouldn't be exceeded. BP substitutes are workable if you can't get the real stuff, but the small bores may foul pretty quickly.

After putting the time in making the right sized brass, you'll find that the low pressures will keep resizing to a minimum, so your investment will be worthwhile. You'll also have the satisfaction of shooting your old gun with something close to the old .32 RF Long or Extra Long. Have fun.

Those same three guns have been there for well over a year! I bet I've been behind the counter looking at all of them several times. The 1885 is actually beginning to be a fair price since it's been there the longest at around two years. Thought it was too high priced a couple years ago, but not so much now.

Go to Gunbroker and enter 327 brass.  There are two auctions up right now.  No relation to the auction, for info purposes only, and as Froggy would say, YMMV.

David