Availability of .32 Win Special?

P

photographix

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Is .32 Winchester Special not being made any more? I know it was never the most popular round...

Many sites on GunBot.com and AmmoSeek.com say they have some in stock, but when I click the links, the sites say that it's either backorder-able or "will not be available in the future."

I just got my granddad's 1941 Winchester 94 a week ago. I've been going over it, oiling it, and working the action. I'm anxious to take it to the range, since it's been 38 years since I last fired it. I want my elderly dad to go with me and shoot it a little, too, before it's too late.

The rifle's been in the possession of my uncle for a long time, and he hasn't used it for hunting since the late 70s or early 80s. He gave me a box and a half of SuperX and Remington ammo he bought back then, but I'd rather hang on to those antiques instead of firing them off.

My problem is that I can't seem to find any new .32 Winchester Special ammo for it. I can't realistically justify the cost of getting reloading gear and learning how to do it, since I will shoot such a small volume of ammo.

Do I have to wait for hunting season for .32 WS to show up again, or am I just SOL?
 
It's around. The local Sportsmans Warehouse in portland has had some for a while. It's not very common and not quite rare either. It costs about half again more than 30-30. I have the same vintage model 94 but in 30WCF. I reload for it even though it's one of the most common calibers. With a 32 Winchester Special there is an even greater incentive to reload. You can bid on some here: http://www.gunbroker.com/Rifle-Ammunition/BI.aspx?Keywords=32&ca=5000073
When you get a chance, stock up on ammo for it. It's a classy rifle, far nicer than a new one.
 
Your not SOL. Its around. Just takes a little hunt'in in your local to find it. Farm stores, gun shops. Yellow pages are a good resource to use. 32 Special is (not) one of those cartridges that others hoard. Although it is one that manufactures refer to as being (seasonal) made.
 
You'll be okay shooting it with .30-30 Winchester until you find
.32 Winchester Special. The difference being the .30-30 uses a
.308 diameter bullet and the .32 uses a .321 diameter bullet, but
try not going the other way around. The two cases are virtually
identical.
 
As said 30-30 will work.

But I would reload for it using 30-30 cases. I thought I saw prices of 32 going for about $30 per box. I do see it just not much.
 
I don't think it's a good idea to use 30-30 ammo in a 32 Special rifle. It might safely fire, but accuracy will likely be dismal at best, the bullets may even tumble, and velocity will probably be low as powder gasses leak around a bullet in a loose bore.
As far as reloading 32 Winchester Special using resized 30-30 cases goes, that's something I would probably do if I couldn't find sufficient properly headstamped 32 Special cases.
The 32 Special is one of those calibers that if you use it, you really should lay up a good stash of. I wouldn't feel I was being sufficiently self-reliant with less than 200 rounds. At 500, I would say, "Enough, already!".
 
What Pathfinder said +1. But with 500 shell its easy to justify reloading. Look around there are lots of 32 WIN die sets that are used and can be had for 20 bucks. I have found all the components readily available.
 
Wow, what a great bunch of responses! Thanks!

After reading, I looked into reloading gear, and it looks like to get started would be about $500+ or so for a good setup, maybe less if I really shop the used market or get lucky at a garage sale.

I'm a bit worried about running 30-30 through it. 0.013" difference in bullet diameter is a lot of space to fill, and I don't think the bullet would expand enough to engage the rifling in the bore. Even if it did expand somewhat, it probably wouldn't do it reliably enough to get any stability through spin, and velocity would drop due to blow-by, as Pathfinder45 stated.

Wouldn't the bullet be essentially bouncing around the barrel all the way to the muzzle? And with little or no spin, start tumbling in the air after it left the barrel?

I worry that the undersize bullet might damage the bore. I don't mind putting some normal wear and tear on the rifle, but I don't want risk ruining it by taking shortcuts.
 
You can break into reloading a lot cheaper than $500 but it all depends what you get. The more calibers you reload the more economical. I only reload 30-30, 30-40, and 6.5 arisaka. If I can find the ammo 30-30 cost $17 per 20, 30-40 for $40 and 6.5 arisaka for $30. Never seen arisaka on a shelf but midway was listing it at that.

I reload soft recoil loads for the 30-30 for under 20 cents a round. 30-40 and arisaka for about 40 cents a round reusing brass. I can do it all with a lee hand press, scale, and dies.

If you look in the reloading section people are running two different types of "you're nuts" solutions. Some guys have all the toys and many of them and other guy get by with the bare minimum. Most are probably in the middle.
 
I reload on a simple, single stage press, an old Lyman Spartan that I bought used at a gunshow for $25. For 50 bucks you should be able to get a decent 2nd hand press. I bought a 2nd hand RCBS powder measure for 20 dollars, I think. You'll need a powder scale, and a powder trickler. Also a primer feed-tube apparatus that mounts on your press, unless you want to use a hand priming tool that everybody but me swears by. You'll need to be able to trim your cases; I use the simplest Lee case trimmer with my cordless drill. If you don't trim your cases everytime then you better get a Lee Factory Crimp die for about $15. A shell holder for the press, powder, primers and bullets....Start with real basic stuff and keep it simple. I use a simple balance-beam scale that didn't cost a lot. If I had to spend 500 bucks to start reloading, it would never happen. Lee reloading equipment is generally cheaper, some of it a little too cheap, maybe. But for lever-action rifle cartridges, I consider their Factory Crimp die is a must-have item.
 
I reload for my 32 spc, one of my cast bullet guns. Policed up a couple of boxes of 30/30 brass someone had left at the range, ran it thru my 32 sizer, no sweat. What the guy said about trimming and Lee crimp die.
 
You can mix or match reloading accessories. But always buy a good solid heavy duty single stage press. Its the backbone of any reloaders bench. When it comes time to buy. Just asked the fellows here prior to purchase what they think of the equipment or piece you have in mind. Many here have reloaded for years & years and know what is good and what I call >light duty< concerning reloading tools.
BTW: If you are looking to buy ammo. Buy it locally if possible. Less expensive not having to pay shipping & Hazmat fee's. >(28.50) for a box or two of live ammo.
 
Remington still makes 32 win special loads.

But if your amiable, look into reloading for it.
You can use easy to get 30-30 cases and just run them through a 32 win sizing die. ( wala you now have 32 win brass)

Hornady makes some nice bullets.
Or if you want some fun. They are great cast bullet shooter.

All the good of the 30-30 plus some extra.

Here is mine a 1941 Marlin model 1936

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100_9196_zps8cae4070.jpg


100_9198_zpsc93860a2.jpg
 
You can get into a competent reloading set up (slow, and labor intensive, but effective) for a LOT less than $500.

You can get a single-stage kit with pretty much everything you need except powder, primers, and bullets, for less than $150.

You can get even better deals if you look for used equpiment in sales, craig's list, etc.
 
Out of Stock-No back order for Remington, Winchester, Hornady and Federal brands at Midway. Ditto for Grafs. Doesn't really say much though.
Cabela's has Remington and Hornady on sale. Backordable for both brands. Less fuss to reload.
 
Like others said, it's around. I saw some at a gun show a couple weeks ago, right next to some 303 Savage I was looking for. I didn't notice how much he was asking but the 303 was $36/box of 20. Yeow! I passed.
 
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