pahntr760

I have my grand daddys .32 winchester special and have great difficulty finding ammo. Usually i cant find it at all. So with that said, I had planed on reloading some for it. And with THAT said, i have found a die set but not too much as way of bullets. i do have some brass and i wam not too worried about that, but with no pills available, i dont know what much to do. I plan on limiting the use of that rifle as i have enough others. But i do want to take it on a planned caribou hunt in about '08-'09. (i seperate from the military in '09, so i will have more time that) but i doo want to keep in practice with it till then. Any information will help. Thanks in advance.

handloader1

Speer makes a 170 gr. FNSP (item# 2259). Data is available in the "Speer Reloading Rifle & Pistol Manual" Number 12 under .32 Winchester Special. Good luck.

Pop!

170 gr Hornady

bronko22000

pahntr, midwayusa has both brass and bullet for you. good luck on your future caribou hunt. That old 32 should handle a caribou.

pahntr760

Yea, I think it will do quite well. I just want to hunt with it because of the history behind that rifle, with it being my grand daddys and all. It is sure fun to shoot!!

biscuit jake

That's a keeper. I had a chance to buy an old one in good shape. Had the money too, passed it up.

(Biscuit beats head on wall.)

eldeguello

It looks like Hornady and Speer both still make 170-grain bullets. Go on e-bay ro one of the gun auction sites to see if you can pick some up reasonably. Or, go to GRAF'S, MIDWAY, Midsouth, Cabela's, etc., and order some. You can also order brass this way.

For brass, you can always use .30/30 cases necked up to hold .321" bullets.

If you feel like casting some bullets, you can get moulds for .321"-.323" bullets in a number of different weights, if you want to shoot something other than a 170-grain bullet.

Actually, in .32 Win. Special, there is no need for jacketed bullets, as the cast ones can be shot at over 2200 FPS with no problems at all.......

(The only caribou I ever shot was shot at around 420 yards with a .308 Norma Magnum. If you use a.32 Spec. for caribou, I hope you can sneak up to within bow hunting range! They are often shot at pretty good distances, and the .32 Spec. is a woods-distance rifle, generally speaking...)

pahntr760

I realize this is not the ideal gun for the caribou. I just really want to use it in sort of memory of my grandfather. I will be taking my 7 mag along too, but I feel confident within 75-100 yds with this gun. Am I over confident? I can hold about 4-5" at 100 yds. I don’t think this gun has enough juice to be efficient after the 100 yd line. What do you all think?

eldeguello

If you are willing to limit your shots on caribou with the .32 Special to 150 yards or less, I see no reason to think that you're being overconfident! Since you'll have the 7 Mag. along too, you can use that for any long-range shooting. If you don't think it is being too disrespectful, you might consider putting a good aperture rear sight (like the Williams Foolproof) on that .32 Special, and maybe aSourdoughblade sight http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=20507&title=SOURDOUGH+FRO NT+SIGHT on the front.

With such a combination, I can still shoot pretty well with iron sights, and I have actually seen some Model 94 Winchesters that would shoot considerably under 4"-5" at 100 yards! But those were .30/30's with a 1/12" rifling twist, whereas the 32 Specials were all rifled the same as a .32/40 - 1/16". This twist is marginal for 170-grain bullets, and a little wear can make a 32 Spec. shoot looser groups. If you could find some good flatnose 150-grain bullets of the correct diameter (.321"), they might just give you tighter groups from your barrel. In addition, a 150-grain bullet could be driven faster, so would shoot flatter, extending your range a little.

Good lucj=k! Caribou are great game animals! Good eating too!

pahntr760

He put a 4X Bushnell on it a few year before he passed. I honestly don’t use the scope other then to count tines. (4 on a side in my county) I find the iron sights to be more reliable, especially at the 50 yd shots! I was thinking of upgrading the iron sights, but i think i want to keep just as he had it. I plan on getting my first tag filled with the 7 mag, then try with the old 32.


I've found two fifferent, but very close measurements. is this gun .321 or .323? I cant find any 150's in the .321 only .323

One site even classes the .323 as '8 mm/32 cal'

Whats the Deal!?!?!