.32 Remington caliber bullet question

[gunhawk]

Hello,
Is anyone reloading for .32 Remington rifles?
I want to reload .32 Remington caliber for a Remington Model 8 auto rifle, and also for a Remington 14 pump rifle.
What is the proper .32 caliber bullet diameter to use ?
I have bullets in .321 diameter, 170 grain, flat point and wonder if this is the right bullet.

[600RemGuy]

Cartridges Of the World lists the 32 Remington bullet at .320. Comparatively it list the 32 Winchester Special at .321. I can't comment on whether or not to use the .321s in the Remington calibre.

[nambujim]

Hey!

This does not apply to the Model 8 but you should NEVER use anything but round nose bullets in the Model 14. That advice appears eleven (11) other times somewhere in this forum. There are a lot of sharp corners/edges in the feed system that react poorly to anything but RN bullets, even the hang tags that came with the rifle state "use round nose ammunition only" and OACL is critical on the Model 14.

OK, Bullet diameter was the question and finding 170gr RN .321 Bullets has become increasingly difficult so years back I started using 170gr 8MM RN Bullets .323 diameter without the slightest difficulty. One added benefit was they fired far tighter groups at 100 yards than did the .321 bullets. I might add that in the case of the Model 14 you should ALWAYS use a factory crimp die. Set your seating die using factory 50's, 60's, or 70's ammunition, those have the shortest OACL.

I can't speak for the Model 8, only have one, and it doesn't seem the least bit fussy about what you feed it. The Model 14 is a whole different game and if you don't follow the basic rules (indicated above) you will develop significant problems. Those shooters who thought Leverevolution ammunition (.35 Remington) was a solution found out quickly it was not. and lastly the older the Model 14 the more feed issues you will have. Hope this helps. One other note, I don't suggest the use of cast bullets either, little lead slivers with get in places you don't want them, and the carrier seems to be their favorite place.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC

[gunhawk]

Thanks for the great advice, will heed.
Have reloaded extensively, but in modern rifles in common calibers of today ( 223, 270, 3006, 308),
not yet for these old timers.

[Tom H]

For what it's worth, I still have a supply of original Remington bullets that were made and loaded for the 32 Remington. The 170 grain soft points are .320, but the 170 grain hollow points are .319....tom

[neverguided]

Gunhawk,

I load for and hunt with all four of the Remington calibers, and for the .32 Rem. I use 0.321" bullets designed for the .32 Winchester Special. In the .32 Rem. specifically, I use the Speer design as it is slightly more streamlined, and feeds 100% from the Model 8/81 box magazine. I obtained original data from Lyman's 46th Edition Reloading Handbook, which lists IMR-4198, 3031, 4064, 4895, and 4320 as options. Of these, IMR-4895 was the most accurate in my rifle. Hope this helps.

[Oscarflytyer]

I just bought some 32 Speer 170 FN HotCors. Listed at .321". I would be happy to mic them and post exact size if you like. Having said that, if it were me, I would shoot any of the .321-.323 bullets - as Jim said.

[clintonhenry]

For .32 Remington, the typical bullet diameter is .321 inches, so your 170 grain flat point bullets should be suitable for both the Model 8 and Model 14 rifles. Just make sure to check your reloading manuals for any specific load data. Happy reloading!
quordle

[Eddie Southgate]

I have .320 - .323 , they all do the job . The .323 is easier to find usually and might actually shoot a bit better .

[Eddie Southgate]

PS : If you have it , my best powder in .32 Remington in my m14's is IMR 4320 to the tune of 34.5 grains with a 170 grain Jacketed RN bullet. I'll add the hangtag referenced by Jim incase you haven't already seen one .

[nambujim]

Thanks Eddie!

One final note on .321 vs. .323 and you're quite right that the 170gr RN .323 for the 8MM are easy to find, Hornady makes them, and they're reasonably priced.

About 15-18 years ago my now deceased gun writer friend Charlie Petty and I put together a bunch of loads for the .32 Remington, Charlie was a collector of the Remington Pumps as well.

We set up at our range using a variety of loads using 5744, Varget, Trail Boss for plinking rounds using lighter bullets. Loads using IMR-4895 (which is what the factroy used) gave the best accuracy by using .323 RN Hornady bullets. We used six (6) different rifles including two (2) carbines, two of the rifles were 141's.

All five shot groups from every rifle/carbine was better using the .323 bullets. I will say this, both loads shot damn well, and probably a whole lot better than the average shooter is capable of but one of the 141's shot a group of 1.18" at 100 yards with an average MV of 2100fps. The main difference between the .323 & .321 was that the latter always seemed to have at least one round out of the five that was well outside the main group. The carbine groups as expected were not quite as good as the rifles but were consistent. The brass used was new R-P .32 Remington stuff using CCI standard rifle primers and we used a Lee factory crimp die.

OH! The plink loads we put together using 125gr bullets were totally useless at 100 yards so we used them up at 25 yards on the plinking range although 7.5gr of Trail Boss gave us 1120fps using the 170gr bullet providing 6-10" groups at 100 yards with NO recoil.........lol!

For info!

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC