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32-20 Questions


Preacher Clint

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I’ve been reloading now for better than forty years. Started reloading 32-20 about twelve years ago and up until now I have had no problems. I have a Browning Model 53, a pair of Uberti Model P’s (Colt SAA clones) and a recently acquired Marlin 1894 of 1907 vintage. Recently I discovered about 100 of my recently reloaded rounds that would not chamber in the revolvers as they were too large at the base of the cartridge. I thought maybe  my sizing die was out of adjustment or worn out. I tore the rounds apart and after checking and resizing with both Hornady and Lee sizing dies I reloaded the same cartridges only to find that the fresh reloads still will not chamber in the revolvers. I’m thinking that the 1907 vintage Marlin chamber may be out of Saami specs. I figure the round count I have fired is about the same as the number of non usable reloads. What are my options? I’m thinking of possibly having the Marlin reclined and rechambered, but would that guarantee that my reloads for one weapon will fit all the others. I know we have some sharp gunsmiths here so please advise me if I am chasing a unicorn here.

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You didn't happen to just start loading on a Dillon?   Every WCF cartridge I've tried to load on the Dillon has required taking at least 1/16" off the bottom of the die before they would size the case down to fit the tightest chamber. 

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10 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

That's odd since they chambered in the same guns before.  I'm wondering if your resizing die has backed out a bit and is not pushing the shoulder down far enough.

I checked that several times. The Marlin is a relative newcomer to the group. I’m thinking it is chambered different from the other three modern weapons. I had at one time an Uberti 1873 in 32-20 and never experienced any problems.

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1 minute ago, Warden Callaway said:

You didn't happen to just start loading on a Dillon?   Every WCF cartridge I've tried to load on the Dillon has required taking at least 1/16" off the bottom of the die before they would size the case down to fit the tightest chamber. 

No, I used my Hornady Lock n Load and my Lee Classic 4-Hole Turret Press.

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Either your neck on the brass has lengthened, which is my first guess, or you need to bump the

shoulder back on the brass.

 

Check the OAL of your brass, both those that won't go into the chambers and those that will.

Sounds like a brass OAL problem to me.

 

EDIT:  the base won't go into the chambers because the neck length or shoulder is stopping

it.   Just a thought.

 

..........Widder

 

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Make or have made a chamber cast ,, it will tell the story of the Marlin in Question ...

I'm betting the Marlin is loosely chambered ...

Where as Modern Uberti's tend to be close to Minimum Spec..  

 

Jabez Cowboy 

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Take a freshly fired round from each chamber of each firearm and measure/compare  them to see any differences.  I have a 1983 Marlin made in 1907 and it is also generous in the base size.  Chamber dimensions varied considerably over time and from different manufactures. 

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I had a similar problem with round that fit in my 92, 73, Lighting and 1st Gen Colt would not fit in the 3rd Gen.   I thought it might be that the chambers were too tight, a problem I'd encountered in .44-40, but I wasn't sure.   For one thing, some rounds would chamber, but others would not.  So I inspected some of the ones that didn't, and when I compared them to the ones that did, the only difference I could see was that the crimp was less than perfect.   So, instead of crimping and seating with the same die, I seated with the seating die, and then crimped with a Lee Factory Crimp Die.   Problem was solved.   I use Lee dies for .32-20.

 

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The issue is most likely in reloading.

The gun is a 1907 by your post and I do not think a 1907 gun has a bad chamber that someone else would have found and fixed.

 

Check your loaded rounds by putting you calipers just above the shoulder and slide the calipers up and off the neck.

Watch the calipers and see if the size changes for the bigger.

 

Bottle neck rounds usually cause the neck to get larger as the bullet seats.

The crimp groove or even the lead itself will grab the case and pull it down and cause the case to bulge.

 

If that is the cause, your crimp is closing before the bullet is seated all the way.

Adjusting your crimp die and or your seating plug should fix this.

 

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Magic Marker Time …. Blacken a round,chamber it, remove and see wher the marker color has been scraped off. Wil tell you where your issue is

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I would be nice to have factory ammo to test against. 

 

My 44WCF story.   First came a Winchester Marko 1873. Then two Smoke Wagons.  Then a Marlin 1894. Then a Marlin 1889 antique.  All was fine.  Then Sawmill Mary got a pair of Smoke Wagons made a few years before mine.  It wouldn't chamber the same ammo that worked fine in all other guns.  I had to shorten the die to get it to set the shoulder back a bit more and use 428 max bullet size.  I test new reloaded ammo in her gun to see if it works.  Then I know it'll work in all the other 44WCF guns.

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4 hours ago, KH24 said:

Try running the loaded cartridge through the resized - less decapper, and see if problem still exist.  

I did try this, but it pushed the bullet into the case despite the crimp.

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1 hour ago, Warden Callaway said:

I would be nice to have factory ammo to test against. 

 

My 44WCF story.   First came a Winchester Marko 1873. Then two Smoke Wagons.  Then a Marlin 1894. Then a Marlin 1889 antique.  All was fine.  Then Sawmill Mary got a pair of Smoke Wagons made a few years before mine.  It wouldn't chamber the same ammo that worked fine in all other guns.  I had to shorten the die to get it to set the shoulder back a bit more and use 428 max bullet size.  I test new reloaded ammo in her gun to see if it works.  Then I know it'll work in all the other 44WCF guns.

Running into that same thing with my "new to me" OM Ruger Vaqueros. Doing the same thing you are.

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12 hours ago, Cliff Hanger #3720LR said:

The issue is most likely in reloading.

The gun is a 1907 by your post and I do not think a 1907 gun has a bad chamber that someone else would have found and fixed.

 

Check your loaded rounds by putting you calipers just above the shoulder and slide the calipers up and off the neck.

Watch the calipers and see if the size changes for the bigger.

 

Bottle neck rounds usually cause the neck to get larger as the bullet seats.

The crimp groove or even the lead itself will grab the case and pull it down and cause the case to bulge.

 

If that is the cause, your crimp is closing before the bullet is seated all the way.

Adjusting your crimp die and or your seating plug should fix this.

 

Your diagnosis was spot on. I backed off the seater/crimp die, then reset the bullet depth. Used a Lee FCD after that and cartridges load like they were supposed to. I might note here that I used a light touch on the Factory crimp Die. Thanks to you and everybody else for the help. Save me a lot of money.

 

Preacher Clint

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Thanks.

 

Having reloaded for cas shooters for 18 years, I found rather quickly that from summer to winter and from winter to summer, I would have to readjust all my bottle neck dies.

The temperature changes would change the bullet seating depth and I would get the bulge at the top of the neck or I would get loose neck tension and could turn the bullet in the case.

A couple of minutes to adjust after checking the first 10 rounds off the press help to catch these changes.

Could not have unhappy customers and I did my best to make sure that never happened.

 

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13 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

I had a similar problem with round that fit in my 92, 73, Lighting and 1st Gen Colt would not fit in the 3rd Gen.   I thought it might be that the chambers were too tight, a problem I'd encountered in .44-40, but I wasn't sure.   For one thing, some rounds would chamber, but others would not.  So I inspected some of the ones that didn't, and when I compared them to the ones that did, the only difference I could see was that the crimp was less than perfect.   So, instead of crimping and seating with the same die, I seated with the seating die, and then crimped with a Lee Factory Crimp Die.   Problem was solved.   I use Lee dies for .32-20.

 

I had the exact same problem as H.K. except my problem was chambering in the pistol. I was seating and crimping with the Lee seating die. I bought a Lee factory crimp die, set the seating die to just seat the bullet, and run the finished rounds throught the crimp die. It was an extra step, but it eliminated my problem. Before I put them away in the cartridge box I pull a pistol cylinder and check each one in to make sure they go in the cylinder all the way. Haven't had an issue with any since.

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15 hours ago, Preacher Clint said:

Running into that same thing with my "new to me" OM Ruger Vaqueros. Doing the same thing you are.

Those Rugers were known for having undersized cyl throats.

Can you with little effort push a bullet through the cylinder? 

OLG 

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2 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Those Rugers were known for having undersized cyl throats.

Can you with little effort push a bullet through the cylinder? 

OLG 

Yes. No problems when I don't try and use .430 sized bullets. Work fine with .427, and I plan to try .428 soon as I just got a .428 Lubrisizer die. I do seat and crimp in different stations now.

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