.32 Shooters?

[Smokey Plainsman]

Guys I am currently researching for a new rifle, a Kibler Southern Mountain. I have become fascinated with the .32s and their wee balls, small charges, low recoil, economical loads. Some liken it to a “muzzle loaded .22LR” if you will.

They seems to have a cult following. The said Kibler rifle should weigh around 7.4 lbs with a 46” barrel. Seems like that should be a nice balance for carrying in the field and offhand stability.

As for the .32 caliber guns, how are they to shoot? I have read some report them to foul out fairly quickly. Is this so? Can they be made to shoot multiple times without fouling out? I also wonder if a round bottom rifle or square cut rifling would be better or worse for this caliber.

 Seems like a great caliber for small game and plinking, and cheap to shoot using few resources. But if they are too stubborn in terms of fouling maybe not? Also, can a wooden ramrod safely be used with them?

Just looking for all thoughts and opinions on the .32 calibers. My uses would be general plinking, recreational target shooting, and potential small game (squirrels and rabbits) if the U.S. military ever decides to ship me back east (I hope so).

Take care gang!

-Smokey

[Dave Marsh]

Try a search.  Plenty of threads have hashed this question out.  Good luck and for the record you won't be sorry with the Kibler option. 

Dave

[yulzari]

I can't find the old article in my library but a chap who was an apprentice gunsmith in rural USA in the 1930's commented that more of the muzzle loaders he saw and worked on then were less than .45 and a .36 or.32 was the most common size. He never found an issue with fouling in firing up to a dozen shots with no cleaning. His patches were soaked in molten tallow and squeezed hard out and left to cool.

A 1:48 twist like a Crockett can work but a faster twist from a custom barrel (say 1:30) would let you use an even lighter load for the same RPS.

[Daryl]

Mine had a 48" twist, shot into one slightly oblong hole for 5 shots at 25 yards with just 20gr. 3f GOEX, but needed 35gr. to do it's best at 50 yards.





here's the muzzle of the 13/16" bl.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Mine had a 48" twist, shot into one slightly oblong hole for 5 shots at 25 yards with just 20gr. 3f GOEX, but needed 35gr. to do it's best at 50 yards.





here's the muzzle of the 13/16" bl.

Very pretty rifle, Daryl.

Your recommendations to me have very much helped my fouling issues with my .40 out here in the dry Mojave desert.

Do you have any fouling issues with your little .32?

[hanshi]

Having owned both a .32 with square grooves and my current one with radius grooves, I have a good idea what to expect from the caliber.  With both I was able to shoot, load, shoot again and again for as long as I cared to.  Never was fouling an issue.  They are both 1-48" and have shot well with loads from 15 grains of 3F to .40 grains.  My loads are fairly tight with thicker patching than any pillow ticking - although they shot well with that also.  Best results were had using Hoppes BP Lube but with TOW mink oil coming in roughly in a tie.  I use the skinny wood rod when hunting and use my range rod for general shooting more than half the time.  Using the wood rod requires extra attention since it will break more easily than rods for larger calibers.  There are other, stronger materials for making an underbarrel rod for timy calibers.  A .32 makes for a nice day in the woods or at the range.

[mushka]

I have a crockett.  Nice easy fun rifle to shoot.  20grn 3F and a .310 prb.  Shoots really well to about 30 yards.  I've not shot it Farther than that as a squirrel or rabbit is probably not going to be further away than that.  Ya, it's kinda like the .22 of the muzzle loading rifles.

[Bassdog1]

You will enjoy a 32 or 36 I have both and they are a joy to shoot. Try light charges starting around 15 grains and work up. Same with patches get material with good tight weave in different thicknesses. My two current 32s both use .010 patch and .315 cast or swaged ball. But the Cherokee shoots best with 15 grains and the Seneca likes 20 Grains. I have shot up to 40 grains in these guns but prefer to use lightest charge that provides excellent small game range accuracy.

[Wingshot]

I bought an old and used caplock DGW TMR and it’s just about the most fun shooting I’ve ever enjoyed. I’m thinking of converting her over to flint but I’m just enjoying the heck out of it for the time being. Cheap, accurate as all get out and yes, I’ll say it again, fun.

[WadePatton]

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=57685.0

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=58457.0

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=57718.0

https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=56802.0



That's without doing a search, but manually scrolling a few pages of the "Black Powder Shooting" section.  Read around--the info is here and everything has been considered a dozen times before.  Some of the BEST reading is from the older entries, where often the words of wise men no longer "in camp with us" are shared. You can't get these guys to chime in anymore, but you are free to go back and read what they wrote and is preserved here.  Happy shooting.

[Bob Roller]

I have always wanted to make a .32 on the Pope/Schalk system with a 160 grain
lubed bullet.Mark Brier recently posted a similar idea with a paper patched bullet.
Bob Roller

[Daryl]

Smokey- reply 16 on the second link Wade posted is my response to questioning on loads.
Note that I used .311" balls and .320" balls with barely any difference in loading with the same
thick patches.
The little balls conform (reform) easily into the rifling as there is very little lead involved. A similar tight
patch in a much larger calibre, requires more lead to be moved/formed.
The little calibres are easy loading with tight combinations.
In my .32, the 50th or 55th shots loaded easier than the first one did, when using mink oil for lube.
That was in the Very dry winter time. Normally, with a liquid lube, there is no difference in loading the
 50th and the 1st.