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Found an old Winchester 92 in 32-20 with a 20" barrel for $595 today... no rust, no cracks, but the wood and metal show hard use... action felt brand new, bore is excellent. It's a lightweight thing, a bit short LOP which I like, and it felt great to put it up and find the sights.
I figure I could buy a couple hundred rounds and reload them. How useful is the 32-20 round? Is it too little for deer inside 100 yards?
Thanks for your thoughts!
- MacEntyre
P.S. I'm thinking a 92 in 32-20 is a far better indulgence than a M1 carbine, and a bit more oomphh...
EDIT: purchased the rifle... pics in post #27!
Last edited by MacEntyre on Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:48 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Waitin' 'cause I generally buy guns for self defense these days... already have a Sav99/300Sav, Marlin 30-30, and a 30-06 bolt gun... tough to justify a plinker.
GO FOR IT ROCKY.......................................IT'S A .22 MAG ON STERIODS MORE FUN THAN T-BOW AND THE STEELERS....... . And if You don't like it You can always sell it to one of US HERE. .
Nothing wrong with a 32-20 rifle for self defense either. Handloaded to it's potentional in a rifle (2000+ fps), its muzzle energy is greater than a .357 revolver.
I load two rounds for my Browning 53 32-20. One fast 100-grain jacketed bullet for 'farm use' and a much slower 115-grain lead bullet for general plinking and small game use. The 32-20 is a great round!
Once you start shooting that 92, you will end up with a new truck gun. Try a box of Black Hills ammo, 115 grain lead in Starline brass. There are many, many good loads for the 32wcf, from squirrel and rabbit on up to some hard hitting loads. I have a 92 rifle made in 1917 with the 24 inch barrel. Lately I have been loading the 85 and 100 grain Hornady XTP HP bullets.
You will enjoy it.
JerryB II Corinthians 3:17, Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
MacEntyre wrote:Waitin' 'cause I generally buy guns for self defense these days... already have a Sav99/300Sav, Marlin 30-30, and a 30-06 bolt gun... tough to justify a plinker.
32-20 would be like a .22 that's worth reloading.
It's way more then a 22......shown left to right 22LR. 22MAG. 32-20
Mossyoak1957 wrote:
It's way more then a 22......shown left to right 22LR. 22MAG. 32-20
Yes, you are correct, and I am converted. I have experience only with the 32 S&W Long revolver rounds, which won't penetrate a 3/4" pine board. The video links that Tycer provided showed that the 32-20 works much better out of a rifle. I'm still laughing... 500 yard hits on a bell!
I've been reading, and was surprised to find so little difference between 32-20 barrel diameters and 30 cal barrel diameters.
Can you use .308 bullets cast or FMJ to load 32-20 rounds?
...ok, answered my own question... older guns were bored for .312 fmj .312 cast; newer for .308. Sounds like it would be worth pushing a cast bullet through the barrel to find it's actual diameter.
Will a 20" Winchester 92 hold about 10 rounds of 32-20?
If you can tell ne what the serial number is I will be able to tell you what the barrel address, caliber stamp, and upper tang ought to be so you will know if the rifle is original or not. Is it a short barrel rifle or saddle ring carbine configuration? http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... ey#p343093
I will be glad to help.
Michael
Michael Puzio Winchester Model 1892 Collector, Research & Valuations
No, the .32 WCF is not an "adequate" deer cartridge, although I have killed a number of them with it, in a 92..
It is about as much fun as you can have with a levergun, while keeping your clothes on...!
Of course it's 2012 and you need one of the "new" short magnums to kill a deer but a lot of "old fashion" deer fell (and still are falling) to venerable old hunters using the venerable old .32 WCF fired from venerable old Win 73s and 92s.
My uncle still sends photos of his deer laden meat pole of deer shot with his original 92 in .32 WCF..........don't those dumb critters know their not supposed to be dead after being shot with an inadequate cartridge?
Sure wish those darned Luddite Whitetails would read the latest gun magazines and quit falling to that old antiquated caliber.......................bucks, get with the program already!!
.32 WCF ballistics (muzzle): bullet - 110 gr soft point velocity - 2,100 ft/s energy - 1,077 ft·lb
Of course the .32-20 is adequate for deer within the 100 -150 yard ranges it was intended for.
I will be glad to get the data and add the rifle to my work. You can either send me photos or I will send a set to you
that the rifle 'should' match. 2bitrifles@gmail.com
Thanks
Michael
Michael Puzio Winchester Model 1892 Collector, Research & Valuations
I started with 1894CL in 32-20, and uple of years later a Hand Ejector in 32-20 jumped off a table at a gun show at me, and then a Bowen Blackhawk in 32-20 called my name and just last year a 95% Colt Army Special came to live at my house.
Thanks for the images and the SN so that I could add the rifle to my survey. Your rifle is actually a carbine configuration that was ordered without the saddle ring, but with a special order shotgun butt. The interestting thing abot the stock is the inclusion of the Whelen flutes on the top edge on either side of the stock. This differs from the standard shotgun butt used on these guns. Most rifles with this style of butt also have shorter than standard full length magazines. This style of stock became the standard for the Model 53 which was introduced in 1924 as a lightweight version of the Model 92. The two models have identical receivers and parts.
The rear sight is not original to the rifle. The standard sight is a folding carbine sight with gradations from 0 to 20 on its right hand side.
Have fun and thanks again.
Michael
Michael Puzio Winchester Model 1892 Collector, Research & Valuations
No, the .32 WCF is not an "adequate" deer cartridge, although I have killed a number of them with it, in a 92..
It is about as much fun as you can have with a levergun, while keeping your clothes on...!
Of course it's 2012 and you need one of the "new" short magnums to kill a deer but a lot of "old fashion" deer fell (and still are falling) to venerable old hunters using the venerable old .32 WCF fired from venerable old Win 73s and 92s.
My uncle still sends photos of his deer laden meat pole of deer shot with his original 92 in .32 WCF..........don't those dumb critters know their not supposed to be dead after being shot with an inadequate cartridge?
Sure wish those darned Luddite Whitetails would read the latest gun magazines and quit falling to that old antiquated caliber.......................bucks, get with the program already!!
.32 WCF ballistics (muzzle): bullet - 110 gr soft point velocity - 2,100 ft/s energy - 1,077 ft·lb
Of course the .32-20 is adequate for deer within the 100 -150 yard ranges it was intended for.
I don't doubt you can get that velocity in a modern rifle with todays powder and a jacketed bullet. My guess is that the original loadings with black powder were not anywhere close to that.
..
twobit wrote:
The rear sight is not original to the rifle. The standard sight is a folding carbine sight with gradations from 0 to 20 on its right hand side.
Thank you very much, Michael.
The front sight is a block with a very narrow pin on top... hard for some to see. Is it original?
I want a tang peep sight with a Merit aperture... I have a Marbles tang peep on my 99... which mfr do folks recommend for the 92?
Traveling for a week... haven't even got time to order lead and brass before I leave!
.32 WCF ballistics (muzzle): bullet - 110 gr soft point velocity - 2,100 ft/s energy - 1,077 ft·lb
Of course the .32-20 is adequate for deer within the 100 -150 yard ranges it was intended for.
I don't doubt you can get that velocity in a modern rifle with todays powder and a jacketed bullet. My guess is that the original loadings with black powder were not anywhere close to that.
According to my Winchester 1905 catalog the standard .32 WCF for Model 1892 had a velocity at 50 feet of 1177 fps with 114 grain projectile!!
Even the .32 WHVWinchester High Velocity was only 1575 fps wit ha 115 grain projectile.
Michael
Michael Puzio Winchester Model 1892 Collector, Research & Valuations
MacEntyre wrote:Found an old Winchester 92 in 32-20 with a 20" barrel for $595 today... no rust, no cracks, but the wood and metal show hard use... action felt brand new, bore is excellent. It's a lightweight thing, a bit short LOP which I like, and it felt great to put it up and find the sights.
I figure I could buy a couple hundred rounds and reload them. How useful is the 32-20 round? Is it too little for deer inside 100 yards?
Thanks for your thoughts!
- MacEntyre
P.S. I'm thinking a 92 in 32-20 is a far better indulgence than a M1 carbine, and a bit more oomphh...
EDIT: purchased the rifle... pics in post #27!
ABSOLUTELY! Go for it!
(Although, asking that here is a bit like asking a bunch of drunks if you should take a shot or not... Yep, we be enablers!)
.32 WCF ballistics (muzzle): bullet - 110 gr soft point velocity - 2,100 ft/s energy - 1,077 ft·lb
Of course the .32-20 is adequate for deer within the 100 -150 yard ranges it was intended for.
I don't doubt you can get that velocity in a modern rifle with todays powder and a jacketed bullet. My guess is that the original loadings with black powder were not anywhere close to that.
According to my Winchester 1905 catalog the standard .32 WCF for Model 1892 had a velocity at 50 feet of 1177 fps with 114 grain projectile!!
Even the .32 WHVWinchester High Velocity was only 1575 fps wit ha 115 grain projectile.
Michael
The man was entertaining the idea of buying the firearm for use today.
I doubt if he will be following the old back powder recipe to which the published 1910 ballistics refer to load his ammo but you never know.
I have a 32-20, 24" octagon barreled rifle that came from my father in law. Had the barrel relined and NKJ slicked up the action for me. Wonderful little rifle. And you know what? a Colt SAA in 32-20 wormed it's way into my safe.
M. M. Wright, Sheriff, Green county Arkansas (1860)
Currently living my eternal life.
NRA Life
SASS
ITSASS
Lever Guns Magazine Vol 2 has an article called, Loads for lever gun cartridges. It does list a Speer 100gr JHP 13.5gr H-110 Rem 7 1/2 primer for a MV of 2100FPS and 30,000 CUP. The author says it is his regular hunting load in STRONG firearms. The article is by Brian Pearce so not a dummy. I'm probably not going to duplicate these loads and I imagine he recommends caution and sound judgement when working up to these pressures but he does say it is a regular hunting load. Be safe and have fun with that 32.
.32 WCF ballistics (muzzle): bullet - 110 gr soft point velocity - 2,100 ft/s energy - 1,077 ft·lb
Of course the .32-20 is adequate for deer within the 100 -150 yard ranges it was intended for.
I don't doubt you can get that velocity in a modern rifle with todays powder and a jacketed bullet. My guess is that the original loadings with black powder were not anywhere close to that.
According to my Winchester 1905 catalog the standard .32 WCF for Model 1892 had a velocity at 50 feet of 1177 fps with 114 grain projectile!!
Even the .32 WHVWinchester High Velocity was only 1575 fps wit ha 115 grain projectile.
Michael
The man was entertaining the idea of buying the firearm for use today.
I doubt if he will be following the old back powder recipe to which the published 1910 ballistics refer to load his ammo but you never know.
Maybe he doesn't own a chronograph, and perhaps the deer are thinner-skinned in his hunting area. I would think that deer that haven't read up on all of the latest shortymag propaganda in the gun magazines are going to be immune to calibers like the 32-20, or even 30-30, for that matter. Get that 32-20, forget about the statistical ballistic data,and have some fun!
There was a post or two in the past that mentioned a tang sight from Taurus that would fit on the Rossi 92s. I'd guess that it would work on a Win without the tang safety.
I have a Marbles tang peep on my Savage 99... like it a lot.
A Lyman No. 2 tang peep sight is so much less expensive than a Marbles.
A Lyman 66A receiver sight would be nice... requires D&T and is priced halfway between the Lyman tang peep and the Marbles tang peep... not as vintage as a tang peep but compact and handy.
I haven't found a Wms 5D receiver sight for the 92...
Seems like a tang peep on a 92 would severely constrict your grip.
Anyone have experience with a Providence Tool Co. "Pattern 21" Receiver Peep Sight?
EDIT: Found the Lyman 66A receiver sight at Natchez for $75... might go with that one. I read somewhere that the 92 receiver is thin, and difficult to d&t... and mine already has a hole for a scope near where the receiver sight would go...
.
Yep, we be enablers!)
