What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

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wes lorenz
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:13 pm
Location: Washington

Post by wes lorenz »

Murph wrote:It is curious how this 60 grain XTP in a full factory load, can hold under an inch at 50 yds out of a Pardini HP.......
Two impecable manufacturer's............Dave Wilson (HM barrel maker) and Hornady for making the bullets.
1banger
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:43 am

Re: What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

Post by 1banger »

I just ordered an HP .32 ACP from Vladimir. When I get it I will be running some PMC 60gr JHP's through it at first.
I have a Ransom Rest and will be testing these rounds with it. I also bought some Hornaday 60gr XTP's to reload
in the PMC brass, along with Titegroup powder.

Once I get this sorted, I'll get back with my results.
oldcaster
Posts: 617
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:09 pm
Location: Chesterfield Missouri

Re: What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

Post by oldcaster »

The difference may be wadcutter and non wadcutter. All wadcutter bullets in a 32 long will tip somewhat, HBWC or flat base, but the round nose or SWC bullets in an ACP never tip and they are the same barrel diameter and twist rate. The same goes for 38's.
Spaceball
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 6:39 am
Location: South Australia

Re: What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

Post by Spaceball »

What about deep seating one of the 60gr 31-060A cast SWC in a 32S&W long case so the top of the projectile is level with the case mouth?
Currently do this with a 100gr SWC in 38 SPL case for a really light load. Of course in the 32 auto would need to drive the 60gr SWC hard enough to cycle the action.
This might be around 750-800 fps and with the shorter bullet it may stabilize better at 50m in the standard twist barrels.
I would love to try and I am thinking about ordering a mold to try.
oldcaster
Posts: 617
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:09 pm
Location: Chesterfield Missouri

Re: What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

Post by oldcaster »

I have a friend that toyed with this method and his answer was that it was about the same accuracy as a standard 100 grain regular wadcutter but there are so many variables when loading I think this process may or may not work well but expect it would take a lot of trial and error. When experimenting with my Benelli I tried making sure all my cases were square in the front by trimming and got results but it was frustrating because some brass would grow and some would get shorter. My best guess especially if you get wild shots out of your tipping is that the empty cases need to be expanded more to make sure your bullet is not getting swaged down. You will find that the softer the bullet is, the better it will conform and shoot well but the softer it is, the easier it will swage in your brass because of the brass being too small or your crimp being too tight. If your brass length varies a lot your crimp will vary a lot and if your brass front is not square, it will be tight on one side and not on the other. Sometimes I had minor tipping but still with decent groups. My experience was that the only bullets I could trust were either the .314 H&N HBWC's or the Saeco #323 sized to .314 at around 9 BHN with any soft lube. I remember getting fair but not any good groups from commercial wadcutters even though they might look good. I suspect they were too hard but don't really know why.

The problem trying to get good accuracy is how much a simple change in your reloading method will mess up a good deal or fix a bad deal when working with a small bullet. The same thing goes for the ACP.
JamesH
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Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:26 am
Location: Australia

Re: What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

Post by JamesH »

Would slight tipping be noticeable with a round nose bullet?
I doubt it.
oldcaster
Posts: 617
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:09 pm
Location: Chesterfield Missouri

Re: What advantage does .32 ACP have over .32 S&W Long for B

Post by oldcaster »

I don't know if it would show or not but I use a SWC RCBS 150 for accuracy in a 38 and a 60 grain SWC from Accurate molds for the 32 ACP and they never tip.
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