I hope this is the right place to post my question. If it is not I apologize. Anyway, back in the season my friends and I went out hunting. I was using my dad's Marlin .32 Special. Well, we had fun but didn't get any chances on deer, so we came back home after the light gave out and started the end of the hunting day sequence. I was unloading my gun at the same time my buddy was. He had a 30/30 and as I said, I had my dad's .32 special. When we had all our bullets out we were confused because we both had loaded 4 but out of the total eight there were only two .32 spec. bullets. This led to mass confusion until I checked my ammo box and saw that I had some 30-30 bullets mixed in with my ammo. I should have been more alert when we were preparing to go out, but like I said, it wasn't my gun, ammo bag, or ammo.

This started a big debate. The 30/30 bullets had fit in my gun fine and unloaded fine. My buddies said that I had been really lucky that I hadn't taken any shots because the 30/30 bullet could/would have caused huge problems for my gun and might have ruined it. However, since then I have heard some people say that certain calibers can be fired out of guns that are not that exact caliber. I have asked a lot of people but I keep getting one of the two views at almost a perfect 50-50 split. I am new to hunting so that's my excuse, but it seems like this would be common knowledge in the hunting community as to which view is correct.

So I ask that someone please tell me what is what. Are you able to fire ammo that is not the exact caliber as your gun but extremely similar? If the answer is no, what would happen if you did? Would the negative consequences be drastic or minimal or somewhere in the middle? I really would like an answer to this. Please only answer me if you really, Really, know what you are talking about. I don't mean to be mean, but I have asked a lot of people that I would think would know and no one has yet to say, "this is the way it is and I am 100%, without a doubt, positive of this". So please, someone who is really qualified please tell me what is what. Sorry I got so long winded but I'm done now. Thank you for your time.

-gryphin

It is absolutely 100 % certain that you can fire some cartridges in firearms not chambered for that cartridge. Some people regularly do it on purpose to fire form cases to a different caliber.

I believe (strongly emphasize believe, I'm not certain) that had you fired the 30-30 in your 32 special you would have simply fireformed the case into a 32 with no ill effects other than very poor accuracy.

In other situations firing the wrong cartridge in a fiream could result in dire consequences, such as having parts of the firearm stuck in your head.

The case dimensions of them are near identical so no doubt you could easily chamber a 30-30 cartridge in a 32 WS. You could no doubt fire it and the bullet would go down your oversize barrel with very poor accuracy and at the same time fireforming the brass to your chamber. The bigger problem is if you could chamber the 32 WS in the 30-30. Shooting that would cause a lot more serious problems.

KenK +1

I've fireformed this way (although not my preference these days, I prefer a false shoulder) and know others who also have.

It will only work in very specific circumstances where the correct case, with correct headspace that is not long enough to enter the throat is used.

To the best of my knowledge and experience, I believe that a .30-30 fired in a .32 win spec, would not cause any damage to the rifle or firer. Still, I wouldn't recommend it anymore.

Regards

Snow.

Gryphin,

Hope this taught you to ALWAYS check you gun/ ammo whether it is yours or not.

I have not fired 30-30's in 32's, but I have fired both 25-35 and 219 zipper in a 30-30 (crimp problems which precluded them chambering in the correct firearm, and a broken impact bullet puller) Didn't check the accuracy, but no other problems.

A friend of mine was guiding hunters. He had his 280 remington and 243 remington in his pickup rack. His hunter wounded a deer and took a scope scab from a whiz-bang magnum, really didn't want to finish the deer with that gun. Well, a 243 was thrown in to the 280, by mistake. It went bang, the deer was finished, the action wouldn't open without the ministrations of a gunsmith.

Another fella I knew was sighting in the rifles in prep for hunting season. Threw a 308 into his grandfather's pre-64 model 70 270. The human participants lived through it, but the rifle didn't!

The 30-30 fired in the .32 Win Special appears to be a safe mistake to make for three reasons:

1. The case sizes and SAMMI max chamber pressures are the same (42,000 PSI), and both have about 45 grains of water capacity without their bullets, so the powder charge in the .30-30 will be safe in the .32 Win. Spl. in a modern Marlin.

2. The bullet is smaller, so it won't swage down in the bore, which takes a lot of pressure, but rather will be loose in it. That will actually cause pressures to be lower than normal for the .30-30, and to be less consistent than normal. It will also allow the bullet to tilt in the bore. As the others commented, these conditions will cause very poor accuracy, but nothing worse.

3. The .30-30 case has a 15 thousandths shorter trim length than the .32 Win. Spl. so we don't have any issue with the chamber throat being jammed by the casemouth and raising pressure.

Trying to put the .32 into a .30-30 chamber should not fit. The .32 Win. Spl. should be too fat to fit in the .30-30 chamber neck. If you have a .30-30 with very loose chamber dimensions, it might fit anyway, but would be very dangerous because it would reverse reasons 2., and 3., above.

The same thing can often be done with the 270 win and 25-06 when chambered in a 30-06 rifle, lots of unburned powder and large fireball with low pressure and very low volicity. There is no excuse for this to happen, it's very dangerous with some combinations, so please take time to look.

Trying to put the .32 into a .30-30 chamber should not fit. The .32 Win. Spl. should be too fat to fit in the .30-30 chamber neck. If you have a .30-30 with very loose chamber dimensions, it might fit anyway, but would be very dangerous because it would reverse reasons 2., and 3., above.

Thats what I was kinda wondering if a 32 would even fit in the 30-30...I suppose it's possible but I sure wouldn't want to be pulling the trigger.

Alright, thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I got some really good feedback there and I think I understand the issue now. Thanks.

-gryphin