.32 H&R ammo in a .308 barrel

[o2bhvnbnd]

I am contemplating buying a 32 H&R Mag barrel from Fox Ridge as a small game barrel.  My question is that the barrel has a .308" diameter and factory 32 H&R ammunition is .315" or .007" over nominal, so would it be a problem to shoot factory ammunition through this barrel or would it be best to just reload.  I know there are many variables involved but generally, how much oversize can a bullet be for accuracy and safety.
Thanks,
Brian

[KN]

In my opinion .007 is way too much to be forcing down the bore. A jacketed bullet would not be nearly as forgiving as a cast one. I wouldn't shoot a cast bullet that was more than a couple of thousandths oversize.  KN

[Major]

I would be really surprised if Fox Ridge would sell a barrel that was not safe to shoot because of the liability issues.   I would not re-chamber an old barrel to a different caliber I was not sure of but I don’t think Fox Ridge would dare offer something that has not been properly engineered, tested and found safe to use.   They are not a fly-by-night outfit.

[257AI]

I load for the 32 H&R Mag and most of the bullets are either .311 or .312.  I have never heard of one that was as large as .315.  All of the cartridge adapters that have been used over the years for the thirty caliber rifles used the 32 S&W long, 32 short or 32 acp which all use the same caliber bullets as the H&R so I wouldn't think there would be much of a problem.  They would not risk chambering a barrel for an unsafe cartridge.  IMO

[gewehrfreund]

I'm with 257AI. I have a custom shop barrel in 32-20 (30-20 if you will) and a factory "30"-20 psitol barrel and shoot .312 bullets in them all the time with no problem. the only 32 bullets that may be as large as .315 are undoubtedly cast, and as long as your chamber neck will handle them, even they should not cause problems with reasonable loads for this cartridge. I use mostly .308-.310 size bullets in my TC 32-20's; there's a lot more variety. But I also use Hornady/Speer/Sierra .312's.
P.S. If you can find any, the Magtech 71gr .312 JHP is fantastic for reloading.

[o2bhvnbnd]

Thanks for all the replies.  I have never had a 32 H&R and I was just going by the information I found on other websites such as "Reload Bench" @ http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/p32hr.html which shows a diagram with a .315 inch bullet diameter and a couple of other sites made reference to .314 inch.  But, I have looked further into it and even called Black Hills because they load for two different rounds and theirs is .312 for the jacketed and .313 for the lead.  So, maybe I shouldn't be concerned, as was stated earlier I sure Fox Ridge knows what they are doing.  Guess I may decide to go ahead and buy one around 20 inches long.  Thanks again for the help.

[Flash]

Your accuracy might not be as good as expected since you're swaging the factory ammo down in a .308 tube. From a safety standpoint, you are fine shooting the factory stuff . The same applies to a Ruger Mini 30 or Model 77 in 7.62x39 with a .308 bore.