32-20 into .310 Cadet

[Stalker62]

When it’s fixed can you let us know how much proper brass you could have bought for the cost of the gunsmith. Files Lathe etc?

At Bisley today,

Breaking the 22H as a point of fact - but that is another story.

Popped the 22H into William Evans and the .310 Cadet had come back from Neil McKillop yesterday.

Neil has worked his magic and it's all good.

However, I have now lost total confidence in the 32-20 conversion to .310 Cadet nonsense.

Just spent the past hour pulling 200 of the Frankenstein monsters. The brass will go in the bins up at Bisley, the powder has gone back in the tub and the bullets have (99%) been salvalged.

Will now just "bite the bullet" and buy .310 Brass as and when I see it.

It has been...emotional.

 

[bfltd0]

T.H. Palmer said it best:

'Tis a lesson you should heed,
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear
Try, try again;

Once or twice, though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again;

If we strive, 'tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
Try, try again

If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again

All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view:
Try, try again.





Or buy factory ammo in the first place......................

 

[Donkey Basher]

At Bisley today,

Breaking the 22H as a point of fact - but that is another story.

Popped the 22H into William Evans and the .310 Cadet had come back from Neil McKillop yesterday.

Neil has worked his magic and it's all good.

However, I have now lost total confidence in the 32-20 conversion to .310 Cadet nonsense.

Just spent the past hour pulling 200 of the Frankenstein monsters. The brass will go in the bins up at Bisley, the powder has gone back in the tub and the bullets have (99%) been salvalged.

Will now just "bite the bullet" and buy .310 Brass as and when I see it.

It has been...emotional.

Might be interested in the brass in return for a forum donation - can't seem to PM you so could you drop me a PM please? Cheers.

 

[Stalker62]

Might be interested in the brass in return for a forum donation.

So sorry DB: I crushed the brass in pliers last night.

I did not think for a moment that they could have been of use to anyone as they were 32:20 cut down to .310 (and had not worked in my .310 Cadet).
Had those pieces of brass has a heart, I would have driven a stake through each and every one of them.

No help whatsoever, but you could have had them for free.

 

[Stalker62]

Or buy factory ammo in the first place.

In my defence (who am I kidding) you cannot but factory ammunition for the .310 Cadet.

What you can do, is buy .310 Cadet brass and whilst that is ruinously expensive it is cheaper that the road I took.

 

[Donkey Basher]

So sorry DB: I crushed the brass in pliers last night.

I did not think for a moment that they could have been of use to anyone as they were 32:20 cut down to .310 (and had not worked in my .310 Cadet).
Had those pieces of brass has a heart, I would have driven a stake through each and every one of them.

No help whatsoever, but you could have had them for free.

No worries, I was thinking I may have been able to convert them to 300 Rook & save their souls

Don't you just love these old cartridges, I have got 150 Hornet cases which I hope are destined to become .297/250...

 

[sh1kar]

T.H. Palmer said it best:

'Tis a lesson you should heed,
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear
Try, try again;

Once or twice, though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again;

If we strive, 'tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
Try, try again

If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again

All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view:
Try, try again.





Or buy factory ammo in the first place......................

Try. There is no try
Do or do not

 

[enfieldspares]

Fred Datig. It's all his fauly. His three books are fit only for arsewiping paper. For in them everything "can be made from .32-20 cases". In fact it can't!

 

[Stalker62]

Well, after almost a year from my 32-20 into .310 Cadet journey nightmare...herewith are some rounds I knocked up yesterday using .310 Cadet brass.

The brass (45 pieces), was the entire stock of the business from whom I bought it. Thanks you to sh1kar for the "heads up" (no pun).

I have checked all complete rounds and they chamber and eject as they should.

Now then. Why did I not do that last year?

 

[alberta boy]

" Why did I not do that last year ? "
Because that would've been the easy way , and far less fun . I say this as someone who has had so much fun reloading obsolete cartridges that I stepped out my back door and fired my expensive , custom made dies ( for a cartridge I refuse to name to this day ) into the bush . As far as I know , they're still there . I'm sure you felt the same urge at some point lol .
Glad to hear you have it sorted and looking forward to some range reports , cool project .

AB

 

[scrumbag]

" Why did I not do that last year ? "
Because that would've been the easy way , and far less fun . I say this as someone who has had so much fun reloading obsolete cartridges that I stepped out my back door and fired my expensive , custom made dies ( for a cartridge I refuse to name to this day ) into the bush . As far as I know , they're still there . I'm sure you felt the same urge at some point lol .
Glad to hear you have it sorted and looking forward to some range reports , cool project .

AB

What did you pitch, Steve...?

 

[alberta boy]

What did you pitch, Steve...?

Dies for the cartridge I dare not name , I'm still in therapy . But since I've grown as a person after intensive psychotherapy , I feel able to confront my past . They were dies for a 40/82 Winchester . After a lot of grief and suffering , and I mean a lot , I did get it to shoot . It was a combination of a slightly out of spec chamber and bore on a Winchester 1886 and dies that were incompatible . After talking to a few guys , I found that it's not unusual . If I would've talked to them before I started , it would've saved me a lot of grief . Alas , this was in the pre internet era .

AB

 

[scrumbag]

Dies for the cartridge I dare not name , I'm still in therapy .

AB

Come out of denial, what was it?

 

[Muir]

" Why did I not do that last year ? "
Because that would've been the easy way , and far less fun . I say this as someone who has had so much fun reloading obsolete cartridges that I stepped out my back door and fired my expensive , custom made dies ( for a cartridge I refuse to name to this day ) into the bush . As far as I know , they're still there . I'm sure you felt the same urge at some point lol .
Glad to hear you have it sorted and looking forward to some range reports , cool project .

AB

So lets make 5mm Craig out of 22 Hornet. 5mm Craig is the centerfire version of the 5mm Remington Magnum Rimfire.

Chuck up a piece of 22 Hornet in the lathe, over a mandrel. Pick a spot on the web and plunge the tool in, turning towards the rim. Measure and repeat. You are aiming to get the cut in just the right spot so that when you size it, the brass wall at the web will be slightly thicker than the RF brass.
Ruin case, after case.
After case.
After case.
Twenty wrecked before you get it right for a few. Thin the rims and reduce their diameter to 8mm.
Ruin one of the three.
Anneal the last two. Run them over a 25 caliber mandrel to make them straight.
Anneal again.
Trim and run into a FL 5mm Craig die.
Rip the rim off of one of the remaining cases. Remove the stuck brass from the die by carefully slitting it with a jewelers file and prying it out.
The the remaining case is perfect.

Fumble getting it out of the shell holder and accidently step on it while trying to find it.
Decide you have enough commercial 5mm Craig brass to hold you.
Drink bourbon.
Think about an old girlfriend. ~Muir

 

[alberta boy]

So lets make 5mm Craig out of 22 Hornet. 5mm Craig is the centerfire version of the 5mm Remington Magnum Rimfire.

Chuck up a piece of 22 Hornet in the lathe, over a mandrel. Pick a spot on the web and plunge the tool in, turning towards the rim. Measure and repeat. You are aiming to get the cut in just the right spot so that when you size it, the brass wall at the web will be slightly thicker than the RF brass.
Ruin case, after case.
After case.
After case.
Twenty wrecked before you get it right for a few. Thin the rims and reduce their diameter to 8mm.
Ruin one of the three.
Anneal the last two. Run them over a 25 caliber mandrel to make them straight.
Anneal again.
Trim and run into a FL 5mm Craig die.
Rip the rim off of one of the remaining cases. Remove the stuck brass from the die by carefully slitting it with a jewelers file and prying it out.
The the remaining case is perfect.

Fumble getting it out of the shell holder and accidently step on it while trying to find it.
Decide you have enough commercial 5mm Craig brass to hold you.
Drink bourbon.
Think about an old girlfriend. ~Muir

Epic levels of fun , it's funny how alcohol invariably gets involved .

AB

 

[angusb1]

Just read this whole thread after getting back from the range where my mate brought his .310 Cadet today. It made a weird zipping sound when fired and rounds were going feet either side of the 4' x 4' target board at 100 yards, and some under, some over the top of it. When we had a close look they were hitting the target board sideways (on the rare occasions they actually hit it). From reading this it sounds like the bullet mould might be a .32 so the bullets might be too narrow to get purchase on the rifling, one thing we thought at the time, and we have some loads to check for velocity against what we were using. @Stalker1962 thankyou for your honest and hilarious account of what you did, without it no-one would have contributed to this thread and we would be blundering about in the dark without the benefit of what you and everyone else who contributed to this thread has already learnt through bitter experience. Now my mate has a fighting chance to get this lovely little piece of history shooting as it should do again.

 

[ColinJ]

I hate to say this, but in another thread addressed to @Stalker1962 you have been advised to get out more. Perhaps this is why?

 

[angusb1]

you have been advised to get out more.

Me or Stalker1962?

 

[ColinJ]

Me or Stalker1962?

Sorry Angus, not you!

 

[angusb1]

Had me confused there. I've literally been out all day. I couldn't really have got out more.