Recent Greased 1903 Bullet Article ?

[leadman]

There was a recent article on the old practice of greasing the cupro-nickel jacketed bullets for the 1903 Springfield in a gun magazine.

Does anyone remember which magazine?

[Hip's Ax]

I remember reading it and unless I was reading a borrowed magazine I only get Shooting Sports USA (now online only) and American Rifleman, I would guess American Rifleman.

Here's another read on the subject, done in Major Culver's famous entertaining style.

http://jouster.com/sea_stories/when_the_tin_can_changed_history.pdf

Errata: I also get Precision Shooting.

[leadman]

Very interesting reading. I didn't relaize there was a 180gr flat base bullet used in the Springfield.

[Gunlaker]

There was a recent article on the old practice of greasing the cupro-nickel jacketed bullets for the 1903 Springfield in a gun magazine.

Does anyone remember which magazine?

My copy of Cartridges of the World has an article like that in it. 12th Edition.

Chris.

[leadman]

I searched about 6 recent issues of Am. Rifleman and did not see it, but could be blind.

I don't get Precision Rifle.

[leadman]

After Gunlaker's comment on Cartridges of the World I reliazed I had gotten a copy of a 2010 Gun Digest for Xmas. The article is in it on page 118.

Thanks guys.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Were those not TIN jacketed bullets causing the "03 problems? BvT

[JeffinNZ]

I have seen a shooter greasing Mk VII .303 ball ammo in recent years.

[Eutectic]

Nope Baron, not tin but the cupronickel jackets. I think some powder (Dupont) had tin in it back then to try and help the fouling issue. The fouling wasn't an '03 thing exclusively either... It was a velocity thing! Cupronickel is an OK jacket material up to 2200-2300 fps... Faster, then fouling shows up. Stubborn fouling it is/was as well. My father told me many stories about it, the fouling, how to remove it, even the lube they used. Then some shooters put way too much lube on (you know, if a little's good, then a lot's better!) causing pressure problems that was blamed on using lube rather than the excess amount of it.

As I think back I think my father told me the DuPont powders with half numbers (like 17 1/2) had tin in the mix to help cupronickel fouling.

Eutectic

[Blacksmith]

IIRC Hatcher's Notebook which is still in print went into this in some detail. A great resource on the development of the military rifles and cartridges of the last century.

Blacksmith

[c3d4b2]

Hatcher's Notebook has information for the 1921 match ammunition that cautioned against using grease on the bullets siting uneven velocities, increased back thrust on the bolt head, and increasing the pressure to unsafe levels.

The information was on pages 337 and 338 Hatcher's Notebook.