Thoughts and Photos of the 32 W.C.F. (32-20)

[KirkD]

Thoughts and photos of the 32 WCF (32-20)

It’s hard to say sometimes why certain cartridges can have such a powerful nostalgic hold on a fellow. My first introduction to the 32-20 cartridge was back when I was a young fellow growing up in a rural area. My best friend on a farm four miles away bought a box of 32-20 cartridges for an ancient, well-used Marlin rifle that had obviously been heavily used on some homestead back in the late 1800’s. The afternoon when he opened that box, pulled out some of those little cartridges, and fed them into that old rifle is still fresh in my memory. Perhaps it was the sight of that old homesteading rifle and those fascinating little cartridges that got a nostalgic hold on me that is at least as strong some 45 years later.

Here’s a shot of my own 32-20, originally known as the 32 W.C.F. Mine is an original Winchester Model 53 made in 1929, with ’32 W.C.F.’ marked on the barrel. It is both my daughters’ favourite gun to shoot …. no noticeable recoil and not much of a bang. As for me, it's my all time pet varmint cartridge. With a 115 grain bullet at 1,257 fps, I do have to sneak up a little closer, but that is part of the fun.



I’ve purchased a bunch of Starline 32-20 brass and started loading them this week with my pet load of 9.5 grains of 5744. It is an accurate load but this new batch of 5744 sure meters poorly, often plus or minus 0.4 grains. For that reason, I’m planning to develop two new loads this weekend using Blue Dot and 2400. I know that 2400 meters like a dream. I’ll be saving my 5744 for larger capacity cartridges where plus or minus 0.4 doesn’t make much of a difference.

In the meantime, here is a close up of some of my loaded cartridges for your viewing pleasure. My wife thinks they are cute. By the way, the book is an original copy of Frank Tose' Trapping Tanning and Taxidermy and is a gold mine of information. You can get reprints still for it or download an electronic copy.

[Doc.Holliday]

Nice Rifle; Is it original or did you or previous owner restore it?
To me it makes no nevermind but I prefer nice guns or made nice. I don't own for Collector value pure enjoyment.
I'm looking for a nice looking Winchester 94 in 25-35 .
Enjoy

Doc.

[KirkD]

Nice Rifle; Is it original or did you or previous owner restore it?

It is completely original with a mint bore and special wood and sights.

[3leggedturtle]

Really nice 92. Have you ever used 5744 in a 25/20?

[KirkD]

Really nice 92. Have you ever used 5744 in a 25/20?

I have not. My best load for the 25-20 was 5 grains of Unique under a gas checked Lyman 257420 for 1,587 fps. It gave five-shot groups at 100 yards of around 2" with open iron sights.

[jdad]

8.5gr of 2400 under a 115gr LFP is my accurate load, in all three of my 32-20's.

[3leggedturtle]

Thanks, I have a single cavity 257464 Lyman mold

[KirkD]

8.5gr of 2400 under a 115gr LFP is my accurate load, in all three of my 32-20's.

I'll have to try that.

[junkwrencher]

I do not understand why the slow in popularity other than the new caliber craze. I am also a fan of the .25-20(.25WCF). I was going to suggest you try Unique, but it looks like you probably have thought of that already. As far as the cartridge, it is just about perfect for eastern game small and large. I sometimes bring up the Jordan buck when it comes to calibers of less than magnum, long-range capabilities. I currently own three rifles in .38-.357mag.

[junkwrencher]

Kirkd, could you post some pictures of the barrel contour/bluing as well, btw, the wood and reciever are beauitiful.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I like 2400 in the .32-20 also. With the 311008 bullet sized to .314 and 7 or 8 gr. it is a soft and accurate load.
Have fun!

[KirkD]

Kirkd, could you post some pictures of the barrel contour/bluing as well, btw, the wood and reciever are beauitiful.

Here are a couple I took last fall that show the blueing and barrel a bit better.

[ollogger]

Kirk
very nice Winchester as always!
Like the 32-20 alot, but having sold my 73 I no longer have one, But I replaced the 73
with a 92 in 25-20 & a 94 in a 25-35, so got 2x the fun outta that deal


ollogger

[rjohns94]

Very nice. Very very nice.

[RIHMFIRE]

thanks Kirk

I just drooooooolllllled allllllll over my keeeeeeeeeeyboooooard....

[JerryB]

Kirk, I know what you mean about a young teenager and the 32wcf. I bought my 92 rifle from my uncle when I was fifteen, my first "big game" rifle still as good now as was the first shot I fired with it.
1953 was along time ago.

[KWK]

In my book, that rifle of yours is among the best looking repeaters Winchester ever made.

Nice photography, too, Kirk.

[Nath]

So you was 1year old watching the ole' marlin loaded

The rifle is a peach Kirk!

My local dealer has some Rem 32-20 brass in. I check it out everytime and yes, it does talk to a woodsbum like me

Thankyou Kirk.

Nath.

[North Country Gal]

Kirkd, could you post some pictures of the barrel contour/bluing as well, btw, the wood and reciever are beauitiful.

Here are a couple I took last fall that show the blueing and barrel a bit better.

That is one beautiful lever gun.

[2ndovc]

The .32-20 will always be my favorite Lever Gun cartridge!

I bought my first '92 just before I graduated college. It was at estate auction and I cleaned out my checking account paying $420 for it in the
early '90s. I can still hear my ex-wife screaming at me for spending all that money. Well she's long gone and that '92 is worth four times what I paid for it in the condition it's in. It's also the same cartridge that got me into reloading. I found one 50 round box in the three counties that I traveled looking for it! I figured I could roll my own easier.
Shortly after I added a '92 SRC in .32WCF, not as pristine but my favorite woods walkin' bumming rifle. Both have knocked off a pile of woodchucks and other varmints. I have another '92 in .44WCF but still want one in .25-20 just because I have loads of cast bullets and brass for it.

jb

[gamekeeper]

thanks Kirk

I just drooooooolllllled allllllll over my keeeeeeeeeeyboooooard....

I have the same problem....

[w30wcf]

Kurt,
Great looking rifle!
Here's a bit of .32 W.C.F. & .32-20 cartridge history.
1882
Historically speaking, the .32 W.C.F., forerunner of the .32-20, was introduced in 1882 in Winchester's model of 1873 rifle. It was loaded with 115 gr. lead bullets over 20 grs of b.p. at a cataloged 1,177 f.p.s.

1888
Several years later, U.M.C. / Marlin introduced their .32-20 cartridge beginning with the Marlin 1888 rifle although the rifle was marked 32W to honor Winchester. The actual 32-20 marking began with the 1894 Marlin. The .32-20 used the same case as the .32 W.C.F. but used a lighter 100 gr. bullet. Early on it was called the .32-20-100 Marlin Safety. Cataloged velocity was 1,234 f.p.s.



1895
Smokeless cartridges were introduced in 1895 along with "metal patched" (jacketed) bullets. By 1910, velocities had increased to 1,222 f.p.s. & 1,280 f.p.s. respectively in smokeless loadings.


1903
Higher performance .32 W.C.F. W.H.V. (Winchester), .32-20 H.V. (U.M.C. & Rem-Umc), .32-20 H.P. (Peters) cartridges were introduced in the early 1900's. Velocities were 1,610 f.p.s. and 1,640 f.p.s. repectively. Cartridges looked the same as the above (MP bullets) but the headstamp told the story with the W.H.V., H.V. or H.P. added to the headstamp. They were discontinued in the late 1930's.



1925
In 1925, the 80 gr. Superspeed cartridge was introduced by Winchester. It remained in production until 1969 after which is was obsoleted. Initial velocity was 2,050 f.p.s. and was later increased to 2,100 f.p.s.



1946
Up until, 1946, the standard loading for both cartridges remained at 115 gr. for the .32 W.C.F. and 100 gr. for the .32-20. After 1946, only the .32-20 remained with Winchester dropping the .32 W.C.F. moniker and changed to the .32-20 designation which they felt was more popular.

Jacketed bulleted ammunition was discontinued around 1990 leaving only the 100 gr. lead bulleted ammunition which, thankfully, is still available today.

Thankfully, handloaders can replicate the current and historic cartridge loadings of the years gone by.......

w30wcf

[w30wcf]

32-20 fun.....steel targets
"Wind" at the controls. Filmed by "Wet Dog".
120 gr cast bullet / 5.0 Unique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCe0wiKBNEI

400 yard dinger and penetration testing in water jugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfpAubkUrhA


w30wcf

[KirkD]

Excellent posts, w30wcf. Thank you for that great information and history. Much appreciated. This weekend I'm going to a gun show and hope to pick up an original BP 32 WCF cartridge for my collection.

[Sixgun]

Kirk,
Another nice one!

The famous cast bullet shooter, Frank Marshall (who Jack Kort turned me onto) said, "There's something to be said about the plain base cast bullet at 1400 fps."

That's what 5.5 gr. of Unique with the Lyman 3118 does and in 40 years of playing with the 32-20, I have never had a 32-20 rifle (1892 W or 89-94 M or 25R) that did not like this load.-------------------6

[ethang]

That is a nice looking rifle. When I was younger I remember reading an article by Skeeter about the 32/20 and his Colt Bisley. His writing about it made me want to purchase one. Your posting about this one makes me want one all over again.

[MacEntyre]

Wow! That's a well preserved shooter, KirkD... I'm ashamed to post pics of my 94 year old '92 in "32 WCF". It's been carried a lot!

[FatJackDurham]

Gorgeous wood. How does one keep wood that nice for 80 years?

[Ysabel Kid]

Sweet!

[piller]

Don't you fellers know that a 32 caliber is just too small to kill a deer, and only 1200 fps, that is so slow that it might not make it out the barrel before it falls to the earth from a lack of energy. Why, just read a current gun magazine, and you will see that it takes at least a 33 caliber and at least 3000 fps to kill anything larger than an anemic cottontail.

Seriously now, that is a nice looking rifle. PillHer has a .327 Magnum revolver and I wish someone would make a levergun in that caliber. It would just about perfectly duplicate the 32 W.C.F. and I can load the straight wall case without buckling any. I buckle about 1 out of every 300 of my .30-30 cases.

[M. M. Wright]

Love the pics of Miss May. I had to look to see what month it was. I still have a Colt SAA in 32-20 and an old Winchester 92 that had to be re-lined. It's a first year of production and had to be refinished. Still doesn't look very good but shoots great.
The 32-20 is the only caliber for which I have all the brass and bullets I will ever need. The kids can worry about where to get more when I'm gone. Well, I still have bullet molds so that's taken care of as long as they can find lead.

[QCI Winchesters]

One of my favourite calibres of all time, I had both a '73 and a '92. Still regret selling the '73. I have killed dozens of raccoons with my old '92, the 115gr. lead bullet stops even the biggest coons with a centre hit. The .32WCF is also one of the best rounds for use with black powder. I attribute the lack of fouling to the small quantity of powder being burned, but it still surprises me how clean the bore stays.