Adventures in Reloading .32 ACP!

[Clarke123]

I had the same problem you speak of with some 40 cal cast bullets. I ended up getting a Lee factory crimp die.

But in the meantime. I took the depriming rod out of my sizing die and ran the loaded rounds through it. It sized the overall dia down to the correct size and they worked perfect. Give it a try on a couple rounds and try manuely running them through your action. Let me know how this works for you.

Paul

Ok, did that and it worked! Run them (loaded rounds) through my sizing die (W/O de-cap rod), took them to the range and
NO PROBLEMS ... all fed, shot and extracted 100%.

I mic'd one and the "Before the re-sizing" girdle diameter was .339, "After" is .330 as compared to a "factory fresh" S&B at .334.
Standard Published Specification is .336. One other change was that the COAL grew by about 3/1000 ... So, it looks like
some form of swagging took place?!

I see this as pretty much a "temporary fix" until I can get the taper crimp die that I have on back-order

Obviously, if an ODT member has a .32 ACP Taper Crimp Die that they want to trade / sell me ... I can always cancel the B/O!

 

[JHV2]

I'm late to the thread but it looks like PA4476 set you on the right path. Are you reloading the S&B or some other brass.

I had very similar issues with .32 acp reloads. However I noticed that my european guns were more finicky than my American ones.
E.g. my Colt will eat anything my Mauser wold FTF often on reloads.

My notes are put away at this moment, but I found one reference that stated that european manufacturers make 32 ACP with thiner cases. I checked mine and some brands were defiantly thinner than others.

I also noticed that the case diameter of the loaded round would actually be larger near the bullet than at the bottom of the case, but only in the American cases.

I since have taken to resizing the reloaded cartridges and the dimensions are better. I have not shot enough to see if it "fixes" the problem for my old european pieces.

 

[Clarke123]

I'm late to the thread but it looks like PA4476 set you on the right path. Are you reloading the S&B or some other brass.

I had very similar issues with .32 acp reloads. However I noticed that my european guns were more finicky than my American ones.
E.g. my Colt will eat anything my Mauser wold FTF often on reloads.

My notes are put away at this moment, but I found one reference that stated that european manufacturers make 32 ACP with thiner cases. I checked mine and some brands were defiantly thinner than others.

I also noticed that the case diameter of the loaded round would actually be larger near the bullet than at the bottom of the case, but only in the American cases.

I since have taken to resizing the reloaded cartridges and the dimensions are better. I have not shot enough to see if it "fixes" the problem for my old european pieces.

Yes, there are several (different) drawings that specify the "proper" dimensions of the .32 ACP loaded round.
They are fairly consistent in showing the head / mouth / near bullet pre-crimp diameter of the cartridge measuring .336. the SAMMI drawing shows the base / bottom diameter (near the rim) to be .337, while actual
experience (as reflected in drawings by Ranch Dog Outdoors, and my own experience) show the base diameter to be .330 as the result of (the initial) resizing!

Obviously, with a "post-reloading" diameter of .330 at both head and bottom is but another set of dimensions and most certainly inconsistent with any published data that I've seen!!!

You might want to do a "drop test" into the barrel(s) of your european pistols, prior to doing an actual live fire check.

BTW: I was told by Lee Precision that their "custom" .32 ACP Factory Crimp Die is actually their standard .32 Long FCD with a custom / adjustable insert

 

[JHV2]

My main point was that some brass has a thicker case wall causing it to bulge past spec when the bullet is seated -- at least in my experiance. I use the Lee FCD and do (did) excessive barrel fit checking. If I stick to the thin-walled cases I have much better luck.

I don't have my notes as to the exact dimensions.