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Hi gang, well this question is for the experienced reloader’s. I just picked up a Win 1873 in 32 WCF, due to the serious lack of brass out there today. I went out on the search for possibly a parent cartridge for this caliber to cutdown and reform the brass, like I have had to do with other cartridges post pandemic. I have only seen reference to the 7.62 Nagant revolver brass as an option. Here is the question. The 7.62 brass rim is .447 dia and .057 thickness while the 32-20 is .408 and .065 thickness. Will this work safely in this original 1873? Perhaps in some firearms yes. However I am not familiar enough with this rifle or cartridge to make that call. Any professional thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
November 1, 2013
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Blows my mind if Nagant cases (which used to be collector’s items) are now easier to find than “common” 32-20s!
November 7, 2015
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I keep thinking Winchester or Starline will make a run of the 25-20 or 32-20 and a quick search indicates they may be available. Not familiar with the Nagant round, do you have a big bag of them that need to be re-purposed?
Mike
November 19, 2006
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I handload for the .32-20. Particularly as you are shooting a M1873 – and presumable shooting mild loads – probably lead bullets – it seems to me you could get many many many loadings out of one box of brass.
November 7, 2015
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steve004 said
I handload for the .32-20. Particularly as you are shooting a M1873 – and presumable shooting mild loads – probably lead bullets – it seems to me you could get many many many loadings out of one box of brass.
My problem is that I damage a case mouth now and then. I lose one or more almost every loading session but I’m getting better.
Mike
I found some Nagant brass but any of the legitimate sites are out of the 32-20 with no backorder. unfortunately there are a ton of scam sights selling the brass. any of the firearm sights taking bit coin for example are scams. Anyways is there any reason to believe that for the time being, the 32-20 cannot be made from the 7.62? My rifle will be arriving to me on Wed so I have never loaded for this caliber yet.
Yes you can shorten the Nagant brass and reform them using 32-20 dies. I recently obtained the Nagant brass from Huntington Dies. The reformed brass worked ok in a friend’s revolver but not in my Marlin 1894CL. The brass will chamber and extract ok but will not eject from the receiver.
Hi, was suspecting this might be the case. Having some issue with extraction because of the rim diameter. Maybe I will just have to play around with it. Until the starline decides to make more of it. Thanks for the in put.
November 19, 2006
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I see this morning that new brass can be purchased on gunbroker for about $1.50 per piece:
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/993534501
The above is an auction and it might go higher.
Starline is available (buy it now) for $2 per piece:
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/993557165
Sadly, the equation becomes steeper once you add in $20 shipping and sales tax 
Like Mike, I’m going to take extra care to not damage any case mouths! I have an adequate supply but it’s going to make me wince if I crush a case mouth
March 8, 2023
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Hi Guys,
I reload for 32-20 and 25-20 and have never heard about reforming Nagant cases for 32-20. Its seems not that long ago I ordered 500 cases of 32-20 and reformed around 150 of them into 25-20 (2018?). I shoot a lot of these. Pretty easy to do at the time I think Winchester had done a run of 25-20 rounds but they were very expensive if I remember around $1.75 to $2.00 a round. The 32-20 case is easy to damage but at lease for me I have gotten a lot of reloads out of those cases. I wouldn’t pay that Ebay price but who knows when Starline will make 32-20 again it might be later on you wish you had. If you look at what is out all the cowboy action cases are out I was able to by some 45-70 that I had on backorder and only waited about a month. I have 45-90 on back order but it hasnt been filled yet out around 4 months now. As to Starline ever making 25-20 I asked them and pretty much got a polite but categorical “never”as a response from them.
Rob
November 1, 2013
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steve004 said
Starline is available (buy it now) for $2 per piece:
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/993557165
Sadly, the equation becomes steeper once you add in $20 shipping and sales tax
Just about the most outrageous shipping ripoff I’ve seen! Actual cost 1st Class Parcel, probably about $6 /7. Or they could be dumped into the $8 Flat Rate Priority box.
March 31, 2009
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This may not help, but you can make 32-20 from 25-20. This is one site that says they have it but you need to contact them first. Many of the lesser sites are really out of stock.
November 19, 2006
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Chuck said
This may not help, but you can make 32-20 from 25-20. This is one site that says they have it but you need to contact them first. Many of the lesser sites are really out of stock.
It looks like the site will let you order it. They even let you use a Black Friday discount coupon. Shipping is $15. I think as Chuck suggests, it’s best to call first.
September 4, 2021
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As somebody already posted, be careful out there! I shoot both 32/20 and 25/20. Brass and jacketed bullets are virtually unobtainable. What is out there on Gunbroker goes for outrageous prices. Lead bullets are relatively plentiful. Beware of sites that require payment by Zelle and bitcoins. If so, I promise you it is a scam. There are Youtube video on forming 32/20s from 7.62 Nagant brass, so I believe they will work if done properly. I have formed 25/20s from 32/20s fairly easily, but have been unable to reverse the process. I do think that Starline and perhaps others will eventually make a run of 32/20s, but seriously doubt if Winchester or Remington will ever make any more 25/20s. Why waste a primer on a 25/20 when you can use them on 5.56s. Took me a while, but I eventually found enough loaded rounds and brass to do me the rest of my life, but it wasn`t easy nor cheap. Again watch out for the scams….they don`t have it if the price seems reasonable!! Wormey…1 `76, 2 `92s, 1 `73, 1 Volcanic carbine, and 1 1890 22.
June 12, 2023
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I recently made some from PPU 7.62 Nagant and it turned out great. It’s a little labor intensive but not difficult. I used my lathe but you can do it with hand tools. Nagant brass is too long and needs to be cutdown. Neck walls will be around .012 which is too thick, they need to be turned to.0075. I have had zero problems feeding, extracting ect in my 73. It’s every bit as good as Starline. Grafs, powder valley had ppu nagant in stock for around $25 /50 rds
If that sounds like something you would be interested is doing I can give you a more detailed explanation.
Thanks for the offer. It is looking like that may be the only option. I would appreciate the detailed rundown on doing this.
June 12, 2023
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Trim brass to 1.300.
Chamfer inside / outside
FL size in 32-20 die……this gives you a reference/stop point when turning necks
Expand neck with Sinclair .308 die, works with their neck turner /30 cal mandrel
Turn necks to .007….this gives a little wiggle room if using .3135 cast bullets. Forrester also make an NT attachment for their trimmer if you have one.
Make up a couple cases to load some dummy rounds to see how they fit your chamber
Thanks for the breakdown. I recall reading something about the case head that may be too thick, over a 32-20 cartridge that would prevent them from ejecting properly. Have you had any issues with that?
June 12, 2023
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No problems
March 31, 2009
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I would not do the final OAL trimming until after sizing the brass. Check out 21st Century drill operated neck turning lathes. Not cheap especially if you are only going to use it once. You can get an inside neck reamer for a lot less.
https://21stcenturyinnovation.com/buy-online/ols/products/lathe
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