I have been going in circles with this cartridge for 5 years. Broken cases, poor performance one day and good the next. Mostly poor days. I am ready to re-barrel  my gun and move on. Is there anyone with REAL first hand knowledge That has spent the hours that I have spent on this cartridge That can say different? Yes I am sure somebody knows someone who did great with it....... What I want is to shoot a single case all day long that will hold up and is tried and true. Not a case that gets 6 or so firings and then it's scrap. I have found no consistency with this chambering. I was mislead by someone I trusted when I picked this cartridge. What a MISTAKE!
Let someone Challenge me on this with real proof that I am wrong. The 32-20 chambered for a Schuetzen rifle is as use full as Hillary Clinton. 32-20 YOUR FIRED!   

boho wrote on Nov 20^th, 2016 at 8:48am:


Can't say I've done "great," but my cases (old WW & Rem) have been fired many more times than that without splitting.  Most recently have been using 14g/4227, pretty stiff, nor is the accuracy anything to shout about--3 MOA on a good day.

However, I certainly did not "choose" this cartridge! It came as the "downside" of a very nice High-Wall that a dealer had been hauling to shows for a year without serious interest, and finally sold to me for "what he had in it."  (So the BSer claimed!) 

Strangely enough, .32WCF is supposed to be THE most common chambering in this model, though damned if I understand why. Maybe being also a popular revolver cartridge had something to do with it, and at one time Winchester (falsely) promoted it as that mythical "all-around" cartridge, suitable for both small & large game.

George Babits wrote on Nov 20^th, 2016 at 9:59am:


Any one powder you prefer?  4227 is the clear favorite in the 45th ed. Lyman, but not even mentioned in Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook!  Have always been leery of small charges of fast-burning powders, but my disappointing results prompt me to reconsider.

The 4th. Edition of Lyman's cast bullet handbook lists 4227 for rifle loads, but, strangely not for pistol loads.

Original Win LW 32-20s have been my favorite small game and turkey rifles for decades. 4227 in 13-14gr amounts has been best grouping powder, with 4759 about as good but for lighter loads. Best grouping bullets have been 0,313" jacketed - 100-115gr, IDEAL 3118, Saeco 322 and LBT 135gr LFN GC. 1,0MOA 100yd 3-shot groups are commonly acheived with good scope. I don't bother with any other powders any more. Shots are normally under 100M, with 130M or so practical max in field. Never shots for groups at longer ranges. Neck size only and use minimal crimp, if any. Starline and Remington cases only.

Grisen

The .32-20-115 is actually a fairly good choice "all around" if one presupposes the shooter is a careful hunter and a good shot.  The loading is too powerful, strictly speaking for small game, but the careful hunter will take head shots at small game distances and negate this problem.  It is not powerful enough for large game, strictly speaking, but the rancher or farmer or woods loafer who knows his territory and can stalk close can overcome this shortfall in the cartridge as well.  The same thing for varmints; 200 yard shots won't work, but a careful stalk and shot will.

Mattern (in the 1920's) remarked that the .32-20 was once the most popular cartridge for handloading because more shots could be fired in its blackpowder loading before cleaning was needed than any other.  He said it was a good 150 yard hunting cartridge, but groups on target were typically spoiled by a flyer or two.  This last has been my experience as well, with a Low Wall and a Savage 23.  The overall economy in loading the cartridge is also quite an advantage.

In the past, somebody who was mutating a cartridge for some reason or another always modestly put his name on whatever the new (and "improved") version was.  Why has the hapless .32-20 been denied this shift of blame?  If the weird specialty twists, bore diameters, extended length bullets and increased pressure versions were called the ".32 Klanghonk Express" or something, then we could be saying that that was the bad cartridge all-around.  "(*Sob, sob*), Leave the .32-20 alone!!" 

Well thanks for all that.I must explain I guess. That I AM NOT HAND LOADING and not shooting fixed ammo. I thought we were mostly Schuetzen guys. My bullets are BS and are .30 (.309") 190grain. I am not hunting or shooting a Pistol. So can we agree that for 200yd Schuetzen type shooting this cartridge sucks. So someone Jan,shot a 250 with it but at what expense I can only guess. Don't expect the same results if you plan to shoot it. So  moving on would it even be possible to re-bore a .309" barrel to .321"? And who is doing it. 

Maybe the accuracy problems are due to your shooting a .309 bullet when the groove diameter is usually .311 - .312?  Other than that, trying to make a 32-20 into a 32-40 won't work from a lot of what I've read here.  Like trying to make Hillary into a good president, we had sense enough not to do that and went with a better caliber for the job.

JS