[Wet Dog]

Here's some video of what Wind and I were up to last weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUGeOJ8evpY

Now I never figured my 32-20 would get much use at long range but it is proving amazingly capable. At a little above a nickle per round (not counting brass) this has got to be the best bang for the buck I'm aware of.

 

[Wind]

Hey there Wet Dog -- Another fun video. It sure was fun for me watching you whack that dinger time after time. I can't figure out why your smaller 115 grain bullets made a better ding!! Got out today to paint the dinger and snapped a pix. There are eight to ten hits in that big splash on the right hand half. All the hits are from the 32-20's. Best regards. Wind

 

[Wind]

And here is a picture of my 32-20, on the rack whilst I'm dinger painting. For a skinny little guy, he sure does eat a lot!! Best regards. Wind

 

[me]

Good shooting guys

 

[Levergunz]

Thats pretty impressive shooting!! ;D ;D

 

[Wet Dog]

Wind, I think the wind wasn't blowing as hard when I was shooting so the ding was easier to hear.

 

[twodot]

DP we have GOT to try this sometime!!!! ;D
..

 

[dpe.ahoy]

Agreed!!!! We may have to go invade Wind and Wet Dog soon. Maybe Shenandoah will come over and play too. I think them boys can learn us a thing er 2, Two Dot. I think Clete will let me past the gate, he seemed ta like me. ;D DP

 

[h-bomb]

When we had dinger shoots back home we used to duct tape a walkie talkie to the back so we had a sure hit/miss.

Great shooting by the way, i think the 32-20 is getting added to my wishlist

 

[Wind]

Hey there ya'll -- Thanks for the kind words!!

dp and twodot -- You guys would be welcome here for sure. Cleat would love to see dp again. I'd try to have a little better weather than dp had for me on my run to the Quigley!! Figure a long week end soon and I'll get the dust blowed off the BBQ and get fresh paint on the dingers.

Best regards. Wind

 

[bullaboy]

Wind & Wet Dog: Some questions:
1. Are you casting your own 115 gr'ers?
2. What are they sized at?
3. Have you ever slugged the bore on your 1894?
4. I heard on the video "4.5 grs. of Unique". Is that correct?
5. Have you ever tried PB, which is right next to Unique in burning rate? That's what I've been shooting for years in my antique Marlin 1894, but not at great distance.
6. Is that an original or repro tang sight?
7. What kind of front sight is on that rifle? Can't see it clearly.
8. Where the heck are you located with that beautiful terrain?

Great shooting!! Wish I could join you!
Hang-Fire Hank in AZ

 

[janott]

Very impressive. ;D 8) 8)

 

[Wind]

Hey there bullaboy -- I'll see if I can get you some answers!! Wet Dog is casting his 115 grainers, I'm using 120 grainers from Missouri Bullet Company (.com). Both bullets are sized .313". I haven't slugged my bore. It is in great shape and once I got all the old lead out, seems to shoot just fine. Wet Dog's rifle seems to like the 4.5 grains of Unique load whereas mine seems to prefer the old standby with five grains of Unique. I haven't tried any "PB", but can't speak for Wet Dog. The tang sight on my rifle is an original Lyman and someone did a great job with the installation in the past. It is perfect for windage from near to far. I've always preferred a blade for a front sight. I took the original Marlin off and stashed it. Replaced it with a Skinner skinny front blade at .040" wide. I think Wet Dog is using the original bead. We're sitting in my driveway up here in Eastern Washington. Hope this helps. Thanks for the kind words. Best regards. Wind

 

[Wet Dog]

howdy Bullaboy,

Lyman 311008, 20/1 alloy (though I'm not really very scientific about it as I scrounge lead where ever I can) they usually drop from the mold at 117 grains, I don't size, they fall just a hair over .313" and I pan lube them with "Magi-lube."

As Wind said my Cowboy Carbine likes 4.5 grains of Unique best. Besides Bullseye I haven't really tried anything else. Unique is one of those powders I started out with and then used a bunch of others with mixed results (SR 4756 being the best) but came back to Unique and found it really did everything I needed it to do in a lot more calibers. My 45 Colt, 38-55, 30-30 and this 32-20 seem especially happy.

My sight is a Marbles. It has just enough threads for a right on hold at 500 with a very short front sight blade. I'll actually have to switch out the front sight to be able to use it for Cowboy silhouette which is my primary purpose for this rifle I'm about 8" high at 50 yards with the Marbles all the way down and a foot high using the open rear sight on the lowest notch.

I'm new to the 32-20 and still on the steep part of the learning curve. My skull is pretty thick - especially at the brow - and my absorption rate is pretty flat. That makes the discovery process last longer and keeps me giggling until I stumble onto the next thing I thought I knew but didn't really until I tried whatever it was that someone wiser than me told me years ago and a new tier of understanding is opened up to me. I only wish I knew I could shoot dingers at long range with old iron sighted rifles when my eyes were thirty years younger.

 

[Hook]

Wind, what is the diameter of the pipe in that dinger? Or better yet, what is the overall size of the dingers at the different ranges you shoot at?

 

[Wind]

Hey there Hook -- That dinger is made up of 6" well pipe. The longer set is 36" and the short one is 32". I've got it set up to where I can slide them together to give a 40" wide target, or separate them into two 20" wide targets. They hold up very well with cast bullets, but modern jacketed bullets will punch holes through them. The different lengths give different tones when hit, but sometimes cleavage shots are muted. That particular dinger is 400 yards from the shop door and so we call it the 400 yards dinger. It actually gets shot at from out to a1000 yards as well, in either the wide or narrow configurations. It's fixed so as to eliminate damage from cows and horses rubbing on it, and the yardage is then measured from where the shooters butt is located!! Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

Here is a look at it the day it was built...

 

[Hook]

Thanks, that gives a much better perspective!

I envy you the open distances you have for long range shooting. I can only get 100 yards on my property because of the way the land is configured. I had to build a bullet stop out of scrap tires and dirt to even get that.

 

[dpe.ahoy]

Hey there Hook -- The different lengths give different tones when hit, but sometimes cleavage shots are muted. Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

Here is a look at it the day it was built...

Wind, sometimes I get a little "muted" in that cleavage area myself. : ;D DP

 

[Wet Dog]

dpe.ahoy ;D There are places muted is good.

 

[1R]

That just looks like ear-to-ear grinnin' fun!