[Wind]

Hey there Sc - With all these older rifles, bore diameter will basically determine accuracy. The older 32-40's have a fairly wide bore diameter spectrum - maybe even greater than the 38-55. The only new brass available is from Winchester to my knowledge. It too seems to be a seasonal thing. The older Winchester brass had a cannelure in the case, but this is kinda a moot point now is there are no jacketed bullets produced currently that have the canelure in the right place to work in conjunction with 32-40 brass.

Most of the old reloading manuals used 165 grain as the base for lead bullets, as that was the original loading. Most of the newer ones seem to be using 170 grains. Aa nose to crimp groove length of .460 or there abouts will usually get through a levergun action. I've been using a RCBS 170 grain bullet from their 82024 mold. Whilst this is a gas checked design, it works great in my rifle so I've seen no need to change. My rifle requires a .324" diameter.

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Pretty much everyone around here probably knows where I stand on Cowboy dies by now...

There is nothing that needs beating on with take down rifles. You should be able to just untwist the rifle to take down. I do give the cam lever a light tap with my cute little brass gunsmith hammer on reassembly to make sure it's snug. It should not look like this after going together or taking down...

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Hope this helps. Best regards. Wind

 

[Wind]

Hey there GL -- A lot of the 32-40 bullets started life in the single shots and were breech seated. The Lyman 319162 is tapered and a good example. Without a number, I'm not sure what the story is on the Saeco mold. I know John is a fan of Veral and his fat bullets, but I would caution folks starting out with the 32-40 to keep to traditional metplats. I think it makes for smoother sailing early on.

And Sc -- My rifle likes 2400 as a propellant.

Best regards. Wind