Elric
Well-Known Member
Consider the Reduced Charge
By W. Cary Nicholas.
Outdoor Life, pages vol 41, No. 2, February, 1918, 134-136
https://books.google.com/books?id=U...KzAD#v=onepage&q=practice load bullet&f=false
Owing to the excessive cost of ammunition there are many of the shooting fraternity who are wondering just where they get off at. In fact it be gins to look as if something will have to be done or many clubs and associations will simply die a natural death due to lack of active members. This refers to the average club of course (as there will be some more fortunately endowed with the coin of the realm than others). This seems extremely unfortunate, especially at this time as the greater number participating the more men we have proficient in the use of firearms, an especially desirable feature at this time. The increased cost is not altogether up to the manufacturers either, as can readily be seen by pricing lead, brass, copper, tin, paper and other ingredients that go into the making of ammunition. We find that they have all advanced from 100 percent upwards, therefore, it does not look as it much relief can be looked for from this source for some time to come. On this account many are advocating the use of the reduced charges which for practice purposes are thoroly practical and economical and in many cases actually superior in teaching men the rudiments of shooting—to the full charge. And after trying out some 12-gauge shells loaded with 2 ½ drams of powder, 1 1/8 ounces of No. 7 soft shot at clay targets standing at a distance of twelve and sixteen yards, I look back with extreme chagrin at the days when I have helped new men just learning to shoot and fed them up on the regular load.
Had I known then what I know now I could have saved shooters considerable money and they would have developed the faster for the light loads due to the reduction of the recoil and their adjusting themselves to the shock, something a new man always has to contend with. Primarily this article has to do with rifle shooting, however, so we will drop the subject of the scatter gun and get down to brass tacks. There are undoubtedly hundreds, even thousands who read this magazine that enjoy their target practice with high powered rifles, either as members of rifle clubs or as individuals and who find that the cost of shooting is mounting skyward daily.
The reduced charge applies to the rifle in the same ratio as to the shotgun, only more so; every rifleman knows of the various and varied contrivances for shooting a reduced load in a high-power rifle. Comparatively few, however, have put to a practical test a proper reduced charge, one that does not call into being a supplemental chamber adapter, etc., but one that resembles its big brother in every respect with the exception of the quantity of powder used and the material composing the bullet.
For a concrete example let us take the man who delights in target practice at the ranges of the various clubs thruout the country with the military rifle, model 1903, using 1906 ammunition. If he buys his ammunition at the best price he will have to pay from five cents upward and they are hard to get at that. A panacea for this high cost is to be found in the reduced load. With a little adjustment of the rear sight and without subtracting one whit from the value of the practice, in fact, one will hardly know the difference outside of the fact that the recoil is reduced somewhat. These charges can be used with entire success up to ranges not exceeding 500 yards.
In order to obtain the economy you will have to reload your own shells, utilizing the empty cartridges, which can be reloaded a number of times with the reduced charge; in some cases you will find that a shell can be reloaded twenty to thirty times and still be good (provided non-mercuric primers have been used). There is nothing mysterious or dangerous in reloading Springfield ammunition to the man who is willing to follow directions and who will keep within reasonable limits. No foolish experimenting should be indulged in unless the experimenter is familiar with what he is doing.
The following is an excellent load for 200, 300 and 500 yards shooting and the necessary tools and the costs are given: In figuring the cost of the ammunition I am not considering the cost of the tools or the shells, as the tools will last an ordinary lifetime and the shells may be reloaded many times.
Tools necessary——
1 Ideal Universal powder measure No. 5 with short drop tube, .30 caliber, . . . . ..$3.00
1 No. 10 special reloading tool .30 caliber model 1906, with single adjustable chamber for bullet No. 308,334 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.50
1 Muzzle resizer for 1906 shell. .50
1 Bullet resizer .311-inch . . . . . . . .. 1.00
1 Melting pot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .50
1 Dipper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .50
1 Mould for bullet No. 308,334. . . . . 1.50
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.50
1 Ideal handbook No. 26, which will describe in a very clear manner all the necessary operations, which are few and simple.
The above prices are all list and the tools can be procured from the Ideal Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Conn., or if you see fit you can secure these tools from other makers which are equally good. A pound of DuPont Powder No. 21 costs in the open market $1.25 and will load 275 shells with 25 ½ grains each, which is the amount of powder recommended for this reduced load, the full charge being 45.7 grains with M. C. bullet. This will bring the powder cost per hundred to 46 cents. U. S. Cartridge Company Non-Mercuric Primer No. 8 will cost 30 cents per hundred. It is strongly advised that a non-mercuric primer be used as the mercuric primer will reduce the life of the shell considerably. Ideal bullet metal No. 2 will cost about 20 cents per pound and as the bullet No. 308,334 weighs about 195 grains, a any way than by just casting bullets. After casting they will have to be resized down to .311-inch, such resizing being done with the resizing tool. The bore of the rifle is about .308—inch and this extra size insures a snug fit in the barrel.
From the above it will appear then that the total cost will be $1.48 per hundred or very close to it even if the price of material has advanced in the last few weeks. A cent and a half apiece is, I imagine, a little better than might be hoped for at this time, furthermore you will find that you will be able to make practically the same scores with this load as you can with any other at the ranges mentioned. Of course you will have to adjust your rear sight; at 200 yards it will be necessary to set it at 750 yards, at 300 yards at 875 yards, and at 500 yards at 1125 yards. Perhaps your windage will also need a little attention as the tendency seems to be to throw them a little to the right. Gas check cups, which are little copper cups that are fitted onto the case of the bullet to keep the hot gases from streaking or cutting the bullet and deforming the base, and it is by their use that the load is possible. They will cost 15 cents per hundred.
Personally, however, I have found little trouble in this connection. The procedure in reloading is to take the shells as soon after firing as possible and decap them (the tool for this job comes with tool No: 10), then to throw them into boiling soapsuds and shake around for a time, then put them into clear boiling water and rinse them off, when rinsed throw onto a towel to dry—the heat of the shells themselves will be sufficient to dry them in a little while.
Do not put them in an oven or at tempt to dry them in any other manner. When thoroly dry you can then recap, the implement for this purpose also comes with No. 10 tool. After recapping the shells must be resized at the necks with the muzzle resizer; this will make a snug fit with the bullet and prevent it from slipping down into the shell farther than desired. They should be resized about 1-16 inch from the end for bullet No. 308,334 and somewhat farther for the metal-cased bullet. This resizing is necessary as there is no crimp, the bullet being held simply by the pressure of the shell against the sides. For 25 ½ grains of No. 21 powder set the measure with slides D and E at 30, being careful to see that slide F is shoved clear home.
The preparation of the bullet is a little more difficult. I find that Ideal bullet metal No. 2 works very well. It comes in the form of bars and will have to be heated to just the right consistency before proper bullets can be cast. The mould itself will also refuse to function properly until it is heated to the right degree; however, after casting about twenty-five or so it will begin to throw them perfectly—do not attempt to heat the mould, any way than by just casting bullets.
After casting they will have to be resized down to .311-inch, such resizing being done with the resizing tool. The bore of the rifle is about .308—inch and this extra size insures a snug fit in the barrel.
The bullets as they come from the mould will measure about .314-inch on the first band. After resizing tap the gas checks on the base and dip the bullets in some suitable lubricant. I find that cylinder oil and yellow beeswax makes a very good lubricant. This lubrication is necessary to prevent lead fouling. After dipping, set aside to cool and then run thru a cutter to clear the lubricant from all parts of the bullet with the exception of the hollow ring in the lower hand. You can buy this tool or you can make one out of an old shell by simply cutting the head off and swelling the neck so that the bullet will just pass thru. Only dip the bullet deep enough to cover the lower band on bullet No. 308,334, the second band can then be used as a guide in seating the bullet. The bullet should be seated just deep enough in the shell so that the muzzle of the shell just covers the second band.
With a little patience and perseverance you will soon be able to cast bullets and reload shells along with the best and at the same time you will be able to save considerable money that might be devoted to other purposes. Surely the matter of the reduced charge is worth serious consideration as an aid to keeping things going during the prevailing high prices.
(NOTE—We quite agree with Mr. Nichols as to the facility with which rifle cartridges can be reloaded, and all our experiments bears him out that the resultant cartridges are both reliable and economical. The reloading need not be confined to gas-check bullets, however, since the ordinary metal-cased ball works well with all kinds of charges from a few grains of Du Pont No. 80 to the full charge. In regard to running bullets, we have moulded thousands and never did get very fond of the work. Unless a man has plenty of time on his hands, we would advise him to buy the bullets, whether gas check or metal patched, ready made. The marksman who desires to reload his own ammunition will find it wise to procure both the Ideal Handbook and Newton's catalog. Follow instructions, keep a few grains short of the full charge, and we can anticipate no trouble whatever in making good ammunition—Editor.)
By W. Cary Nicholas.
Outdoor Life, pages vol 41, No. 2, February, 1918, 134-136
https://books.google.com/books?id=U...KzAD#v=onepage&q=practice load bullet&f=false
Owing to the excessive cost of ammunition there are many of the shooting fraternity who are wondering just where they get off at. In fact it be gins to look as if something will have to be done or many clubs and associations will simply die a natural death due to lack of active members. This refers to the average club of course (as there will be some more fortunately endowed with the coin of the realm than others). This seems extremely unfortunate, especially at this time as the greater number participating the more men we have proficient in the use of firearms, an especially desirable feature at this time. The increased cost is not altogether up to the manufacturers either, as can readily be seen by pricing lead, brass, copper, tin, paper and other ingredients that go into the making of ammunition. We find that they have all advanced from 100 percent upwards, therefore, it does not look as it much relief can be looked for from this source for some time to come. On this account many are advocating the use of the reduced charges which for practice purposes are thoroly practical and economical and in many cases actually superior in teaching men the rudiments of shooting—to the full charge. And after trying out some 12-gauge shells loaded with 2 ½ drams of powder, 1 1/8 ounces of No. 7 soft shot at clay targets standing at a distance of twelve and sixteen yards, I look back with extreme chagrin at the days when I have helped new men just learning to shoot and fed them up on the regular load.
Had I known then what I know now I could have saved shooters considerable money and they would have developed the faster for the light loads due to the reduction of the recoil and their adjusting themselves to the shock, something a new man always has to contend with. Primarily this article has to do with rifle shooting, however, so we will drop the subject of the scatter gun and get down to brass tacks. There are undoubtedly hundreds, even thousands who read this magazine that enjoy their target practice with high powered rifles, either as members of rifle clubs or as individuals and who find that the cost of shooting is mounting skyward daily.
The reduced charge applies to the rifle in the same ratio as to the shotgun, only more so; every rifleman knows of the various and varied contrivances for shooting a reduced load in a high-power rifle. Comparatively few, however, have put to a practical test a proper reduced charge, one that does not call into being a supplemental chamber adapter, etc., but one that resembles its big brother in every respect with the exception of the quantity of powder used and the material composing the bullet.
For a concrete example let us take the man who delights in target practice at the ranges of the various clubs thruout the country with the military rifle, model 1903, using 1906 ammunition. If he buys his ammunition at the best price he will have to pay from five cents upward and they are hard to get at that. A panacea for this high cost is to be found in the reduced load. With a little adjustment of the rear sight and without subtracting one whit from the value of the practice, in fact, one will hardly know the difference outside of the fact that the recoil is reduced somewhat. These charges can be used with entire success up to ranges not exceeding 500 yards.
In order to obtain the economy you will have to reload your own shells, utilizing the empty cartridges, which can be reloaded a number of times with the reduced charge; in some cases you will find that a shell can be reloaded twenty to thirty times and still be good (provided non-mercuric primers have been used). There is nothing mysterious or dangerous in reloading Springfield ammunition to the man who is willing to follow directions and who will keep within reasonable limits. No foolish experimenting should be indulged in unless the experimenter is familiar with what he is doing.
The following is an excellent load for 200, 300 and 500 yards shooting and the necessary tools and the costs are given: In figuring the cost of the ammunition I am not considering the cost of the tools or the shells, as the tools will last an ordinary lifetime and the shells may be reloaded many times.
Tools necessary——
1 Ideal Universal powder measure No. 5 with short drop tube, .30 caliber, . . . . ..$3.00
1 No. 10 special reloading tool .30 caliber model 1906, with single adjustable chamber for bullet No. 308,334 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2.50
1 Muzzle resizer for 1906 shell. .50
1 Bullet resizer .311-inch . . . . . . . .. 1.00
1 Melting pot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .50
1 Dipper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .50
1 Mould for bullet No. 308,334. . . . . 1.50
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.50
1 Ideal handbook No. 26, which will describe in a very clear manner all the necessary operations, which are few and simple.
The above prices are all list and the tools can be procured from the Ideal Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Conn., or if you see fit you can secure these tools from other makers which are equally good. A pound of DuPont Powder No. 21 costs in the open market $1.25 and will load 275 shells with 25 ½ grains each, which is the amount of powder recommended for this reduced load, the full charge being 45.7 grains with M. C. bullet. This will bring the powder cost per hundred to 46 cents. U. S. Cartridge Company Non-Mercuric Primer No. 8 will cost 30 cents per hundred. It is strongly advised that a non-mercuric primer be used as the mercuric primer will reduce the life of the shell considerably. Ideal bullet metal No. 2 will cost about 20 cents per pound and as the bullet No. 308,334 weighs about 195 grains, a any way than by just casting bullets. After casting they will have to be resized down to .311-inch, such resizing being done with the resizing tool. The bore of the rifle is about .308—inch and this extra size insures a snug fit in the barrel.
From the above it will appear then that the total cost will be $1.48 per hundred or very close to it even if the price of material has advanced in the last few weeks. A cent and a half apiece is, I imagine, a little better than might be hoped for at this time, furthermore you will find that you will be able to make practically the same scores with this load as you can with any other at the ranges mentioned. Of course you will have to adjust your rear sight; at 200 yards it will be necessary to set it at 750 yards, at 300 yards at 875 yards, and at 500 yards at 1125 yards. Perhaps your windage will also need a little attention as the tendency seems to be to throw them a little to the right. Gas check cups, which are little copper cups that are fitted onto the case of the bullet to keep the hot gases from streaking or cutting the bullet and deforming the base, and it is by their use that the load is possible. They will cost 15 cents per hundred.
Personally, however, I have found little trouble in this connection. The procedure in reloading is to take the shells as soon after firing as possible and decap them (the tool for this job comes with tool No: 10), then to throw them into boiling soapsuds and shake around for a time, then put them into clear boiling water and rinse them off, when rinsed throw onto a towel to dry—the heat of the shells themselves will be sufficient to dry them in a little while.
Do not put them in an oven or at tempt to dry them in any other manner. When thoroly dry you can then recap, the implement for this purpose also comes with No. 10 tool. After recapping the shells must be resized at the necks with the muzzle resizer; this will make a snug fit with the bullet and prevent it from slipping down into the shell farther than desired. They should be resized about 1-16 inch from the end for bullet No. 308,334 and somewhat farther for the metal-cased bullet. This resizing is necessary as there is no crimp, the bullet being held simply by the pressure of the shell against the sides. For 25 ½ grains of No. 21 powder set the measure with slides D and E at 30, being careful to see that slide F is shoved clear home.
The preparation of the bullet is a little more difficult. I find that Ideal bullet metal No. 2 works very well. It comes in the form of bars and will have to be heated to just the right consistency before proper bullets can be cast. The mould itself will also refuse to function properly until it is heated to the right degree; however, after casting about twenty-five or so it will begin to throw them perfectly—do not attempt to heat the mould, any way than by just casting bullets.
After casting they will have to be resized down to .311-inch, such resizing being done with the resizing tool. The bore of the rifle is about .308—inch and this extra size insures a snug fit in the barrel.
The bullets as they come from the mould will measure about .314-inch on the first band. After resizing tap the gas checks on the base and dip the bullets in some suitable lubricant. I find that cylinder oil and yellow beeswax makes a very good lubricant. This lubrication is necessary to prevent lead fouling. After dipping, set aside to cool and then run thru a cutter to clear the lubricant from all parts of the bullet with the exception of the hollow ring in the lower hand. You can buy this tool or you can make one out of an old shell by simply cutting the head off and swelling the neck so that the bullet will just pass thru. Only dip the bullet deep enough to cover the lower band on bullet No. 308,334, the second band can then be used as a guide in seating the bullet. The bullet should be seated just deep enough in the shell so that the muzzle of the shell just covers the second band.
With a little patience and perseverance you will soon be able to cast bullets and reload shells along with the best and at the same time you will be able to save considerable money that might be devoted to other purposes. Surely the matter of the reduced charge is worth serious consideration as an aid to keeping things going during the prevailing high prices.
(NOTE—We quite agree with Mr. Nichols as to the facility with which rifle cartridges can be reloaded, and all our experiments bears him out that the resultant cartridges are both reliable and economical. The reloading need not be confined to gas-check bullets, however, since the ordinary metal-cased ball works well with all kinds of charges from a few grains of Du Pont No. 80 to the full charge. In regard to running bullets, we have moulded thousands and never did get very fond of the work. Unless a man has plenty of time on his hands, we would advise him to buy the bullets, whether gas check or metal patched, ready made. The marksman who desires to reload his own ammunition will find it wise to procure both the Ideal Handbook and Newton's catalog. Follow instructions, keep a few grains short of the full charge, and we can anticipate no trouble whatever in making good ammunition—Editor.)
