COMPLETE GUIDE TO HANDLOADING A Treatise on Handloading for Pleasure, Economy and Utility By PHILIP B. SHARPE EX-CAPTAIN, ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT, AUS; LIFE MEMBER NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION, ARMY ORDNANCE ASSOCIATION; MEMBER NATIONAL MUZZLE LOADING RIFLE ASSOCIATION, UNITED STATES REVOLVER ASSOCIATION, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, NATIGNAL SKEET ASSOCIATION, PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, THE SPORTSMENS’ CLUB OF AMERICA, OUTDOOR WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AMZRICA, NUMEROUS SHOOTING AND SPORTSMEN’S CLUBS; HONORARY MEMBER, AUTOMOBILE-CLUB DE FRANCE} EUGENE FIELD SOCIETY, BLACK FOREST CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA, AND OTHERS; FIREARMS TECHNICIAN AND CONSULTANT; TORMER FIREARMS EDITOR OF WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE; MEMBER, TECHNICAL DIVISION STATE, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATIONHARRY M, POPE CHATS WITH THE AUTHOR AT CAMP PERRY. THAT HAT IS FORTY YEARS OLD AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN WORN BY POPE WHILE SHOOTING A MATCH. IT IS HIS “GOOD LUCK" EMBLEMCovveiear, 1937DEDICATED TO HARRY M. POPE (The Old Master) Tt is doubtful if any one individual has done as much for the shooting game as Harry M. Pope, that barrel maker and match shooter who for more than sixty years has been an active member of the shooting fra- ternity. Failing eyesight and the encroachments of Time have not dulled his keen understanding of shooting problems—or his skill at his favorite old lathe. The expert handloader knows that experimental firing will locate one load which shoots betcer in his gun than any other, H. M. Pope learned that before most of us were born. At the turn of the century when Pope was most active as.a commercial barrel maker, he developed the most accurate load for each barrel, He knew what variations in cascs, in bullets, in primers and in powder could do to accuracy. So he found the best combination—and the new data went with cach barrel. And so to that Little Old Man in New Jersey, with recollections of many happy evenings listening to his yarns of yesteryear, this volume is respectfully dedicated. There will be but one H. M. Pope. ‘Tue AutHorCONTENTS PART ONE 1. PROBLEMS OF THE HANDLOADER Importance of safcty—Damage to guns through overloading —Types of tools available—Speed versus precision—Experimental handloading—Beyin with little equipment and build up— Handloading permits shooter to bring out finest accuracy of firearms Tl, EQUIPMENT, FIXTURES, SUPPLIES . Building a loading bench—Making bench tools remmovahle—Tasialling a filing system —Fs- sential equipment for the beginner—Preparing record forms—Necessary small tools—Vises— Handling primers—Screw drivers—Grinding wheels—Patience and intelligence * Il. THE CARTRIDGE CASE—ITS DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURE History of the brass cartridge case—Development of the percussion primer—First successful riméire cartridge—Frankford Arsenal developments—Coming of the outside centerfire car- tridge—The Berdan primer—Description of cartridge-case manufacture—Types of cases IV. CASE INSPECTION AND PREPARATION . Use of magnifying glass—Examining case necks—Primer pocket inspection—Case resizing — For revolvers, automatics, and rifles—Effect of mercury on cartridge cases—Effect of pressure —Bullet tension—Flash holes—Crimped primers—Cleaning primer pockets V. ALTERATION AND ADAPTATION OF SPECIAL CASES Cases for foreign tifls—The Berdan primer pocket problem—Use of American components in foreign cartcidges—Obsolete cartridg-s—Smokeless powders and old-timers—Types of powder for old-timers—Loading of old-time weapons not a beginner's job VI. PRIMERS—DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURE Romance of the primer—Development of the percussion cap—T'he pinfire cartridge—Black powder primers not suited to smokeless—Mercurie primers spoil cases when used with smoke- Jess powder—The first successful smokeless primer—Value of shocting glasses VIL. ‘THE NON-CORROSIVE PRIMER Chemical difference beeween corrosive and non corrosive primers —What happens when fir ing pin strikes a primer—Methods of handling non-corrosive primers—Safety precautions— Decapping primed shells—Dangers in rapid primer seating—Reason for hangfires and mis- fires—Inaccurate loads due to careless priming VII. CASTING BULLETS .... Bullet moulds—Breaking in a mould—Necessary equipment—Meking and alloying bullet metal—Potter Brinell Metal Tester—Merit Gas Stove Melting Pot—The Miller Caster—Lacy Ivallet storage trays—Care and storage of moulds—Removing greas: from moulds IX. BULLET SIZING AND LUBRICATING How and why bullets are sized—Experiments with oil-containing lubricants—Tested for- molas—Grease wads—Graphite wads—Colloidal graphite wads—Grease wads in high-veloc- ity cartridges—Using Dictaphone records—Kake-Kutter—Lubricating machines—Sizing dies ix b a 4 48 60 66 81. CONTENTS cmarmn, X. LEAD, GAS-CHECK, HOLLOW-BASE, HOLLOW-POINT, AND PATCHED BULLETS ........ Different types of cast bullets —Swaged bullets-—Gas check bullets Oversize bullets —Hol- Jow-base bullet becoming obsolete—History of hollow-point type—How moulds arc mado— Game tests with hollow-nase bullet—Explosive bullets—Paper-patched bullet—Types. of patches—“National” wire-patched bullet XI. METAL-CASE BULLETS—TARGET AND HUNTING. Types of metaljacketed bullets—Gilding metal—Cupro-nickel—Lubaloy and Nobeloy jack- ets—Metal fouling—Bullets for different kinds of game—Target bullets—Altering or doctor- ing bullets—Wounding effect of the Spitzer bullet—Metal-jacketed bullets in handguns XIL SEATING OF BULLETS . beet ecstbeeeceeccterteeseseeese Importance of proper seating —Throat of the rifing—Effect of wear on the throat—Testing throat wear and leade length—Use of micrometers—Seating depth affects loading density— Effect of bullet contour on pressures—Methods of straight-line seating XIIL POWDER—ITS HISTORY AND TYPES . Becon’s original formula—Revelutionary War powder—Development of the American pow der industry—Formation of Du Pont combincs and absorbtion of small companies—Gun Powder Trade Association—Break-up of Du Pont combine—Early American sporting powders—Cocoa powder XIV. THE MANUFACTURE AND USE OF BLACK AND SEMISMOKELESS POWDERS Early American formulas for homeranuéactured gunpowder —White gunpowder—Chlorate gunpowders—Early semi-smokeless powders—King’s semi-smokeless—Lesmok powder-~Dar gers of black and related powders XV. HISTORY OF SMOKELESS POWDER ........ Smokeless powder history related to that of dynamite—Early guncotton plants—Explosions in carly factories—Eacly American smokeless powders—Smokcless powder made of paper Gelatinized powders—Early Nobel powders—Maxim powder—Various kinds of Cordite-. Development of coated powders XVI SMOKELESS POWDER DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES ‘American powder history—Velox powder—Union Metallic Cartridge Company —Develup. ment of Lightning, Shazpshooter, Unique, and Infallible—Consolidation of powder makers Army specifications for carly Krag powders—Du Pont and the Hercules Powder Company: Cordite manufacture XVII. MANUFACTURE AND USE OF BULK, SINGLE-BASE, AND DOUBLE-BASE POWDERS ....... Characteristics of dense powders—Manufacturing bulk powder—Method of geanulation— Blending—Testing—Laboratory-tested loads available for every handloader—Nitrocellulose versus nitroglycerine powders—Primer more responsible for crosion XVII. SMOKELESS POWDERS FOR THE HANDLOADER Description, history, characteristics and loading instructions for fifty-eight American smoke- less powders adapted to home use XIX. STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION, AND HANDLING OF POWDERS ‘Smokeless powders barred from the mails—Shipping regulations—Deterioration—Methods of storage—Dangers of shaking powders—Cleaning salvaged powder—Sifting powders to remove dust—Smokeless powser may be shipped by express—Storing and handling 128 133 137 I41 146 152. WyCONTENTS conarran, ‘XX. POWDER BALANCES AND SCALES Difference between balances and scales—Types of balances—Methods of using—Tests with balances not properly leveled—Use of weights—Powder scales—List of balance and scale makers—Good low-priced instruments—Bureau of Standards requirements for weights I, POWDER MEASURES AND THEIR USE Barly scoop powder measurer—Using cartridge cases as charge eupe—Recent developments in measures—Multiple measuzes—T'he human elemen—Suggestions for accuracy—Maxi- mum charges should never be measured—Care and storage of a powder measure XXII. COMMERCIAL LOADING TOOLS AND THEIR USE ...... Essential items in loading tools Homemade loading tools—What one handloader made— Tong type tools—Bench type cquipment—Description of the various loading tools now on the marke:—Automatic _priming—Interchangeable dies—Selecting a tool XXII. DIES AND GAUGES Importance of micrometers—Different micrometers available—Corstruction of a micrometer —How to use onc—Using the vernier to read in ter-thousandths—Headspace gauges— Bullet spinners—Reaming case necks—Taroat gauges for rifles—Marking stamps and dies XXIV. THE HEADSPACE PROBLEM IN HANDLOADING Factory tolerances in cartridges—Headsgace in rimmed versus rimless cartridges—Trouble through excessive headspace—Dangers—Determining breech-face pressure or thrust—Exces- sive headspace weakens cases—Primers often indicate excessive headspace XXYV. THIS PRESSURE PROBLEM . Pressure versus safety—Cartsidge case the weak point—What hapoens when a cartridge case ruptures—Strength of the Springfield action—Pressure guns—Faults of the present sys- tem of taking pressures—Handloading safe if done with intelligence XXVI. REDUCED, MID-RANGE, AND TARGET LOADS—REASON AND IMPOR- TANCE Reduced loads create the allaround gun—Limits of reduced loads—They increase barrel life—Prankford Arsenal gallery load for 30/06—Diferent powders for reduced loads—Bul- lets—Elevating muzzle for light charyes—Small game hunting—Target loads XXVIL OBSOLETE BLACK POWDER AND FOREIGN CARTRIDGES................. Reloading important with foreign rifles—European methods of decapping—Altering Berdan primer pockets—Measuring barrel groove diameter—Resizing. bullets for special calibers— Smokeless powders in black powder sifles—Revolver cartridges loaded with black powder XXVIIL FOULING AND ITS CLEANING PROBLEMS Guncleaning still necessary—Non-corrosive primers no excuse for neglect—Primer fouling — Powder fouling—Mctal fouling—Eflect of metal fouling on accuracy—Cleaning patches— Brushes, brass and hog-bristle—Keeping the barrel clean—Removal of leading XXIX, HANDGUN AMMUNITION 200..000.000:0ccccccteeecee Reloading various loads—Care necessary—Revolvers versus automatic pistols—Effect of overloads in revolvers—Improvement in steels—Neck expansion after resizing—Types of handgun primers and pockets—Powders for handgun loading—Importance of crimp XXX. MAGNUM HANDGUN AND RIFLE POSSIBILITIES Field of siagaum ammfoition—Tcelligence requized in planning magnum loads—Dangers —Scrength of modern lever-rifle mechanisms—Reason for abandonment of Winchester Model 95 30/06—Improvements in the Springfield—Magnurn handgun loads 184 197 208 232 246 252 237 264 269 273.