32 S&W Long with 327 Dies, Problem

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flyguy958

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I'm loading 32 S&W long with 327 fed mag dies. Everything works good up till time to crimp. I have adjusted the die all the way down to the shell holder and I can't get a crimp. Do I just need to buy 32 long dies?

Second question is has anyone loaded 100gr cast bullets in 327 fed mag to mouse loads. I've got B/E, Unique, Trailboss. I know this has been hashed over but I could not find a solution.
 
With trailboss you can load like black powder. Figure out where the base of the bullet is when seated and fill with powder to that point.

Do you have .32 Mag loads for Unique or BE? I'd just use those in a .327 case for a light load. Both those powders are versatile enough that there shouldn't be any problems. If those loads are still too much you can probably go even lower, but you'll have to watch for squibs. You should be able to find Unique and BE load data for .32 S&W and .32 S&W long, however the pressure is going to be radically different due significantly larger .327 case. I'd guess .32 S&W loads would be problematic.
 
Do I just need to buy 32 long dies?
Click to expand...

Pretty much, yes...

The .32 S&W Long case is SHORTER than the .327 Fed Mag case.

No matter what you do (short of cutting off the bottom of the die) the shorter case will not reach the crimp shoulder of the die.

You can crimp a longer case successfully in a die made for a shorter one, but the reverse is not possible. The die for the shorter case can be adjusted "out" (up) to compensate for the longer case. It cannot work for a case shorter than it is made for.

This is why you can use .38 Special dies to load .357 Magnum, and .44 Special for .44 Magnum. The seater die is made with the crimp shoulder at the right length for the shorter case. Normally today you see dies marked 38/357 and 44SPL & MAG. This tells you the die can be adjusted to do either.

When you see a die marked for only the Magnum cases, it likely won't crimp shorter cases.

What you need is a die made (or remade) to match the length of you .32 Long cases. (and not bottom out on the shellholder)

Best thing is to get the correct die. Next best is to take your .327 seater die to a machinist and have them cut the correct amount of material off the bottom of your .327 die to allow crimping the shorter .32 Long brass.

Your cut off seater die will still do .327 just fine, Up to you which way to go.

Good Luck!
 
You should be able to keep your .327 dies, if the bullets are being seated correctly, and just buy a Lee Factory Crimp Die in .32 SWL. Seat the bullet like you are now, but crimp with the LFCD.
 
My solution for the shorties was just buying a set of ".32 S&W" dies.
Since I went with Lee, that means the set is actually made up of a .32 ACP sizer, a .32 S&W Long expander (it adjusts low enough), and a .32 S&W seat/crimp die.

For .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long, I typically only use the seating die from the set.
All sizing is done with an RCBS .327 Federal sizing die.
Expanding is done with a Lyman M die. (Even for jacketed bullets. I use it for everything.)


As for light loads in .327 brass... I haven't really gone there.
I did experiment with TrailBoss, but results were not good. It was very erratic - to the point that safety was questionable and I vowed to never use it again in .327 Federal.
I'd rather scrub carbon rings in the chamber from .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R, than deal with popped primers (or worse).
 
I have a dedicated expander and seat/crimp for the 32 SWL and borrow the sizer from the 327 Federal Lyman die set. I can also use the 32 H&R RCBS Cowboy set if I want .001 larger sizer and expander. I could use the 32 H&R Cowboy seat/crimp, if I chose to disturb the crimp setting. I just decided to get a dedicated expander and seat/crimp single dies for the 32 SWL. I believe they are RCBS.
 
Above is all correct, but, for the sake of completeness, I'll point out that some shorter dies don't work with longer cases because the long case can reach the sizing die support before sizing is complete. A .357 Maximum, for example, can run into the decapper rod adjuster in some .357/.38 Spl dies.
 
Well, ordered the Lee carbide die et, thanks for all the advise.

I'd still like to hear if anyone has tried light cast loads in the 327.
 
I'd still like to hear if anyone has tried light cast loads in the 327.
Click to expand...

I found your earlier mention an interesting idea and thought, if I was going to do that, I would try a max load for 32 H&R that used one of the faster burning powders.
 
"...32 S&W Long with 327 Fed mag dies..." The Federal is 280 thou longer than the S&W Long. Buy the dies. It'll save you all the mucking around using the wrong dies.
 
T. O'Heir, they're straight-wall cases of the same diameter.
Specific sizing dies are not required.
Click to expand...
The sizing dies may be the same diameter, but he will not be able to crimp 32 S&W Long using a .327 crimping die.
 
Well, ordered the Lee carbide die et, thanks for all the advise.

I'd still like to hear if anyone has tried light cast loads in the 327.
Click to expand...

M. D. Smith's Reloading pages shows 3.2 gr Trailboss with that 100 gr lead to be just above 800 fps in a 5.5 barrel. That is pretty much moderate 32 H&R velocity but a heavier powder load. 90 or 115 gr loads are far more common in the powder company data.
 
If you were to check all my dies, you'd find that each one is marked for the cartridge it's designed for. If all there were was those expensive die's, I might be looking to use die's not intended for the cartridge I was loading. Look at less expensive dies! Get them in the right cartridge for your firearm. or, if you must, Midway, Lee factory crimp die is on sale for $17.99. If that breaks the bank, you shouldn't be reloading in the first place.
 
Don, that's very easily done for most cartridges, but the .32 revolver cartridges are a bit of a different beast. Because they're all basically lengthened versions of .32 S&W, manufacturers can get away with using a small selection of dies to cover most of the cartridges.

All that matters for sizing is that the die is bored deep enough. All that matters for seating/crimping is that the die has enough adjustment to reach the case.

Even straight from the manufacturers, a die set might be a mix-and-match affair - especially with the Lee die sets. (See my first two sentences in post #8 of this thread.)
Or, as is the case with .327 Federal dies from RCBS, not a single die in that box is marked for the actual cartridge. They're all marked ".32 S&W L" (.32 S&W Long).
My Redding dies are a similar situation. The part number is the one listed for .327 Federal. The box is labeled ".32 H&R Magnum". But the dies are marked, ".32 SWL".
My Lyman dies are only marked "32"! (And two of them are clearly .32 S&W Long dies, sold as .327 Federal dies.)

I don't own a single die marked for .327 Federal, even though I own at least 10 dies sold as such.
I only own one die marked for .32 H&R.
I only own two dies marked for .32 S&W.
And, even though I never specifically bought a die for the cartridge, I have a die marked ".32 Auto".

The .32 revolver cartridges are .... "special".

But, it does happen other places, as well: My .275 Rigby dies, for example, are all marked "7X57". I don't own a single die that's properly marked for the cartridge.
 
My Lyman set was listed as for 327 Federal. It has 327 marked on the sizer and seat/crimp. The expander has no caliber number on the die body, but the tip of the expander is marked "32AP". The 327 expander adjustment is backed out considerably, so the die is probably universal to 32.
 
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