Owen Guns Bulletin March 2009 No 13
Welcome to the Thirteenth Edition of the Owen Guns Bulletin.
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Monthly Specials
Prostaff 3-9×40. Nikon
Prostaff 3-9×40. Nikon have been manufacturing the worlds most sort after Optical lens since the 1960s. Now you can own one of their Rifle Telescopic Scopes for:-
$355.00
The Norinco JW 105. in .223 Remington
The Norinco JW 105. in .223 Remington.
This is the (Jain Way) JW Model 105, Sometimes called Norinco. These rifles are made in the same factory that manufactures the now famous JW 15 .22 rifle (the Brno Mod One Copy) if you have had a JW15 or know of anyone who had one, you will know that they shoot sometimes better than the rifle they imitiated. These JW105 s are in .223 Remington calibre and have a five shot detachable magazine. They also come with Weaver style mount bases and Quick Detachable studs for QD sling swivels If you look carefully at the close up photograph you will notice a shiny silver colour, at the breech face,the camera has picked up the chrome plating from inside the chamber. The Chinese are the only non-military manufactures that can afford the chrome process of plating the Barrels and Chambers. They have also chromed the forward section of the Bolt. Chrome plating gives the best protection against erosion and corrosion than anything else besides regualr cleaning. The JW 105 is a copy of the Geveram that was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s, they were very good quality but I believe that Gevarm had to stop making them as the were too expensive to produce.
These are the best value .223 Remington centre-fire, repeating rifles on the market.
Brand New $460.
Stockman Rifle. 7.62 x 54 Russian
The idea for this rifle came from one of those discussions that are held round the camp fire or after the barbeque. It became known at this discussion that there was a requirement for a rifle that shot well priced military ammunition, powerful enough to shoot, Bulls, Cows Horses, Camels, Donkeys, Deer, Roo’s, Pigs, Dingo’s and knock over a Ram or two at the 500 metallic silhouette range. Of course as it was a knock about rifle for the working man to keep in the truck it had to be very rugged and have the stock designed with a high comb to use a scope to suit off hand shooting. The stock also had to absorb a lot of recoil from a powerful calibre without transferring too much of it to the shooter and also be bulky enough to protect the rifle. (many rifle which have a stock like a knife edge leave the scope and mounts very vulnerable if dropped) It had to be drilled and tapped to take Weaver style bases on top of the receiver. The Barrel had to be heavy, free floating from the stock and be still short and handy. Of course they wanted it to hit a fly on there prize bulls nose without hurting the bull.
Well there was a lot of bull around that night but all were seriously firm that it had to sell for less than $400. So Enfield Arms worked particularly hard and had the MAB barrels fitted to Mosin Nagant receivers, the bolt handles were modified to suit a scope the receivers were drilled and tapped and modified to take the mounts on top of the receiver. Wow, what would Vasily Zaytsev (Enemy at the Gate) have been able to achieve with a top scope mounted Mosin- Nagant action instead of his off set side mounts? Then Enfield Arms made a synthetic stock with a recoil pad made from absorb-athane. A soft dense polymer utherane ( Maybe got the spelling wrong) that has greater properties of absorbing recoil than rubber. They also have a five shot magazine. So except for the reconditioned reblued modified receiver they are a new rifle.
For $395.00
WORLD CLASS 6 X 40
Tasco is a leading name in the optical industry for eons, Tasco’s World Class Scope hs been an industry standard since the 1990s it is the scope that many others are judged against and found lacking. The World Class due to its World Class forever Guarentee is rarely used we have sold thhousnads of them and I have been dealing with Tasoc since 1975. The vision is quality, the adjustments are precision and the cross hairs are the right sized for target or hunting. They were selling there for $188. Now
Special $105.00
Bushnell Elite Rifles Scopes 3–9 x 40
These Japanese manufactured rifle scopes made for the big companies in the USA are improving there quality, constantly closing the gaps between them and their Eupropen competitiors. The only thing that seperates most top end scopes these days is the price.
Bushnell Elite Rifles Scopes 3–9 x 40
$335.
![Genesis_airgun[1]](http://www.owenguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/genesis-airgun1.jpg)
Remington Genesis 1000 fps.
Idea for Dad and Son, An Adult Air Rifle. Practice Target Shooting in the Garage. Includes a 3-9×40 Variable Air Rifle Scope and Air Rifle Mounts.
(Air Rifle Scopes have to be EXTRA shock resistant for High powered Air Rifles) . These single shot spring air Genesis pellet rifle feature ultra Hi ergonomics in its soft, synthetic pistol style grip and sculptured cheek piece, 28 pounds of cocking force gets up to 1000 fps. Other features include aTwo stage Adjustable trigger, Ventilated rubber recoil pad, Precision rifled steel barrel, Crossblock trigger blocking mechanism, Ambidextrous safety, made in the USA.
$398.00
1911A1 Frames, Brand New Australian Made, (Gympie)
They look stainless but just have a high chrome content, (they all need oil anyway) bare 1911A1 frames that take all the standard parts the lower photo shows one of the Enfield Arms frames with Norinco parts fitted, a few external modifications, flat bottom and flat trigger guard in case anyone wants to fit further add ons. These frames are not cheap Asian cast frames all are machined on a CMC machining centre. The one assembled above has .45 ACP configuration but .22 LR, 38/40/ 9mm Para parts can all be fitted to this basic frame. No Limit to how many you can order, No Stocking Permits required, just a copy of your dealers licence. We can even help you acquire the other parts. Just Phone 07 54 825070 of 07 54 824099.
$395 or $750 for two
Barsaka 3-9×50 Huntsman
The Huntmaster combines high quality optics and rugged construction with accuracy and ease of use. Huntmaster scopes feature fully-coated optics for bright clear views, rugged 1” monotube construction and are waterproof, fogproof and shockproof. Huntmasters are suitable for all types of general purpose hunting. 50 millimetre objective lens all for
$135.
Second Hand Swedish Mauser calibre 6.5 x 55
A Model 38 Swedish Mauser, with Lynx Mounts, a ‘Light’ Variable 4–12 x 40 rifle scope. Quite a neat rifle for $300. The previos owner considered he needed a pistol grip to improve his perfomance, so that explains the woodend growth. Good Swedish Mausers are getting hard to find and the prices are going up fast.
$300.
Leupold 3-9×40 Variable Riflescopes
Leupold 3-9×40 Variable Riflescopes
Price $349.
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
RCBS 502 Scales
Big-scale features and capacity with an affordable price. Two-poise design lets you weigh up to 505 grains with 0.1 grain accuracy. The 5-0-2 also sports our magnetic dampening system for fast readings, maintenance-free movement and a rugged die-cast metal base. Tip-proof aluminum pan for loading convenience. Ounce-to-grain conversion table on the base for handy shotshell reference.
$99.00
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
More on Barrel Specifications.
The World standard test for accuracy is a 10 shot group. Many modern day shooters, given expectations on what they read in journals and advertising, have come to firing 5 shot groups, perhaps for economy and that’s okay for testing loads and other changes . Some shooters will quote groups and we find they are 3 shot groups. Unfortunately they often publish these 5 or 3 shot groups as indicative of the accuracy of rifle and load. A 3 shot group or 5 shot group bears no relation to a 10 shot group, almost invariably it will be very much smaller, and such 5 shot groups cannot be compared with bench rest official competition results and neither can authoritative 10 shot groups made in ballistic laboratories and fired from machine rest with which all human error is excluded. The late Dr. F. W. Mann is quoted as saying “that a 5 shot group did not prove accuracy, that there was too much of an element of luck in it, but it could prove if a rifle or ammunition or both were inaccurate and not worth proceeding further with.”
The late Sir Charles Ross (who designed the World War One straight -pull service rifle) made the barrels for his .280 Ross rifle ( he was an early fan of the 7mm bullet) with a peculiar, part slope, part step shape between points A and B, Figure I, (see in last edition) which was reported, as having slightly more barrel up-jump (vibration) with cartridges having slightly lower muzzle velocity, and slightly more down jump (vibration) with cartridges having slightly greater velocity than normal. It was hoped thereby to compensate for small variations in muzzle velocity in the same batch of cartridges. It probably worked out only for one certain cartridge load, and not with any other loadings. It is questionable whether such a property in a barrel is worth striving for as good modern ammunition is wonderfully uniform in velocity, and in any event it would probably work out with only one load. Nearly all serious ‘switched on’ shooters reload anyway and if they have variations then they only have themselves to blame. On the other hand such a feature might be an advantage to the all around hunter who used the same rifle with full charged cartridges for big game and reduced loads for small game, in that it might permit him to use the same sight adjustment at shorter ranges for both loads. Lot of messing about working out loads but could be fun.
Remington in the 1930s manufactured a peculiar shape of barrel in their Remington Model 30 high power bolt action rifle (sporting version of the M17) it was retained for a long time as a selling point as with various .30/06 factory loaded Remington cartridges loaded with 110, 150, 180, and 220 grain bullets, with velocities from 3400 to 2300 f.p s. shooting with practically the same sight adjustment landed the bullets in the same area at 200 yards. Most shooters think that those Remington very concave shape from A to B was rather ugly, and it is questionable whether Remington did not lose more sales by reason of the ungainly barrel shape than they gained from any ballistic convenience but unfortunately fashion takes its part with firearms and ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ . What is popular now changes and returns within forty years or so you just have to be alive to see it.
Military Mauser Rifles and Barrel Steps.
Model 1898, and many other Mausers Rifles have been made with several rather abrupt shoulders from breech to muzzle, where the barrel changes considerably in diameter. Mauser spent lifetimes of man hours testing and calculating the best barrel contours for different calibres that he was selling and has shown that these steps are in different places to suit different calibres. The Swedish Mauser 1896 has proved that he knew what he was doing in firearm design but we have to feel very sorry for him, as when it came to orders and that great conundrum “Military Intelligence” which is a contradiction in terms. Most likely the Generals with the cheque books made him re-design those steps to facilitate fitting sight bands and sleeves, and bayonet fitting for rifle drill and such things which they think is more important than accuracy. Paul Mauser proved that the stepped barrel provided the most ridged barrels for the least weight but stepped barrels on sporting rifles have never been popular so efficiancy is again sacrificed for vanity.
Practically all our barrels are now turned to a round circumference or shape, concentric with the bore. Our old gunsmith makers of muzzle loading rifles almost invariably make their barrels octagon, or eight sided in shape, most probably because none of them had a modern lathe with which they could turn them truly round, and they found it easier to make the barrel uniform by forging or grinding it into an octagon. An octagon barrel has but one advantage—it calls attention to any canting, or sideways tilting of the rifle when in the act of aiming, and it may have a disadvantage in that it may not expand equally when it heats up from firing. Many think that an octagon barrel presents a great deal of beauty, and it is doubtful if the disadvantages would be at all apparent in a heavy barrel, but the cost of making such a barrel today is rather excessive.
Our old gunsmiths also started the practice of fitting sights to barrels by cutting a dovetail slot across the barrel, and forming a similar male dovetail base on the sight; the sight was then driven into the slot. Sometimes a similar method was used to secure the forearm and tubular magazine to the barrel. Some of our present manufacturers still use this method of fitting sights to their cheaper .22 caliber rifles, and to some lever and pump action hunting rifles, but the practice is decidedly not a good one, and should never be permitted in a high grade target rifle. It weakens the barrel, makes it less stiff, and much more subject to excessive and varying vibrations or flex, which therefore makes for poorer accuracy, although a slot for front sight may not be objectionable in a historic octagonal or heavy barrel. Scope mounts should be attached to the receiver, forearms attached to the butt stock nothing should touch the barrel. If a screw is used on a barrel, its threads should be particularly well fitting, and it should be driven home tightly otherwise it may gradually loosen due to the vibrations of recoil, and give unaccountable errors.
We sometimes see special barrels, particularly of European manufacture, with raised matted ribs on top of the barrel. Theoretically such a rib prevents the even expansion of the barrel when it heats up, and it is possible they suffer some disadvantage. I have only shot a few rifles equipped with ribbed barrels and maybe due to the high quality barrel manufacturer they have surprised me, by not showing any ill effect. I can hypothesize that ‘maybe’ the rib makes the barrel stiffer and improves performance, I believe that many shooters feel that they improve the looks of the firearm and don’t care about the huge extra cost. Men have sought beauty in arms for three thousand years or more so, it is an integral part of human beings which cannot be criticised. It makes me laugh a little though when I see them on very expensive European firearms fitted with a telescopic sight as the only small advantage of them would be for quick alignment of open sights for a snap shot such as on a big game rifle.
Next Edition Securing the Barrel to the Action
Reloading Dies.
(Warning never place an unlubricated case in a die, it might never come our, furture articles will cover case lube)
Reloading dies are the heart of the game. They perform the necessary work on the case, with the press furnishing the power and framework to make it possible.
The resizing die screws into the press to meet the shell holder and is shaped inside just like a barrel chamber of the same caliber. However, inside it is a bit smaller in diameter throughout, so that the soft brass fired case will be reduced in size when it is pressed into the die. This cavity is surface-hardened and smoothly polished to reduce friction. All resizing dies function in exactly this same manner, regardless of make or design.
A decapping pin is provided in all bottle-neck caliber resizing dies and some others. It is situated on the end of the expander rod or a separate decapping rod, positioned so that as the case is pressed into the die, it enters the flash hole and forces out the fired primer which then falls clear.
Typical resizing die in section. Most have the expander plug rigidly installed on lower end of decapping rod. In this die plug is threaded and may be moved vertically on stem to suit individual preference.
An expander button is attached to a rod passing down the center of the die cavity. The expanded case neck passes freely over it into the die and is then reduced. The neck is then pulled over the expander on its way out of the die, thus brought up to proper and uniform inside diameter. Straight-case caliber dies carry the expander rod and decapping pin in a separate die.
The bullet-seating die body is shaped just like the resizing die, but with the cavity large enough to freely admit a new resized case. Yet, the cavity fits the case closely enough to guide it with reasonable accuracy. At the top of the cavity an adjustable plug, profiled to match the bullet point, is fitted. The case, with bullet set on or in its mouth, is pressed into the die; the bullet meets the plug and is halted; the case is forced on over it, seating the bullet in the case to the proper depth. Some seating dies, notably those in revolver calibers, are further fitted with an internal shoulder which turns the case mouth into the bullet or into a cannelure (groove) on the bullet to form a crimp.
Full Length Resizing must be done if the case is to be used in a different firearm than the one it was last fired in, even if the firearm will be the same caliber and make. All chambers vary in a small degrees and the case will expand as the chamber allows it. Consequently the case must be full length resized to be chambered in another rifle. Full length resizing works the brass more than neck sizing does. But full length resizing dies do not return the case to its size as when new as this would work the brass too much and is not necessary for re-chambering and re-firing. I have reloaded and full length sized each time and had over a 100 reloads with each case. So do not assume working the brass is going to wear out your cases more quickly than neck re-sizing.
Lever action, slide or pump action, and semi-automatic rifle owners should full length resize, but may sometimes find that even full length resizing will not be sufficient for good results. For these rare instances, small base dies are available if ordered from the local gunshop. These dies go beyond the full length dies in reforming the case nearer its original size. Insufficient Resizing will cause a number of problems, one of which is chambering difficulty.
If the sizing die does not reform the case shoulder sufficiently the case will not seat in the
chamber correctly. Stiff extraction of the case after firing may also be attributed to insufficient resizing. It may be necessary to replace the die if it is not doing its job, but adjustment usually corrects this problem. Insufficient resizing can sometimes be detected by bright shiny marks on the case which are caused when the case is forced into the chamber during loading. Adjustment of the dies can be done with the help of smoking the cases or marking blue. To smoke a case take a kerosene lamp or a candle and smudge the shoulder and neck of the resized case. Then chamber it in the rifle and extract it noting where the case
was marked by the chamber wall. Smudge one time only. Adjust the die until the chamber no longer creates new marks on the case. If die adjustment does not solve the stiff extraction, you may want to check the chamber itself, or that your loads are not to hot or overloaded.
Headspace is another huge subject, worthy of a book all on its own, but this is all that you need to know at this early stage. Headspace is the distance from breech face to that part of the chamber which stops forward movement of the cartridge case. Insufficient headspace interferes with closing the firearm because it leaves insufficient room for the cartridge. Excessive headspace permits the cartridge case to be unduly stretched or even separated by the gas pressure in firing.
The simplest and most effective headspace arrangement is for cartridges having a rimmed head. The headspace is the distance between breech face and rear end of barrel (including rim counterbore if there is one), a short and easily controlled dimension in both firearm and cartridge.
However, smooth functioning through magazine firearm mechanisms generally requires doing away with some or all of the projecting rim. When no projecting rim is retained, the stop must be supplied by some other part of the cartridge case. This, and the corresponding headspacing point in the chamber, must be farther from the breech and so are less easy to control. Also, the stop may be less positive. These conditions necessitate the maintenance of accuracy in chamber and ammunition dimensions to prevent cartridge case troubles on discharge.
A shoulder bulge on the cartridge case is caused by a chamber defect in the firearm. The only solution for this case defect is re-chambering your firearm and discarding the defective cases. When fired, the case expands as much as the chamber allows it. If the chamber has been reamed incorrectly or off-centre, the case will not seat properly, gases will create uneven pressures around the bullet and accuracy will be affected. Chamber defects can also be identified by uneven case shoulders. Although very difficult to detect, an uneven shoulder is one clue to an accuracy problem. Shoulder Collapse results when there is too much freebore in the chamber and your load is with a slow burning powder. Another cause of shoulder collapse is foreign material, dirt, or unburned grains of powder loose in the chamber which wedge between the chambered round and the chamber wall. When the round is fired, the gases escape back around the neck and force the collapse of the case shoulder. Any case with a collapsed shoulder should be discarded.
Next Edition Powder Scales.
Thought for the Week !
Who would you vote for Bligh or Boadicea??
We can all learn from the past so we do not repeat the mistakes in the future, but there is nothing new under the sun and it happens even when the best intentions oppose it. We have just had the Queensland elections and everyone again voted for their own enslavement, as they were told to by the media opinion manufactures. They vote every time for tweedledum and tweedledummer, the people put there own chains on and welcome their jailers. Freedom died decades ago, sacrificed on everyone’s backyard Sunday barbeque, with the chant of the sixties ‘Peace and the easy life’, playing in stereo. Some people are waking up but never enough to make a difference. 2000 years ago a lady by the name of Queen Boadicea, drew a line in the sand, the not so friendly Romans who were supposed to be her allies, raped her and her daughters, gave her a flogging and abused her people who had been softened by generations of peace. Even worse the Romans sent the bankers in to repossess property for debt. Queen Boadicea put together a large untrained un equipped Army, wiped out a Legion (60,000 men) bunt Colchester, St Albans and London. Eventually military technology beat her, the Romans could always bring in another Legion, she could not afford to lose once, after the Battle of Wattling Street her Army was destroyed and the Queen and her Daughters poisoned themselves rather than fall into Roman hands and the revolt was over. The only people left to write the History was the Romans, they made the Britons sound like wild savages, they forget that they had more than once offered the Olive Branch of peace and one Roman General had fallen on his sword rather than go in to battle against her. Dion Cassius a war correpondent/ historian of the day reported something out of context, maybe this is more of a truthful description.
Queen Boadicea quote,
“I rule not like Nitocris, over beasts of burden, as are the effeminate nations of the East, nor like Semiramis, over tradesmen and traffickers, nor like the man-woman Nero, over slaves and eunuchs – but I rule over Britons, little versed, indeed, in craft and diplomacy, but born and trained to the game of war; men in the cause of liberty stake down their lives, the lives of their wives and children, their lands and property – Queen of such a race I implore your aid for freedom, for victory over enemies infamous for the wantonness of the wrong they inflict, for their perversion of justice, for their insatiable greed; a people that revel in unmanly pleasures, whose affections are more to be dreaded and abhorred than their enmity. Never let a foreigner bear rule over me or over my countrymen; never let slavery reign in this island.”
Dion Cassius
Obviously educated, but sadly it took hundreds of years before that fighting spirit returned. Can we see our own island, can we see lost liberty, can we see people “that inflict their perversion of justice, for their insatiable greed that revel in unmanly pleasures”. Or can we see the other side of the coin a Western civilisation, based as always on Military technology gradually declining, weakening under the debauchery of our ‘Nero like’ leadership, until the chains break and the barbarian hordes sweep it all a away and us with it. Elections seem to be part of our Chains not our Choice. Win or lose we wait for Boadicea’s return.
Ron Owen
FREE FOR ELECTRONIC DOWNLOAD
Swedish Mauser Rifle Manual
Operational manual translated from the 1977 Swedish Army Manual specifications.technical details, Ammuniotion, Function,Zeroing, Maintainance Night vision sights. Details on snipers scope. With Assemble and Diss-assemble methods.
Email : OwenGuns@spiderweb.com.au and it will be sent to you in .pdf format free of charge.
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