.32 S&W long

[Rick Courtright]

While leading problems may not typically be associated with powder burn rates, I don't have any reason to believe that the wrong pressure curve for the bullet hardness would result in anything but unsatisfactory results.

Hi,

Nik, are you familiar with the old rule of thumb pressure formula to help avoid leading? It's designed to ensure the bullet obturates properly, at least assuming the bullet's sized correctly for the throats/barrel of the gun being used. It's a simple one:

BHN x 1422 = PSI required. So, for example, we have a bullet of hardness (BHN) 15. Multiplied by 1422, we get 21330. So... we need to be loading to approx 21kpsi or above to get that bullet to bump up properly. Once it does that, blowby is reduced/eliminated, which gets rid of a lot of leading problems (not ALL, but probably most.)

Now, let's say that bullet is a 158 gr, .358" type. It can be used in both the .38 Spl and .357 Mag. Going by the formula, there could easily be problems at .38 level loadings, while the .357 should be fairly clean. None of this is carved in stone, but it's something to keep in mind.

Rick C

 

[NikA]

Rick,
I am familiar with that formula. Unfortunately, it doesn't really explain why I'd be having problems with 18BHN bullets in .40S&W and .45LC with Longshot. 40 is a 35ksi cartridge, so it should have plenty of pressure; the 45LC loads were Ruger only and should have been good as well. The leading was also much less in 10mm with the same bullets and Unique. I have heard, but not confirmed myself, that high nitroglycerine content powders can burn hot enough to melt bases and cause leading. Perhaps this is a related issue. Perhaps it is a bullet fit issue, but that seems unlikely in multiple guns in multiple calibers. In any case, for the time being I'll keep the Longshot for plated or jacketed loads and use other powders for the cast. I'm only in for a pound and Longshot makes decent midrange .357M loads so it won't go unused.

 

[Cheesewhiz]

I've tried Longshot at first for both hardcast and bare extruded lead in 9mm and found it to be less than spectacular. If the load didn't lead, it didn't burn completely or it leaded up with gusto. It was only after I tried it in .45 ACP that I found it a good powder to make some higher velocity loads. I didn't notice a ton of leading in .45 with hardcast but I found the loads worked best with a 200gr Hornady XTP and Montana Gold JFP bullets. I also found like many have, it's a good .357 powder. I would think it would be a good powder for .45 LC so I am surprised with your findings so far.

 

[Cheesewhiz]

Evaluating the load that 5of7 offers with QuickLOAD reveals that his numbers are good and the calculated pressure is very safe if you are shooting the rounds out of a .32 H&R revolver.

Pete, Mr. Blowy McBlownup is quoting a old E.K. load that had been around for a long time with many knowledgeable people saying that it's not safe to use in a .32 S&W Long revolver, even an 'I' series pistol which is not a .32 H&R Mag revolver. The guy pulls crap off the internet and then defends it by saying "you have to start low" but his quoted finished loads are almost always on the edge of oblivion.

 

[5of7]

Pete, Mr. Blowy McBlownup is quoting a old E.K. load that had been around for a long time with many knowledgeable people saying that it's not safe to use in a .32 S&W Long revolver, even an 'I' series pistol which is not a .32 H&R Mag revolver. The guy pulls crap off the internet and then defends it by saying "you have to start low" but his quoted finished loads are almost always on the edge of oblivion.

I think this post illustrates why Chicago is known as "the windy city" :roll:

 

[Del J]

There is a article in the current copy of Handloaders magazine #303 on reloading 32 S&W long and 32 H&R Mag.
Del J

 

[5of7]

There is a article in the current copy of Handloaders magazine #303 on reloading 32 S&W long and 32 H&R Mag.
Del J

There have been quite a number of articles on the .32 S&W Long over the years. Here is one of them:

http://www.lasc.us/fryxellthe32s-wlong.htm

As I said early on in this thread, it matters more what one shoots his handloads in than anything else.

Now, It would not be wise to shoot 20K loads in a gun that was not produced in the modern era or in some Saturday night Special that sold for 29.95, but in a good modern handgun--like the Single Six certainly is--it is not a problem getting a 100 gr. SWC up to 1000 fps with this cartridge and the proper powder.

Now there are those who really shouldn't be handloading beyond written instructions in the first place, because they haven't the necessary experience and reasoning ability to do so, but that aside, the rest of us can proceed with little to fear. 8)

 

[Cheesewhiz]

There have been quite a number of articles on the .32 S&W Long over the years. Here is one of them:

http://www.lasc.us/fryxellthe32s-wlong.htm

Kind of made my point right there, thanks. You jumped on this thread about a specific powder with some load that you grabbed off the internet using another entirely different powder, do you have any experience with Longshot powder at all?
At least the guy in your link gave E.K. some credit for some load that you claim as your own.
I remember you one time claiming to work up loads for a small 9mm on a thread started by someone else about factory ammo and what works for his gun and you posted some crap that was all +P or more for sure and the gun in question wasn't even rated for +P but you argued that I was wrong for pointing it out.
Another time you screwed up and posted loads from some old manual to prove some dumb point using Alton Powder but you thought it was Accurate Powder loads for Christ's sake. You must really be on some mission to destroy someone else's gun.

I don't question your reloading knowledge, I deny its very existence.

 

[5of7]

There have been quite a number of articles on the .32 S&W Long over the years. Here is one of them:

http://www.lasc.us/fryxellthe32s-wlong.htm

Kind of made my point right there, thanks. You jumped on this thread about a specific powder with some load that you grabbed off the internet using another entirely different powder, do you have any experience with Longshot powder at all?
At least the guy in your link gave E.K. some credit for some load that you claim as your own.
I remember you one time claiming to work up loads for a small 9mm on a thread started by someone else about factory ammo and what works for his gun and you posted some crap that was all +P or more for sure and the gun in question wasn't even rated for +P but you argued that I was wrong for pointing it out.
Another time you screwed up and posted loads from some old manual to prove some dumb point using Alton Powder but you thought it was Accurate Powder loads for Christ's sake. You must really be on some mission to destroy someone else's gun.

I don't question your reloading knowledge, I deny its very existence.

Spoken like a true neophyte.

First, the load I posted in this thread is a load that I personally worked up in one of my personal revolvers chambered for the .32 S&W Long. Now, if someone else developed the same load at some point in the past, who would be surprised by that? But that aside, I can pretty much guarantee that whoever did so did not use the same revolver that I did, and, as is well known, each and every gun is a law unto itself.

A more experienced handloader would know that. :lol:

As to the "other thread" you may be referring to the thread in which you took issue with my statement about polishing the feed ramp and the breech face. In that thread, you were trying to make the case that a bullet that matched the groove diameter of the barrel it was fire in was oversize.....which is ridiculous. :lol:

And yes, I have used a good deal of Longshot. I buy it in 8 pound jugs, shooting most of it in 20 ga. and 28 ga. skeet guns, but I have used it to good advantage in handgun loading too. It is not one of my favorites, but it is another of the shotgun powders that work in handgun cartridges if used in the right amounts and in the gun that "likes it."

Now sonny, I really don't know what your problem is with me, and frankly is is not one of my great concerns, but so far at least, all you have managed to do is mak a fool of yourself. Please proceed to your little hearts content. 8)

 

[Epishemore]

Loaded 10 rounds each of 4.0, 4.2, 4.4, 4.6, and 4.8 grs Longshot.

I have no chrony, but settled on 4.2 gr when I got a nice sharp crack

Flattened primers and leading above 4.6 grs.