Owen Guns Bulletin Edition 50 January 2011
Welcome to the Fiftieth Edition of the Owen Guns Bulletin.
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Classified Guns for Sale – ADVERTISE YOUR GUNs HERE. New Site Just Opened, but selling guns so fast than we cannot photograph them and get them up there quick enough. We need yours to sell on Electronic Classifieds!
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External Ballistics Calculator for all Components,
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Details should include Name of card, ie Visa or Mastercard. Name on Card. Number on Card, Expiry Date of Card, 3 secret numbers on the rear of the card.Your home phone or mobile number.
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Visit the website now. We also have shooting articles and important firearm information for the gun enthusiast. Take away free gun photos and free firearm images for your gun gallery collection. New firearm related material is being added every day. Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
The Staff of Owen Guns sincerely hope the people impacted by the recent Flood disasters recover as quicly as possible and have a safe and prosperous future. Through sad experience we have found that the most deserving will get the least compensation, if any. Hopefully this tradgedy will bring change and stop these government (not natural) disasters from happening again.
Model 336SS
The flagship of our Model 336 family, and one of the most popular hunting rifles in North America. Offered in 30-30 Win, it embodies our dedication to dependability, pinpoint accuracy and good looks. A 20″ barrel with Micro-Groove® rifling makes it exceptionally handy in the brush and deadly accurate. The American black walnut stock and fore-end are enhanced with fine-cut checkering and our tough Mar-Shield® finish. Its solid-top receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. It also features adjustable sights. The Model 336SS is constructed primarily of stainless steel for awesome corrosion resistance and long-term durability.
$1180. plus post
Armed Under & Over 12 gauge $775.
Armed 12 g Under & Over shotgun, single trigger, ejectors, five interchangable choke tubes the best value in a, new over and under on the market today. Truly a Turkish gun made with from Italian designs, a Turkish Delight with Italian good taste.
$775. Silver Receiver $799.
HORNADY CARTRIDGE CASE CLEANER
Give the wife a break stop cleaning your cartridge cases in the dish washer, or the washing machine, no more hassle drying them in the oven. Get the Vibratory Case Cleaner from Hornady.
$150 plus post
Remington Genesis 1000 fps.
Idea for Dad and Son, An Adult Air Rifle. Practice Target Shooting in the Garage.
(Air Rifle Scopes have to be EXTRA shock resistant for High powered Air Rifles) . These single shot spring air 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.
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
ACCURATE FIREARM DESIGN.
Short Recoil Operated Action.
Short recoil operation differs from long recoil operation in that the barrel and bolt recoil only a short distance before they unlock and separate. The barrel stops quickly, and the bolt continues rearwards, compressing the recoil spring and performing the other actions of cycling. During the last portion of its forward travel, the bolt locks into the barrel and pushes the barrel back into battery
With the Short Recoil Operated Action system of operating a semi automatic or an automatic function of a breech action the breech block or bolt is locked tightly to the barrel, solidly supporting the head of the cartridge at the beginning of the operation. There are slightly different systems but all work on the same principles with most the barrel and bolt are arranged to slide backward together on firing, through a tube which encircles the barrel and a grooved well in the receiver, or along a track on the forearm and through a well in the receiver. Thus when the rifle is fired the barrel and bolt slide straight to the rear actuated by the recoil, during which movement the counter recoil spring is compressed. When the barrel has completed a certain short travel to the rear, and the bullet has left the muzzle, the barrel is stopped and at this point the breech bolt is unlocked from the barrel by cams in the receiver. In some designs a counter recoil spring is provided for the barrel and this spring then pushes it forward again to its normal position. Then momentum and residual pressure continue to carry the bolt further back to the end of its travel in the receiver until it reaches the stop or buffer. The compressed counter recoil spring then moves the bolt forward, carrying the top cartridge from the magazine into the chamber, and the bolt locks itself to the barrel, ready to fire again. Examples of this mechanism are the .45 calibre Colt 1911 A1 automatic pistol which was a Browning invention, the Johnson rifles and there Light Machine Guns and the Luger, the P-38 Walther, and Mauser pistols. The Johnson semi-automatic rifle, designed by Captain Melvin M. Johnson, Jr. is probably the most efficient utilization of this system to date when it is to handle high power rifle cartridges.
The Johnson has a short recoil system, a rotary bolt locking with eight lugs (a feature which inspired Eugene Stoner in his Armalite Ar15 M16 development) and unlocking by the rearward movement of the sliding barrel. The bolt turns twenty degrees to unlock while the barrel is recoiling 3/8-inch. Unlocking is accomplished by cams on the bolt working in a cam chamber and channel in top of the receiver. It has a rotary feed magazine holding ten cartridges in addition to another cartridge in the chamber. The magazine can be loaded with two standard Springfield type five-cartridge clips, or with loose cartridges, and can also be loaded whether the breech is open or closed. The rifle is 45 ½ inches long and weighs 9 quarter pounds. Some models of the Johnson light machine gun can be set to fire from either an open or from a closed bolt. In many technical areas such as reloading they were superior to the M1 Garand but many Marines that were issued them ditched them in favour of a Garand maybe the rotary magazines were delicate.
In the mechanism of the .45 Colt automatic pistol the slide is the breech block, and the barrel and slide remain locked together and move back together in recoil about 1/8 inch. Then the link pulls the barrel down at its rear end and disengages ribs on it from the slots in the slide by which the two are held together. The barrel stops, but the slide continues to the rear, being driven by its momentum and residual pressure. The counter recoil spring then pushes the slide forward again, and shoves the top cartridge out of the magazine into the chamber. This is the most reliable mechanism for an automatic pistol that has yet been invented but this locking system is not strong enough to stand the pressure of high power rifle cartridges.
The chief objections to the recoiling system are the sliding barrel and the excessive number of parts. The barrel requires a tube or slide around it within which it recoils, and the tube retains heat excessively. The sights cannot well be fitted to the barrel, but must be secured to the tube and receiver. The barrel cannot be a perfect fit in its tube and slide, for if it were it would not operate in the presence of any amount of normal dust, and this necessary looseness, plus any that develops from friction, will cause variations in the line of aim. Two recoil springs are necessary, one for the barrel and one for the bolt. Usually a long and bulky receiver is necessary. It is a difficult firearm on which to fix a bayonet.
The recoiling action is timed by regulating the weights of the barrel and breechblock, and by the strength of their springs. If the barrel is too heavy it will have too much inertia, its recoiling speed will be slow, and ejection efficiency may be reduced. On the other hand a heavy breechblock tends towards better ejection, because it loses its momentum less than a light one after it has separated from the barrel.The exact method of locking and unlocking the barrel is the primary differentiating factor in the wide array of short recoil designs. Perhaps the most unusual is the 1890 toggle bolt design of Hugo Borchardt, most famous for its use in the German Luger pistol. Most common are the John Browning tilting barrel designs, based either on the rotating link as used in the M1911 pistol, or the linkless cam design used in the Hi Power. The other common design is the Walther P38 locking block design, found in the modern Beretta 92 derived designs.
The Luger pistol has a toggle-joint breech, which, unlike that of the Pedersen, is positively locked. Barrel and toggle recoil together with the breechblock held firmly against the base of the cartridge until a portion of the toggle strikes ramps on the frame. This pushes the toggle open, retracting the breechblock. A heavy spring in the rear of the grip then pulls the toggle closed and returns the moving parts to firing position.
The Walther and Mauser pistols are also positively locked. Both have separate locking blocks, that of the Walther being located between lugs on the bottom of the barrel and engaging grooves in the slide. The block of the Mauser rides in a slot in the barrel extension and engages grooves in the bolt.
The objections to this type of shoulder arm are that the receiver must be bulky and heavy, and it and the arrangement for the sliding barrel detract from the handiness and neat appearance of the weapon, and add to its weight. Also, with a rifle, both sights should be on the barrel, or else the barrel, particularly with wear, will not continue to line up absolutely with the line of aim It has proven highly successful for pistols, however.
While the short recoil design is most common in pistols, the very first short recoil operated firearm was also the first machine gun, the Maxim gun. It used a toggle bolt similar to the one Borchardt later adapted to pistols, which was followed by Luger. Browning also used the short recoil action in larger guns, including the M2 machine gun, which has seen service for over 80 years as a heavy machine gun with all branches of the United States military. The German MG-34 and MG-42 dual-purpose machine-guns were also operated by short recoil the MG 42 utilising the first of the roller block mechanisms.Some short-recoil operated firearms, such as the German MG-42 machine gun, use a mechanism at the muzzle to extract some energy from the escaping powder gases to push the barrel backwards, in addition to the recoil energy. This ‘boost’ provides higher rates of fire and/or more reliable operation. This type of mechanism is also found in some suppressors used on short recoil firearms, under the name gas assist or Nielsen device, where it is used to compensate for the extra mass the suppressor adds to the recoiling parts both by providing a boost and decoupling some of the suppressor’s mass from the firearm’s recoiling parts.
Next Edition Long Recoil Automatically Operated Breech Actions.
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
Electronic Ear Muffs
Slimline Electornic Ear Muffs
Hear and Protect
Hear normally up to 85 db Electronically reduces & protects hearing
Protects hearing above 85 db
Able to hear normal conversations and sounds to 85 decibels
Over 200 hours of battery life ,Auto-adjust headband
Solid state circuit , Rotary on-off volume knob
HOW THE ELECTRONIC EAR MUFFS WORK
These electronic ear muffs are a high standard ear muff in design, they are made to feel light and comfortable for all day use. They can be used as standard ear muff when the electronic component is not turned on and will passively reduce noise like any normal ear muff. They have a standard noise reduction rating of 29 decibel and are a Class 5. Once turned on the microphone, located at the top of the ear muff, will pick up and amplify ambient noise. If some one standing next to you talks, their voice will be amplified through the speakers in both ear muffs. Should there be a loud noise, such as a firearm, the electronic ear muffs will automatically cut out and block the loud noise. The electronic ear muffs are designed to attenuate noise about 85 decibels, meaning that they will block out instantly, once the noise reaches a certain level. The electronic ear muffs allow you to control the volume level of ambient noise around you. On the shooting range with constant loud reports, the electronic ear muffs will block this noise. For range instructions or to communicate with another person, you can instantly hear them speak. At the range or anywhere ear protection is constantly required, but you also need to hear instructions from others or you wish to be more aware of the ambient sound around you, these electronic ear muffs are what you need.
$65.00 plus post.
Sabatti .223 Walnut Stock, Detachable Magazine, adjustable Trigger, large claw extractor.
Sabatti have been producing firearms for hundreds of years in the Gardonne region of Italy. The company split from its pistol manufacturing operation Tanfoglio several years ago. The action is a Mauser type with dual opposed locking lugs with a claw extractor. Ideal for the traditionalist who appreciates Walnut stocks.
$995.00 plus freight.
Gun Books Make Great Presents, Easy To Post and with years of use and enjoyment. We have over a 1000 Gun Books in stock.
Looking for Gun Books We now have a list of some of our many Gun and Firearm books on the website at
www.owenguns.com/gympie-shop/gun-book-list and http://www.owenguns.com/gun-book/
http://www.owenguns.com/used-guns/books/
Another good example is ‘Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert W.D. Ball.
Thirty years ago John Olsens Mauser Book was the reference book that all Mauser collectors had to have, now this book fairly wears the Crown, It has over a 1000 pages of information, mostly all colour photos of the rifles and markings. This latest Edition has 200 more colour photos than the last edition.Every Mauser story for 1871 to 1945. Mauser’s from 200 different Countries. Ideal for Firearm collector who need to know everything about Mauser’s. Hard Backed, A4 Full format, with semi gloss pages.
$70.
plus $10 all over Australia and even overseas to Tasmania.
If you need any more details about the other titles we have in our list just phone 07 54825070 or 07 54 824099 or Fax 07 54824718 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
Another Example is our Best Seller as it is Australian written and produced with the Australian Shooting conditions in mind. If you like the small articles included with this Bulletin, Accurate Firearm Design and Understanding Cartridge Reloading and want to read an encyclopedia on shooting by the same author buy The Range Officer Handbook.
The Range Officer Handbook
The Range Officers Handbook pay by Pay Pal see Bulletin Special Announcement Page
CLICK HERE
As already purchased by members of all Shooting Organisations.Some have even bought two copies one for home and one to take to the club. See Book Reviews by Nick Harvey in Sporting Shooters and Guns Australia in our new Gun Book Category.
It’s a week since I received a copy of “Range Officers Hand Book” and since that time I am nearly at the half way mark. I’m amazed at the at the number of subjects you have covered making it one of the most informative books to be added to my collection. It must have taken you a considerable amount of time and experience to publish the book with information not available in other popular Gunsmith manuals. I would recommend the book to “Range Officers” and anyone interested in the sport of target shooting and hunting.
Regards
Gene M Cornford P.O.Box 288, Kaeo 0448 N.Z. Firearms Gunsmith, Dip M.G.S +Member of American Gunsmithing Assoc.
The Range Officers Handbook is an encyclopedia or omnibus of firearms and ammunition and the use of them, it has:-
• 90 pages of Information for Range Officers,
• 239 pages on Coaching to Win,
• 110 pages on Air Rifle History &Training,
• 33 pages on hitting Clay Targets,
• 34 pages on Reloading Ammunition,
• 6 page of Contents,
• 18 pages of Index,
• 38 pages of Old into New, ( Chronological History of Firearms)
• 23 pages of Glossary of Terminology on Firearms and Optics
• Over 1000 drawings and photographs.
• Over 530 pages in a A4 stitched colour hardback.,
Some, hopefully will read it cover to cover, others will pick a heading out of the Contents pages and read a chapter or two, but no matter how much you know about shooting, reference material is always needed, as even people who rate as genius cannot retain everything. The real ability is being able to find out quickly and easily. You can check that you have the correct terminology, in the Glossary, check the Index and go straight to the right page. This book can be used as an information tool for a lifetime of shooting.
$75 Signed by the author (state who you would like it dedicated to) plus $10 postage Australia wide.
The Range Officers Handbook pay by Pay Pal see Bulletin Special Announcement Page
Norinco Model 213 ‘Tokargypt’ 9 shot Semi Auto
The Model 213 original basis was designed by John Moses Browning, the world famous firearm designer. In the late 1920s the Colt /Browning mechanism was redesigned by Russian, Feoder Tokerev, simplified for mass production and chambered in the powerful 7.62×25. It used the Mod 1911 swinging link, short recoil system.
To enable easy maintenance the hammer and lock mechanism can be removed as a single assemble. To improve the Browning feed system the ammunition feed lips are machined into the frame rather than relying on pressed tin. Which on a battlefield where magazines lips do not get the best attention is a great advantage in reliability and makes the magazines cheaper to produce. It was an extremely tough, reliable and powerful pistol and was later modified by Hungary for export to Egypt this was known as the Tokagypt. The pistol differs from the Tokarev in being chambered for the 9mm Parabellum, and a fitted safety catch (WHICH SHOULD NEVER BE RELIED UPON) as well as the half cock safety.
As can be seen by the inset photo the barrels and chambers are all chrome plated.
It has a plastic wrap around grip stock, instead of the Tokerev ‘bakelite’ and a finger piece type floor plate on the magazine, which improves your chances of quickly getting it out and getting another one in after someone has rammed one in covered in mud. The M 213 Chinese version of this also has a chrome plated barrel shown in the above photograph. These are brand new unfired but have the usual scratch marks and rough corners as shown in the photographs. As standard the barrels are a millimetre short for club licences so are fitted with a slightly longer barrel. The steel is excellent and once a few surfaces, such as slides, are polished they are a slick an easy pointing pistol. Eight rounds in the magazine.
$369. each $700 for two.
plus registered post and appropriate licences.
Thoughts for the Week
It goes without saying that all intelligent human beings deplore the cowardly act of the killer in Tucson Arizona and our sincere sympathy and sorrow goes to the victims of this crime, and to their families, who have been in our thoughts. This was a despicable act of cowardice, by a nut case I believe the full force of law should be used against the individual responsible. All human victims are just as important no matter if they are a Congress women or a federal court judge, but no time is lost on sympathy by the anti gun lobby within minutes of the tragedy they are using every inch of shock to carry their cause.
When will these people stop dancing in the blood of crime victims in an attempt to resuscitate their relevance? On the 10th January 2011 Mr D Shoebridge MLC of the Greens Party put a press release out, Time to Ban Semi- Auto pistols in NSW, no logical reasons just being a parasite on the Tucson tragedy. No criticism of present governments attitude to mental health policy, giving the ex inmates the keys and making us wear our the bars to our cells just exploitation of this hideous event in an effort to further its own political agenda.
This was also being carried out in the USA and I sent these thoughts to an old friend of mine in Colorado.
Dear Bill
Politicians do not realize that the danger is not in the material its in the human mind. Once a person makes his mind up to kill another. The availability of the tool he chooses is only convenience. Lincoln was wounded with a black powder single shot percussion pistol, thousand in Iraq die by the explosions in storm water pipes. Most politicians have died by poisoning or suffocated with a pillow. It should be put to today’s statesmen that they either spend a little more on mental health or humour the people a little more.
As once people find that in some areas one of the major parties could put up a salivating, mad, baboon as a candidate and he would still be elected, they realize the only way of getting shut of them is to kill them. Well then they lose their sense of humour and begin to plan the deed. No one, no how much security is put into place is safe. Some are even murdered by their own security guards or family members. So what is the point of banning a firearm. They might as well ban gasoline or hair bleach, hydrogen peroxide.
Ron.
It was well received and Bill sent it around on his ‘GunIssues’ network.
We in Queensland have not just got to put up with disasters like the floods we also have the Queensland Police Service that is usually four a five weeks behind with its Permits to Acquire which due to some supposed change on the 1st of November 2010 is now getting to be 3 months behind and the wait is increasing. Before Christmas we received a letter from them stating that we should not encourage shooters to phone them and enquire the whereabout of there Permit to Acquire that they are very busy and the phone calls just slow them down. So instead we have encouraged the shooter waiting to collect their firearms to contact write if possible or phone and ask the staff to phone the Police Minister and ask them where there PTA is. Page 45 of the current Weapons Regulations state that if you have a firearm on a licence the waiting period is the same day that you apply.
Weapons Regulation 1996
56 Waiting period for decision on application for permit to acquire
(1) This section prescribes the period for section 42 of the Act.
(2) The period is 28 days after the day the applicant lodges the application for the permit to acquire the weapon.
(3) However, if—
(a) the applicant already holds a firearm under a licence; or
(b) an authorised officer is satisfied there are exceptional circumstances;
the period is the remainder of the day on which the applicant lodges the application for the permit.
So after filling in all of those meaningless forms and paying your $30 to the Queensland Police Service why do you have to wait two to three months. The government has no excuse they have within the past six months increased the Fees and Charges under the Weapons Act 126 %.
On page 70 of the Weapons Act 1990
Division 4 Firearms register
49 Commissioner to maintain firearms register
(1) The commissioner must establish and maintain a record (the
firearms register) of all firearms in Queensland.
That plainly cannot be happening as Dealer are required to send copies of all transaction forms ‘Form 10′ every week to Weapons licencing, as in many cases these are not processed for many weeks by the staff the register is incomplete and obviously by the huge delays we can say it is not being maintained. If the Police cannot maintain this register than there inability to comply with the Weapons Act should not be used to punish Queensland firearm owners to an even greater extent. If they cannot make it work as the law required it should be scrapped as it has been in New Zealand , Canada and was once scrapped in Victoria.
Registration solves no crimes, prevents no criminal from using a Weapon, and due to the inability to maintain and use this information cannot be used to trace a firearm or even owns it as half of Queensland firearms would not be on the register in the first instance. It is now time to for all shooters licensed or unlicensed to contact your local members of parliament ask them to represent you their constituent and scrap the Weapons Register and rescind the legislation that makes firearm registration compulsory.
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 and Krico 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 4x 32 Silver Antler Rifle Scope
Thirty years ago we would have paid a $1000. for the same quality of vision and precision, a guaranteed leading optical manufacturer who warranties their products all over the World. They have a light gathering clarity that would have made those old dark Pecar’s appear like looking through a knot hole in fathers wooden leg. What’s more they are Waterproof. In 1970 during a storm in the Victorian mountains I can remember emptying my Pecar like a jug. It had a steel tube but it leaked like a sive.I was so disappointed I hunted Samba for years with open sites as I wanted reliability. I took the low priced option then and will always follow that example, at this price I could afford to buy a spare one.
$50. plus post
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or emailowenguns@spiderweb.com.au
The Free External Ballistics Calculator NEW VERSION for all Components not Brand Specific.
Click This Link to read the Instruction Sheet.
Email : OwenGuns@spiderweb.com.au and the External Ballistics Calculator program will be sent to you in EXCELL Format free of charge.
Understanding Cartridge Reloading
Bullets
Oddly enough, the Minie Ball, (bullet) the most effective of the muzzle-loading bullet development had a very short life. By the time it had actually gotten into wide-spread use, the self-contained metallic cartridge was already gaining poularity. By the late 1860’s, most nations were at least in the process of re-arming with breech loading rifles. In some instances, the new cartridges retained the hollow-base feature of the Minie to insure
that even undersize bullets would always get a good grip on the rifling.
Throughout the American Civil War, sporting shooters and frontiersmen continued to use the cloth-patched round ball for all but the most meticulous target shooting. In order to achieve greater uniformity and accuracy than could be delivered by the round ball, long conical bullets were employed, substituting carefully-wrapped paper patches for cloth. Patches were applied in a number of ways, one layer or two, applied wet or dry, lubricated or not, but generally required the use of a false muzzle to prevent damage during loading. Obviously, such a system wasn’t practical for use in the field nor for military purposes. However, it produced the finest accuracy to be had with muzzle-loading rifles. Because of the great amount of force required to seat tight-fitting, paper patched bullets, the nose of a soft or pure lead bullet was likely to be deformed. To avoid this, the best riflemen of the day used compound swaged bullets. Such bullets were made in two parts, a body or bearing area of the softest lead which could be easily engraved by the rifling, assembled to a hardened lead-alloy nose which would resist deformation during ramming. The two parts of the bullet might be cast or swaged, but were normally assembled by swaging under heavy pressure. The two parts were locked tightly together by a mortise and tenon joint.
During the same time period, some riflemen also attempted to improve upon the round ball with a type of bullet known variously as “picket” ball or “sugar-loaf.” This was simply a more or less conical bullet, often with a rounded base, which did not have any parallel-sided portion to engage the rifling and to insure correct alignment in the bore. This type of bullet was used both patched and without. Even though some very fine shooting was reported on occasion with this type of bullet, the effort and tools required to insure that it be properly aligned in the bore made it of little practical value in the field. Even when properly loaded, the picket ball had such a short bearing surface that it might not well retain its alignment during initial acceleration down the barrel, resulting in its being tipped in the rifling and thus describing a spiral rather than true parabolic trajectory.
With the coming of the metallic cartridge, thus freeing the bullet from the torture of being loaded at the muzzle and rammed the length of the barrel, various attempts were made to improve its performance and accuracy. Grooved, lubricated lead bullets then became the most common, and were divided into two categories — those with the lubricant applied to the surface of the bullet outside of the cartridge case; called “outside lubricated,” and those whose lubricated portion was seated inside the case and called “inside lubricated.” Naturally, the latter was much to be preferred since it avoided collection of dirt and grit by the soft sticky lubricant and also avoided having the lubricant rub off in normal handling. Where maximum accuracy was desired, especially in long-range target and hunting rifles, the paper-patch bullet continued in use. Unfortunately, the paper patch could not withstand the forces applied when the cartridges were cycled through repeating gun mechanisms. Consequently, such bullets were reserved for use in top-quality, single-shot rifles. The patch was . relatively fragile and easily distorted or torn loose from the bullet. Even the act of seating the bullet in the case could damage the patch seriously.
Recognizing that the soft lead base of the bullet was easily damaged, some makers applied a “metal base” which was, in reality, what we now call a gas check. It was simply a cup stamped from thin sheet copper and swaged on the base of the bullet. It did not extend upward along the bullet sides to protect the bearing surface. Even in the larger calibers, this cup extended no more than a quarter inch forward of the base.
So long as black powder remained the principal small arms ammunition propellant, uncovered lead remained the most practical bullet material. Black powder simply would not drive bullets fast enough that any other material was required. In addition, there were many who felt that use of a harder bullet metal was either impossible or impractical. One contemporary writer describes it as “mechanical cruelty” to attempt to force a steel or similar hard-jacketed bullet through a rifled barrel. And considering the relatively soft barrel steels of the day, a hard bullet would probably have greatly reduced barrel life.
Only Sir Joseph Whitworth in his Whitworth Rifle (and large field guns) with his mechanically fitting steel .45 cal bullets would be successful in the black powder era.
The advent of practical smokeless powder, working at much higher pressures and temperatures and producing vastly increased velocities, required the concurrent development of bullets that would withstand the strain. This brought about the basic development of the jacketed bullet as we know it today. It consisted of a lead core to give weight and density, surrounded at the base and over the bearing surfaces by a thin cup of a copper/nickel alloy called then “cupro-nickel.”A typical mix is 75% copper, 25% nickel, and a trace amount of manganese Many other materials were tried, of course, including steel, iron, and plain soft copper.
In Europe during World War 1, where wartime copper shortages caused serious problems, the use of steel was more or less perfected to the point where it could be used economically in bullet jackets and would produce satisfactory performance.
Cupro-nickel remained the standard material for military jacketed bullets in the western world through World War I into the 1920s. Cupronickel’s particular disadvantage was that it had a tendency to occasionally foul bores rather badly. Particles of jacket material would be torn off and stick to the inside of the barrel, subsequently bullets fired would leave more and more as the surface became rough and irregular. This might substantially decrease the diameter of the bore and deform subsequent bullets to the point where accuracy was virtually destroyed. Removal of such fouling presented serious problems since it adhered very tightly to the surface of the bore.
To solve this problem, ammunition makers developed new bullet-jacket alloys, and eventually settled on what we call “gilding metal” today. Gilding metal is a copper alloy, comprising 95% copper and 5% zinc. Technically, it is a brass. The copper zinc alloy has the characteristic colour of bright copper. It is soft and ductile, easily worked, self-lubricating to a degree, and is not prone to fouling if bores are reasonably smooth. The formula varies from 95-5 to 90-10. Eventually trade names were applied to variations of the basic alloy, such as Winchester-Western’s “Lubaloy.” Today, gilding metal remains the standard material for bullet jackets with the exception that plain copper is used in many instances for low-velocity projectiles.
Next edition further information on Bullets.
Chrony Chronographs measure the velocity of your ammunition.
You have now should all have the free Ballistic Calculator if you haven’t got it already there is a link further down this page. Without a Chornograph to give you a known velocity, shooting is all just guess work. There are only two known facts available to a shooter, the hole it makes in the target and its speed. (Pressure guns are not available to us mere mortals) You cannot test, your rifle and ammunition by how much noise it makes or how hard it kick’s you. Get a chronograph, they have never been any cheaper for this quality and if you don’t do it now they will be dearer when you want one next. Then you will be kicking yourself harder than a .600 Nitro Express. They fold up really compact to take to the range, open them up shoot throught the wires and the light meters will give you a print out on the little screen. They fit onto nearly every camera tripod. One of our customers fired through the clear screen, brought it back for warrentry, as it didn’t work. Please do not do this, as they are not supposed to be bullet proof.
$198. plus post.
BAIT THROWERS
Sling Shots as seen in use on the Streets of Bankok. If you cannot get a firearm seems as though these are the next best thing to take on the M16 opposition. Even though they lost the battle for the streets they won points for bravery. These have an internal magazine for quick loading, Extra effective using round lead musket balls for ammo.
Any Inquiries on any products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
If you want to order by mail have your card detail handy.
FREE FOR ELECTRONIC DOWNLOAD
Owner/Operators Manual for a Lee Enfield Instructions, Assemble Dis-Assemble Maintenance, Exploded Diagrams, General Data, Parts ,Safety Warnings
Email : OwenGuns@spiderweb.com.au and it will be sent to you in .pdf format free of charge.
We have over 2500 firearm Manuals which if you need a particular one we can source and email to you please phone 07 54825070 or enquire via the above email but we will require $16.50 per electronic version or $25. per hard copy plus postage.
Any Inquiries on any firearm products phone 07 54824099 or 07 54825070 or email owenguns@spiderweb.com.au
If you want to order by mail have your card detail handy.
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