Elric
Well-Known Member
Some Real Target Rifles By Henry Lovell
https://books.google.com/books?id=ATLOAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA49&dq=pope+bullet&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwhtrSyajYAhVQ42MKHV5zCJcQ6AEINjAD#v=onepage&q=pope bullet&f=false
Hunter-Trader-Trapper, vol 34, no 3, pages 49-51, June 1917
No. 1, 40-63 Ballard, 30 in.
No. 2, 32-40 Stevens, 26 in., Stevens' scope
No. 3, 25-25 Ballard, 30 in., Pope barrel
No. 4, 40 Swiss Martina, 30 in., Remington barrel
No. 5, 32-40 Fancy Ballard, 32 in., Light Barrel
No. 6, 38 Cal. Burcher, Muzzle Loading, 16 lbs.
No. 7, 40-50-ss System Oertel, German, action like Sharp's
No. 8, Bell Muzzle German Hunting Arm.
Accurate target rifles come in two classes. First, and most important at present are the high pressure, military types, which have lately caught up with the fine old low pressure target arms, with bullet seated from the muzzle.
Writers many, have extolled the merits of a few of the finest shooting arms of the military and hunting types: No doubt, they are extra fine for shooting more than two hundred yards. But are they better for strictly fine target work up to that range? It is a question in mind if they are better for game such as squirrels, woodchucks and deer. I have killed nine deer only, but with one shot each. I did not need a repeater at all, altho I favor the 6 mm Lee Rifle as a deer gun.
Probably, I had my hunting too easy in Northern California where bucks ran through the yard in daytime, but they are just as hard to kill as others at that. I wish I could try my pet Ballard 25/25 on them this fall. Many different actions have I used, and the Ballard must be marked on the action, in the future, if I carry it out on the range at all I shoot the following calibres, all Ballards: 40/63, 32/46, 25/25, loaded with shell full of powder and a hard grease wad. In the 25, I use Schuetzen smokeless, with black priming charge, and groove diameter bullets. In the 32, my load is 46 grains, black F. F. G. Hazzard, 165 grain; bore diameter bullet, made by U. M. C. Co. It also shoots my Pope bullets 200 grain, cast one to eighty, nearly as well. Still, I prefer the 165 grain. Light powder charges will not upset these bullets enough to take or hold the rifling and the group will measure a foot at 100 yards.
I tried to shoot a fine muzzle loading Schuetzen rifle with 255 grain hardened bullets, bore diameter, using 2 drachms black powder, and all of the shots went side-wise, and covered two feet. Then I used 290 grain, .375" bullets, cast with soft pure lead, with 4 ½ drachms powder. All groups good and no keyholes. Working up the proper load for certain temper and weight of bullets, is a dickens of a job, and not worth the trouble, unless you are a real crank and enjoy it.
After this, I stick to a 25/25 Pope barrel on a Ballard action. I would like to keep my fine 32/46, but am having Scoyen and Peterson fit all my rifles, including a 40/50 System Oertel, and one Martina, 40 with .32 calibre barrels. Some one will get some fine target outfits then. I am going to heed the advice, "Learn one game only". I will be sending you some inch groups shot with the .25 calibre pretty soon at 75 yards. I have shot five shot strings into half inch circles with .32 Ballard and bore size bullets. Peep and Globe sights at 75 yards.
Dr. Mann has proven beyond a doubt, that bore size bullets, even when shot out of Pope muzzle loading barrels are most accurate for 10 shots when front seated breech loading with a dirty bore.
Pope makes his bullets bore size, back to base band, which is groove size to cut down dirt in muzzle loading. Mr. Mann further proved the fact that bullets up-set instantly with proper charge of low pressure powder. Mann & Nieder type rifles use bore size and base band bullets, giving accuracy equal to best bored Schuetzen rifles ever used.
Why do the factories turn out cast bullets, groove diameter? It takes a very stout heavy bullet seater to load them into the barrel, and few are ever seated concentric with the bore. This causes poor shooting and disgusts the beginner with the shooting game.
Smokeless powder calls for base band or groove size bullets, as the gas expands slower and delivers a lighter blow to base of lead or copper bullets. But increase the pressure, and the hardest bullets will up-set and shoot accurate as in the Ross & Newton rifles. Good, fixed ammunition cannot be made for low pressure loads with any great degree of accuracy. The 250/3000 Savage and Springfield 150 grain are, at present, the most accurate loads in high pressures. They are groove size, short bullets, that don't up-set. Rut they are only good, by comparison with much other fixed ammunition sold by factories. Their five-inch groups at 200 yards not being in a class with 2-inch groups shot by good black powder target rifles. The cost of fixed loads is as different as the size of groups too.
And now, I come to the reason for this article. Government shells at $25.00, including freight, are considered by many to be cheap. So it is against $42.00 for 250/3000 Savage Gun fodder, but you must spend car-fare to the range every Sunday, if you wish to be on the safe side.
I go just eight blocks and shoot my 25/21 against big trees along the creek bank, and I spend less than one cent a shot, even with war prices on ammunition and supplies.
The Ideal Company gives $5.89 as the cost of 1000 smokeless loads in 32/40 if you make your own case bullets, and save your old shells. I have four sizes of straight shells. All have been re-loaded over a hundred times. I use solid head, or everlasting shells, mostly nickel-plated. I think I get all the sport in fine target shooting, without all the expense, and I am home in time for Sunday dinner. Saturday afternoons, I get out for 50 shots, taking the wife along. She surely enjoys the trip too, and can do a fair job of off-hand shooting when she uses her .22 L. R. Savage. Her best score being five sycamore balls out of a treetop without a miss.
In working up target loads, always start with shell, preferably a straight or taper case, and fill it full of powder. To fill evenly, pour powder out of powder horn, into shell and never try to dip shell into powder. Your loads will vary if you do, and groups will string up and down. Use one make of shells, nickel-everlasting are the best. The regular 32/40 shells hold 46 grains black, and if poured full and struck off, will not vary as much as an Ideal measure. Use hard grease wads, or get a No. 12 punch and make paper wads. Do not ram powder down, as a small air space is good with some shells and rifles, and may be necessary, if you use tight fitting bullets and smokeless. A good load can be had with smokeless, 2-grains, or a 22 short shell full, which is about 3-grains bulk, used with No. 2 ½ Winchester primers. Then fill the shell full of King's semi-smokeless, C. G. size. The nitro priming will blow nearly all dirt out of barrel each shot.
The Nitro priming costs no more than black. Clean carefully with gasoline after your day's shooting, or rust will form in the chamber next day.
Another good load is No. 2 copper primer, and 2 grains of black powder of very fine grain, with a shell full of smokeless, DuPont No. 1 or DuPont-Schuetzen, both bulk powders. They are affected by climatic changes. Keep them dry. The latter is the cleanest and gives the lesser recoil of the two loads given.
Bullets must be cast 1 to 25 or harder. The Ideal Company uses 1 to 15 and DuPont recommends 1 to 25. Use tight fitting bullets with the smokeless. Nearly all factory ones are tight in standard cut barrels, and can be stuck into the mouth of the shell about one groove deep, to carry for squirrels and chucks. A bullet seater is out of place in hunting squirrels, as sometimes more than one shot can be had at once.
When a tight fitting bullet is wanted, and you have bore size mold, turn a bullet up-side down, fasten in a brace or speed drill, coat it with grinding compound, such as is used in garage work, and place in base band of mold. Turn about twenty times, and lift up. Add oil and repeat operation. This will enlarge a base band three to five thousandths of an inch and give a tight fitting bullet.
https://books.google.com/books?id=ATLOAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA49&dq=pope+bullet&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwhtrSyajYAhVQ42MKHV5zCJcQ6AEINjAD#v=onepage&q=pope bullet&f=false
Hunter-Trader-Trapper, vol 34, no 3, pages 49-51, June 1917
No. 1, 40-63 Ballard, 30 in.
No. 2, 32-40 Stevens, 26 in., Stevens' scope
No. 3, 25-25 Ballard, 30 in., Pope barrel
No. 4, 40 Swiss Martina, 30 in., Remington barrel
No. 5, 32-40 Fancy Ballard, 32 in., Light Barrel
No. 6, 38 Cal. Burcher, Muzzle Loading, 16 lbs.
No. 7, 40-50-ss System Oertel, German, action like Sharp's
No. 8, Bell Muzzle German Hunting Arm.
Accurate target rifles come in two classes. First, and most important at present are the high pressure, military types, which have lately caught up with the fine old low pressure target arms, with bullet seated from the muzzle.
Writers many, have extolled the merits of a few of the finest shooting arms of the military and hunting types: No doubt, they are extra fine for shooting more than two hundred yards. But are they better for strictly fine target work up to that range? It is a question in mind if they are better for game such as squirrels, woodchucks and deer. I have killed nine deer only, but with one shot each. I did not need a repeater at all, altho I favor the 6 mm Lee Rifle as a deer gun.
Probably, I had my hunting too easy in Northern California where bucks ran through the yard in daytime, but they are just as hard to kill as others at that. I wish I could try my pet Ballard 25/25 on them this fall. Many different actions have I used, and the Ballard must be marked on the action, in the future, if I carry it out on the range at all I shoot the following calibres, all Ballards: 40/63, 32/46, 25/25, loaded with shell full of powder and a hard grease wad. In the 25, I use Schuetzen smokeless, with black priming charge, and groove diameter bullets. In the 32, my load is 46 grains, black F. F. G. Hazzard, 165 grain; bore diameter bullet, made by U. M. C. Co. It also shoots my Pope bullets 200 grain, cast one to eighty, nearly as well. Still, I prefer the 165 grain. Light powder charges will not upset these bullets enough to take or hold the rifling and the group will measure a foot at 100 yards.
I tried to shoot a fine muzzle loading Schuetzen rifle with 255 grain hardened bullets, bore diameter, using 2 drachms black powder, and all of the shots went side-wise, and covered two feet. Then I used 290 grain, .375" bullets, cast with soft pure lead, with 4 ½ drachms powder. All groups good and no keyholes. Working up the proper load for certain temper and weight of bullets, is a dickens of a job, and not worth the trouble, unless you are a real crank and enjoy it.
After this, I stick to a 25/25 Pope barrel on a Ballard action. I would like to keep my fine 32/46, but am having Scoyen and Peterson fit all my rifles, including a 40/50 System Oertel, and one Martina, 40 with .32 calibre barrels. Some one will get some fine target outfits then. I am going to heed the advice, "Learn one game only". I will be sending you some inch groups shot with the .25 calibre pretty soon at 75 yards. I have shot five shot strings into half inch circles with .32 Ballard and bore size bullets. Peep and Globe sights at 75 yards.
Dr. Mann has proven beyond a doubt, that bore size bullets, even when shot out of Pope muzzle loading barrels are most accurate for 10 shots when front seated breech loading with a dirty bore.
Pope makes his bullets bore size, back to base band, which is groove size to cut down dirt in muzzle loading. Mr. Mann further proved the fact that bullets up-set instantly with proper charge of low pressure powder. Mann & Nieder type rifles use bore size and base band bullets, giving accuracy equal to best bored Schuetzen rifles ever used.
Why do the factories turn out cast bullets, groove diameter? It takes a very stout heavy bullet seater to load them into the barrel, and few are ever seated concentric with the bore. This causes poor shooting and disgusts the beginner with the shooting game.
Smokeless powder calls for base band or groove size bullets, as the gas expands slower and delivers a lighter blow to base of lead or copper bullets. But increase the pressure, and the hardest bullets will up-set and shoot accurate as in the Ross & Newton rifles. Good, fixed ammunition cannot be made for low pressure loads with any great degree of accuracy. The 250/3000 Savage and Springfield 150 grain are, at present, the most accurate loads in high pressures. They are groove size, short bullets, that don't up-set. Rut they are only good, by comparison with much other fixed ammunition sold by factories. Their five-inch groups at 200 yards not being in a class with 2-inch groups shot by good black powder target rifles. The cost of fixed loads is as different as the size of groups too.
And now, I come to the reason for this article. Government shells at $25.00, including freight, are considered by many to be cheap. So it is against $42.00 for 250/3000 Savage Gun fodder, but you must spend car-fare to the range every Sunday, if you wish to be on the safe side.
I go just eight blocks and shoot my 25/21 against big trees along the creek bank, and I spend less than one cent a shot, even with war prices on ammunition and supplies.
The Ideal Company gives $5.89 as the cost of 1000 smokeless loads in 32/40 if you make your own case bullets, and save your old shells. I have four sizes of straight shells. All have been re-loaded over a hundred times. I use solid head, or everlasting shells, mostly nickel-plated. I think I get all the sport in fine target shooting, without all the expense, and I am home in time for Sunday dinner. Saturday afternoons, I get out for 50 shots, taking the wife along. She surely enjoys the trip too, and can do a fair job of off-hand shooting when she uses her .22 L. R. Savage. Her best score being five sycamore balls out of a treetop without a miss.
In working up target loads, always start with shell, preferably a straight or taper case, and fill it full of powder. To fill evenly, pour powder out of powder horn, into shell and never try to dip shell into powder. Your loads will vary if you do, and groups will string up and down. Use one make of shells, nickel-everlasting are the best. The regular 32/40 shells hold 46 grains black, and if poured full and struck off, will not vary as much as an Ideal measure. Use hard grease wads, or get a No. 12 punch and make paper wads. Do not ram powder down, as a small air space is good with some shells and rifles, and may be necessary, if you use tight fitting bullets and smokeless. A good load can be had with smokeless, 2-grains, or a 22 short shell full, which is about 3-grains bulk, used with No. 2 ½ Winchester primers. Then fill the shell full of King's semi-smokeless, C. G. size. The nitro priming will blow nearly all dirt out of barrel each shot.
The Nitro priming costs no more than black. Clean carefully with gasoline after your day's shooting, or rust will form in the chamber next day.
Another good load is No. 2 copper primer, and 2 grains of black powder of very fine grain, with a shell full of smokeless, DuPont No. 1 or DuPont-Schuetzen, both bulk powders. They are affected by climatic changes. Keep them dry. The latter is the cleanest and gives the lesser recoil of the two loads given.
Bullets must be cast 1 to 25 or harder. The Ideal Company uses 1 to 15 and DuPont recommends 1 to 25. Use tight fitting bullets with the smokeless. Nearly all factory ones are tight in standard cut barrels, and can be stuck into the mouth of the shell about one groove deep, to carry for squirrels and chucks. A bullet seater is out of place in hunting squirrels, as sometimes more than one shot can be had at once.
When a tight fitting bullet is wanted, and you have bore size mold, turn a bullet up-side down, fasten in a brace or speed drill, coat it with grinding compound, such as is used in garage work, and place in base band of mold. Turn about twenty times, and lift up. Add oil and repeat operation. This will enlarge a base band three to five thousandths of an inch and give a tight fitting bullet.