mystery of the .380 acp - rifle magazine of the .380 acp all about brass a modern look at two...

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February 2012 No. 276Rifle Magazine Presents - HANDLOADER

Display until 03/10/2012 Printed in USA7 25274 01240 4

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NEW 1911s!The Latest from Remington and Ruger

Mystery of the .380 ACP

All AboutBrass

A Modern Look atTwo Old.40s!

4 Handloader 276

AMMUNAMMUNITITIIONON REL RELOOAADDIING NG JOJOURURNNAL AL

February 2012Volume 47, Number 1

ISSN 0017-7393 Issue No. 276

Page 38 . . .

Page 64 . . .

Page 46 . . .

Background Photo: © 2011 Vic Schendel

24 Case Trimming Mike’s Shootin’ Shack - Mike Venturino

26 Battle of the .45 Colt Bulge From the Hip - Brian Pearce

30 The Mystery of the .380 ACP Pistol Pointers - Charles E. Petty

32 The “Latest” 1911s New Pistols from Ruger and Remington Charles E. Petty

38 Getting Down to Cases The Joys (and Sorrows) of Brass Terry Wieland

46 Investigating the Lever Revolution Rubber-Tipped Bullets for Leverguns Mike Venturino

56 .257 Weatherby Magnum Handloads for a Hot Rod John Haviland

8 The Mysterious .44s Reloader’s Press - Dave Scovill

12 .401 Herter’s Powermag Bullets & Brass - Brian Pearce

16 .240 Weatherby Magnum Cartridge Board - Gil Sengel

20 Alliant’s AR-Comp Propellant Profiles - R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.

Publisher of Handloader™ is not responsible for mishaps of any nature that might occur from use of published load-ing data or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproduced withoutwritten permission from the publisher. Publisher assumes all North American Rights upon acceptance and paymentfor all manuscripts. Although all possible care is exercised, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mu-tilated manuscripts.

Issue No. 276 February 2012

AMMUNAMMUNITITIIONON REL RELOOAADDIING NG JOJOURURNNAL AL Publisher/President – Don Polacek

Publishing Consultant – Mark HarrisEditor in Chief – Dave Scovill

Associate Editor – Lee J. HootsManaging Editor – Roberta Scovill

Assisting Editor – Al MillerSenior Art Director – Gerald HudsonProduction Director – Becky Pinkley

Contributing EditorsJohn Haviland Ron SpomerBrian Pearce Stan TrzoniecCharles E. Petty R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.Clair Rees Mike VenturinoGil Sengel Ken Waters Terry Wieland

AdvertisingAdvertising Director - Stefanie Ramsey

[email protected] Representative - Tom Bowman

[email protected] Information: 1-800-899-7810

CirculationCirculation Manager – Luree McCann

[email protected] Information: 1-800-899-7810

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Handloader® (ISSN 0017-7393) is published bi-monthlyby Polacek Publishing Corporation, dba Wolfe Pub-lishing Company (Don Polacek, Pres ident), 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona 86301 (also pub-lisher of Rifle® magazine). Tele phone: (928) 445-7810.Periodical Postage paid at Prescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices. Subscription prices: U.S.possessions – single issue, $5.99; 6 issues, $22.97; 12issues, $39.00. Foreign and Canada – single issue,$5.99; 6 issues $29.00; 12 issues, $51.00. Please allow8-10 weeks for first issue. Advertising rates furnishedon request. All rights reserved.Change of address: Please give six weeks notice.Send both the old and new address, plus mailinglabel if possible, to Circulation Dept., Handloader®Magazine, 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona86301. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hand-loader®, 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona86301.Canadian returns: PM #40612608. Pitney Bowes,

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Wolfe Publishing Co.2180 Gulfstream, Ste. APrescott, AZ 86301Tel: (928) 445-7810 Fax: (928) 778-5124© Polacek Publishing Corporation

0Page 38Page 64

Background Photo: © 2011 Vic Schendel6 Handloader 276

On the cover . . .A pair of “new” .45 ACPs: a stainless Ruger SR1911 and a Remington R1 Enhanced model. Pistol photos by Charles E. Petty. Backgroundphoto by Terry Wieland.

Page 82 . . .

64 Modernizing Two Old .40s Velocity may be surprising. John Barsness

72 Ruger LCR .38 Special Loads for a Lightweight Revolver Brian Pearce

79 2011 Master Index

82 Thunderbolts of Jupiter In Range - Terry Wieland

Handloader 27616 www.handloadermagazine.com

Much of the rifle-shootingpublic is enamored of bullet

velocity. Caliber or weight makeno difference – just increase muz-zle speed. Then increase it somemore. Rise of this idea came in theformative years of smokelesspowder cartridges. Rifle folk ex-perienced how increased velocitygave flatter trajectory. Hitting atarget became easier. The numberof shooters walking around sport-ing scarred facial features, lessthan the normal number of fingersor a patch over one eye caused byburst barrels and failed actionsthat had been designed for blackpowder didn’t slow the trend onebit.

Earliest smokeless rounds de-signed solely for varmints (easternwoodchucks) were wildcats, allintent on higher velocity. In Amer-ica the premier varmint round be-came the black-powder .22 WCFfilled with smokeless and calledthe .22 Hornet. All, however, werewind sensitive.

The next widest bullet above .22was then .25 caliber. Lightweightslugs of this size were not very ac-curate at long range, yet heaviernumbers increased recoil and noiseconsiderably. An in-between cal-

iber was obvious, but it was notgoing to happen because varminthunters were handloaders. Fac-tory ammunition sales of a newcartridge would be small, and it is no secret that ammunition iswhere the money is in the gunbusiness.

Then, during development of the7.62 NATO, which became the .308Winchester, Olin necked the newcase down to many different cal-ibers. Among these was the 6mm.In 1955 the result was introducedas the .243 Winchester.

The .243 Winchester became ahowling success, but not becauseof its varmint application. Win-chester marketed it as a combina-tion deer/varmint round – heavyaccent on the deer part. It waslight-recoiling deer rifles that sold guns and factory ammuni-tion. If there is any doubt, look atthe competition, the .244 Reming-ton. It came with a slower riflingtwist that gave better accuracy tovarmint-weight bullets but wouldnot perfectly stabilize heavier slugs.More varminters probably ownedand shot .244s than .243s in theearly years; nevertheless, the car-tridge failed to sell because of theheavy bullet thing. Deer hunters

buy factory rifles and factory ammunition; varmint hunters re-barrel rifles and handload ammu-nition.

Roy Weatherby wisely waited afew years to see how the newrounds fared with shooters. Thusit wasn’t until 1968 that the new.240 Weatherby Magnum becamereality. Despite the .240 number,the rifle had standard 6mm (.236inch) bore and .243-inch groovediameters.

What was not standard was thecase. Being a Weatherby Magnum,belted brass was a given. How-ever, one of slightly smaller thanH&H diameter was a surprise. Beltand rim are .470 inch across ratherthan the .532 inch of H&H beltedcases. Handloaders familiar withcartridge dimensions will recog-nize this as the base diameter ofthe .30-06. Case length is nom inally2.5 inches and has the Weatherbytrademark double-radius shoul-der.

Now why would Weatherby incurthe significant expense of pro -ducing a new case when simplynecking down the .257 WeatherbyMagnum is so obvious? Researchseems to indicate that someone atWeatherby (probably Roy himself,and probably from “events” hiscustomers had reported) was wellaware of the then-mysterious blow -ups of rifles occurring when nor-mal charges of very slow burningpowders were cut back, leavingmore airspace in the case. Lightbullets and long throats alsoseemed to play a part.

Since the .257 Weatherby hadmore than enough powder capac-ity for .25-caliber bullets, neckingit to 6mm would only make the sit-uation worse. Then too, unlike thecompany’s other rounds, a 6mm

CARTRIDGE BOARD by Gil Sengel • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

.240 WEATHERBY MAGNUM

February-March 2012 17www.handloadermagazine.com

would definitely be used on var - mints with light-bullet handloads.The .257 necked down left a lot ofairspace with such loads. Anotherhint was that the .240 Weatherbylacked the long freebore section inits throat, a feature common to allother rifles Weatherby sold thatchambered Weatherby cartridges.

So the .240 Weatherby uses along, thin, belted case having thecapacity of the .30-06. Wildcatterswill see it as just the 6mm-06, created long ago to fire 6mm LeeNavy bullets. The number .240probably came from an old (1920’s)Holland & Holland cartridge called“Hollands 240 Magnum Rimless”or sometimes “240 H&H Apex.” Italso used a small diameter beltedcase but not quite the same as theWeatherby.

Another odd fact is that virtuallyevery writer who covered the in-troduction of the .240 Weatherbyindicated he had previous knowl-edge of the round and/or had some-

thing to do with its development.It is true that George Nonte, au-thor of Home Guide to CartridgeConversions, formed the first .240sfrom .30-06 cases so Weatherbycould test the round.

Factory ammunition began witha 70-grain pointed softpoint givinga muzzle velocity of 3,850 fps.

Then came a 90-grain softpoint at3,500 fps and a similar 100-grainershowing 3,395 fps. Powder wasstated to be Norma 205; barrellength, 26 inches. In comparison,.243 Winchester 100-grain bulletswere listed at 3,070 fps and .244Remington 100-grainers at 3,190fps. This meant Weatherby’s bullet

.240 Weatherby Magnum

Cartridge DimensionsA - Overall Length -------------3.080B - Case Length----------------2.496C - Length to Neck------------2.215D - Length to Shoulder-------2.043

E - Rim Diameter ----------------.472F - Head Diameter --------------.453G - Shoulder Diameter ---------.429H - Neck Diameter --------------.272I - Shoulder Angle --------43°52’4”

ABC

D

F HG

E

I


was still traveling at about thesame velocity at 100 yards as theothers were at the muzzle. Energyfigures saw the Weatherby ex-ceeding the others by 13 to nearly20 percent at all ranges.

The .243 and .244 were onlyloaded with 80-grain bullets, butthe .240 exceeded those speedswith its heavier 90-grain number.Weatherby’s 70-grain softpoint hadno competition early on, giving amidrange trajectory of only 3.9inches at 300 yards. The only com-parable round was the .220 Swift’s48-grain bullet at 4,110 fps.

Weatherby factory ammunitionis loaded by Norma. Thus Euro-pean standards for maximum pres-sure apply. Both copper crusherand transducer methods are used.When results are converted to U.S.measurements, the .240 Weath-erby registers 55,000 CUP (crusher)and 63,400 psi (transducer). Thisis essentially the same as mod -ern magnums like the .300 Win-chester. Handloaders need beaware, however, that maximumpowder charges will vary depend-ing upon bullet construction. Use

only maximum powder loads thathave been tested with the exactbullet in question.

Thus the .240 Weatherby accom-plished exactly what Weatherbycartridges are famous for – givingnotably higher velocity and energythan standard factory rounds ofequal caliber. Such performance,however, comes at a price: bulletperformance. Many hunters tendto buy rifle/cartridge combina-tions that will kill the intendedgame at 350 yards, then actuallyshoot the critter at 100. Close up,bullets come apart unpredictably.If jackets are made tough enoughto stand the short-range encoun-ters, a bullet may not open at all atlonger distances. Weatherby be-came an early user of custom bul-lets designed to solve this problem.

In 1979 Weatherby added twonew bullets to the .240’s list: aNosler 85-grain Partition at 3,500fps and a similar 100-grainer at3,395 fps. Being a bit less stream-lined than the other softpoints,speeds dropped off slightly fasterbut not enough for a 100-yard deerto notice. The rear of the bullet be-hind the partition held togetherand kept on penetrating. A lot ofdead closeup things resulted. Ofcourse, the front of the Noslerwould still expand on long-rangeshots.

The 85-grain Nosler was droppedin 1981; the 75-grain softpoint in1985. So much for the varmintshooting aspect, at least from fac-tory ammunition users. Today theline is larger than ever, including aBarnes 85-grain TSX, Hornady 87-grain Spire Point, Nosler 95-grainBallistic Tip, Hornady 100-grainSpire Point and Nosler 100-grainPartition. Brass is also available.

Many have opined that the .240Weatherby is dead, but factoryammunition availability/sales don’tshow it. The Mark V is still avail-able in Ultra Lightweight form so-chambered, and the Vanguard linewill add it in early 2012. I’d saysuch pronouncements are morethan a little premature.

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The Joys (and Sorrows) of Brass

GettingDown toCases


This .50-90 brass made by Starlineis almost finished, awaiting the

punching of the flash holes.

GettingDown toCases


Ping for millions of rounds, production of other car-tridges may be delayed for months, years or indefi-nitely. The structure of this process not only explainswhy some calibers periodically go into short supply,but it also explains why brass in different calibersfrom the same company may vary in quality.

With brass cases, consistency of quality, in terms ofhardness especially, is very important. If there is aglitch of some kind in the production of a particularrun, then every case in that run may exhibit a problem;yet, another caliber produced by the same companyat the same time may be perfectly good. Usually, thisis the result of an annealing problem – ensuring thebrass is the right hardness throughout the productionprocess, and that the brass that goes out the door isthe right degree of hardness from the neck down.

Starline Brass in Sedalia, Missouri, is a small spe-cialty maker of brass, producing a relatively short listof available calibers but of exceedingly high quality.Starline tends to produce brass other companies avoidbecause the demand is small, such as .40-65 or .50-90.Starline recently invested in a new furnace with a wideconveyor belt that allows brass to be spread outevenly for heat-treating between draws.

“We used to heat them in large containers, but it wasdifficult to get consistency,” I was told by Hunter Pilant,Starline’s media-relations officer. “When you heatbrass that way, the cases on the outside heat morequickly than those in the center. With this new ma-chine and furnace, quality is very uniform and easy tomaintain.”

This consistency of quality and ease of operation,however, come at a price. Such a facility is a big in-vestment that is generally beyond the capability ofsmall outfits that produce brass a few thousand casesat a time.

Different shooters have different requirements intheir brass cases, but some are common to all. A hunterwith a century-old rifle simply wants cases that fit hischamber and is grateful for that. Even if he gets onlytwo or three reloads, that’s better than nothing. Abenchrest competitor, on the other hand, wants casesnot only perfectly dimensioned to a few thousandthsof an inch, but he also wants the closest possible uni-formity of weight and case capacity.

A common demand, however, is that a case be reusableas many times as possible – and even, in some in-stances, indefinitely. Some benchrest shooters use justone cartridge case in a match, reloading it at theirshooting bench between shots. Such a case will un-dergo absolute minimum resizing – considerably lessthan a hunting or general target round – so hardeningand cracking of the brass from reworking will be mod-est. Still, the brass will be stressed with every shot.

Terry Wieland

Pants are unimportant if youown some, Robert Ruark oncefamously observed, but very,very important if you do not.

Ruark was not a handloader, but his insight appliesequally to that commonplace commodity we rathercavalierly dismiss as brass. Happy is the man with anample and high-quality supply of cartridge cases forhis rifle or pistol, but woe betide the man who doesnot.

In recent years, the making of brass cases has be-come much more democratic than in the past, as more and more small companies have entered thefield, supplying cartridge cases for obsolete calibers,rare guns, wildcats or proprietary cartridges. Some ofthis brass is first-rate; others – well, not so good. Andsome – almost worthless.

Fifty years ago, brass was sold mostly by large com-panies that also produced loaded ammunition, suchas Winchester, Remington or Sweden’s Norma. Suchbrass, manufactured in large lots to strict quality re-quirements, set a very high standard. Winchester brasshas always been regarded as the best available in theUnited States, and Norma brass is equally good. Thisis not to denigrate Federal, Hornady, Remington orRWS, but over the years Winchester and Norma simplybecame bywords for good brass.

Having such large companies as your sole source ofbrass, however, is a two-edged sword. Certainly theyproduce quality brass in large quantities, but if de-mand drops off, they may stop making it altogether,because they cannot justify turning out the largebatches (at least 250,000 cases at a crack), which theirproduction managers insist upon.

A large company typically has a limited number ofmachines that are used to produce all its cases. Whenthe time comes, the machines are tooled up for a par-ticular caliber, and the company does a productionrun. These cases go into inventory, which is drawnfrom for years hence. The machines are then retooledfor a different caliber. Some cartridges, such as .38Special, .45 Auto and .308 Winchester, are in such de-mand that they are produced continuously – or be-come the default for the machines when they are notneeded for something else.

More arcane calibers, though, such as .225 Winches-ter or 8mm Remington, may be produced in large lots,but it will be sporadic. Hence, a caliber may be soldout and remain out of stock for some months, until an-other production run is scheduled. If, in the meantime,the company lands a large government contract call-


It is important that the base of thecase be hard enough to withstandpressure without expanding un-duly. We don’t really want the weband the head of the case to changeshape when the rifle is fired, onlythe case walls forward of the webthat expand to temporarily gripthe chamber walls and provide aseal. So, in annealing cases, while

the metal expands or is resized, itbecomes a little bit harder, even-tually becoming brittle and proneto splitting. The more the metal isworked (through full-length re -sizing, for example) the quicker it becomes brittle.

The answer to this problem isheat treatment. Heating the brassand then allowing it to cool an-neals the metal, returning it to itssoft state (see sidebar).

There is another factor to be con-sidered, which is that we don’twant a brass case to be the samehardness from one end to the other.

GettingDown toCases

Ensuring thateach flash holeis punchedcleanly andperfectly cen-tered requiresmachinery beyond thereach of the averagegarage brassmaker.

CARE OF BRASS1. Clean brass using either com-mercial cleaners marketedby shooting companies andwarranted safe for brass casesor non-chemical materials,such as ground corncob.

2. Do not use any cleaner con-taining ammonia.

3. When using either older prim -ers or propellants, clean casesas soon as possible after everyfiring.

4. When reloading such cases,examine each one closelyevery time, looking for signsof deterioration. These in-clude corrosion, discolorationand tiny cracks.

5. With old brass, keep pres-sures low to minimize stress.If new brass is available forolder rifles, use it whereverpossible and relegate old brassand ammunition to collectors.•

A hunter loading big cartridgesfor a dangerous-game rifle shouldfull-length resize every time andapply a solid crimp as well. Thisworks the brass, hardening it pro-gressively. That is a small price topay, however, for the absolute de-pendability that is paramount witha rifle for animals that bite, kick,stomp and gore. Here is where weget into metallurgy and the factorsthat make brass good or bad.

Brass is an alloy of copper andzinc (bronze is copper and tin) andone of the oldest alloys known toman. As such, there are not manymysteries about it. Like lead, an-nealed copper is a “dead” metal;change its shape, and it stayschanged. A “live” metal, like steel(an alloy of iron and various otheringredients) bounces back. It isductile.

Brass is also a live metal, and itis this ability to expand and pro-vide a pressure seal, but bounceback to its original shape, thatmakes brass ideal for cartridgecases. There is, however, a draw-back: Brass is susceptible to be-coming work-hardened. Every time

The production floor at Starline.Making top-quality brass requiresa substantial investment in bothequipment and staff.


Left, .45 Autobrass is on theconveyor beltentering Star-line’s heat-treat-ment furnace.Right, drawnbrass cupsemerging fromthe furnace,where they areheat-treated be-tween drawings.Note the severe oxidation. Thismust be cleaned off before thecups go to the next stage. Belowright, finished .45 Auto brass.

Winchester, Remingtonand Norma brass,

manufactured in largelots to strict quality

requirements, set a veryhigh standard.

we want the mouth, neck andprobably the shoulder of the casereturned to a soft state, we mostemphatically do not want the headand web softened.

In manufacturing brass, a com-pany like Starline pays close at -tention to the condition of thebrass throughout each operation.

A case begins with a flat disk ofbrass resembling an unstruck coin.Through a succession of sharpblows in several dies, the disk isdrawn out into a cup – at first wideand shallow, then progressivelynarrower and longer. Each of thesedrawings work-hardens the cup tosome extent. Periodically, the cupsare run through the furnace on aconveyor belt, being heated to theoptimum level for annealing, thenreturned to the forming processfor further drawings.

When the case has been finallyshaped, given its headstamp,groove, primer pocket and flashhole, and the neck sized, it re-ceives a final specific heat treat-ment that leaves the base and webhard but the neck and walls rel -atively soft. Such treatment dis -colors the brass (it resembles a

purplish bruise), which is usuallypolished off and the brass given abright shine before it is packed.Sometimes you find brass with theheat marks left on. It is not a prob-lem.

In the 1960s brass for many car-tridges became difficult to find. InBritain, Kynoch discontinued mostof its large African cartridges. Inthe U.S., older rounds like the .40-65 fell off the lists. If cases couldnot be manufactured from someexisting round, a final option (andone that is spoken of blithely as ifit is no problem at all) is to turn acase on a lathe from bar stock.

This sounds good when you say

it quickly, but if you stop and think about it, a host of problemspromptly rear their ugly heads.First is the structure of the metalitself. A case drawn from a disk, asdescribed above, is not only work-hardened by the experience, butit’s also given some of the qualitiesforging affords to steel. By beinghammered into shape, the metal’s

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making .222 Remington on a lathe;usually, you would drill a straighthole of about .224 inch diameterand machine the case around it.Although externally it might havethe necked shape of the .222, itwould have a chamber about thesize of the .22 Hornet. It wouldmean working up entirely newloading data based on consider-ably smaller capacity.

With really large cartridges likethe .600 Nitro Express, brass shot-shells or large, low-pressure roundslike an eight- or four-bore (where,obviously, not many shots will befired anyway), turning cases on a

lathe might be practical. But it isnot cheap, not easy and not verysatisfactory. About the best onecan say is, it’s better than nothing.

Even in extreme examples ofcase-forming, where you might be-gin with a large rimmed case andthen hammer, bludgeon, squeezeand compress it down into a small,rimless, bottleneck case, the grainof the metal remains intact, thecase’s structural integrity is pre-served, and it will be capable ofmultiple loadings, even at substan-tial pressures.

As mentioned, there is goodbrass and bad brass. The differ-ence is almost always the heat

GettingDown toCases

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The top case shows the dire effectsof corrosion from black powderand corrosive primers.

Although not directly related toheat treating, head separations,such as occurred with these .300Weatherby cases, is partly the re-sult of excessive pressure, partlycase stretching and work harden-ing the brass through resizing.

grain is made to flow uniformly,affording it greater longitudinalstrength and ductility.

Cases turned on a lathe will nothave this grain structure and, re-gardless of heat treating, will neverbe as ductile and durable as adrawn case. The second problemis getting the case walls thinenough; look at the mouth of acase like the .45-70 and imaginetrying to turn it on a lathe andhave absolute uniformity.

Usually, a chamber hole is drilledin the bar stock, considerablysmaller than SAAMI specificationsfor the case, and the case is thenturned to shape around it. Imagine

These .303 Savage cases, head-stamped “OWS,” split on first firing, indicating the case wallsare too hard and brittle – a failureof heat treating.Some ammunition makers do not

polish cases after final annealing.This has the advantage of indicat-ing the cases have, in fact, beenannealed.


treating (or lack thereof) and nota problem with the basic brassalloy itself. One of the most obvi-ous symptoms of bad brass is casesplitting on the first or second fir-ing. Some years ago I bought (atgreat expense) some newly made.303 Savage brass. At the time,.303 Savage was like hen’s teeth.In Canada, a box of 20 rounds oforiginal Imperial .303 Savage am-munition was selling for $80 to$100, and owners of Savage rifleswere grateful to get it at the price.Alas, most of those worthies werenot handloaders (how you couldnot be, in that situation, is beyondme) and threw the once-used brassaway!

At any rate, I found some newOWS (Old Western Scrounger).303 Savage brass, bought a box ofit and loaded 10 rounds. Threesplit on first firing. The splits wereup to an inch long, running longi-tudinally from just forward of theweb to just behind the shoulder.

Such splitting is the result ofbrass that is too hard or brittle as

ANNEALING BRASS

It sometimes becomes necessaryto anneal brass, either becauseit is too hard and splitting or be-cause it has become work-hard-ened from repeated firing andresizing.

Unlike tempering steel, anneal-ing brass is relatively simple, butit does require care to avoid un-duly softening the web and headof the case. The best way is tostand cases in a flat pan contain-ing cold water, leaving about aninch of the case above the water.The cases should be deprimed toallow water into the case itself.

Using a propane torch, heat themouth of each case to what iscalled “worm red.” This is a dull,rather than cherry, red. The red-ness may reach down to the shoul-der. Then move on to the next one,leaving each case to cool naturally.It is not necessary to tip them intothe water to cool them. The mouths

of the cases will reach about 1,000degrees; the water will graduallyheat up, allowing the bases to reachabout 200 degrees, but this doesnot hurt them.

Some articles have appeared sug-gesting the cases be stood in oil,

and then tipped into the oil to coolthem. This accomplishes nothingand makes it necessary to cleanthe oil off the cases afterward.

Do not place cases in an oven inan attempt to anneal them. Thiswill soften the entire case.

a result of poor annealing. The an-swer (assuming you cannot returnthe brass for a refund and lookelsewhere) is to try to soften thenew brass before firing. This mayor may not work but, like turning

brass on a lathe, may be the onlyoption.

I was told the OWS brass wasmade by Bertram, yet a few yearsafter my experience with the .303

Annealing brass cases is simple with a steel pan, cold water and apropane torch. Care must be taken not to overheat and soften the head and web of the case.

•


GettingDown toCases

A hunter loading big cartridges for dangerousgame should full-length

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.302 .338 .375 .416

Simple AdditionNow one Universal Charge Bar forlead shot, steel shot and bismuth!Add the Model “C/CS” or “D/DS” to your MECshotshell reloader for just $31.95 and you won’thave to spend the $300+ to buy 42 powderbushings and 23 standard charge bars. Eachbar comes with a Powder & Shot Chart with487 settings.

Model C/CS works with MEC 600 Jr.,Sizemaster 77, etc. Model D/DS works withMEC Grabber, MEC 650, etc.

Models “C/CS” and “D/DS”Features & Benefits:• Handles all gauges.• Lead shot capacity: 1/2 oz to 2 1/4 oz.• Steel shot capacity: 1/2 oz to 1 1/2 oz.• Powder capacity: 12 grs. to 55 grs.• 3-year guarantee...but it will last a lifetime!• Available at major shooting sports distributorsand gun dealers.

Multi-ScaleCharge Ltd.Precision productsthat add up to bigsavings for you.

Add one of thesebars to your MEC Reloaderand save more than $300!For more information on all ourproducts ask your dealer or write to..

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Powder Baffle $10.95Bar without Baffle $34.95Bar with Baffle $38.95

There are other reasons whybrass cases become brittle andsplit. Some handloaders insist onhaving cases that are as brightlypolished as a new penny and re-sort to using polishes like Brassoto achieve this. Any such polishthat contains ammonia will reactwith the brass to make it brittle.

Some priming compounds reactwith the ingredients of variouspropellants, such as black powder,and cause either corrosion or hid-den deterioration in the brass case.Similarly, anyone shooting old mil-itary ammunition should inves -tigate the type of priming and,failing that, pay close attention forany sign of brass deterioration.

This topic could make an entireseparate article. Suffice to say, mod-ern primers with smokeless pow-ders cause no such problems.

Savage, I bought some Bertram.40-70 Straight Sharps brass andhave had nary a problem with it.Such inconsistency is a frequentcomplaint not only about Bertrambut about other small brass mak-ers as well. This is not to condemn,in any way, smaller brass man -ufacturers. Anything but! I willgladly deal with such difficulties ifthat’s what it takes to keep riflesshooting without recourse to mak-ing cartridge cases myself.

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– I N D E X –t o V o l u m e 4 6

Issue Numbers 270 to 275February 2011 to January 2012

BALLISTICS

Light Shot Loads in the 16 Gauge.............No. 271, p. 74

BLACK POWDER

Handloading Black-Powder Shotshells .....No. 271, p. 46

BOOK REVIEWS

Column

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook,4th Edition .............................................No. 274, p. 84

CARTRIDGE BOARD

Column

7mm-08 Remington .................................No. 270, p. 249mm Federal, The Short, Unhappy Life.....No. 274, p. 16.358 Norma Magnum................................No. 271, p. 28.360-21⁄4-Inch Express ...............................No. 272, p. 169.3x57mm Mauser....................................No. 273, p. 34.500 Smith & Wesson Magnum................No. 275, p. 24

CAST BULLETS

Bullet Casting Basics ................................No. 271, p. 52Cast Bullet Designs ...................................No. 273, p. 42Cast Bullets Below the Neck......................No. 270, p. 50Sharps Cartridges .....................................No. 274, p. 50

COMPONENTS

Case Preparation.......................................No. 272, p. 74Handloading with Accurate Powders ........No. 273, p. 50Keeping Old Rimfires Burning...................No. 274, p. 68Mistakes and Misconceptions...................No. 271, p. 68

FROM THE HIP

Column

Case Life ...................................................No. 271, p. 32Choosing a Bullet for Big Game ................No. 273, p. 28Handgun Barrel Length Versus Velocity....No. 270, p. 20Handgun Hunting......................................No. 272, p. 20Magnum Revolver Loads with Alliant

Power Pro 300-MP ...............................No. 274, p. 20Primer Pointers.........................................No. 275, p. 32

HANDGUNS/LOADS

(Almost) Forgotten Colt Thuer, The...........No. 272, p. 58Colt’s Big Three.........................................No. 272, p. 34Great Handgun Loads ...............................No. 274, p. 42Handloads for the Kimber Model 1911 .....No. 271, p. 60Hardballs and Oddballs .............................No. 270, p. 34Kimber Solo ..............................................No. 273, p. 36100 Years of the 1911...............................No. 271, p. 36Refugees from the Orphanage ..................No. 275, p. 64.32 H&R Magnum and .327 Federal

Magnum ...............................................No. 270, p. 58.44 WCF in Handguns ...............................No. 275, p. 36Handloading Lipsey’s .45 Colt Ruger

Blackhawk.............................................No. 275, p. 54

IN RANGE

Column

Gunpowder Plots ......................................No. 275, p. 86Hit and Miss..............................................No. 271, p. 86On the Side of Caution ..............................No. 270, p. 90Re-Creating History – with a File...............No. 274, p. 98Shooting – and Limits of Human

Ingenuity...............................................No. 272, p. 90Strange and Wondrous Projectiles............No. 273, p. 90

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Accurate Powders, Handloading with .......No. 273, p. 50

INSIDE PRODUCT NEWS

Column

Brass Magnet, The ....................................No. 272, p. 82Clay Target Thrower from

MTM CaseGard ......................................No. 272, p. 84Do-It-Yourself Custom Molded

Earplugs.................................................No. 272, p. 83Hornady Lock-N-Load Power Case Prep

Assistant ...............................................No. 273, p. 85Lyman Universal Case Prep Tool Set.........No. 272, p. 85MTM Tactical Range Box ..........................No. 273, p. 84Real Avid Gun Boss Pro Cleaning Kit ........No. 273, p. 84Steiner 10x50mm Laser Rangefinding

Binocular ..............................................No. 271, p. 80Varner Sporting Arms Tang Sight .............No. 271, p. 81

LOADING TECHNIQUES

Case Preparation.......................................No. 272, p. 74Keeping Old Rimfires Burning...................No. 274, p. 68Managing Recoil .......................................No. 274, p. 76Mistakes and Misconceptions...................No. 271, p. 68Working Up a Load in the

21st Century ..........................................No. 274, p. 60

LOADING TOOLS

Neat Tools for the Handloader...................No. 274, p. 34

MIKE’S SHOOTIN’ SHACK

Column

Good Gun Folks, The ................................No. 273, p. 32Handloading, Circa 1927...........................No. 275, p. 20Handloading Tips ......................................No. 270, p. 18Reloader or Handloader? ..........................No. 274, p. 30U.S. Army Metallic Handgun

Cartridges ..............................................No. 271, p. 24.38 Colt, aka .38 Long Colt, The................No. 272, p. 24

PISTOL POINTERS

Column

Frequently Wrong but Never in Doubt.......No. 273, p. 20How Green Is My Primer? . . ....................No. 274, p. 28How Long Will It Last? .............................No. 271, p. 20If This Gun Could Talk...............................No. 275, p. 28Seeing Sights............................................No. 270, p. 32Where Do We Learn?................................No. 272, p. 28

PRODUCT TESTS

Column

RDZ Case Trimmer....................................No. 275, p. 82

PROPELLANT PROFILES

Column

Accurate No. 9 ..........................................No. 273, p. 24Alliant Power Pro 2000-MR ......................No. 270, p. 28Alliant Power Pro 4000-MR ......................No. 271, p. 16Alliant’s Unique .........................................No. 275, p. 16Hodgdon’s LEVERevolution ......................No. 272, p. 30Ramshot’s Zip...........................................No. 274, p. 24

READER RESEARCH

From the Frugal Reloader .........................No. 270, p. 84

RELOADER’S PRESS

Column

Bullet Diameter Versus Pressure ................No. 272, p. 8Nosler, John Amos......................................No. 270, p. 8Primers .......................................................No. 274, p. 8Tomatoes for .45 ACP Ammunition.............No. 271, p. 8Utility Loads................................................No. 275, p. 8.44 and .38 WCFs Are Rifle Cartridges........No. 273, p. 8

RIFLE LOADS

Browning B78 Is Back! .............................No. 270, p. 42Cool Colt ...................................................No. 273, p. 66Handloading the .270 Winchester .............No. 272, p. 66Managing Recoil .......................................No. 274, p. 76Refugees from the Orphanage ..................No. 275, p. 64Savage .22 High Power.............................No. 270, p. 66Sharps Cartridges .....................................No. 274, p. 50.221 Remington Fireball............................No. 275, p. 46.260 Remington ........................................No. 272, p. 506.5 Creedmoor..........................................No. 272, p. 42.300 Holland & Holland Magnum..............No. 270, p. 76.303 British ...............................................No. 273, p. 74.348 Winchester........................................No. 275, p. 72

SHOTSHELLS/SHOTGUN LOADS

Handloading Black-Powder Shotshells .....No. 271, p. 46Light Shot Loads in the 16 Gauge.............No. 271, p. 74Not Just on Paper .....................................No. 273, p. 60

AUTHOR

Barsness, John – .300 Holland & Holland Magnum,

No. 270, p. 76; Mistakes and Misconceptions, No.

271, p. 68; 6.5 Creedmoor, No. 272, p. 42; .303

British, No. 273, p. 74; Working Up a Load in the

21st Century, No. 274, p. 60; .348 Winchester, No.

275, p. 72.

Chadwick, David – From the Frugal Reloader, No.

270, p. 84.

Haviland, John – Cast Bullets Below the Neck, No.

270, p. 50; Light Shot Loads in the 16 Gauge, No.

271, p. 74; .260 Remington, No. 272, p. 50; Cool

Colt, No. 273, p. 66; Managing Recoil, No. 274,

p. 76; .221 Remington Fireball, No. 275, p. 46.

Pearce, Brian – .32 H&R Magnum and .327 Fed-

eral Magnum, No. 270, p. 58; Handloads for the

Kimber Model 1911, No. 271, p. 60; Handloading

the .270 Winchester, No. 272, p. 66; Handloading

with Accurate Powders, No. 273, p. 50; Great

Handgun Loads, No. 274, p. 42; Handloading

Lipsey’s .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk, No. 275, p. 54.

From the Hip appears in issues 270 through 275.

Petty, Charles E. – 100 Years of the 1911, No. 271,

p. 36; Kimber Solo, No. 273, p. 36. Pistol Pointersappears in issues 270 through 275.

Rees, Clair – Inside Product News appears in

issues 271 through 273.

Scovill, Dave – Reloader’s Press appears in

issues 270 through 275.

Sengel, Gil – Cartridge Board appears in issues

270 through 275.

Trzoniec, Stan – The Browning B78 Is Back!, No.

270, p. 42; Neat Tools for the Handloader, No. 274,

p. 34.

VanDenburg, Jr., R.H. – Case Preparation, No.

272, p. 74. Propellant Profiles appears in issues

270 through 275.

Venturino, Mike – Hardballs and Oddballs, No. 270,

p. 34; Bullet Casting Basics, No. 271, p. 52; Colt’s

Big Three, No. 272, p. 34; Cast Bullet Designs, No.

273, p. 42; Sharps Cartridges, No. 274, p. 50; .44

WCF in Handguns, No. 275, p. 36. Mike’s Shootin’Shack appears in issues 270 through 275.

Wieland, Terry – Savage .22 High Power, No. 270,

p. 66; Handloading Black-Powder Shotshells, No.

271, p. 46; The (Almost) Forgotten Colt Thuer, No.

272, p. 58; Not Just on Paper, No. 273, p. 60;

Keeping Old Rimfires Burning, No. 274, p. 68;

Refugees from the Orphanage, No. 275, p. 64. InRange appears in issues 270 through 275.

AMMUNAMMUNITITIIONON REL RELOOAADDIING NG JOJOURURNNAL AL

•

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mystery of the .380 acp - rifle magazine of the .380 acp all about brass a modern look at two...

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