32-20

Levergun Loads: The .32-20 (.32 Winchester Centerfire) By John Taffin
By 1880 Winchester had both the Model 1873 and Model 1876 to offer to outdoorsmen, ranchers, cowboys, Texas Rangers, and hunters. The former was chambered in both .44-40 and .38-40 making it the near-perfect saddle gun while the latter chambered in .45-75 was a serious big game rifle. The 1873 was the preferred rifle of such peace officers as the Texas Rangers, while the 1876 was the favorite of the Dakota rancher destined to become president by the turn-of-the-century. However, something was missing and it was obvious that powers to be at Winchester saw the hole in their lineup of leverguns. In 1882 the hole was plugged.
Winchester needed something that could be used for small game and varmints, a cartridge having both adequate accuracy and muzzle energy in a rifle providing very little felt recoil, something that would provide a great improvement over the .22 Rimfire. The answer was the .32 Winchester Centerfire (.32 WCF) or as it is more commonly known the .32-20. The .44-40 grew out of the desire to provide a centerfire cartridge more powerful than the existing .44 Rimfire, while the .38-40 is simply the .44-40 necked to .40 caliber.The .32-20 was a totally new cartridge. It is still a bottleneck cartridge as both the .38 WCF and the .44 WCF.
There is a definite reason for the tapered shape of the three Model 1873 WCF cartridges, as it allows near flawless feeding through the action of repeating rifles so much easier than straight walled cartridges. The .32-20 tapers a total of .020” from the base to the mouth of the case. All three of these cartridges were eventually chambered in the Colt Single Action and while tapered cases worked well in leverguns, they would sometimes cause setback (the case head jamming against the recoil shield) when fired in a sixgun cylinder causing the cylinder to rotate with difficulty or not at all. Several records exist of sixgunners at the time going back to the .45 Colt when their .44-40 or .38-40 jammed on them at the wrong time. It doesn’t seem to be a problem with modern sixguns and ammunition and I have never experienced it with black powder rounds.
I find it interesting to go back and see what contemporary writers had to say about these old cartridges. A. C. Gould was one of the early editors of the magazine that would become The American Riflemen, and also the author of Modern American Pistols and Revolvers (1888), and Modern American Rifles (1891). In the latter work he has this to say about the .32-20: "The .32-20-115 Winchester and the .32-20-100 U.M.C. are extensively used in repeaters and some in single shot rifles. I have shot several thousand rounds of these cartridges in various rifles, and found they had too great smashing power to be used on small game at short-range; were quite accurate up 150 yards, and although they would often do good work at 200 yards, there was an unreliability about them at that range which would make me avoid them if I were to try and do good shooting at the target. These cartridges seem to do excellent work up to 150 yards and fall off rapidly beyond that distance."
Gould pretty well summed up the .32-20 at that time. Today we have better rifles, better powders, certainly better bullets, however, the .32-20 still remains basically a short-range rifle to be restricted to 150 yards or less. Since 1882 it has been chambered in both the Winchester Models 1873 and 1892, the Marlin 1894, the Colt Lightning, Single-Shots from both Stevens and Remington, and Savage and Winchester bolt action rifles. All of these had disappeared from production before World War II. It was resurrected by both Browning with the Model 65 and Marlin in the 1894CL during the last quarter of the 20th century. Marlin does not currently chamber their levergun in .32-20, however they can still be found in gunshops and at gun shows. It is a great little accurate lever action carbine. Today the .32-20 still exists in replica 1873s and in at least one 1892 Winchester/USRAC being offered through Davidson's. Loads for any 1873 replicas should be held to black powder levels.
Thanks to Cowboy Action Shooting we have new ammunition for the .32-20 from several manufacturers, however it is all loaded lightly for CAS competitors. The original .32-20 was a black powder cartridge using 20 gr. of black powder under a 115 gr. lead bullet for a very easy shooting 1,200 fps from the Winchester Model 1873. In 1900 a high velocity smokeless powder load was offered just under 1,600 fps, and in 1914, for use in the 1892 only, Winchester introduced a 115 JSP at 1,650 fps. The current Winchester loading, consisting of a 100 gr. lead bullet, clocks out of my 1920-ish Model 1892 at 1,136 fps.
The .32-20 first caught my eye as it was held in high esteem by my two favorite writers. Elmer Keith related how, as a teenager, he broke broncs to get enough money to buy his first centerfire Colt Single Action, a 7 ½” .32-20. Thirty years later, Skeeter Skelton had just mustered out of the service at the end of WWII, and stopped in Chicago long enough to purchase a 7 ½” Colt Single Action .32-20. My own search for the .32-20 has been a long one. While I did purchase a Marlin 1894 .32-20 when it first appeared back in 1988, I just could not find a Winchester in good shooting shape that I could even come close to affording. Then suddenly the Winchester appeared.
A local fellow called me to say he had a .32-20 Winchester Model 1892 for sale I would probably be interested in. I told him I would be at the local Cowboy Action Shooting match tomorrow if he wanted to bring it out. When he arrived I found an extremely good-looking 1892 Winchester with expected wear showing on both metal and wood. Nothing more than simply honest wear that gave it a classic look. How's the barrel? I asked. Very good was the reply. The price was most reasonable and with an I trust you so I will not even look at the barrel, the deal was consummated. Later that evening I called him and said, You lied to me! He was speechless, however I rescued him with a You told me the barrel was good; this barrel is perfect! I heard him breath a sigh of relief. I wish I could find like condition 1892s in both .44-40 and .38-40 for the same price! That old Winchester .32-20 has become such a favorite I had my local gunsmith, Mike Rainey at Shapel’s Gun Shop, cut the 22 inch barrel of the Marlin 1894CL back to 18 ½” and replace the 2/3 magazine with a full tube. Now it is almost as nice a handling levergun as the Winchester.
Of the three difficult to load bottle-necked Winchester Centerfire cartridges, the .44-40, the .38-40, and the .32-20, the .32-20 is the most fragile in my ham hands, and also required a little more effort to find the most accurate loads. The key is experimentation and it is well worth experimenting with to find a good shooting load. Each firearm has its own personality and one may need to experiment with different sized bullets as those which can be used in 32-20's are available from .308" up to .314" in diameter. Although the .32-20 is capable of excellent accuracy once that right load is discovered, it is not quite as easy to load as such normal straight walled cartridges of the same basic length such as the Magnum Trio of .357, .41, and .44. However with careful reloading, it is definitely capable of Magnum performance.
There are inherent difficulties attached to handloading the .32-20. There is a greater variation in the length of factory brass than in any other comparable cartridge in my experience. A quick look at a Remington and a Winchester .32-20 case will show immediately why cases must be separated by the brand names on the head stamps. Set up to crimp one properly and the other will be crushed, or the bullets will not be seated to the right depth. Since the .32-20 is a bottle-necked, or tapered, cartridge, carbide sizing dies are not available and cases must be lubed before sizing. For this operation I use Midway’s spray-on lube. I simply place 100 or more cases in a shallow cardboard tray, spray, shake, and spray again. I have not found it necessary to wipe the cases after they have been loaded.
Finally, the necks of .32-20 brass are literally paper thin. Hit the mouth of the case on the bottom of the sizing or expanding die, albeit ever so slightly, and the brass is gone. This same problem has existed for me with all the tapered trio of .32-20, .38-40, .44-40 in the past and I have lost a fair amount of brass when reloading any of these, and especially the .32-20, but no more. Switching to Starline brass, which is heavier than any other brand has solved this problem completely.
A longtime standard bullet for the .32-20 has been Lyman’s #311316, a 120 gr. flat-nosed gas check design. This is still my bullet of choice when it comes to cast bullets in the .32-20, however if my supply is low and I am either not up to or do not have the time for casting, I know I can obtain excellent results from BRP’s flat nosed gas checked bullets or Oregon Trail’s 115 gr. RNFP. The latter bullet has a plain base, however it does just fine in leverguns up to about 1,600 fps and then the accuracy begins to deteriorate, and by 1,700 fps the accuracy is very poor. The solution is simple; use gas check bullets, whether from BRP or cast from the Lyman mold for loads over 1,600 fps.
Two excellent jacketed bullets from Speer are available for the .32-20. These are both jacketed hollow points with a diameter of .312” in weights of 85 and 100 grains. With the 18 ½” Marlin my top loads with these two bullets are at 2,300 and 2,000 fps respectively. The 100 gr. bullet has proven to be more accurate than the 85 gr. bullet in this particular Marlin.
It is possible to load the .32-20 with some of the faster burning rifle powders, however I choose to use the same powders I normally use for sixgun cartridges. For my heaviest loads the choices are #2400, H4227, H110, AA#9, AA#1680, and IMR4227. For everyday workin’ loads under 1,400 fps, especially with cast bullets my powder of choice is Unique; and for relatively light loads, WW231, Red Dot, and TiteGroup are put to good use.
For longer than I have been shooting, two standard loads for the .32-20 have been 5.0 gr. Unique and 10.0 gr. #2400. These are still two loads that are pretty hard to beat. In the iron-sighted Winchester 1892, Speer’s 100 JHP over 5.0 gr. Unique is the most accurate load I have found. Muzzle velocity is a most easy shootin’ 1,240 fps and results in three-shot group of ¾” at 50 yards. I do not think this could be improved upon. Switching to 10.0 gr. of #2400 with the same bullet ups the muzzle velocity to 1,600 fps and a three-shot group of only 1 1/8 inches.
Switching to the Marlin with a 4X scope in place yields both a significantly higher muzzle velocity and a tighter group with the 10.0 gr. #2400 powder charge. The Marlin clocks out at 1,760 fps and a group of only 7/8 inches. So with one and one-half inches less barrel length, the Marlin picks up 160 fps in muzzle velocity once again proving that every firearm is a law unto itself.
Other excellent shooting loads in the Winchester includes Lyman's 120 gr. gas check with 4.0 gr. Unique with a muzzle velocity of 1,210 fps, making it the equivalent of the original black powder loading, and a 1 ¼” group. The 10.0 gr. #2400 load with this same bullet produces the same group size and a muzzle velocity of 1,625 fps. This last load is especially good for small game as it kills without destroying a lot of the meat.
The Marlin 1894CL, even though it has a Micro-Groove barrel, exhibited exceptional accuracy with both cast and jacketed bullets. With the Speer 100 gr. JHP, loads averaged well under one inch for three shots at 50 yards with 10 gr. H4227 and 9.0 gr. AA#9 both giving identical muzzle velocities of 1,600 fps and three-shot, fifty yard groups of ½” and 3/8” respectively; while 11.0 gr. H110 upped the muzzle velocity to 1,765 fps and a one hole, very small one hole, ¼” group. My heaviest loads using 15.0 gr. IMR4227 and CCI’s #400 Small Rifle Primers yields just over 2,000 fps and a group of 7/8” for three shots. I use this load only in the Marlin 1894 CL.
Remember this Marlin has a Micro-Groove barrel "that will not shoot cast bullets" or so say some shooters without actually checking for themselves. BRP's 115 gr. SWC over 10.0 gr. H4227 for 1, 455 fps puts three shots in ½”, while 5.0 gr. Unique (1,355 fps), 4.0 gr. WW231 (1,140 fps), and 3.5 gr. Red Dot (1,180 fps) with Oregon Trail’s Laser Cast 115 gr. RNFP all group their three shots well under one-inch at 50 yards. Any of these will serve well as small game loads.
The .32-20 may be a little harder to load for than say a levergun in .357 Magnum. The reward is an easy shooting rifle, one that can actually live up to the “I can shoot it all day” cliché and also one that is a grand first rifle for young shooters. It is definitely not a deer rifle, however whether used as a pest rifle around farm or ranch or just for an enjoyable afternoon outing, it is pretty hard to beat.

BRP Bullets, PO Box 70. Whitehall MT; phone: (406) 287-3120
Oregon Trail Bullet Co., PO Box 529, Baker City OR 97814; phone: (800) 811-0548. Also www.trueshotbullets.com

High Performance Loads For The .32-20 (.32 WCF)
Winchester Model 92 32-20 x 20"
Load MV Group/50 Yds
Winchester 100 Lead 1,136 2 1/4"
Hornady 100 XTP/11.0 grs. H110 1,569 1 5/8"
Speer 100 JHP/5.0 grs. Unique 1,242 3/4"
Speer 100 JHP/11.0 grs. H110 1,512 1 1/4"
Speer 100 JHP/10.0 grs. #2400 1,601 1 1/8"
Speer 100 JHP/15.0 grs. H4227 1,800 2 1/2"
BRP 120 GC/10.0 grs. H4227 1,420 1 1/4"
BRP 120 GC/10.0 grs. H110 1,525 1 3/8"
BRP 120 GC/10.0 grs. #2400 1,583 1 7/8"
Lyman 120 GC/4.0 grs. Unique 1,209 1 1/4"
Lyman 120 GC/5.0 grs. Unique 1,316 2"
Lyman 120 GC/10.0 grs. #2400 1,627 1 1/4"
Lyman 120 GC/12.0 gr. H4227 1,688 2"
Lyman 120 GC/4.0 gr. WW231 1,105 2"

Marlin 1894C .32-20 x 18 ½” / 4X Scope
Speer 100 Gr. Jacketed Hollow Point .312”
Load MV 3 Shots/50 Yds
10.0 gr.#2400 1,762 7/8”
12.0 gr. #2400 1,947 1 ¼”
10.0 gr. H4227 1,598 ½”
15.0 gr. IMR 4227 2,004 7/8”
9.0 gr. AA#9 1,598 3/8”
11.0 gr. H110 1,764 ¼”
14.5 gr. AA#1680 1,724 7/8”
Speer 85 Gr. Jacketed Hollow Point .312”
11.0 gr. #2400 1,769 1 ½”
12.0 gr. #2400 1,971 1 ½”
13.0 gr. #2400 2,130 1 ¼”
12.0 gr. AA#9 2,028 1”
13.0 gr. AA#9 2,140 1 ½”
14.0 gr. AA#9 2,301 1 1/8”
13.0 gr. H4227 1,735 1 ½”
14.0 gr. H4227 1,960 1 ½”
15.0 gr. H4227 2,025 1 ¼”
BRP 115 SWC GC .313”
10.0 gr. #2400 1,702 1 ½”
11.0 gr. #2400 1,819 1 ¼”
10.0 gr. H4227 1,456 ½”
11.0 gr. H4227 1,613 1 ¼”
12.0 gr. H4227 1,685 1 ¼”
10.0 gr. AA#9 1,726 1”
11.0 gr. AA#9 1,837 1”
10.0 gr. H110 1,525 1 ½”
5.0 gr. Unique 1,350 1 3/8”
Oregon Trail 115 RNFP .313”
10.0 gr. #2400 1,702 Poor Accuracy
10.0 gr. H4227 1,382 1 ½”
9.0 gr. AA#9 1,582 1”
14.5 gr. AA#1680 1,604 1”
5.0 gr. Unique 1,357 5/8”
4.0 gr. WW231* 1,141 ¾”
3.5 gr. Red Dot* 1,181 ½”
3.5 gr. TiteGroup* 1,208 1 ¼”
* These loads are suitable for use in Model 1873 replicas.