The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - 32-20 wcf

griz · March 18, 2005, 09:23 PM

I didn't even know they made a three die set for the carbine. I use Lee carbide dies and it is a conventional two die set like other rifles use. What puzzles me is why they have an expander at all for the cal. No need for it for arbine brass, at least with jacketed bullets. At any rate, if the expander is made like a regular pistol die expander, I would have guessed it would work.

I would try seating a bullet in a new case with nothing done to it but chamfering. If it will not seat then you could flare the case just enough with something like an empty 223 case. I would think with thin 32-20 brass you wouldn't even need to tap on it, hand pressure would be enough. If that results in a tight fit, it might be the expander for the carbine is bigger than the .308 expander for the 32-20. I'm thinking the thinner brass might not need a very big expander. You could measure it, but I'm not sure what the dimension should be. Good luck.

March 18, 2005, 09:23 PM	#7
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: Middle Peninsula, VA Posts: 1,588	I didn't even know they made a three die set for the carbine. I use Lee carbide dies and it is a conventional two die set like other rifles use. What puzzles me is why they have an expander at all for the cal. No need for it for arbine brass, at least with jacketed bullets. At any rate, if the expander is made like a regular pistol die expander, I would have guessed it would work. I would try seating a bullet in a new case with nothing done to it but chamfering. If it will not seat then you could flare the case just enough with something like an empty 223 case. I would think with thin 32-20 brass you wouldn't even need to tap on it, hand pressure would be enough. If that results in a tight fit, it might be the expander for the carbine is bigger than the .308 expander for the 32-20. I'm thinking the thinner brass might not need a very big expander. You could measure it, but I'm not sure what the dimension should be. Good luck.