Pardini .32 S&W long loads and bullets

Sirs:
I am looking for advice for my Pardini 32, that I haven't shot yet...
I am thinking of Accurate molds 31-100W, 100 grain, as a cast bullet, cast at 314...
 Lubed and sized down to .313....
 3.3 (?) grains Trail Boss, Lapua brass, and Remington primers...
 Taper crimping or roll...??? I'm leaning towards crimping....
I'm asking this before I order the wrong mold....
Thanks   Tommy

I have not found any reload yet to be as accurate as any of the factory ammo I have found and shot.
Some loads that are at least OK:
The "best" powder I have found for Hdy 90gn L-HBWC is 231/HP38 from 1.4-1.9gn
Other loads:
90gn Hdy L-HBWC, N310, 1.4gn
90gn Hdy L-HBWC, Red Dot, 1.9gn

Speer and Lapua 98gn L-HBWC:
1.7gn 231/HP38
1.7gn Bullseye
1.3-1.5gn N310
1.7gn Red Dot
1.5gn WST
Again, none of these were as good as factory, but they were much better than other powder/charge variation.
Normally, I find a range of accurate charge weights, but not with .32S&W Long--and not past 25 yds.

Sir: Thanks for the reply....
 I use the Trail Boss because I have 5 lbs of it.... I use it in my .45 and have gotten good results with it...
Some say it is Smokey and Dirty, I don't find this to be true....
I shoot in a league and I've had other shooters blasting crap in my eyes and face, Hard to breath right when you're coughing it out....
Never had a complaint on too much smoke.....
I found that 1.5 to 2.0 grains of TB should give me 600-700 fps. Hopefully it will be good enuf.... Again thanks for the reply.... Tommy

Sounds ideal.
One thing to watch for--swaging the bullet down in size during seating. Found I had to get a slightly larger case expander plug.
It's a temperamental little bugger...

The .32 IMHO is one of the more difficult to get good, accurate handloads. I have a FAS 603, a Benelli 95, and a Benelli MP3S. The round must be under 2" at 25 yards to even be considered and I want them closer to 1" groups @ 25. The consistent best load is a Remington case, small pistol primer of your choice, Lapua 98 WC, and 1.7-1.8 of Accurate #2. You will have to work very hard to beat this combination. I never had the same luck with Speer 98s or Hornady 90s; they just don't shoot as well as the Lapua. However if you can get the Magtech 98 WC bullets, they too work pretty well with the Accurate #2.  My standard is to get the handload to shoot at least as well as the Lapua factory ammo.

I also tried most every bullet mold out there and hands down the best is Saeco 95 WC sized at 0.314". Some of the others would cast OK bullets but the Saeco is really in another league when you start shooting them on target. VV N310 and WST in the 1.4 - 1.6 range will work well with the Saeco. Good luck to you and YMMV.

I have a .32, but I have struggled to get it to shoot well even with the right barrel twist.  I've been reloading on an RCBS press.  I think my problem could be that my expander may not be big enough. 

I now reload mostly on Dillon presses.  Is there an expander out there that would fix my problem?

I have never heard of an expander causing that but that doesn't mean it couldn't. As I said in the previous post, 32s are very unforgiving of load components. I use Lee and Lyman dies and I have never had any problems with expanding plugs. However I never used a Dillion or RCBS die in .32. I have yet to see any .32 using the Accurate #2 load with the Lapua bullet that didn't shoot but try a different powder or bullet and all bets are off and it can go from 2.5" groups @ 50 yards to all over the paper.

DeweyHales wrote:I have a .32, but I have struggled to get it to shoot well even with the right barrel twist.  I've been reloading on an RCBS press.  I think my problem could be that my expander may not be big enough. 

I now reload mostly on Dillon presses.  Is there an expander out there that would fix my problem?

Dewey,
The only bullets I ever achieved good results with using a stock expander is the Magnus 100gr WC, they are very hard.
You need a custom expander made to bullet diameter or .001 over to allow for brass spring back if you are using soft swaged bullets.
I have a .3125" expander in my Star press since I use .312" diameter bullets for .311" and .308" Wilson barrels .
If I had a .314" groove diameter European barrel, I'd use a .314-.315" diameter expander. Dave Wilson can make an expander in any diameter you need.
Dave is probably the most knowledgeable person on the .32. email is  fc60net at comcast.net
Hope this helps,
Wes

Wes Lorenz wrote:...The only bullets I ever achieved good results with using a stock expander is the Magnus 100gr WC, they are very hard.
You need a custom expander made to bullet diameter or .001 over to allow for brass spring back if you are using soft swaged bullets.
I have a .3125" expander in my Star press since I use .312" diameter bullets for .311" and .308" Wilson barrels .
If I had a .314" groove diameter European barrel, I'd use a .314-.315" diameter expander....

That is interesting. I am going to try a different expander and see if it helps. Thanks.

Who sells the Saeco Mold in 95 WC??? Thanks  Tommy

toconnel50 wrote:Who sells the Saeco Mold in 95 WC??? Thanks  Tommy

Tommy,
At least midway sells them but the price really went up! I lucked out a couple of years ago when some vendor had them on closeout and I got one for like $60 but they are now a lot more. FYI: Saeco is the bullet mold branch of Redding reloading equipment and they are top notch. I did a quick Google search and one went for $29 on Gunbroker so it pays to look around. Good luck.

Saeco Bullet Mold

My 0.314 expander plug came in. I got one from Lee and they are less than $4. I just loaded up some Magtech and Speer bullets to see what difference it would make. I have some loads with the Speers that are okay at best but the Magtechs shoot well, close to the Lapuas. Here are two 10-shot groups @ 25 yards with the larger expander. The Speers are no better nor are they any worse. However the good loads with the Magtechs are usually in the 1.75" to 2" range. These are closer to 1.25" so I think it does help. Now I only shot 25 rounds with the new plug so far but it does seem like a better way to go. YMMV

 

Do you think the accuracy comes from the hollow base of the magtech????
I'm thinking of having Accurate Molds make a hollow base mold, all he has now is flat based 98 grainer.. I pour my bullets at about 11-12 BHN... soft by some standards, but, I believe at slower speeds it compresses the bullet better into the barrel better for a better gas fit....???

toconnel50 wrote:Do you think the accuracy comes from the hollow base of the magtech????
I'm thinking of having Accurate Molds make a hollow base mold, all he has now is flat based 98 grainer.. I pour my bullets at about 11-12 BHN... soft by some standards, but, I believe at slower speeds it compresses the bullet better into the barrel better for a better gas fit....???

Most of the factory bullets that I have used; Magtech, Lapua, Speer, and Hornady, all are hollow base wad cutters. Some shoot a lot better for me than others. The best mold I have is that Saeco and it is a plain base mold. I am not convinced one design is any better than the other. I will try to get out in the next week or so with the 0.314 expander and the Saeco to see what it will do. I will post the results.

saleen322SNIP wrote: I have some loads with the Speers that are okay at best but the Magtechs shoot well, close to the Lapuas. Here are two 10-shot groups @ 25 yards with the larger expander. The Speers are no better nor are they any worse. However the good loads with the Magtechs are usually in the 1.75" to 2" range.
 

Hi Saleen,
Measure the diameters of both brands of bullets, I bet the Magtech's are consistant in diameter compaired to the Speer's.
Some boxes of Speer bullets have mixed diameters. My current box ranges from .312-.314". Measure and repeat your test using the larger bullets if your box is like mine.
Dave Wilson swages his Speer's for consistency in a swaging die he made.
Wes

I'd be interested in the results... I like pouring my own and if I have to spend the bucks on a mold... I'd like it to work for me.... Then the rest is up to me....   Getting my cataract done this week, had one done already, what a difference... I can actually see.... All the time and money I've spent on gimmick's to focus on the front site....Thanks   Tommy

Went to the range yesterday... 50 ft. indoor, tooooo cold for the outside stuff...
Put a few rounds down range to sight the gun in... Went to shoot a full mag, and the darn bullets won't fit the mag.... What dummy, I never tried the reloads in the mag.... Got excited I guess...
 So, I thought I'd just shoot off the rest of the 50 or so reloads sighting in my Red Dot.... Made nice egg shaped holes, went to adjust the scope with a screw driver and the scope fell off... I first thought I hadn't mounted it correctly on the rail, but, then found the rail had loosened up....
 Not my day....
 The screw at the rear wasn't tightened, went to tighten it up and found the screw was stripped....
 What's the best way to repair this??? Get the other rail mount holes tapped out, or use Loctite or JB Weld on the threads... There not totally gone yet, I could feel it trying to slip.... 
 Whata day.... Thanks for reading... Tommy

Tommy,
Can you post pictures of your rail and your gun?  Can you precisely measure the depth of the threaded hole in the gun and also precisely measure the length of screw that sticks out of the rail?
Are you saying that the threaded hole in the gun has the damaged threads?
I'm hoping that the threads toward the bottom of the hole are still undamaged and you could replace the screw with a longer one.

Don't JB weld your Pardini.  If we can't figure out a way to help you fix it, protect your investment--we will give you advice to get it fixed in a way that wont devalue the gun.  It might need a gunsmith...

Sir these are the measurements....
Hole depth to touch slide.... 0.1035
front screw protrusion through rail.... 0.1185
 rear screw protrusion 0.1275
 Obviously the bolt sliding has been hitting the screws during it's cycle....
I think I'm taking this to a smitty and having all six holes properly drilled out and tapped, making sure the don't touch the bolt....
 Also, if you don't mind, how long should the overall bullet length be???, and case length...???
I'm loading up 98 grain magtech bullets.... Thanks for your help... I'll keep you informed.....   Thanks Again   Tommy

Tommy,
.1035" .1185" are good lengths to hold the rail to the gun.
There ain't any good reason to hold that rail on with 6 screws.  My .45 rail is only held on with 3.
The hole that has the screw dragging on the bolt has too long a screw through it.
Does hole have any bite when you run the screw in without the rail on it? (take the bolt out first so the screw doesn't bottom out on it)

For your OAL make the lead flush with the mouth of the brass.  That's how everybody that I know makes .32s.  I've seen some load books show OAL at .969"
I don't shoot .32 so I don't have any here to check against.

Sir:
There's nothing of the threads... I'll just have him move the rail..... Thanks for the help.... Tommy

It looked pretty slick in there.  It was hard to tell.

No need to call me "sir".  Just call me Rob.

If you shoot at the Aurora Sportsman club matches this spring I'll look for you!  Good luck!

I hope to be meeting you also......