Climbers and Guns....? Hunting this fall?

Tal Mwrote:

Inherited a .32 Special rifle from my father - what game is it good for? I would imagine deer, but could I do elk or caribou with it? Currently the only game I'm doing with it is the "where the hell can I buy ammo for this thing?" game

Really, none of these. .32 special is a relatively low power revolver cartridge, and will generate roughly 1/6 the energy of even an intermediate rifle caliber such as .30-30. 

Frank Steinwrote:

Really, none of these. .32 special is a relatively low power revolver cartridge, and will generate roughly 1/6 the energy of even an intermediate rifle caliber such as .30-30. 

disclaimer: I know very little about guns. Can you explain how that's the case when it pretty much has the same ballistics as a .30-.30? We actually originally thought it was a .30-.30 and fired some rounds through it - it isn't, but turns out they have pretty much the exact same chamber dimensions, so you can safely fire .30-.30 ammo through a .32 special. It just won't hit anything because it will come out tumbling due to .30-.30 bullet being smaller.

If that is the case, then a hollow base .30-30 would probably give you decent enough accuracy to shoot minute of deer at reasonable ranges, but finding a hollow base .30-30 is probably harder than the .32 special.

Mountain Dillowrote:

If that is the case, then a hollow base .30-30 would probably give you decent enough accuracy to shoot minute of deer at reasonable ranges, but finding a hollow base .30-30 is probably harder than the .32 special.

I'm still not sure I understand the issue - from the literature I'm finding .32 special is still over 1000ft-lbs at 300yds, 1500 at 200yds, and over 2000 from 0-25. I don't really intend on taking shots further 200yds, shouldn't I be good for deer and maybe even elk with that (maybe closer for elk)

Frank Steinwrote:

Really, none of these. .32 special is a relatively low power revolver cartridge, and will generate roughly 1/6 the energy of even an intermediate rifle caliber such as .30-30. 

This is wildly incorrect

the shmuck is being a shmuck.   talking poo about something he dosen't  really know anything about aparently. the Winchester .32 special is virtually identical to the 30-30  balistically. the case even looks almost identical. It was made for the model 94 and  also offered in the Marlin lever guns. don't know who else made one . Likely savage?    There was an issue with the rifeling in some winchesters and I don't remember what it was  other than they shot out easily. could have been the rate of twist or perhaps shallow lands and grooves to start with or a combination??? anyways some of them became very inaccurate with a lot of use.  certainly it is a very cool piece and has family history. If you can find ammo and get it sighted in and it is accurate then  that is a huge bonus.   certainly every north american  big game has been taken with the 30-30 and the 32 special. It's all about how accurate you are and how close you can get;)   Please DO NOT shoot any more 30-30 rounds through that poor gun. can't be good for it and may even be the cause of them burning out the rifleing. 

Sorry. Got it confused with .32 S&W Long.  My fault. .32 Winchester special is actually a slightly more powerful caliber than .30-30. 

Slow twist so it could work with black powder as well as smokeless.

If you were to get into reloading it would make a good cast bullet rifle as you could tailor the diameter of the bullet to the worn bore size and the lighter loads would be gentle on the old timer.

32 special is just 30-30 with slightly larger diameter bullets. You could buy 30-30, pull the bullets, neck up the brass to 32 cal and seat 32 caliber bullets of the same weight and profile using the existing powder and primer along with the brass.

Tal M wrote:

I'm still not sure I understand the issue - from the literature I'm finding .32 special is still over 1000ft-lbs at 300yds, 1500 at 200yds, and over 2000 from 0-25. I don't really intend on taking shots further 200yds, shouldn't I be good for deer and maybe even elk with that (maybe closer for elk)

It is really astounding all of the BS answers you are getting here. The .32 Special is a discontinued caliber made for lever guns. Based on the .30-30 case, necked up to .32 caliber.  It will do everything a .30-30 will do. 

You won't find any ammo for it, and you should NEVER fire ammo through a gun that it wasn't intended for, with a few exceptions (.44 special/mag, .38 special/357mag) 

Nobody in their right mind would shoot at anything living with a .32 special at more than 100 yards, same for the 30-30 IMO. I've shot many deer with a 30-30, and at close range it works well. Its not supposed to be a long range gun. If you want to shoot at something further away, get a different caliber.  

At one time a had 36 rifles, from .22 LR to .375 H&H(don't ask why).  I realized I didn't even know what rifles I had any more, so I set about turning 36 rifles into a few I really like and will shoot. They ended up being: Winchester Supergrade M70 SS in .308 Win; Mauser 18 in .308 Win, Weatherby Mark V in .270 WM; Browning BLR in .358 Win; Marlin 336 30-30; T/C Encore ProHunter in .300 WM; AR-15 w/Adams lower with a 20" DPMS bull barrel; Ruger 10/22.  I have a couple muzzleloaders in .50 cal, but use my T/C ProHunter most of the time.

You can get all of the reloading stuff, if that is the path you want to go down, from a bunch of online stores.  Brownell's, MidwayUSA, Mid-South shooters supply, Cheaper Than Dirt, Starline etc. You will need a press, dies, brass, powder, lube, primers, bullets, calipers and about a million other things. If you aren't serious about it, don't do it. Maybe find someone who already has all of the stuff to make some rounds for you.  

Thanks for the info folks! I will see what I can do about finding ammo for it - shooting .30-.30 ammo was not an intentional mistake made and isn't one I'll continue carrying out for sure (just did that the one time). I'll see what I can find for ammo and if that's nothing then I'll stash it away long term - I think it's a 1967 mfg date so it's been around for a while. I'm also still rocking iron sights on it so I definitely won't be doing long distance hunting with it (though I do have a scope laying around I can put on it so maybe eventually I'd be consistently looking in that 100yd range). 

Buck Riowrote:

Nobody in their right mind would shoot at anything living with a .32 special at more than 100 yards, same for the 30-30 IMO.

Horseshit - maybe that's the case for iron sights and 170 core-lokt, but modern ammunition and decent optics certainly has stretched that for whitetail sized critters.

Since we are talking reloads, anyone have an opinion on efficacy of self reloads for 7.5 French?  I love old military rifles, and there is a MAS 36 carbine I’m looking at. I would want to shoot it, not just have it sitting around. 

the schmuck wrote:

Since we are talking reloads, anyone have an opinion on efficacy of self reloads for 7.5 French?  I love old military rifles, and there is a MAS 36 carbine I’m looking at. I would want to shoot it, not just have it sitting around. 

As long as you can find components (which a web check proves they are available), you should be golden. I think Prvi Partizan makes loaded ammo, which would provide you with brass.

Cool. Thanks!

Buffalo Bore for 32 special ammo. 1000 ft lbs and 8 " drop at 200 yards. Good for deer to that range. You basically give up 100 yards range over a 30-06 for most hunting situations. The 30-30 jacketed bullets expand and work very well at short range, the 32 special should do the same. We used to load 30-30 Rem corelokts in 30-06 at lower velocity that was slightly faster than the 30-30 velocities when hunting little coastal black tails in heavy cover.

e bay lists a lee loader for 32 special that would slowly reload ammo with minimal tools and expense. Powder and primers are tough to find right now. Bullets are still available in cast. $.11 each! 

Buck Rio wrote:

Friend, the model 94 isn't conducive to optics, and drilling a side mount on a classic firearm destroys the value. And eastern hunting means WOODS hunting. 100 hundred yards would be a stretch for most woods hunting. If you want to take a poke with a .32 Special, you better be an excellent tracker, because that is what you'll be doing...

Why anyone would keep a 94 after they came out with the 336 is a mystery to me.

94 handles better in my opinion. Hornady Leverevolution ammo is supposed to push the .30-30 out to 300 yards for whitetailed deer sized critters, but where the lever action really excels in my opinion is open sights in the brush where it's quick handling and balance are advantageous. As far as shoting .30-30 rounds through the a gun chambered for .32 special, if you have hollow based bullets they will expand to fit the rifling. That's what people who convert .36 cap and ball revolvers do, since those are actually .375 caliber and the .38 special they usually (or used to) convert them to are actually .357. The bigger problem would be trying to find .30-30 ammo with hollow based bullets. You would probably have to roll your own, at which point why would you not just neck a .30-30 case up to .32 and use the proper bullets?

Turkey season opens here tomorrow! I am freakin stoked. My shoulder a little less so after testing some 3.5" 12 gauge shells

BigCountrywrote:

Turkey season opens here tomorrow! I am freakin stoked. My shoulder a little less so after testing some 3.5" 12 gauge shells

Gobble Gobble Gobble..... 

luck with it - wild Turkey is the best!