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Old August 16, 2012, 11:59 PM   #1
ThisIsMySig
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32 H&R Magnum Seating Depth

Got a supply of 83 grain Berry's DEWC and HBWC bullets. I loaded a few of each using 2.1 grains of Titegroup and seated them nearly flush.

I want to load some using 9.5 grains of W296. Seating the bullets nearly flush will bring the bottom of the bullet real close to the charge. Not touching, but real close. After doing quite a bit of research, I can't find the proper seating depth for these bullets at this load. No one seems to list it.

I did come across one picture of a 32 Mag with a reverse seated HBWC which looks to seated at about 1.250.

Anyone have any experience with this load/bullet combination?
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Old August 17, 2012, 03:21 AM   #2
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296 is not likely to work well in that load. (Probably one of the reasons no one has similar data.)
9+ grains is likely to exhibit extreme pressures, if the bullet is seated properly (deeply); and leaving a large air space is not a good idea with H110/W296.
And, that bullet can't handle the velocity you would encounter, anyway.

Add it all up: Bad idea.


You need a faster burn rate, and a smaller charge weight. Powders better suited for the job: Herco, Bullseye, Unique, W231/HP-38, Titegroup, and similar.
Other than Titegroup, those powders should get you in the ballpark of 700-750 fps with 2.5-3.0 gr, and the wadcutter seated nearly flush with the case mouth.

Wadcutters are designed and intended to be seated deep in the case, and for use at low velocity (700-900 fps). Trying to do things outside their original design intent is usually just a waste of time (if not a bad idea).


My personal .32 H&R wadcutter load uses the Hornady 90 gr HBWC, seated with 0.030" out of the case, on top of 3.1 gr Unique. It gets me to about 800 fps in a 5.5" barrel, and about 750 fps in a 4" barrel.
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Old August 17, 2012, 06:51 AM   #3
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Another problem with loading HBWCs to high pressure is the possibility of having the skirt of the bullet separate and lodge in the barrel. It's not likely to be noticed because the body of the bullet still goes on to the target, leaving a nasty bore obstruction.
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Old August 17, 2012, 09:56 AM   #4
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I was a little nervous about that load being so close to the bullet.

That W296 load came from http://www.reloadammo.com/32hr-mag.htm, which he says is a very good load. The problem with all his load data and for the most part all other data I have seen is that he does not list a seating depth. He even lists a larger load of 10.3 gr of W296. That would probably be a compressed charge.

That same chart lists a charge of between 10.1 and 10.9 gr of W296 for a 100 gr LRN. Although these bullets are not seated as deeply, that load kind of makes me nervous as well.

Frankenmauser, you said "Other than Titegroup, those powders should get you in the ballpark of 700-750 fps with 2.5-3.0 gr". Will the TG be faster or slower?
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Old August 17, 2012, 05:15 PM   #5
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Even if he did manage to create a safe working load at whatever OAL he is using... I still don't think H110/W296 is a good choice for the application. It's too far outside of the powder's intended purpose, and he's probably just blowing half of it into the wind, unburned. ...just wasting powder.

Looking at his data (and having been on that site a few times in the past), I suspect he seated those HBWCs out pretty far. It would be very difficult to properly seat those bullets on top of that powder charge.

-
Titegroup will get you into the 700-800 fps range with a lower charge weight, due to its different burn characteristics. -Same performance; lower charge weight. If you stuffed 2.5-3.0 gr of Titegroup under your wadcutters, you'd get noticeably more velocity than with the same charge weight of one of the other powders listed.

Something to keep in mind:
The HBWC will need slightly different charge weights than the DEWC, to achieve the same velocities, due to the difference in internal volume of the loaded cartridge.


Before you melt your brain while trying to come up with an alternate load, give the loaded rounds a shot. You may find that 2.1 gr Titegroup provides just what you were looking for.
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Old August 17, 2012, 05:24 PM   #6
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I have some experience with a similar load in 32-20 that I got from Pet Loads.

Yeah I know, different cartridge, different bullet (JHP) and H110 (same as W296) loaded at 9.0 grains and 8.5 grains. I fired the 9.0 grain loads first. There was a noticeable difference in report even though the charges were the same, so I knew I was having inconsistent ignition. The first round of 8.5 grains squibbed the bullet about 1/2" into the barrel. The powder didn't light off. The primer forced the bullet and unburned powder into the barrel.

W296/H110 are powders that really need a magnum primer and should not be reduced. Even if you get consistent ignition of the powder with your load, you are going to have a lot of unburned powder.

There are lots of good powder out there for the 32 H&R Mag and they will all be faster burning than the load you asked about. I like W296/H110 powder but I confine those loads to max loads in larger volume revolver cartridges.
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Old August 17, 2012, 07:32 PM   #7
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Thanks guys for all the info. I was quite skeptical of that big W296 load and you guys confirmed that it's not a good idea.

What do you think a charge of 10.2 gr of W296, standard primer, for a 100 gr LRNFP seated to 1.350?
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Last edited by ThisIsMySig; August 17, 2012 at 07:58 PM.
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Old August 17, 2012, 09:51 PM   #8
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Just my experience so far as I am working some loads for my 32 and have had limited time to try them out. So far my experience has only been with 78 gr. cast RN and Sierra 90 gr. JHP.

Some "over book max" loads with the Sierra's and Blue Dot showed inconsistencies even though I hadn't hit the "peaky" point of the powder. In a 32 that spot can be hit and past real fast. Some loads of "real hot" W231 showed me when I hit .1 - .2 gr inconsistencies by sudden flat primers in a group of otherwise normal primers. All charges weighed on a RCBS digital scale BTW. I haven't been afforded the opportunity to fire off the AA#7, Longshot, and Herco loads yet. But I am betting that something in this speed range is as slow as I want to go and get the best bang out of this cartridge.

H110 / W296 is a powder that is meant to be run hard and has a limited window of pressure that it works properly in. That range will be real small with a 32 H&R and you can be under / over that range in short order. Personally I won't bother with those powders for this application even though I have them.

I haven't started experimenting with the 115 gr. cast that I have but I am still betting on the Blue Dot level speed range to be the best overall powder
speed for consistency.
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Old August 17, 2012, 11:52 PM   #9
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The only .32 I run H110/W296 in, is .327 Federal, and only in one 'full house' load.
Otherwise, it sticks to larger cartridges, where it performs much better.

In .32 H&R, Lil' Gun is a much better choice, and most 'standard' pistol powders make much better all-around choices (Herco, Unique, Bullseye, HS-6, W231/HP-38, Titegroup, Universal, Green Dot, AA #2, Power Pistol, WSF, True Blue, 800-X, AA #5, etc.). Lil' Gun is right next to H110/W296 on most burn rate charts, but it responds differently in long, skinny cartridges than in the "closed bomb" testing done for standard burn rate charts.

So, for the 100 gr RNFP... I still wouldn't use W296.
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Old August 17, 2012, 11:57 PM   #10
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W296 is basically a .44 magnum powder. But even in .44 or .357 loads W296 isn't the powder you would choose for wadcutters.

I think you should just forget about it for .32 H&R loads regardless of the bullet. It needs a minimum pressure for reliable ignition that's higher than the maximum for .32 H&R.

W296 can be used for some jacketed bullet loads for .327 although there are probably some better choices.
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Old August 18, 2012, 10:05 AM   #11
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I want to thank everyone for the great information here. I really do appreciate your time and knowledge.

Looks like I'll stay away from the W296 for the wad cutters. I have #5, Titegroup and HP-38 powders on hand, so I'll use those.

I also have a pound of W296 that now doesn't seem useful for the calibers I load and 50 magnums loaded with 10.2 gr of W296 under a 100 gr LRNFP that I loaded before I got all this information.
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Old October 9, 2012, 12:14 PM   #12
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Just wanted to give everyone an update on my 32 mag "dilemma".

2.1 grains of Titegroup under the 83 grain wad cutters made a "phhht" sound when fired. I got real nervous and thought I had a squib. Thankfully I didn't. But the sound of that small load was very disconcerting. Upped the load to 3.2 grains. This load had a much louder report with very manageable recoil. I can probably back off to 3 grains, which should be fine.

10.2 grains of W296 under the 100 grain LRN was a monster. Real loud with a mighty kick. Way too much. Backed down to 9.8 grains. This was much more manageable. My next group of reloads will have 9 grains of W296. I think this will be a good load. But 10.2 gr, whew.

I find it kind of astonishing that the reloadammo site lists a 10.3 gr load of W296 under an 83 gr wad cutter. I know these loads should be taken with a grain of salt, but that is a really big load of magnum powder for such a light bullet.

Gonna pick up a pound of Lil' Gun and give that a try.
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