32 ACP Berry's 71gr OAL

[308Loader]

Picked up one of midways used Beretta 81's. Pistol is in great shape, doubt it has ever been fired! Ran a couple boxes of Aguila 71gr FMJ through it flawlessly. Now it is time to start reloading for it. I will be using Berry's 71gr RN, Tight group, and CCI small pistol primers. Thanks to a recent post here I see that Berry's shows .955 for COAL. Does this sound right to you all? Any tips on loading for this little guy?

[44 AMP]

Max COAL in my books is 0.984". That length, or less should be fine if it feeds through your gun, (from the bottom of the magazine up...)

Be aware that a shorter than max listed length does NOT automatically mean the bullet is seated deeper. It might, but it can also be from a bullet seated to the same depth that has a shorter (blunter) nose. For example, seat an FMJ bullet and a JHP bullet to the same depth in the case, and odds are high the JHP round will have a shorter COAL.

DO remember that the max listed overall length is not something you are supposed to achieve, its something you're supposed to stay BELOW.

Loading the little guy is straight forward, but the small size of the components makes it a little more manually challenging than larger rounds. Powder charges are in the 2-3gr range, test your delivery system, a .2gr variance might be unacceptable (it could be a 10% difference).

I use a single stage press, and work slowly. Just a light "kiss" of taper crimp works ok in my Mauser HSc. Ought to be the same in your Beretta.

Stick to factory load level equivalents, don't try to "magnumize" in a blow back gun!

[Unclenick]

The SAAMI drawing shows a COL range of 0.890"–0.984". I would assume Berry's knows their product and has provided a good number for its shape. That is, of course, a different thing from saying that number is optimal in your gun. You may need to tweak it for best feed reliability and accuracy.

[berettaprofessor]

I've used 0.980 OAL for reloads with both Win231 and AA#2 and it seems to work in all my 32's.

[308Loader]

Using the lee dipper that came with the dies and a Lyman digital scale. Measuring 2.0gr of powder is rough. Depending on where the powder is in the pan and scale drift it is hard to nail down a comfortable 2.0. Scale has been on since last night and calibrated this morning. Never mind that the scale like most, is +/- .1. Range from start to max according to Hodgdon site is 2.0 to 2.2, hoping I'm landing some where in the middle . .1 of Tight Group is like a speck of fly poop. Only going to load a few and see how they shoot whenever my range is open again.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by Unclenick

I would assume Berry's knows their product and has provided a good number for its shape.

As much as I like Berry's bullets, I cannot agree with this assumption. My experience with their .45 ACP bullets and the changing recommendations regarding both load data and COL over the years has proven to my satisfaction that they don't pay much attention at all to what information they put out there.

I contacted them directly several months ago about discrepancies (specifically with regard to the 230-grain RN and 185-grain RNHB bullets). I felt the COL numbers they provide on their web site (which do not agree with the numbers in a spec sheet that was reproduced in a scan of a data sheet from Berry's that someone posted in another thread on this site just a few days ago). They thanked me, and said they would look into it and get back to me.

The numbers on the web site havn't changed. It has been several months, and I have not heard a peep from Berry's.

The problem is that Berry's either can't or won't afford to do their own testing to develop load data, so they just spew generalities based on God knows what. I think they are good bullets and I will continue to buy them, but I don't place any credence whatsoever with any of their loading suggestions.

[Unclenick]

Well that's disappointing to hear. Thanks for the heads up.

I went back to that post you described, btw, and copied the text data into a PDF file to get around the copyright issue. Now you can download it and keep a copy.

[libiglou]

accurate arms data shows .955 coal for that bullet. Have fired over 100 rounds with no problem using aa#5 powder

[308Loader]

Thanks nick, just downloaded the .pdf.

When loading these they didn't look look they were seating straight. When I roll them on the bench I don't see a wobble in the case or bullet so they must be ok, maybe my eyes are fooling me. Case is flared just enough to set bullet on top of the case, lee seating die. Wish I had a concentricity gage, must be the next little gadget I need for the bench... it never ends. Don't tell the wife I'm going to spend over $100 on a tool to tell me if somethings circle is centered within another circle, and that my circle is not an oval, she may beat me with it.

[Unclenick]

Look at the case where there is a slight bulge over the bottom edge of the bullet. Do you see it all around the case? If it is only on one side, the bullet is tilted. The bulge will be even all around when the case wall is uniformly thick all the way around but will be slightly more pronounced on one side when it is not. Still, when you see it all around it is generally close enough to straight for match shooting.

[BrBa]

Originally Posted by 308Loader

Thanks nick, just downloaded the .pdf.

When loading these they didn't look look they were seating straight. When I roll them on the bench I don't see a wobble in the case or bullet so they must be ok, maybe my eyes are fooling me. Case is flared just enough to set bullet on top of the case, lee seating die. Wish I had a concentricity gage, must be the next little gadget I need for the bench... it never ends. Don't tell the wife I'm going to spend over $100 on a tool to tell me if somethings circle is centered within another circle, and that my circle is not an oval, she may beat me with it.

I realize this thread is 3 years old, but I recently loaded my first batch of .32acp and had the same issue loading the 71 grain Berrys into Starline brass. About 1 out of 4 are crooked as a politician. I have a Lyman M neck expander and the Lee seater die. Is there a better combination to load this round nose fmj?

[tangolima]

Hornady seating die has guide sleeve. It helps.

Lee factory crimp die adjusts any crooked attitude with carbide ring and force. I like it.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[BrBa]

I'll give the Hornady seater die a shot. I think I also have the Lee FCD. Thanks Tangolima!

[PolarFBear]

I, too, had that crooking problem. My fingers are just too fat to get good alignment on 32 and smaller. I used the Hornady die along with the Lyman and Lee. Problem SOLVED. I've added a Hornady die for each caliber I load. Not needed but just makes it SO much easier. The thread may be old but the problem is new (to you).

[tangolima]

Hornady die sets arguably have better value than Lee, if you can believe that, especially with their free bullet rebate. But Lee has innovative products that nobody has. Their FCD is one example.

32acp is nothing. Try 25acp.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[FITASC]

The best tip for loading 32ACP is to put a REALLY BIG TARP to catch those damn tiny pieces of brass. If you're shooting over a grassy area, you will never find them otherwise. My Walther PP loved the 71FMJ from Sierra the best. It's been years, but, IIRC, I was using Universal or Unique.

[Unclenick]

Originally Posted by Brba

I have a Lyman M neck expander and the Lee seater die

Are you getting the bullet's to sit up straight in the expanded case mouth? Or are they lolling off to one side? If they are sitting straight up but seating crooked, the die is tilting them somehow, and it should be possible to figure that out and correct it. But if your bullets are not straight up and down as in the right side illustration below, then something is amiss in the flaring stage, such as not getting the M-die expander deeply enough into the case neck or else the step not being wide enough for the Berry's bullet, or simply not setting the bullet into the open mouth firmly enough.

[gwpercle]

I would first try making them the same length as the ammo that "ran flawlessly"...
No sense trying to re-invent the wheel .
I keep a factory loaded round in my die box and use it to set my bullet seating die ...since these loaded , fed, fired and ejected flawlessly in my Walther PPK ... I just went with their length .
Gary

[Nathan]

Please teach me how t9 find the brass. I’ve shot 100 32acp before and found maybe 10…

[ballardw]

Start with a 30 foot tarp...

[BrBa]

Originally Posted by Unclenick

Are you getting the bullet's to sit up straight in the expanded case mouth? Or are they lolling off to one side? If they are sitting straight up but seating crooked, the die is tilting them somehow, and it should be possible to figure that out and correct it. But if your bullets are not straight up and down as in the right side illustration below, then something is amiss in the flaring stage, such as not getting the M-die expander deeply enough into the case neck or else the step not being wide enough for the Berry's bullet, or simply not setting the bullet into the open mouth firmly enough.

The Hornady seater die arrived today, so I loaded a 2nd batch with the 71gr Berrys. These all seated perfectly straight! Couldn't be happier with the results. I don't have a concentricity gauge but they all look perfectly concentric to my eye which is all I could ask for.

I think you make a good point about not going deep enough with the Lyman M die. I went a little deeper with this 2nd batch which seemed to make it easier to align the bullet straight on top of the case prior to seating.

Thanks again everyone! And +1 on the tarp!!