Hello,
I have a 1934 Mauser 32 auto pocket pistol that I am using for personal protection and am looking for factory ammo with 100% reliability. I've read the journal #186 on the subject, but was curious if there is updated or more current information in regard to factory ammo with 100% reliability.Any information on this would be greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Valade Witzens
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I have not worked at all with the 1934 Mauser. Other WW2 era pistols I have tested, Colt 1903, CZ27, Beretta M1935, Walther PP all fed and functioned 100% reliably with CIP-Euro 73-grain FMJ by Fiocchi, RWS, Sellier & Bellot or equivalent handloads using 2.4-2.5 grains of Bullseye or 3 grains of AutoComp with 71-grain FMJRN bullets by CBC, Hornady, or Remington, at a ctg. OAL of 0.96-0.975".
Cartridges loaded with bullets lighter than 73 grains did not have sufficient recoil impulse to function the wartime pistols reliably. NO American-made .32 ACP ammunition was reliable! Cartridges having an overall cartridge length of less than 0.94” are subject to rimlock and are not reliable, which includes the Buffalo Bore 75-grain FN and all the US produced JHP rounds.
We have had great success with Accurate Molds 31-077B loaded with 5.6-5.9 grains of Alliant #2400 at 0.945” OAL. This is a powerful and accurate load which matches the ballistics of the Buffalo Bore +P, but will feed reliably, because it has adequate overall cartridge length to prevent rounds in the magazine from “shuffling in the stack” and causing rimlock. The Accurate 31-087T loaded with either 5.6 grs. of #2400 or 3 grs. of AutoComp at minimum OAL of 0.945” is another powerful and accurate load for STEEL framed pistols which feeds fully as reliably as FMJRN hardball and is a good choice for pistols which don't feed LFN bullets.
The Accurate 31-090B with 3 grains of AutoComp is another accurate and powerful +P load for STEEL FRAMED pistols which exceeds the energy of the Buffalo Bore load.
Recoil springs should be replaced with heavier ones intended for the .380 ACP versions of the same pistols, if available, when using bullets weighing over 80 grains. Wolff can make an extra-duty recoil spring for the 1934 Mauser if you plan to handload the heavier bullets, but European CIP-specification 73-grain FMJ should function your pistol with 100% reliability, because it is the ammunition that it was designed for. US .32 ACP is not.
An updated article on .32 ACP loads is planned for a future issue of The Fouling Shot.
Photo shows Buffalo Bore 75-grain LFN at 0.915” OAL at left which jams.Cartridge at right is loaded with Accurate 31-090B at 0.945” OAL which feeds reliably and gets 900+ fps from a 3-1/2” barrel with 3 grains of AutoComp.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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Thank you for the quick response and great information!
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As a head's up, Steve Balthrop and I have been sharing our firing data and findings with Reed's Custom Ammo in Oklahoma City, OK
If they come up with something suitable for machine loading which function and pressure tests OK, it is hoped there will be an alternative to the Buffalo Bore load maybe next year.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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Ed, any idea why current US .32 ACP ammo is not loaded such that it will “run” in these fine old guns? Like you I have a PP that was a West German police turn-in, there were quite a few of these imported.
On the other hand, will CIP-spec ammo “beat up” more modern .32 ACP pistols?
Thanks for the heads-up anyway. That above-mentioned PP is now full of S&B 71 grain FMJ ammo, until I can get around to buying a flat point mold of your design, and brew up some better hand-loads. I have the old Lyman 77 grain round nose, but don't think it would be any better than the FMJ from S&B. It does shoot quite accurately in my 1903 Colt, though.
FWIW, I have read that one way to make up a good load for any older automatic is to take primed cases to the range, work up a powder charge that will lock the action open as the only round in the gat, (Put one round in the magazine, cycle the slide manually, then fire) apparently it takes a bit more slide energy to lock open reliably than to just feed. Once you get the slide locking open say 5 times in a row, that is your load for that powder and that bullet. The thought is to then “quit while you are ahead” out of deference to an old and valuable firearm.
Agree? Disagree?
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M3 Mitch. I use the same method to work up .32 ACP loads with the 1935 Beretta.
US .32 ACP ammo is loaded very conservatively. The test barrel produces higher velocity than can be expected in a functional firearm. Pressure limits are held low in deference to the most poorly made guns, and current US pocket pistols are designed to function with it and the manuals publish disclaimers about using loads exceeding a certain muzzle energy. The industry wants to sell new guns, not feed old ones. They hope that if their ammo doesn't work in your 1903 Colt, that you will blame the old gun, not their weak ammo, and that you will be enticed to buy the latest tiny plastic toy pistol. Then when the new tiny gun breaks using the “cheap imported” (CIP) ammo, the evil imported ammo is blamed, not the plastic framed gun. So far my two Ruger LCPs in .380 have performed well and are worthy replacements for the Beretta Tomcat. In .32 ACP I am keeping the Walther PP, Beretta M1935 and Colt M1903. The Accurate 31-077B is the best compromise for an effective load which doesn't punish the modern pistols, yet you can achieve 1000 fps. from your Walther PP with either 5.9 grains of Alliant #2400 or 3 grains of Unique. No reason to buy Buffalo Bore when you can load your own.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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Ha ha, those marketing weenies don't know me at all. I know darn well what kind of malfunction you get with under-loaded ammo, see it occasionally when working up a load. That and I know very well that the 1903 Colt and the PP are both good guns.
Got to get that 77 grainer mold on order.
In a way, I sort of like it that to have good .32 ammo, you have to make it yourself. Like in the mid-70's when if you had a fast car, you had built it yourself, the rich kid couldn't buy as good or better off the shelf.
Would be good to get the word out about CIP and domestic .32 ammo. Not knowing any better I had that PP full of Silvertips, if I shot any only a few because they are expensive and now are very hard to find (dumb, I know...) But it's as if I filled up my M3 with Chevron Premium, and it not only wouldn't run right, it wouldn't even start! Enough to severely dent my confidence in American industry.
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I've posted info on current US vs. hotter old WW2 era and CIP. Old, old Western with WW2 Army lot numbers overstamped gave 1000 fps and was also the heavier 73-grain bullet like Euro stuff. Hatcher's Textbook of Pistols & Revolvers (1935) listed the standard charge for the .32 ACP as 2.5 grains of Bullseye, which is 10% above what Alliant lists with current powder.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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Ed, ready to order that mold, but do you recommend aluminum, brass, or iron for the mold blocks? I'm long-term oriented and relatively insensitive to “first cost” (but would not want to go with say solid gold!) so if the Iron is the long-lasting but more expensive option, I will go with that. I'm not that worried about weight either. But I am sure each material has it's advantages or they would not offer all 3. Read Accurate's FAQ on it and didn't see any clear winner for me. I'm leaning towards iron, partly for durability, partly because I must have 50 or more Lyman and RCBS iron molds, I'm familiar with them, used to them. But would like to know your preference, and why?
Thanks!
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As I get older, I have come to prefer aluminum blocks because they don't rust and they are less tiring to use. I don't find them to be any less durable, whatever alloy Tom Ellis at Accurate uses is better than what Lee does.
Aluminum blocks perform better with suitable prep. I scrub the cavities with Dawn or Palmolive dishwashing detergent, and then boil them for 10 minutes in tap water, then rinse in boiling water and pre-heat on an electric hot plate. I use a 350 deg. F Tempilstik crayon mark on the blocks to calibrate the hot plate, usually “medium” heat.
The blocks will still require a few pours to come to full casting temperature, but should start dropping good bullets easily. The Palmolive detergent may result in a light gray patina on the cavities, which is a type of passivation so that smoking is not needed. If you use Dawn the blocks will remain bright and light smoking is needed for the first couple casting sessions.
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia
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