Owen Guns Bulletin April 2009 No 14
Welcome to the Fourteenth Edition of the Owen Guns Bulletin.
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Monthly Specials
Not “I” pods but Bipods by Remington
Bi-pods that telescope and fold under your rifles forearm, (made famous by Harris,’Patents ran out’) fit to QD (Quick Detachable) Swivel Stud. Ten years ago they retailed for over $150 now while stocks last.
Half Price $79.
As used to win all the GOLD in 1936 Olympic Games, originally made by Walther in Germany and subsquently copied by Russia and China. These are the Chinese version, used in Pistol Clubs the world over.
The Norinco pistols are all high quality steel, there is no alloys or plastics they are all carbon steel, except for the wooden hand grips which have been checkered like the original to give the best possible grip, not looks.This batch of hand guns are Brand New never been fired, however they have slight imperfections in the bluing mainly near the corners as shown on the photographs above.They are excellent value at
$220 plus post.
Ian Skennerton has spent more than four decades of world-wide research and study, evolving through two prior editions and many other related titles. The Lee Enfield has proven itself as the finest battle rifle of all time. No other firearm has served for so long at home and abroad with such a proud record. This study encompasses all aspects of the Century of Lee-Enfield development & production… Britain, America, India, Australasia, South Africa & the Far East. Rifles, carbines, bayonets, parts, tools, accessories & ammunition are arranged into specific groups & chapters. There are five new chapters
• Preview, Model Identification
• Lee-Enfield Hybrid
• Serial number Production Ranges
• Component Parts Evolution
• An Ammunition Summary.
The Pattern Room collection has been the primary source for samples and records. With the larger format, this presentation sets a new standard for collectors, students & shooters of the venerable Lee-Enfield… indeed, for all arms books. While the ‘Lee-Enfield Story’ has long been accepted as the definitive tome on the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifle series, this new volume increases the record from 504 to 608 pages and features improved photographic detail, larger illustrations and an improved layout.
Special Price for this month only $79.00
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 Gevarm 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 rifle on the market.
Brand New $460
TASCO RED DOT SCOPE
Red dot sights use refractive or reflective optics to generate a collimated image of a luminous or reflective reticle.This collimated image appears to be projected out to a point at infinity, which makes the image of the reticle appear to the user to be projected onto the target. Due to the fact that the reticle image is collimated, magnifying the image of the target is impractical, as it would make the sight too hard to hold steady. The RED DOT sights are very usefull for fast moving shooting in poor light conditions. No need to get your eye on the middle of the cross hair, point and shoot when the RED DOT lines up with the target. The collimated image does have its advantages,however, as the scope can be placed at any distance from the eye without distorting the image of the target or reticle. This makes red dot sights suitable for use on pistols, rifles, or shotguns.
Other Built-on dovetail rail to fit standard centre-fire weaver-style bases .
Finish Black Matte
Weight (grams) 6.7 oz.
Length (inches) 3.75in
Eye Relief (mm) Unlimited
Optical Coating Rubicon .multi- layered, fully coated
Focus Type fixed
Parallax Setting 50 yards.
Price $190.
Bushnell Rifles Scopes 3–9 x 40
These Asian 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.
Special Price $90. plus postage.
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 plus postage
Leupold 3-9×40 Variable Riflescopes
Leupold® riflescopes are built to endure the worst the wilds have to offer, and still make the shot of a lifetime. Bright. Clear. Rugged. Waterproof. Accurate. Dependable. And of course, Guaranteed for Life. That Leupold Golden Ring® tells you everything you need to know.
$325
plus postage
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
Throws consistently accurate charges reload after reload. Powder pours uniformly from measuring cylinder into case, thereby eliminating the hazards of “overloads” caused by clogging when charges are dumped”. Changes easily from charge to charge without emptying powder hopper. Numbered measuring screw is used for reference to find a given charge at a later date. The measuring cylinder has precision ground surfaces and slides into the honed main casting for a precision fit. Standard 7/8 14 thread inch. Includes stand plate, drilled for easy mounting on a bench or under a reloading die lock ring. Two drop tubes for .22 caliber and upwards are supplied. The Uniflow Powder Measure is fully capable of accurately measuring all three major powder types – ball, cylindrical, and flake. It will even cut the cylindrical powders so that a precise charge can be obtained. NOTE: The Uniflow Powder Measure should be used in conjunction with an accurate powder scale for setting the original charge and for checking charges occasionally during the run.
Special Price RCBS Uniflow Powder Meausure, $120 plus post
RCBS Great Prices, Get the Best Reloading Tools for the Lowest Price.
Firearm Design
More on Barrels. Attaching The Barrel to the Receiver
The best and the most common method of securing the barrels of rifles and pistols to their receivers is by means of a screw thread. The outside of the breech of the barrel is cut with a heavy thread, and above the thread there is an ample square shoulder. The receiver ring is likewise tapped with a corresponding thread. The barrel is then screwed into the receiver.
The threads must be accurately cut, and it should be possible to screw the barrel into the receiver with strong hand pressure until it stops about 1/8 in. from screwing completely up to the shoulder stop. Then the receiver is placed in a strong and specially made (for that action) vise, and a special wrench with a handle about three feet long is clamped on the barrel, and with heavy pressure on the long handle the barrel is screwed tight into the receiver until the index lines, which are stamped on both receiver and barrel, coincide. Then final chamber reaming and testing with head space gauges.
Or more often than not these days if the barrel comes pre -chambered, (with no sights) then the barrel is screwed tight until the headspace gauge ( which is a go and no go gauge) is within the tolerance, sometimes the square shoulder has to be reduced so that the chambers relationship with the bolt face gives the correct headspace tolerance. The barrel is then extremely tight on the receiver, and cannot be unscrewed without the aid of the special vise and wrench. There is no danger of such a barrel coming loose in the receiver.This is the only proper method when reliability and consistent accuracy is desired.
About 1905 a fashion was introduced of cutting the barrel and receiver threads without such a tight fit, and sometime with interrupted threads, so they could be screwed together by hand. The owner could then screw out the barrel, to which the forearm was attached, and pack the arm in a satchel or trunk, and it would go in any container which had an inside length equal to that of the barrel. Rifles constructed in this manner were called “Take-down” rifles.
Other rifles were made to take-down by screwing the barrel tightly into the receiver, but making the receiver in two pieces—the upper and barrel portion containing the bolt or breech block, and the lower or guard portion containing the trigger and carrier mechanisms.
The two portions fitted together with a sliding dovetail or tenons, and a thumb or coin slotted screw on the left side of the receiver secured them. By unscrewing this screw the receiver would be pulled apart, and the taken down rifle could be packed in a container with inside length equal to that of the barrel and receiver.
Because of their convenience in travelling and in packing, such take-down rifles became popular among a class of sportsmen who were not particularly interested in the accurate rifle shot but needed the compactness. Many had seen to many James Bond movies or the Day of the Jackel as 90 percent of it is hype, if you have to pack a rifle into a suitcase for travel most would just remove the stock or the butt.
It was soon found that if the takedown rifle with a removable barrel was one using a cartridge of greater power than the .22 rim fire, no reliance could be placed on its consistent shooting. That is, it would not consistently shoot in the same place. With a constant sight adjustment and aim the location of the centre of impact varied considerably, particularly when the rifle was fired in different position, or held with even a little variation in tension or pressure. The take-down rifle would also vary in where it shot from day to day because the tension of holding was not the same from day to day even when the same kind of a firing position was assumed.
Over the years I have tested many take-down rifles of various makes and types, with most of them it was possible to fire a fairly small group of shots provided that no change was made in the firing position from shot to shot, and great care was taken to assume exactly the same position, with equal tension of holding, from shot to shot. But the least change of position enlarged the group considerably. If a group was fired, and then the shooter changed position, or even if he relaxed, got out of position, and assumed the same position again, and fired another group, the second group was just as liable to center on the target ten inches away from the first group at 100 yards as to center in the same place. Thus even when the hunter did his part correctly he could not rely on even striking the body of an animal at a greater range than about 75 to 100 yards with a high-power take-down rifle.
However, there are a new generation of European take down centre-fire rifles that even have the ability to change the barrel, bolt and magazine. They have the same stock and receiver, and can receive another set of barrel, bolt and magazine, so changing the calibre. Such as a .308 win to a .223 rem, not having a spare $3000 to $4000 I have not had the pleasure of testing them. Hopefully for this sort of money they have engineered solutions to these 100 year old inherent faults that were designed by salesman not engineers.
It made no difference whether the rifle was taken down between days or shots, or whether it was always kept tightly assembled. This unpredictable variation in centre of impact would occur very frequently—so frequently that no reliance could be placed on the shooting of the rifle. It was due to a relatively weak joint in the vital center of the rifle. Centre weak or loose joints made the rifle jump (vibration) excessively, and the least variation in holding caused the jump to vary greatly. To jump or vibrate consistently when fired a rifle should be very stiff, as stiff as it can be made, from muzzle to butt. There must be no loose place such as slightly loose threads between barrel and receiver, or looseness in the receiver, or loose tangs attaching the stock to the receiver, or tang screws not turned up very tightly.
However, with rifles shooting .22 rim fire cartridges the effect of the take-down was not nearly so apparent. It would be apparent enough to be very undesirable on a .22 match rifle, but for the ordinary plinking or hunting .22 rifle it is not prohibitive as the variation in location of centre of impact at 50 yards is scarcely ever more than three-fourths of an inch when the rifle is fired in various firing positions unless one uses a tight rifle sling in one position and not in another position, when the variation may be greater. Many of the cheaper .22 rifle and European .22 target match rifles have gone to a the cheaper method of eliminating the threads and fixing the barrel in place by the use of one or rarely two, cross pins. The barrel shank is machined in a lathe to the corresponding dimensions of the parallel orifice at the front of the receiver with a very tight tolerance. It is pressed into position then the cross pin holes are bored and then the pins are pressed into place.
Shotgun barrels are all made to take-down conveniently, as no similar objective occurs here because variations of the center of the pattern of even as much as 10 inches at 100 yards would mean absolutely nothing in a shotgun, except for the extreme range of rifled slugs, and anyone that had that requirement should be advised to acquire a rifle.
Next edition on Chambers.
Understanding Reloading Ammunition
POWDER AND BULLET SCALES
Scales used by reloaders to weigh powder and other items are nothing more than simple beam balances, most with weights sliding on the beam. Most have weight markings on the beam so that there is seldom a need for check weights except when zeroing or when damage or error is suspected. Generally they are easily accurate to 1/10 grain, or better but this depends considerably on the skill and attention of the reloader.
There are many electronic powder scales on the market but accuracy and reliability seem to cast a large shadow on them for the purposes of reloading. The necessity to weigh extremely small weights with a tolerance of less than .01 of grain and the factors that affect electronic scales being a tin roof, proximity of electricity transformers, iron loadstone, static electricity from polystyrene and plastic in the area, all which seem to effect the electro magnetic responses of the electronic scales. All powder scales can be affected by draught or any air currents and have to be protected from vibration but electronic seem to be plagued by external problems if they are working for you great stick with it, but being behind the gun shop counter since 1975 has made me a bit gun shy of selling them as we constantly have customers complaining of reliability problems. In our establishment in Gympie we have a huge transformer on a pole outside and as well as a tin roof we have a steel inner roof. So when we want to weigh powder or bullets its out with a ‘beam balance’ scales. As with spring regulated kitchen scales which will not be discussed here as they not suitable for the very small increments required for powder, it seems electronic scales are more suitable for kitchen scales or bathroom scales, but for Australians reloading in a tin shed or steel garage they do not seem to be winning many of the reliability awards.
Most reloading books do not mention scales and give much more attention to product selling bullets or equipment or leaving blank pages for Notes but powder scales are the real core heart of reloading ammunition as without them its all guess work, your skating on thin ice, blindfolded in to a maelstrom of pain and trouble. Make your own press, make your own dies, save money on anything else but without scales your flying on a dangerous pursuit maybe leave a note, so the firearm does not get a bad name at the inquest.
There are three main factors in shooting which are worth noting as they eliminate uncertainty and from those certainties all other required information can be determined;-
1. How much powder,
2. How much Velocity,
3. How accurate at the target,
For 1 you need a set of scales, for 2 you need a chronograph for 3 you need a ruler. You can live without the chronograph and the ruler but the scales are essential.
Scales are the most delicate instrument in the reloaders necessary range of a equipment. This instrument is not as throughly understood as it should be. What is more important to know is it can not stand very much abuse without losing its sensitivity. As always learning a new field is large matter of learning the terminology used by the so called experts. With the scales or a beam balance various manufactures use an assortment of terminology to describe the performance of various scales or balances. They refer to the instrument’s “sensitivity,” “sensibility,” or “accuracy,” interchanging those terms indiscriminately. Not knowing that there is a difference.
It is incorrect to refer to the “accuracy” of scales. A set of scales is not “accurate” it is “sensitive.” On the other hand, the weights used with the balance to check zero or to check the weight of your powder are not “sensitive,” they are “accurate.” The degree of accuracy will vary greatly in weights, but in the top quality brands of these necessary accessories the manufactures must supply the certain class of
International standard that they comply with.
No powder measure yet devised and that includes the most complicated machine measuring devices in use at the ammunition manufactures factories can compare with the precision possible in the assembling of handloaded home made ammunition. Powder charges in factory ammunition will vary far more than most people believe, until they get inquisitive enough to check it. Having unloaded and checked many different types and brands of ammunition I have found in some variations of up to 3 or 4 grains in government loaded ammunition and between 2 to 3 grains in sporting ammunition but over all most of it would be within 1.5 of a grain. Some brands are predominately better and other brands are random
. 
Of course in use, powder is consumed in volume and converted to gas in volume and weight does not come into it, but when it is possible with the scales to get that accuracy to within one tenth of a grain the proof is ‘in the pudding’ and the smaller target groups prove that the smaller that variation in weight/volume is, the smaller is the group at the terminal end of the process. Many years ago it was a requirement for full bore competitors to all use the same military ammunition, there of course was much discussion about who had the best batch but most of the best results were scored by those who did the hard yards and for the 900 yard event always used ammunition that had been pulled the bullets and powder charges weighed, resizing the necks and reseating the bullets with a uniform tension in the necks.
It must be understood at this point that there are many other factors of uniformity which also control the effects and produce a tightly shot group. These include the uniform seating of primers, if the bullets are crimped, that they are a uniform crimp, uniform case size, uniform neck tension, uniform bullet weights, the correct sort of powder and primer. These issues will be discussed in other chapters of this tome. If precision handloads are assembled with attention to detail in the choice and preparation of all components, including the weighing of the powder charges, no machine loaded ammunition of equal ballistics can possible compare with the hand loaded ammunition from an accuracy point of view. It has long been an accepted custom among reloaders that all powder charges should be held within a tenth of a grain variation.
It is also possible to be within this tolerance when using the many modern powder measures sold to the home reloaders when tubular granulations of powder are NOT used and the use of the powder measures are regulated regularly by the operator checking the procedure by weighing with scales. Tubular granulations in the slower burning powder need more attention to get uniformity of charges. Powder measures are not an essential tool in reloading they just make it quicker to produce more of it, they also contain a very large element of human error which has to be added to the designed mechanical error. Powder measures will be throughly discussed in future chapters but just to state the obvious, I do not recommend the use of a powder measure for any loads which are close to the maximum recommended for any firearms. When working up loads and getting near these limits only use the best set of powder scales that you can afford. They are expensive but it is impossible to produce accurate and safe ammunition without them.
Reloaders rely on their powder scales to accurately weigh safe powder charges and check the charges thrown by their powder measures. Correct readings are essential to safe reloading.
Although most reloading scales are designed and built to provide accurate readings, they should be checked at the beginning of each loading session. If the scale is not covered, dust or bits of grit can accumulate in the bearings and go unnoticed. The result can be an inaccurate reading. A quick check with accurate check weights for the range being used will assure the scale is providing correct information.
Check Weight Sets are ideal for the handloader who wants to have the ability to check a
.5 gr. 1 gr. 2 gr. 5 gr. scale across its entire range. This is particularly important for shooters who sorts bullets or cases by weight.
How to use.
Make sure the scale to be verified has been properly levelled and has a zero reading with no weight in the pan.
Using the forceps (tweezers), set a check weight or a combination of check weights on the scale pan. Move the poises on the scale to correspond with the amount of weight that was placed in the scale pan. The scale beam should return to a zero reading. Next Edition much more about weighing charges of powder.
Thought for the Week !
The thought for the last week,“Who would you vote for Bligh or Boadicea??” might have been the reason for the three “Unsubscribe” or might be the reason for the seventy five and still coming ‘Subscribes’ that add to this mailing list after every edition. Or maybe it was because of the other articles or the gun adverts. Some people just look at the pictures. Some might not have a thought from one week to the next, too busy or frantic trying to keep there families and lives together, this is the time that tries mens souls. Hopefully, as we now are taking ‘Letter to the Editor’, and putting them on www.owenguns.com under the ‘Magazine’ heading we can now all communicate and help one another. Over 2000 people have subscribed, and many pass the Bulletin around their email lists.
Last night on CNN one of the talking Barbi dolls was criticizing a proposal of allowing American cities to issue their own money. Of course the idea was killed by a row of wailing banshees feigning to be economists. During the four years I was a local Councillor on our local government, to solve the eternal problem of urgent public works which desperately need to be supplied and the absurdity and inability of the population to have any further resources wrung from their debt levels.
I proposed that as we had the unemployed, we had the rock and resources, the only thing that was missing was the tickets (money) to make it happen that we issued the tickets and redeemed them in councils rates and charges, charges for the infrastructure. I gave them endless lists of where this Credit system had worked. Of course the staff and local newspaper were horrified. They all complained about its illegality and it would cause ‘inflation’. Of course in the USA with our current economic state the local governments will be in a similar situation to the local governments of Manchester and Glasgow in the 1970s with people not being able to afford to pay the rates, they abandon the properties and the Councils are left with a desolate waste land, further more, the people have no where to live. So they live in old railway tunnels or illegally squat in the once proud mansions.
The talking Barbi dolls on the television, take the politically correct line that this would magnify the perceived disaster of ‘Freddy Mac’ where lending societies lent money to people who could not pay it back. When in fact the cause of all this depression was that the Big Banks wanted physical assets property instead of electronic digits, defrauded as money on a computer screen. That now after casting the net the huge international banks were again drawing the net tight around the people necks. That the banks created money with a finger on a computer key, but the money that they create is created as a Debt and that Debt has interest charged and that interest acting like removing ‘musical chairs’, removed the real printed currency in circulation so that there is never enough for people to repay there interest, never mind the debt it self. The more money the banks create the greater the interest factor and the less money is available for people to finance their own business or survive. It is a system organised to bring misery and failure to the human race. That is why the Australian banks, the big four, will not pass on the interest rate cuts, the money means nothing, because they want more foreclosures and repossessions of property, then they have tangible assets and power.
That’s how they gain control of the Newspapers, the Oil and Fuel Companies and all major Political Parties. Big banks hatch little banks and buy their Debts, then they foreclose on there customers and steal their wealth in exchange for electronic digits. Imagine the Trillions of dollars created by the big banks of issue who lend it at interest to most of the governments of the western world so that they can bail out or nationalize the small banks which originally belonged to the Big banks. Local governments could not get anywhere near those inflationary figures. Also as the Council ‘Tickets’, or (call it anything you like) after building infrastructure and circulating in a local community can either be cancelled by a time limit or gathered in and burnt, it is not inflationary at all. It’s the Big banks and governments that will turn your savings into worthless South Pacific Pesos. Ron Owen
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