The

Dave Wolfc

Bob Hinman

Edward M. Yard

Homer Powley

John T. Amber

Editor and Publisher

Associate Editor

Technical Editor

Ballistics Adviser

Editorial Adviser EDITOR, G U N DIGEST & HANDLOADER'S DIGEST

Larry Koller Gun Test Editor

SUPERVISING EDITOR

OF GUNS AND H U N T I N G

Wallace Labisky Shotshell Editor

SHOTGUN COLUMNIST FOR SHOOTING TIMES

Parker 0. Ackley Wildcats 6 Gunsmithing

Les Bowman Rifle Loads

Harvey A. Donaldson Historical Adviser

Ken Waters "Pet Loads"

RELOADING COLUMNIST

SHOOTING TIMES

Bob Steindler "Bench Tips"

FIELD EDITOR

FOR GUNS MAGAZINE

Ted Smith Bullet Swaging

Maj. George Nonte Case Forming

TECHNICAL EDITOR

OF SHOOTING TIMES

A. Robert Matt On Gun Laws

John Buhmiller African Cartridges

Mason Williams Field Editor

Bob Wallack Field Editor

Barbara Killough Advertising Director

B. "Sam" Schuetts Circulation Manager

Otto Schofield Production Manager

Walter Schwarz Photo 6 Art Director

6

Handloader Magazine

Sept.-Oct. 1966 Val. 1-No. 3 1217 W. Glen Ave., Peoria, Ill. 61614

Features:

Amazing 17 Calibers ............................................................. P. 0. Ackley 1000-Yard Wildcat-.30-378 .................................................. Bob Hutton Primers (Ballistics Series) .......................................................... Ed Yard .44 Magnum Story .................................................................. Elmer Keith 'Techniques'-Basic Handloading ........................ Maj. George Nonte Handloading the Magnum 10 .................................... Wallace Labisky

Scales-A Frank Appruisal ................................................ Bob Wallack Test Report: 6.5mm Rem. Mag. ............................................ Larry Koller

.38 Special 'Pet Loads' .......................................................... Ken Waters

12 15 18 20 26 28 31 34 36

Departments:

Bench Tips .................................. 4 Answers Please ....................... 47 Reader By-Lines ........................ 7 ProducTests ................................ 59 LAW MATTers .......................... 9 Harvey Donaldson .................... 66

The HANDLOADER, Copyright 1966, i s published bi-monthly by the Dave Wolfe Publishing Company, 1217 W. Glen Ave., Box 3482, Peoria, II- linois 61614. Telephone (309) 685-4237. Second Class Permit pending at Peoria, Illinois, and additional mailing offices. Single copy price of cur- rent issue-75c (back issues priced at $1.00 from publisher]. Subscription price: six issues $4.00: 12 issues $7.00; 18 issues $9.50. (Outside U.S. possessions and Canada $5.00, $9.00 and $12.50). Advertising rates fur- nished on request.

Publisher of The HANDLOADER i s not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published loading data, or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. N o part of this pub- lication 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 responsibility for lost or mutilated manuscripts.

Change of address: Please give one month's notice. Send both old and new address, plus mailing label i f possible, to Circulation Dept., The HANDLOADER Magazine, 1217 W. Glen Ave., Box 3482, Peoria, Il l inois 61614.

Your September-October Cover There's no mistaking Elmer Keith in any photograph. This co lor shot shows one of his

long-range shooting positions, using the Ruger Super Blackhawk in cal iber .44 Magnum. His art icle o n Page 20 appears through the permission of M r . Tom Siatos, publisher o f GUNS & AMMO Magazine, where Keith i s the popular and capable shooting editor. W e are par- t icularly pleased tha t Elmer could br ing you this story, f o r we feel no other writer in the v8orld has the shooting and hunting experience with the .44 Magg ie , and certainly n o one has more knowledge, of the cartr idge's development.

Haadlocrder-September-October, 1966

75-Cent Bargain! It’s been a long time since seventy-

five cents has bought so much1 Father and sons (eight and ten) are delighted with my find - May-June Handload- er - so we must keep it coming.

My check for $9.50 is enclosed for the next 18 issues.

ou r thanks, too, for a Woderful Major Nonte’s objections to Dingell’s publication devoted to handloaders H. R. 11483 in the July-August Hand- only- GnWtulations to the entire loader are nowhere near so compelling staff. F. M. E., Clemente, Calif. as arguments FOR it. Without a con-

centrated effort to create new shooting areas as well as maintain and enlarge

ies for a very valuable permanent ref- erence file.

We .are proud to be included as “charter nmnbers.”

Burton T. Miller Vice President ArmaLite, Inc.

Pro-Dingell

It Fills a Need

The trend is for suitable shooting areas to be farther away from the large pop dation areas each year. Residents of large cities have to travel miles to find a range on which to shoot. The prob- lem is especially difficult for high power rifle shooters.

Most people live in densely populat- ed areas. Safe shooting sites in such areas are being gobbled up by housing projects or are forced out by zoning laws or prohibitive taxes on property. The city dweller needs safe, convenient places to shoot. The surest way to kill the shooting sports is to have no place to shoot. The planning of shooting sites must get under way as soon as pos- sible in order to assure facilities for the future. H. R. 11483 may not be perfect (I would like to see more emphasis on shooting ranges, encouragement of tar- get shooting) but it is a way of raising money from those who will benefit from the tax they pay. Nobody is go- ing out and create shooting facilities for us - we have to do it ourselves and

a specific need-in a highly specialized area where good guidance is important for the average.

If the first two issues are typical of those to come, 1 suggest all subscribers acquire a binder and maintain all cop-

i:! ~ o ~ ~ f ~ ~ ~ u r shot- gun or rifle . . . type of stock or forend you want-semi-finished, 90% finjshed, standard finished or custom finished. We will send you literature ascr ib ing what we offer for your needs. Or, ask your dealer or gunsmith, he also can furnish free C a t a l r ’1 E. c. BISHOP 81 SON, Inc. WAR$---’, MO., U.S.A. Dept. H l l M

I

.

Now Models K8 and K10 are better than ever with these two big improvements: New, larger 40mm objective lens assures greater light transmission, less critical eye positioning for faster, easier aiming. New Range Focus eliminates lock rings, reduces weight, improves scope sealing. . . gives instant objective lens focusing for maximum clarity and parallax-free sighting at any range, 100 feet to 1,000 yards.

Models K8 ahd K10 are sturdy, dependrrble 8- and IO-power scopes with all the features needed for pin-point accuracy: Constantly-cen tered reticle; %-minute micrometer click adjust- y e n ts; precision-ground, hard-coated optics. See the K8 and

,

1 0 . . . $59.50 each, at your dealer. 0 1966 W R Weaver Co.

FREE 40-page ful/-color catalog

NAME

ADDRESS

CIN STA T E A I P p

pay for it. The time to start is NOW. It may already be too late in some areas of the nation.

A final item which I think we may too easily forget: public relations. The suggestion of shooting areas in some parts of the country is going to raise a cry of indignation and fear for life and property. Public education is an item that must not be slighted if creation of shooting places in many areas is to suc- ceed. -H. B., China Lake, Calif.

likes ProducTests Find enclosed $1.00 for back issue

No. 1 that has the loading data and information for a .270 cal. rifle.

I started handloading in 1946 for several calibers. Would sure like to see you print some loading data on .30-06, .243, and .22-250.

“3h 9&?4&in ,*’, SCOPE MOUNTS c o m a

Hwy. 123 South Seguin, Texas 78155

I subscribed to your magazine just as soon as I found out about it. You have a very good magazine, and I wish you

evening and observe the 2-minute in- terval, barrel heating is generally of no consequence.

G.E.H., Middletown, Ohio.

a lot of success with it. All of your ar- ticles are good. I also like your evalu- ation of new products, as that gives a man an idea what he is buying. Keep up the good work.

J. A. W., Austin, Tex.

the case into the die, and catch the Since mv acci- ’ urimers in mv hand.

5-Shot Groups I have just received the second issue

of T h e Handloader and I would like to congratulate you on a fine maga- zine. I too would like to see the maga- zine confined to handloading only.

Although I have been handloading for only eight months and shooting for the same amount of time, I thoroughly agree with your comments on the num- ber of shots which should be used when testing loads. I personally prefer the 5-shot group because 5 shots are enough to indicate what the load will do, al- though this is only a preliminary indi- cation. Also, for me this greatly lessens the possibility of messing up groups with wild shots or heated barrels. -1 have found that when shooting in the summer, if I do my shooting in the

Primer Mishap Dear Dave,

The enclosed x-ray photo shows a primer that was embedded in my left index finger. My accident at the load- ing bench may be of interest to your readers, and may prevent a similar happening.

I have been reloading for over 15 years. Many times, for various reasons, I have deprimed live primers from cas- es. I always screw the decapping rod all the way down in the sizing die, run

//-’

Sure-Fire” Dependable

Ignition c.c I

Primers! Largest Primer Selection for Reloaders . . Magnum Primers for High Performance Loads . . Superla- tively Accurate .22 Long Rifle Ammo . . .

cascade cartridge, inc. Lcwiston, Idaho

dent I have {alked to 15 or 2 0 hand- loaders and every one of them per- forms the operation the same way.

On this particular evening I was punching live primers out of .30-06 brass. As usual I had my left hand under the shell holder to catch the primer. Suddenly I caught one all right. The primer ignited and went the only way it could - DOWN. It entered my finger at the first joint, hit the bone and slid further down toward the second joint.

It took the doctor about 20 minutes to dig the primer out. I now have a stiff joint and no feeling in the finger from the first joint to the tip.

So, fellow handloaders, beware! My advice is to catch live primers in a box, and keep your hands out of the way.

J. A., Evansville, Wis.

The pain was terrific.

H-110 Powder Fan Dear Mr. Grennell-

First, a well deserved congratulations on a fine article in the No. 2 issue of T h e Handloader.

For the largest part of my handload-

(Continued on Page 45)

Hadleader-September-October, 1966

By Ken Wafers Reloading Columnist

Shooting Times

The .38 Spec ia l

UCH MALIGNED but still the most popular American center-

fire handgun cartridge, the .38 Special might well be dubbed “The Hand- loader’s Special.” We’ve put this one first among the sidearm cartridges be- cause it IS first in so many ways. Not only is it the most popular, but you can add to its list of laurels the facts that the .38 Special is our most accur- ate handgun cartridge, most common- ly used American police round, and most frequently reloaded of all short- gun hulls.

Just about every reader of firearms magazines must know by now how the .38 Special came into being, but for those who don’t and to make our story complete, a brief re-cap of history would seem to be in order. The Span- ish-American War of 1898 had been fought with the old and notoriously weak .38 Long Colt as the official sidearm cartridge of our armed forces, chambered in the early Smith & Wes- son Military & Police model revolver, as well as the Colt Models of 1894 and 1896.

Some writers have held that the in- adequacy of the Long Colt cartridge, loaded with 150-grain round nose bul- lets and only 18 grains of black pow- der, became evident during that brief

Pet Loads ran our positions, that really pointed up the .38 Long Colt’s failure as a man stopper and induced the Army to revert to .45 caliber revolvers.

Unfortunately - and quite incor- rectly - the present day .38 Special cartridge is often associated with the older Long Colt as if to imply that they are much the same. This errone- ous impression should be dispelled once and for all. Bare ballistics data fail to tell the full story. It should be noted, for instance, that the .38 Long Colt buflet as originally made was considerably undersize for both Colt and Smith & Wesson barrels, be- ing some .006” smaller than bore di- ameter, and depending upon expan- sion of their hollow bases to form a gas seal and grip the rifling. Certain- ly this did not help them deliver their maximum potential power!

Somewhat late, this fault was recog- nized, and the Colt Model of 1903 had its bore diameter reduced to .357” - the same as bullet diameter, to provide a better fit. Pressures were held to 12,000 psi, however, and velocity from a six-inch barrel was still only 810 fps. Add to this the fact that bullets had round, almost semi-pointed noses, and it will be seen why they lacked “stopping” or knock-down power.

- struggle. Possibly so, but my re- It is true that the first .38 Special search does not confirm this. Rather, Handloading Possibilities of the a38 Special cartridges weren’t much better. The

cartridge are almost endless, says author Ken powder charge was increased to 21 followed from 1899-1901 when fanati- of models of guns to meet any needs - from grains of black, and bullet weight was cal Mor0 tribesmen charged and over- sporting to military. upped to 158 grains, still using that Hadoadel-September-Oetok, 1966 31

it was the Insurrection that Waters, shown here. And there are plenty

streamlined shape. This was the or- iginal .38 Special, introduced by Smith & Wesson with their Model 1902 Military & Police revolver. But im- provements were gradually made as more experience was gained. With the change to smokeless powder, the standard .38 Special loading became 3.6 grains of Bullseye, giving averag- ing working pressures of 15,000 psi, and a muzzle velocity of 860 fps from

mt, these improved .38 Spe- mn variously as “.38/44 S&W

,” “.38 %W Special High Vel- or ”3 Colt Special High Vel-

correspoqling increase in muzzle till-

ergy to 425 foot pounds (fp).

Among those convinced of the worth of this Super Police cartridge for met- ropolitan or urban police use, this writ- er as captain of the auxiliary police force in his community, has obtained and issued these 200-grain man-stop- pers to his men with enough addition- al rounds provided for practice and fa- miliarization firing.

Due to increased muzzle jump re- sulting from the heavier bullet, points

impact will vary from those of the ‘ udard .38 Special 158-grain.

some of the often critical

nomic factors as precedent and the un- eniably substantial cost of completely

re-equipping large forces, there are still many valid and sufficient reasons why both individuals and police forces con- tinue to purchase new sidearms in .38 Special caliber.

One of the first of these reasons is its great flexibility, made possible by the wide variety of factory loadings of- fered, thereby permitting the user to select light, medium or heavy loads to suit his intended use and the gun from which they will be fired. And since guns chambered for the .38 Special range from the ultra-light pocket snub- NOW compar; cartridgc

Y e s to holster arms on .44 frames, consideration of con- siderabl

.38Long (Staudmd) .38SpeC. colt H.V.

Bullet Wt. 150% 158-gr 158-gr X&V. 810fpe 860fgs 11Wfps aQs. 230fp 2 6 O f p 425@

The potentially greater .38 Special cartridge was at last coming into its own1

Another version of the .38 Special which appeared some years prior to World War I1 was the so-called “.38 Special Super Police.” Designed to de- liver increased short range shocking power specifically for police use, this load consisted of a 200-grain lead bul- let with extremely blunt nose shape delivering (as then produced), 671 fps from a six-inch barrel and 623 fps from a two-inch snub-nose.

Penetration in wood was rated less than that of the standard .38 Special round-nose loading, but impact effect was decidedly greater, leading to its adoption by several police departments.

Soon, reports were coming in attest- ing to its effectiveness, criminals being put down at the first shot in each in- stance with severe bone and/or tissue damage. Velocity of this round has since been raised to 730 fps. 32

- Another factor no

ten as it should be is the ‘’??_-- suitability for double action use in tast repeat firing. Sometime try firing a .41 or .44 Magnum double action as if you were in a fire-fight, and I’m sure you’ll be convinced of at least the average shooter’s ability to place more shots where they’re wanted-in a specified time with the .38 Special. Ed McGivern used .38 Special caliber revolvers for most of his exhibition shooting, and for this work the light recoil of the “Special” was a very real help.

Just look at the list of present factory offerings in .38 Special caliber:

ble of staying well inside the 3.39” 10-ring of the 50-yard pistol target. General Hatcher even claimed the .38 Special to be potentially capable of grouping in 1%” or less at that range, but he was referring to the cartridge rather than the gun.

Metal-piercing rounds are highly specialized as to use and are seldom seen on store shelves. They were brought about by the need of police officers for a load that would pene- trate the body of an automobile, and have no sporting application that I can think of. They do demonstrate though, the fine versatility of this cali- ber.

Probably our single most effective tory load is Dominion’s Police ammunition. Al-

<

1 I

148-gr. Wadcutter Target Load 770-

150-gr. Weetern Lulxloy lo(rb.108Ufps 150-gr. W’tem Metal Pi-g 1060fps 158-gr. Remington Hi-Speed lmfps 158%. Dominim H. VeL Police 1OgOfps 2oQgr. Super Police Load 730

The outstanding accuracy of the wad- cutter target load is well known. They’re more accurate, in fact, than most .38-caliber guns, being quite capa-

158-g. lecni Bullet PollCe L O d 855fpS

high velocity. With its sta----. - round-nose bullet, however, he has more than once told how he found it lacking in power, even for grouse which would often fly off after receiv- ing a body hit from such a bullet. The same sort of hit while using the 200-grain Super Police loads, on the other hand, usually resulted in a dead bird.

Keith has also said that he considers the use of a .38 Special by police offi- cers to be a “grave mistake” since lawmen need a gun which will posi- tively stop a criminal with a single hit. Jeff Cooper is another handgun au- thority who has expressed dissatisfac- tion with the stopping power of the .38 Special factory cartridge.

Remembering those old reports at- testing to the effectiveness of the 200-

H o n d l ~ r ~ t e m b . r - O t ~ r , less

grain Super Police load in felling crim- inals, it wogd seem reasonable to question whether this cartridge is really lacking in power or simply lacking the proper bullet? Rated according to the “Hatcher Scale”-which is the best formula known for estimating the stop- ping power of handgun bullets on a live target - we see the .38 Special as being superior to the 9mm Luger, even when the 158-grain 855 fs load is used; and with the high velocity loads it is 79% as effective as the .357 Magnum.

So now let’s see what can and has been done with handloads. Kent Bellah had certainly had a great deal of ex- perience reloading the .38 Special, and he found (as I have), that 2.7 grains of Bullseye is the most accurate charge for up to and including 50 yards, and Speer’s Hollow-Base Wadcutter the best bullet for target work. Three grains of Bullseye was his favorite varmint and small game load, using those wadcut- fer bullets for killing power that is &better than their muzzle velocity

would indicate. Bellah was istolman who recognized s of a handgun and real-

of gun and load, plus to place his shots - I more than a

:et;

Bullseye,

arges

3.5 of V-

these

I_ .he -~ .... c i r n ~ u ~ ~ -pressure level for this cartridge, but the reliable Speer’s Manual indicates that they have con- sidered 18,000 psi as the practical ceil- ing, with which this writer is in full agreement. I would further recommend that loads for light frame guns be held to 15,000 psi maximum.

The “standard” factory load speed of 855 fps is thus easily beaten with judic- ious handloads, but I do not believe that any attempt should be made to exceed the hot high velocity factory loads giving almost 1,100 fps with equal weight bullets. Only the heavier steel-frame guns should be used with these potent loads.

If still higher velocities are wanted and bullet weight can be reduced, (as in varmint hunting), I have found the 130-grain Newline half-jacket bullet

with 7 grains of Unique to be an ex- cellent load with fine accuracy, but this

seating bullets to the same depth, will create much the same effect.

one Only be used in a strong If further proof is needed, note how gun, approaching gradually from be- low. It most definitely should NOT be coupled with any of the heavier bulletsl velocity reached 1,225 fps with this load.

practically all authorities when giving loads for the .357 Magnum, include the caution that they should be reduced if the shorter .38 Special cases are used. Again. it is an instance of txessures in-

Y I

Readers should understand that this creasing as case capacity decreases. load, like the others listed, is NOT A good reason for not shorten- to be taken as “recommended~’ They ing .38 Special below their stand-

ard length of 1.155”, is that bullets would then have a longer jump from case to barrel throat, which will certain- ly not improve accuracy.

are instead, reports of loads used by writer and others, and any attempt to duplicate them being beyond our con- trol, must necessarily be done at the shooter’s risk.

Finally, if cases were to be material- ly shortened, there wouldn’t be enough powder space remaining to accoIIIITIo-

Keith has us that best game killing performance with the .38 ’pia’ may be had by date a proper charge of No. 2400 - our the Im-grain Keith-style point best for increased velocities at

either

Or 173-vain reasonable pressures. 1 fail to see there- 13*5 Grains of No* 2400 in the fore, how these obvious disadvantages .M-frame guns, the solid bullets giv- can add up to ccincreased efficiency.,, ing deeper penetration. However, this Viewed from any angle, it strikes me as strikes me as being an excessive load a poor practice, not to be recommended. and one I wouldn’t care to use even in my big Colt Shooting Master. As a final critique, I pose the ques-

~i~ alternate load for lighter guns tion of what the future holds for the consisting of the 160-grah bullet with .38 Special. Will it be obsoleted by 5.3 grains of Unique is in the 16,000 the more POwerfu1 *357 and m4’ Mag-

be O.K. in are good con- does, the middle position between not

driven by

psi pressure bracket and as s ~ & should nums? I think not! occupying as it

dition . Keith is one of the few author- enough and too much power, it will ities who have mentioned the rapid fire Continue to attract those shooters who suitability of this cartridge which, as are reCOil-ShY Or Who Wish a

I

stated previously, I consider to be of very real importance in

twenty years articles have appeared in

that can be put to use as a target work. and defensive arm. Even 357 Magnum

owners fire more .38 Special ammuni- From time to time over the past tion in their revolvers than .357 cart-

ridges, saving the hot loads for “busi-

Specials than if mag-

excess ca- well that it is p o d - in the accura ient. chambered for

cted by the - big

acceptance, we can look forward to still greater popu- larity for the .38 Special. 0

33

to the cases should not be fired. Cut- ting-off .38 Special cases while still