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Had my Winchester Model 64 Standard rifle to the range last evening.Blackflies were quite bad,but not so many as to not enjoy the shooting.
Had two really good groupings, that had all three holes touching each other.Was quite happy about those.
No long range shooting .Fifty yards and resting the forend.
OK, the hooks are getting in me now to shoot the other 32WS I have and see what happens. Does your Model 64 have any kind of aperture sight? Holes touching each other at 50 yards sounds pretty good. I’ve been really happy if I can groups 2″ or less with five shots at 100 yards with open sights or tang sights.
Brad
The rifle has only the factory sights,no aperture.I was able to get only two groupings with the holes all touching of all the three shot groups I shot.One using IMR 4320 powder and the other using IMR 3031.To be honest I was very surprised with those two groups.Very happy,but still surprised.The holes were in a line from the bottom left to the top right.
Your two inch groups with five shots at 100 yards sounds very good to me.
By the way I really enjoy your Koller quote in your posts.I would say they are just about the truest words I have ever heard.Looking forward to hearing about the results with your .32 Special
Three shots touching at 50 yards–that would bring a shooter happiness! Nice job.
Your shooting is plenty good to begin bagging those Blackflies. Maybe dab a bit of honey on your bullseyes, and down a few Boone and Crockett specimens. We all know the .30WCF is not enough gun to tackle those beasts, but that .32 Special of yours surely will bring them down.
FromTheWoods said
Three shots touching at 50 yards–that would bring a shooter happiness! Nice job.
Your shooting is plenty good to begin bagging those Blackflies. Maybe dab a bit of honey on your bullseyes, and down a few Boone and Crockett specimens. We all know the .30WCF is not enough gun to tackle those beasts, but that .32 Special of yours surely will bring them down.
Thanks for the congrats.Now if a fellow could just do that all the time it would be quite a thing.
As I said the holes were all touching,but not in the sense that they were in a triangle each touching the other .They were in a line with the centre one touching the two outside holes.So I guess a better description would be touching together in a line, rather than each one touching one of the other ones.Still very good shooting for myself.The more I shoot this rifle the more I seem to like it.
Getting harder to find .32 Special bullets for reloading.Picked up two boxes of Hornady 170 grain bullets at a little gun shop just outside Halifax a few weeks ago.
Would be nice to get a few B&C blackflies.Plenty of them around,so there should be a few B&C ones among them.Have you bagged any yourself?
Three touching however they lie is still dandy shooting.
Not sure we have Blackflies in western Oregon. If we do, I guess they just don’t care for my rasty flavor. In the Coast Range down in the creek bottoms, one type of fly bites the heck out of my wife, and even though I’m there beside her, they don’t pester me. Same thing with mosquitoes; they go for her before they even think about me. Which I can understand–I’m always buzzing around going after her! (She’s a New York girl, so maybe they like that hint of East Coast sugar and spice she’s made of?)
When you need .32 bullets, send me a line, I have some on my shelf that will help you keep shooting/liking that rifle of yours.
If the line groups are in a consistent direction its really good shooting , as this is an indication of warming barrel impact shift if holes trend in the same direction as it warms . Only Perfect combo of accurate gun , ammo ,excellent eye sight, steady rest will do it.
2″ 5 shot groups @ 100 prove everything is working well for sure, including no warming Impact shift , solid heavier Oct. barrel right ?
Phil
2″ 5 shot groups @ 100 prove everything is working well for sure, including no warming Impact shift , solid heavier Oct. barrel right ?
Phil
Either full octagon or 1/2 octagon in my case for the last two rifles I did a lot of shooting with. The latest has been a 30WCF 1894 solid frame rifle with a button mag. I struggled a bit at first with the rifle. Mostly my problems either hand loading or careless shooting. Hard to not be a big factor in the results when you are both loading the ammunition and firing the rifle…at least when it’s going bad. I ended up using Reloader 7 with 150 grain bullets and IMR 4064 with 170 grain bullets and both were good. I read about using those powders in Pet Loads and they worked well for me. I stayed well under the max loads as I was trying for circa 1906 velocities (at least for the 170s).
I did enough shooting with it to find out it wasn’t just one group under 2″ one time, but a number of them with the two different bullet loads. I also shot some period bullets through it with modern powder and they did OK (2 1/2″ @ 100), but they weren’t as accurate in my rifle as either a Hornady 150 grain RN or a Sierra 170 grain FP. I had a limited number of those early bullets to try.
Brad
Brad
Your posts , range reports, and articles are always interesting and inspiring.
It is a rewarding and satisfying experience to shrink the initial 4″ + groups that are considered the lever gun norm , to the 2″ range.(or good clusters @ 50 yd ) Even if most consider it an endeavor for an eccentric with too much time on their hands
Phil
5-20 said
If the line groups are in a consistent direction its really good shooting , as this is an indication of warming barrel impact shift if holes trend in the same direction as it warms . Only Perfect combo of accurate gun , ammo ,excellent eye sight, steady rest will do it.
2″ 5 shot groups @ 100 prove everything is working well for sure, including no warming Impact shift , solid heavier Oct. barrel right ?
Phil
The lines went in the bottom left to the top right direction.At times the barrel was getting quite warm.Let it cool out a bit at times,but the flies made that not a pleasant experience.
FromTheWoods said
Three touching however they lie is still dandy shooting.
Not sure we have Blackflies in western Oregon. If we do, I guess they just don’t care for my rasty flavor. In the Coast Range down in the creek bottoms, one type of fly bites the heck out of my wife, and even though I’m there beside her, they don’t pester me. Same thing with mosquitoes; they go for her before they even think about me. Which I can understand–I’m always buzzing around going after her! (She’s a New York girl, so maybe they like that hint of East Coast sugar and spice she’s made of?)
When you need .32 bullets, send me a line, I have some on my shelf that will help you keep shooting/liking that rifle of yours.
Thanks for that,FTW.Only trouble is getting reloading stuff from the U.S. is not easy.No problem getting it into Canada,but getting out of the U.S. is not easy.Lots of paper work or get someone who has the proper papers to do the export/import.
Blackflies were bad at the range,but around home it is the mosquitoes that are the curse.Always something to ruin a nice summer.I am sure the nosee’ems will show up in time as well.
Flies don’t sound too good. They usually haven’t been bad here in the woods until noon or so since it’s still cool enough overnight yet. Lots of deer flies and horse flies after that. Haven’t sat at a range for awhile now but I bet they’re bad. I usually try to shoot my group at a steady pace and then walk down to mark them off and walk back. Not sure if that will cool down the barrel fast in summer but in winter it doesn’t seem to be much of a problem.
I need to start shooting the other 32WS 1894 rifle I have soon. I’ve enjoyed the cartridge quite a bit so far and I have a feeling this next rifle will be accurate. I’ve never fired a Model 64 28 gauge but I bet they really handle nice. They look like they have very good stocks. Hope you are able to get a supply of bullets up there in Canada.
It is a rewarding and satisfying experience to shrink the initial 4″ + groups that are considered the lever gun norm , to the 2″ range.(or good clusters @ 50 yd ) Even if most consider it an endeavor for an eccentric with too much time on their hands
Phil, I’m always reading older shooting and reloading books trying to figure out what the expectations were for accuracy from a lever action hunting rifle. This last 1894 was really a struggle at first. A lot of it was self-inflicted as I was all fired up to try these loads I thought would work. I ended up trying those powders and bullets I mentioned above and things got better fast. I’m really happy I tried out Reloader 7 on this one. I also shot some cast bullets with gas checks through it in the beginning with mixed results, none stellar, and I need to revisit that too. I believe I know where I made an error with those bullets (when I seated them).
Thanks,
Brad
I need to start shooting the other 32WS 1894 rifle I have soon. I’ve enjoyed the cartridge quite a bit so far and I have a feeling this next rifle will be accurate. I’ve never fired a Model 64 28 gauge but I bet they really handle nice. They look like they have very good stocks. Hope you are able to get a supply of bullets up there in Canada.
Will be interested in hearing how things go when you get a chance to shoot your other Model 1894 .32 Special.Of late I seem to be getting quite fond of the .32 Special.
Yes the Model 64 Winchesters are nice rifles.This is the second Model 64 I have owned in .32 Special.At one time I also had a Model 94 .32 Special that I purchased new back in the late 70’s I believe it was.This Model 64 .32 Special is the first I have done any amount of shooting with.When I owned the other two I was not into reloading and only fired them at some cans or bottles with factory loads.
A friend of mime has a Model 64 in .30-30 Winchester and it shoots very well.Yes they do have nice stocks on them.
Most likely I will keep my eye out at gun shows and pick up bullets when ever I come across them.
Mailing Speer 170 gr bullets (not cartridges) from the US to Canada is a problem? In their original, unopened packaging? Saaaad times we live in. (I have just come up with a pretty good plan to fool the officials, but I’d bet the penalties are unattractive for trying to hoodwink customs and skirt the laws.)
For you .32 WS shooters/reloaders–I’ll be testing loads in the next few weeks using H4895 and RL7 under RCBS FNGC bullets. Rifles: ’94’s, 26″ octagon takedowns w/ Marble tang sights. I’ll post the results if you’d like to hear about them. My youngest son, the one who must have octagon blood vessels, figures both powders will perform equally well. He has a degree in Physics–yet when scientific methods can’t break the tie, he knows what is important. His solution to choosing which one to load is to take a whiff of each powders’ smoke, and load the one that smells the best!
FromTheWoods said
Mailing Speer 170 gr bullets (not cartridges) from the US to Canada is a problem? In their original, unopened packaging? Saaaad times we live in. (I have just come up with a pretty good plan to fool the officials, but I’d bet the penalties are unattractive for trying to hoodwink customs and skirt the laws.)
For you .32 WS shooters/reloaders–I’ll be testing loads in the next few weeks using H4895 and RL7 under RCBS FNGC bullets. Rifles: ’94’s, 26″ octagon takedowns w/ Marble tang sights. I’ll post the results if you’d like to hear about them. My youngest son, the one who must have octagon blood vessels, figures both powders will perform equally well. He has a degree in Physics–yet when scientific methods can’t break the tie, he knows what is important. His solution to choosing which one to load is to take a whiff of each powders’ smoke, and load the one that smells the best!
Afraid so.Ever since 911 the U.S. has been fussy about what is shipped in the firearms/ammo line out of the country.I remember I wanted to purchase some mylar for hand loading some steel shot shell loads from the U.S.The company would not ship it out of the U.S.
Sounds like your son has a very good solution to the problem of choosing a powder.
I will be looking forward to hearing the results of your testing for the .32 Special.
Fired test loads yesterday. No winners. The day was unusually hot–barrels stayed excessively hot. Used poor targets for my colorblind vision. And I did not shoot well. (I wonder why the shots did not group well!)
My youngest son shot with his .32 Special and his group was the worst I’ve seen him shoot–even when he was a boy and the octagon barrels were too heavy for him. His first group was two shots six inches above and below the bull, and one shot six inches to the side of the bull–Ugly triangle. We had brought along cartridges with different bullets, and he was his usual excellent shot with those.
From his performance, perhaps it was the bullet/loads that were not up to par.
The bullets are .324–maybe a bit fat? Do you fellows know if too large of a bullet flies errantly?
Sorry to hear that your .32 Special shooting did not go well,FTW.Don’t know about the .324 dia. bullets.All the testing/shooting I have done with the .32 Special has been with the .321 dia. Hornady 170 grain bullets and IMR Powder.
I’ve asked Daniel at The Bull Shop in Montana if we can buy .322 and .323 bullets for further testing. From what I’ve read around the forums, the RCBS gc mold will produce dandy bullets, and Daniel is expert at his craft–so it shouldn’t be long until we find an excellent load/bullet combination. The bores of our .32’s are quite good. Shouldn’t be long.
I’ll load several more .324’s, but this time use appropriate targets and bring my aim and trigger work up to snuff.
———-Can you folks smell the Hoppe,s? It’s too hot upstairs, so I’m in the basement at my desk that is loaded with gun cleaning supplies. Smells Great!
Looking forward to more reports.FTW.Yep some days the old aim and trigger work is good and some days not.Some days a diamond and some days a stone.
Yes ,the old Hoppe’s number 9 smells good.Women should perhaps use a little dab behind the ears.Probably the best perfume they could ever buy.
I havent loaded for the 32 WS but was looking in the old Lyman book and it lists cast bullets at .321 and jacketed bullets at .320.
Ive used the .321 Hornady LeverRevolution bullets intended for the 32 WS in a 32-40 load with great success using several of the IMR powders.
28 gauge–that Hoppe’s perfume is funny. Probably couldnt get my wife near it, but she does like the smell of spent shotgun shells. Maybe there’s a novelty product line to be had out there.
Chris
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
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