32/20 in 30 cal carbine Blackhawk

I read somewhere that its possible to shoot/use 32/20 ammo in a 30 cal, carbine Blackhawk, My question, is this possible , any thoughts Thanks

Yes that's correct, but only in the new models.

Ruger's NM .30 Carbine Blackhawk will shoot off the shelf .32-20, no re-chambering needed. If you reload, you can even reload 32-20 in .30 Carbine dies and the case necks will not be worked as much. Use a .32-20 shell holder. There's a difference in bullet diameters, .312" vs. .308" but they shoot with fine accuracy.
They will tend to raise pressure slightly in the smaller .308" barrel diameter although of no consequence in the robust Ruger cyl and way under its max pressure limits. And you may have some leading with lead bullets depending on hardness.

If you reload you can use .308 bullets too.

Even though the .30 Carbine is a rimless round it's a good thing the NM lets the .30 case head stick out more than just the rim thickness since the .32-20 rim is .016" thicker.

.32-20 cannot be fired in OM Ruger .30 Carbine guns as is. The chambers seat the .30 carbine rim flush, so the rimmed 32-20 case head won't fit in the end of the chamber. A simple recess cut in the chambers to the .061" thickness of the .32-20 rim is needed in the OM chambers or facing off the rear of the cylinder .061", will fix that.

Thanks Jim That firms it up in my mind, NM Blackhawk in 30 cal carbine next purchase,

I shoot 32-20 in my 30 Carbine all the time, works great.

ThomTender said:

Thanks Jim That firms it up in my mind, NM Blackhawk in 30 cal carbine next purchase,

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Are you familiar with the Convertible "Buckeye Sports" Blackhawks made a long time ago? 32 H&R Mag/32-20? They're for sale often and usually new in box. With a 327 Reamer the 32 cyl can be converted to also shoot the 327 Fed Mag, reamed by hand in about 10 minutes.

Unless of course you specifically want something that shoots 30 carbine.

For sale here on this forum as a pair: http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=258004

I found a NM 30 Carbine cylinder that fit my OM Carbine and shot 32-20's in the OM with that setup. Bought a Buckeye thinking I'd put the 32-20 cylinder in the OM, but that cylinder was shorter then the NM 30 Carbine cylinder, so that didn't work. Got a cylinder from Brownell's and had it reamed to 32-20 and now have a OM 32-20 with the right cylinder; but also put a barrel off a NM 327 Blackhawk on it, that I found on Gunbroker, screwed right in, same threads and all.
HH

Cool! So now you have a blue old model 30 carbine with convertible 32-20 cyl and stainless 5 1/2" barrel. Get another cyl from Brownells, ream to 327 Fed Mag and you can also shoot 32 Long, 32 H&R Mag and 327 FM!

I have a new model 30 carbine that numbers to 1975, but it won't fully chamber a 32-20 enough to turn the cyl. The cyl. etching is the same 3 as the serial #last 3. Have I got an old model cyl or is the chamber just short? :?:

Domino300 said:

I have a new model 30 carbine that numbers to 1975, but it won't fully chamber a 32-20 enough to turn the cyl. The cyl. etching is the same 3 as the serial #last 3. Have I got an old model cyl or is the chamber just short? :?:

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It's very likely that although your 1975 30 carbine Blackhawk is a new model, it was shipped with a left over OM cyl. That's pretty common in the early 1970s.

.32-20 cannot be fired in OM Ruger .30 Carbine cyls. The chambers seat the .30 carbine rim flush, so the rimmed 32-20 case head won't fit in the mouth of the chamber. A simple recess cut in the chambers to the .061" thickness of the .32-20 rim is needed in the OM chambers or facing off the rear of the cylinder .061", will fix that. Of course 30 carbine will still chamber properly, just like they do in the NM cyls.