NOE makes a multi-cavity version that I use, good folks.

Mike

https://noebulletmolds.com/site/

Mark-

I don’t have any extras cast but if you want to borrow the mould for a bit I’d be happy to send it to you. I also have the Lee TL314-90-SWC if you favor a plinker bullet. It’s a cheap 2-cavity mould but it drops a decent bullet. I don’t think the Lee’s SWC profile is a good idea in a lever gun but I can’t recall trying it.

That NOE mould drops a pretty sexy bullet!

Mike

Mark-

This bullet is seated to the edge of the top driving band. Grooves probably not big enough to carry adequate lube for BP. 

Mike

Chuck said

Just because it has a groove that doesn’t mean you have to use it.  Seat it for best OAL and then a slight crimp.  For that matter crimping may not be needed?  

Right, my dies size the neck to just under bullet diameter and I use a light crimp on this bullet.

Mike

My Ideal 311316 is a great rifle bullet- dropping at 111 gr. with WW w/o the GC.

I also cast RCBS 32-098-SWC for use w/o gas checks- primarily for my Dan Wesson revolver.

So, those are two more options to look for.

Just remembered I had a Winchester 32 W.C.F. mould, good looking bullet. May have to pour a few if I ever get the itch to shoot some BP. I like casting with the old Winchester moulds. My 32-40 mould turns out a bunch of bullets in a reasonable time once you get the temp and cadence right. 

Mike

[email protected] said
Good article in Feb 2022 Handloader magazine on loading and casting for 32-20. Kind of focusing on revolvers but a lot of the info is applicable to rifles also.  

I had some fun with a Navy Arms revolver in 32-20 using the Lee bullet. According to my records it’s still around here somewhere. Thought it went away during my SAA replica purge last year. 

Loading for the 32-20 is pretty straightforward but I get bummed every time I ruin a case; very easy to do. Just a little dab of powder and lead to make a speedy little plinker, cheaper to shoot than some rimfire ammo. As discussed above bullet seating depth and neck tension are the keys to making this round work in a lever gun.

Mike

mark minnillo said

In this instance, 32wcf in a 92 tube magazine, perhaps setback is the incorrect term. It’s more like bullet push in and I have had this problem many times using the Winchester mold with smokeless powder since smokeless does not fill the case enough to support the bullet. Neck tension in typical bottle neck rifle cartridges is pretty straight forward due to the longer neck and heavier brass. 32wcf brass is quite thin so does not hold neck tension well. Mike’s NOE mold appears to pour a bullet with a fairly long front band that should lead to better neck tension. Very much crimp, much more than closing the belled neck, without a groove can deform the bullet, reduce diameter, thus lead to poor accuracy, leading, etc. The easiest fix has been to trim cases enough to use the top groove on the bullet for a roll crimp but I have thousands of cases and would rather not trim all of them.  

If you are having bullet set back you need more neck tension.  I would try a smaller expander.  This will increase the force on the bullet.  Hornady and others make an universal expander die body.  You will then need the correct expander that is at least .002″ smaller than the one you are using.   I don’t crimp most of the time, straight wall or bottle neck.  I shoot a 6.5 with a 140 gr. bullet at 2800 fps that the crimp groove is about 1/4″ out of the case neck.  I seat bullets where the barrel likes them.  Recoil is what causes set back.  I use toilet paper to fill large voids when using smokeless in black powder loads but I doubt it will stop the bullet. Fillers get rid of the excess space and keeps the powder down at the primer.  Many factory loaded calibers are not full of powder.  A light crimp may cause a slight groove in the bullet but I haven’t had any accuracy problems.  This groove is not long enough to cause a problem.  It’s just a scratch. 

TXGunNut said
What dies are you using, Mark? Crimp is indeed critical but is useless without adequate neck tension. Neck tension is something the RCBS Cowboy dies seem to do well. As you may be able to see in the above pics I apply a very slight crimp, very little beyond straightening out the flare necessary for starting the bullet into the case. . It almost appears to be a taper crimp. The pic is also a good illustration of why I now trim the cases in this lot of brass because the lengths were not uniform. When depending on a slight crimp the case length must be uniform. 

 

Mike  

If anyone is crimping into a crimp groove, like Mike said, you have to make sure your cases are trimmed to the exact same length.  Problem with this is the bullet jump may not be what the barrel likes for accuracy.