number 15 - rifle magazine

Number 15 Sept.-Oct., I968

w iiacars (L. wmsmimmg GUNSMITH COLUMMST GUNS & AMMO MAGAZINE

John Wootters I)

Shotshells ' ASSOCIATE EDITOR GUN WEEK

Le8 Bowman Rifle Loads

Harvey A. Donaldson Historical Adviser

Ken Waters "Pet Loads"

ASSOCIATE EDITOR GUN DIGEST

Ted Smith Bullet Swaging

Maj. George C. Nonte Jr. General Assignment

Bob Hagel Hunting Adviser

A. Robert Matt

I

On Gun Laws EXECUTIVE SECRETARY NATL. RELOADING MFG. ASSN.

John Buhmiller

Barbara Kdlouqh

Tina Taylor

lune Skillastad

Otto Schofield

Walter Schwaaz

African ar tr idges

Advertising Difector [ Circulation Manager

I

f l

i',

Prom otion ' I: b i " I

Production Manager

Hangfires & Misfires .... ~ .....___._.____._____ ___.__.._ __._ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ _______. Edward M. Yard 44 To All Friends of Mossberg _____. _ _ _ _ ______...._. _.___ __.____ ~ _.___________. John T. Boom 64

Departments:

Editorial .....__..___._.._._.___ ~ ........._._..__ 4 Answers Please __..__._.. _ _ _____._.______ 56 Lock, Stoek & Barrel ... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 Book Review ____. ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ __._____ 59 Law MATTers ................................. 10 Brochures. Catalogs _.______._.__.____ 59 Reader By-Lines _.__._.__._______.._..._ 12 ProducTests _._._._._._______._______.______ 60

Harvey Donaldson .._.___. ~ ._.___._.___ ~ 66

S HOOT1 NG 1 SPORTS 1

The HANDLQADER, Copyright 1968, is publidwd bi-monthly by the Dave Wolfe Publishing Company, Rt . &Box 3482 (1406 Hendryx P ~ ~ c R ) . Peoria, Illinois 61614. Telephone (309) 691-2169. Second Class Postage paid at Peoria. Illinois, and additional mailing dices. Single copy price of current isrue-75c (back issues priced at $1.00 from publisher). Subscription price: six issues $4.00: I2 issues $7.00: 18 icsues $9.50. (Out- side US. possessions and Canada $5.00, $9.00 and $12.50). Recommended foreign single copy price, S1.W. Advertisinq rates furnished on request.

Publisher of The HANDLOADER is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published loading data, or fram recommendations by any member of The Staff. No pert of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the editor. Manuscripts from free-lance writers must be accompanied by stamped self-addressed envelope and the publisher cannot accept re- sponsibility for loit or mutilated manuscripts.

Change of address: Please give one month's notice. Send both old and new addmu, plus mailing lebel i f possible, to Circulation Dapt., The HANDLOADER Magazine. Rt. &Box 3482 (I406 Hendryx Place), Peoria, Illinois 61614.

Your September-October Cover Varmints of all kinds offer year-round shooting t o handloaders. And, of course, handloaders d o more shootina than their "unfortunate" buddies who have somehow neqlected this fascinating sport. The bobcat on the cover was shot by Bil l Eversole, a WGoming game warden who knows how t o tailor his loads t o his particular rifle. Bi l l uses a Johnny Stewart electric game call t o lure cats and coyotes t o close-in shaoting range. The Lyman

'I",fpng-tool can bf, used in the f ield t o fashion additional ammo when the shooting gets Photo 6; Art Director "

1- hot and heavy. Color transparency by our chief photographer, Walter Schwarz.

6

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By A. Robert Matt Executive Secretary

Vatl. Reloading Manufacturers Assn.

BNATOR ROBERT KENNEDY’S assassin- S ation will probably have a more asting effect on handloading than any- hing that has happened during the 0th Century. I fully realize the significance of this

tatement. The effect may not be direct, lut there surely will be some addition- 1 restriction put on the owner of fire- rms. And if he happens to be a hand- oader, his hobby will be affected. How iandloading itself can be curtailed is ieyond my comprehension at this time. ike everyone else who enjoys owning nd using firearms properly, I find my- elf confused about all the charges nd counter-charges that are being lev- ed by both sides of the gun issue.

That Senator Kennedy’s death was a errible tragedy and an equally ter-

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rible loss in terms of the role he might have played in guiding the destiny of our nation, there is no doubt. Still, a national firearms registration law would not have prevented Bob Kennedy’s death. The handgun allegedly used by the arrested suspect in the murder of Senator Kennedy was quickly traced by the Los Angeles Police to its original owner. If this was done by the reg- istering of the gun’s serial number, which it probably was, the fact remains that the gun was used in the assault.

Ironically, a week before the primary election in California the Senate had passed new firearms legislation concerning the interstate shipment and sale of handguns. And there was talk about including long guns in the same legislation. Nevertheless, long gun or handgun legislation, or both, would not have prevented the Los Angeles tragedy.

Now, a few short days after Senator Kennedy’s burial, his colleague, Senator Dodd, is back at it again. Senator Ty- dings of Maryland is in hot pursuit. Senator Dodd’s attitudes are not too difficult to fathom. His colleagues have censured him. His honesty has been questioned by his constituents. Whether he will be re-elected in 1970 is a good question. It seems logical that he needs something on which to hang his hat. A tough federal firearms law, depriv- ing everyone of the use of a handgun, in either a sporting or defensive situation, seems to be his goal.

A recent editorial in a Hartford, Con- necticut, newspaper raised the question, “Can Senator Dodd effectively serve the

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citizens of the State of Connecticut?’’ The editorial Cent on to point out that few senators would want to have their name associated with that of Dodd’s when it came time to co-sponsor a bill. The editorial also posed the question, what state would invite Senator Dodd, “the Illustrious Senator from Connecti- cut,” to make a speech at a political rally? The answer should be obvious.

I recall the time when Senator Dodd asked the firearms industry in his home state of Connecticut to help him draft amendments to the Federal Firearms Act. (I was executive director of the National Shooting Sports Foundation at the time.) He, Senator Dodd, seem- ed happy with what we proposed, and he promised to move ahead as quickly as possible. Before he could take action on the matter, President John F. Ken- nedy was assassinated. In my opinion, Dodd jumped on the first Kennedy tragedy to enhance his own name. As far as I know that was the last time industry people sat down behind closed doors with Senator Dodd to intelligent- ly work out legislation that would ful- fill the need. Let there be no question that there is a need for firearms legislation. It should be understood that industry has consistently backed good legislation. Senator Dodd did too, until

the gun law question. Possibly it will return us to a sense of values that re- quire decency, honesty and love of one’s fellow man as the backbone of a society in which all men can live free,

he hitched his star to the Kennedy without fear of their lives for what funeral procession. they say or do.

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I wish I had the knowledge to go into detail concerning the reasons for Senator Tydings’ attitudes. Unfortun- ately, I do not. Also, I wish I had time to tell all the readers of this column, in detail, about my recollections when I testified before Senator Dodd’s subcom- mittee to investigate juvenile delin- quency. To say that I was saddened, and that my respect for the high position of a United States senator was shat- tered would be the understatement of the century. No one seems to want to say that some of the senators are being hoodwinked by others, and some are just plain uninformed.

It was not my original intent to get off on a long tirade about Senator Dodd. I began this column thinking I should comment on Senator Robert Kennedy’s

Seqator Dodd‘s proposals are not the answer. On the other hand, Senator Hruska and Congressman Dingell have previously introduced legislation that we could all- live with-live as free men in a free society, speaking our minds. Yes, Senator Hruska and Congressman Din- gel1 will do to ride the river with. Sen- ator Dodd won’t. 0

m o n e y r e f u n d e d assassinatim and what it meant to all I

Walter Grotz just brohe his sixth straight He reloads with

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H Q l w d d O ~ S s p t ~ - O c t o b . r . IS68 11

issues, while they last, wilbbe priced at a dollar from the publisher and from gun shopis. Quality binders will be uvailable soon to preserve each issue as you receive it.

about our profitablc u l k subscription

rates. I

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HOOTERS WI+H EVEN a small amount S of experience have probably had a misfire. Those shooting .22 rimfire ammunition will have had more misfires, for they shoot more of this ammo. In the annular distribution of the priming compound in a rimfire case there is bound to be less uniformity, and the chance of hitting a thin spot is greater than in a centerfire primer.

But misfires are common enough in centerfire cartridges. However and whenever they occur, these firing balks are a frustration-and they inject an element of danger as well.

What if you mistake a hangfire for a misfire? I have started to lower a .30-06 rifle from my shoulder when it suddenly went off - this has happened not just once, but three or more times. I have brought other guns out of battery by the time they fired. Most hangfires are fast acting; about the instant you suspect something is wrong is when they let go.

A misfire can frustrate a hunt. It can wreck a score, if there is no alibi. It could cost you your life in the face of dangerous game, combat or a dead-end self protection situation. If you are plinking, it’s simply a nuisance. As un- wanted as they are, the fail-to-fire problem has been with us from the first gun. It is not without supporting experience that terms such as misfire, hangfire, flash - in - the - pan, dud, squib, and blooper have become a part of our lan- guage.

A hangfire is another matter, and just as frustrating. In a good many of these the gun clicks - and then she bucks! Just as you have decided it was jyst a “click” there is the roar of a discharge. Slightly shaken, you reflect a moment about what you had been about to do. Were you really about to drop the butt in line with your ribs? What kind of punch did you just miss? Was there a flash in your mind about flicking open the bolt?

A friend of mine did eject a hangfire, to have it pop about two feet from his face! It was a .30-06 reload. He was unharmed, but he will never forget it.

In artillery situations, disaster has re- sulted. As one observer, I have nwer heard of an instance of a small arm hangfire causing injury because of early opening of a breech. When I recognize a hangfire, I wait it out. In ten to fif- teen seconds I lower the butt, or drop my grip, and as quickly as possible open the breech to eject the round. So far there have been no surprises.

Frankly, I don’t think a hangfire of longer than one second is possible in modem small arms ammunition. The thermodynamics of this would make such a delay improbable, especially with 44

HANGFIRES smokeless powder. Every one in my ex- hangfires in a Colt Single Action, but perience has been in the fractional sec- with lousy accuracy. In the S&W, about ond realm, but this can seem long one in five rounds fired. And of the few enough in retrospect. The time is short that went off, most bullets missed their enough with most hangfires to make mark. But when the same ammo was their timing difficult to any observer. loaded in a Colt SA, every round fired.

Seasoned handloaders are well aware of this problem. They know that every once in a while a certain lot of compon- ents will give them trouble, although those active enough to use up their sup- plies in a short time can miss this experience.

There remains the mystery of just what the devil goes on? A misfire ne- gates the whole intention of shooting, of handloading, and of the gun itself. The gun is made to fire. The occur- rence of a hangfire is just as bad when it can be identified, for if you know there was a hangfire, your aim and at- tention on the next shot is distracted enough to make a miss possible. Of course, in some cases the chance of injury to shooter or others is a factor.

Maybe you have already discerned our

The shots, though, wouldn’t stay on an Army L target. At the time I experienc- ed this, I wasn’t in any better position than most readers to determine the real cause. I didn’t have a chronograph. But in my bones I knew that this stuff couldn’t be performing. It just had to be all over the velocity map. Or more exactly, ignition time varied greatly with resultant velocity spread for these rounds.

This point was verified much later with a chronograph. The sure way to test ignition is to use a counter chronograph to check ALL of your loads. When accuracy is bad, and .you know that all the other factors (gun and com- ponents) are okay from past experience with them, then ignition is likely the culprit. Either you changed primers, or your primers changed.

prejudice against poor ignition that

seen so much of this; it is anticlimactic to say that primers and ignition are the most important element of your reloads.

A reload that doesn’t fire is useless. The ammo that bumps a bullet into the

The type of hangfire associated with

But in different guns, it can range from plain misfiring with a light hammer blow to the unbelievable targets referred to with the Colt SA. If a gun with lighter striker blow is handy for check- ing, it should do with such am-

yields low performance loads’ We have this inaccuracy be felt or heard.

throat (leadel to stop there is worth- less* A primer pop that bloops a with faint (squib) powder response Out

mo. graphed, the velocity spread is larger than normal by at least two or to

When this kind of stuff is

the muzzle is just cream puff tossing. We might as well lump these with the misfires.

Hangfires can be considered rounds that do fire and are not “squibs.” Those without chronograph equipment may not be able to classify these. Sometimes a delay, however slight, may tip you off to a situation where poor ignition and a hangfire existed. If you can detect any lapse of time from pulling the trigger to the discharge, then there is a hangfire and an inaccuracy.

The shocker is that hangfires occur by the millions every year, and they go undetected. The delay that is in milli- seconds is unnoticed. Poor ignition cheats many handloaders of their expected full performance. The inaccuracy and poor ballistics that go along with this thwart the reloader. Often the inaccuracy is charged to other items; bullets and leading or fouling of the bore are common blames.

one. The common tendency is for a few

rounds tested to hit normal, while about half drop 10 percent or more below the normal average of the load. In a five or ten-shot string, the absence of read- ings wen slightly above the known average of the load, together with wen one or two (but usually three or more) values about 10 percent or more below, identifies a poor ignition condition. Noticeable hangfires can be expected when velocity losses of more than 10 percent are measured.

If some rounds miss the proper speed by 20 percent, then ignition is very poor. Primers exposed to high humidity and temperatures for long periods of time pass through this condition just prior to complete breakdown.

I’d like to be able to advise readers that adhering to X m primers will thwart hangfires. There isn’t anything that simple about it. Your Handloader editors have been researching this a good long while, and we will bring you

In proving this point the author con- verted rnidres in a S&W revolver to fast

Hcmdloader-Septgnbsr-0ctob.r. I968

any future findings. Using fresh com- ponents (stored in a cool, dry area) in guns with adequate firing pin force is a good approach.

Fortunately modern cartridge ammunition, either rimfire or centerfire is re- markably reliable. Fresh loads made of recent materials fire with near zero de- fects. The factors that affect the normal and correct ignition of firearm propel- lant charges are complex, wen when the intended events occur.

We earlier said that for our purpose the squib would be classed a misfire. This is part of the “what-and-why” of misfires. Basically misfires don’t go “bang.” Neither does the squib, although it may get the bullet out the muzzle and make some noise. The hangfire, even with a noticeable delay, may seem a normal shot. The differ- ence is whether there was appreciable powder burned or not. And, merely for present purposes, we are lumping all rounds where very little powder burns as misfires, and all of those in which there is appreciable powder burned, giv- ing the appearance of a regular (even though delayed) discharge, as hangfires.

Most shooters look at the primer to see if it is properly indented when a misfire occurs. A weak or gummy lock (just too much grease in it) can and does produce misfires. It can also be the cause of hangfires. We will assume for the rest of this discussion that the fault is in the component and that the Handloader-September-October, 1988

gun properly indented the primer, Component-wise there are at least

three kinds of misfires: (a) Primer is insensitive, does not

fire. (b) Primer fires or burns with less

than minimum energy for ignition.

(c) Powder is deteriorated, is not ignited.

These may be differentiated by taking

In (a) the inside of the case is per- fectly clean with no dirt at the flash hole and powder free.

In (b) the case is well sooted inside and the powder usually shows some singeing and/or some grains fused together. In (c) there are the same condi- tions as for (b) with more singeing of the powder and almost always the bullet has moved.

Evidence of blackening on the inside of the case shows the primer burned in some degree. A round carelessly reload- ed with primer and no charge would classify as a misfire, here, and it might move the bullet. You are lucky when a misfire of any type does NOT move the bullet.

Hangfires merge into misfires to the extent that some can hardly be classi- fied. Those that hangfire and are little more than a squib are really the same

the cartridge apart:

Author Ed Yard chronographs the effects of environmental exposure on primers. Measuring the muzzle velocity of handloads against previously determined standards is one sure way to check ignition.

breed of cats. The variations are the result of the degree of ignition ranging from zero to almost adequate. The primer that doesn’t fully ignite the charge but does move the bullet into the bore still has considerable steam. Primers weakened by 50 percent will give trouble. It is difficult to successfully investigate this except qualitatively, as we are reporting it. Uniform lots of weakened primers for testing don’t exist, at least in my lab.

A cap that delivered a third as much energy to the charge as a normal one, would only produce 500°F which, in our opinion, would not produce a hangfire, and would be a misfire. One pro- viding half normal power would yield about 1000°F and possibly a hangfire. It might also have misfires.

These surmises are based on fairly ex- tensive primer tests, calculation from these results, thermodynamics, and chronographing loads fired with primers weakened by environmental exposure. If all this is reasonably close to the facts, then primers that produce from a half to two-thirds the normal (adequate) output are those that cause hangfires and poor accuracy that results from a large velocity spread of such ammunition. We are convinced it is all a matter of ignition. 0

45

No. 1, May-June 1 9 6 6 ~-

No. 3, Sept.-Oct. 1966 __

No. 4, Nov.-Dec. 1966 __

No. 5, Jan.-Feb. 1 9 6 7 ___

No. 6, March-April 1 9 6 7 __

No. 7, May-June 1%7 -

No. 9, Scpt.-Oct. 1 9 6 7 ___

No. 10, Nov.-Dec. 1 9 6 7 ___

No. 11, Jan.-Feb. 1968 - No. 12, March-April 1 9 6 8 -.

No. 13, May-June 1968-

NO. 2, July-AuguSt 1966 ___

NO. 8, July-AuguSt 1967 -

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number 15 - rifle magazine

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