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What Powder for 32 and 38
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Taos NM
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December 28, 2023 - 12:19 am
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Any suggestions on Powder for 32WS, 32-40 AND 38-55 FOR LEAD BULLETS–Thanks Bill

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December 28, 2023 - 12:46 am
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Bill,

I would use IMR 4198 (or H4198).  For the 32-40 & 32 WS I would start with 18 grains and work up slowly (to keep the velocity under 1650 fps).  For the 38-55 a good starting load is 20 grains.

Bert

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January 15, 2024 - 11:46 pm
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I second Bert’s advice on IMR 4198. In my .32-40 Sharps I use 18 grains of 4198. With both cast and JSP bullets groups at 100 yards are usually around an inch. I’ve tried Unique and 2400 and they do fine, but not as well as 4198. In my .38-55s, I use up to 24 grains of 4198, but also get good groups with 9.0 grains of Unique. Some of my very best groups with my .38-56 Highwall are with 22 grains of IMR 4227.  More recently I’ve been using AA 5744 and it’s great with cast bullets. It’s been hard to find recently, but I just landed an 8 lb. can yesterday.

I’ve attached a few photos of the rifles and groups for your review:

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January 15, 2024 - 11:53 pm
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Brian Sindelar said
I second Bert’s advice on IMR 4198. In my .32-40 Sharps I use 18 grains of 4198. With both cast and JSP bullets groups at 100 yards are usually around an inch. I’ve tried Unique and 2400 and they do fine, but not as well as 4198. In my .38-55s, I use up to 24 grains of 4198, but also get good groups with 9.0 grains of Unique. Some of my very best groups with my .38-56 Highwall are with 22 grains of IMR 4227.  More recently I’ve been using AA 5744 and it’s great with cast bullets. It’s been hard to find recently, but I just landed an 8 lb. can yesterday.

I’ve attached a few photos of the rifles and groups for your review:

  

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January 26, 2024 - 2:11 am
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Both 4198 and 4227 work extremely well with  a 240gr LFN in my 38-55. I’ve  also won a lot of matches with 10gr of Unique under the same bullet. 

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