TargetTalk

Hi Shooters,

I have only been shooting for approximately 1 year. As such, I am still perfecting my gun/trigger control.

Would those of you who shoot the Pardini HP 'New', kindly let me know what load and powder type you are using behind your 98gr HBWC. I am trying to use a 'proven' load in order to leave my lack of ability as the reason for not hitting the X ring.

Thank you and happy shooting.

FT

I use 1.4gr. of N310. I use .314 98gr wadds. Most Pardini 32 cal barrels are between .313 and .315dia.

Mine is .312 (HP new, older are .314).
1.3 - 1.4 of N310 is the best choice. You must pay attention to:
1) cases (I use it only 3 max 4 times);
2) expanding and belling the cases (the expander must be a little less long than the bullet, .310 or .311 diameter, not too much belling);
3) COL;
4) crimping (factory cartridge are all heavy roll crimped, I use a taper crimp, with zero feeding problems...).
Good luck...

Anonymous wrote:1) cases (I use it only 3 max 4 times).

Why ? It is a very soft load, cases do not suffer at all.

Because I think that .32 wadcutter is very similar to bench rest reloading... But this is what I think...

I,m using either 98 speer or lately 100 gr H&N bullets. I use N310 at 1.25 grains. Becareful with 310 as it is the second fastest powder available, perfect for the .32 but high pressures if loaded over 1.4 which is max recommended by factory. In fact I feel 1.4 will pound your Pardini over time, stick with lighter 1.25 or 1.3. You will also need a powder feeder slide for light loads as most powder bars will not meter down to 1.3 accurately and consistant. Check out uniguetek.com for after market powder bar for dillon. I have one works great. As far as brass goes I dont find a difference between brands and honestly dont see why you cannot load many times with light loads pending inspection of course. I use CCI primers. I crimp very lightly. Check some factory Lapua for this as I think they might be the best factory ammo. I beleive they use N310 as well. If you cant get 310 try good old bullseye, very accurate but bit dirty. Try to use the lightest load that is accurate and functions the gun, your SP will last a lot longer. I have about 6000 through my gun now and have not had one failure. Hope this helps

Rob

Thank you shooters for your above comments.

I will add a bottle of N310 to my supplies and try a 1.3 grain load behind a 98 grain lead hollow base wadcutter as a starting point.

Customs954: Indeed, I am very concerned about destroying my Pardini New as I constantly read about this pistol disliking ‘hot’ loads.

I have been using 1.6 grains of WST behind the above projectile. (Have also tried 1.6 grains of W231). With the WST load I have been able to keep within ‘the black’ but as I mentioned, I am still perfecting my gun/trigger control. If I can use a proven load, then by elimination, ‘bad’ shots must be due to me, and not the pistol.

I load with a Dillon Square Deal with the extra-small powder bar. I found the WST powder to be bulky enough to throw 1.5gr and 1.6gr consistently. However, I appears that I may be better to purchase a micrometer controlled bar from UniqueTek.

Any further comments received with thanks.

Happy and accurate shooting.

FT

[list Because I think that .32 wadcutter is very similar to bench rest reloading... But this is what I think...[/list]

You are correct in that there are some similarities, however in this case the similarities stop where the accuracies for the .32 wadcutter is for 25 meters and benchrest is anywhere from 300 out to 1000 meters . Hardly a comparison. Brass for wadcutter loads will easily last 20 to 30 or more reloads before splits occur



.

It was only my opinion, when I have a match I don't want loose points.
For N310 if you read the Vihtavuori loading data they have 1.4 as starting load till 1.9.

Anonymous wrote:It was only my opinion, when I have a match I don't want loose points.

Accuracy of the pistol and shooter is by far lower than the possible loss of accuracy due to used cases.

There is no comparison between the accuracy needed for bench rest and for center fire pistol !

It's also true that the roll crimp, after many times break the mouth of the cartridge case.
I think also that the brass of the case after many times lose the elasticity. When I resize a case used many times I feel the difference with my press.

Something that has been missed in this thread is that every gun is different. Loads which are "perfect" in someone's Pardini New may be pretty hopeless in your seemingly identical pistol!

An earlier post suggested a projectile size and I assume you have had the bore "slugged". Most .32's are notoriously demanding, requiring the right diameter projectile which is matched to the bore diameter. Using the wrong size is not going to help your cause.

Developing loads can be a time consuming, albeit interesting process. In my opinion, the greatest difficulty lies with a consistently holding and aiming the pistol if you don't have access to a Ransom Rest or similar device. Freehand shooting when developing loads is a complete waste of time.

Buying a pound (7000 grains) of say WST only to find that your pistol hates it after using just 40 or 50 grains can be frustrating as well as expensive. Other shooters often brag about their "perfect" load and are usually happy to donate a few of their loads to another club member. This saves you the effort loading small batches and the associated costs AND you benefit from all their development, truly a win-win for you. My 38SPL CF load was found in this manner.

If you decide to proceed with the load development approach I'd suggest you experiment with a few loads in a single testing session. Load 20 of each powder weight starting low and working up to the higher loads. Keep all components identical aside from the powder weight. Be aware that maximum loads rarely give the best accuracy in my experience and maximum loads are punishing on firearms. Consult a suitable loading manual for guidance.

If you don't have access to a Ransom Rest you must have firm base to rest your pistol hand on, a folded towel on a stack of phone books will do the job - the objective here is to remove YOU from the equation as far as is possible. A suitable seat and bench complete the range equipment. Assuming no fault exists with shooting technique the variances revealed with a reasonable sample size (hence 20 shots in two groups) should be attributable to the loads.

Take enough new targets with you, 1 for each group of ten shots. Remember to record the test data (date and time, ambient temperature, case manufacturer, projectile (manufacturer, weight and diameter), powder (manufacturer, type code, batch number and weight), primer (manufacturer and type) on the target for future reference. Starting with the lightest loads, carefully shoot them in groups of ten on a new target. Make sure the sights are aligned and cancel the shot if there is any misalignment or other error (e.g. breathing). Do not rush these shots; try to shoot them at about the pace of the precision stage - 5 shots in 5 minutes.

Where they hit on the target is irrelevant, you are only interested in the group size.

Measure across each group of ten shots recording the distance from the edge to the edge between the two holes which are furthest apart.

If you are still not happy with the best you have achieved and you are sure that there were no technical errors that gave rise to bad shots then you may need to consider changing the crimp or a component; powder, projectile then primers and cases.

This process should allow you to find a load that works well in your pistol.

Then you can concentrate on technique.

Remember, changing any component such as primers, projectiles, seating depth, crimp and even brand of cases can all affect the performance of your regular load. So, when you find that perfect load that works in your pistol make sure you stock up on those components!

This is by no means an exhaustive instruction list but it should give you some guidance.

Good Luck!