ohland
08-22-2015, 10:09 AM
Recent Improvements In The .30 Caliber Reduced Load. An article by Dr Walter Guy Hudson
https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5cwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA50&dq=krag+308268&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMIv9fvsee8xwIVhA-SCh2kBwb1#v=onepage&q=krag%20308268&f=false
American Rifleman, vol 38, No 3, April 27, 1905, pages 50-51
The more general adoption of the Krag by the various state military organizations has made this subject one of increasing interest, and it has caused many skilled riflemen to devote more or less attention to improving our reloaded ammunition. Important improvements have resulted, many of which I take pleasure in recording rather as a compiler than as an originator, and with a sincere admiration for the ingenious ideas of brother riflemen.
The principal aim in these developments has been the production of a home-made, cast bullet load having greater energy than those heretofore in use, the most powerful of which, up to very recently, have been the series of bullets designed by the writer—Ideal bullets Nos. 308256, 308259, 308268 and 308279, with 15 to 16 grains weight of Marksman powder. I have received assurances from many sources that these have given no little satisfaction and help to many small (and large) military organizations. But except on very quiet days, they do not give sufficient energy to afford really satisfactory practice at ranges beyond 300 yards, and this is particularly noticeable because the service load has been brought to so high a degree of excellence at the 500 and 600-yard ranges.
Many of us looked for better alloys, others tried wads of various kinds back of the bullet, and others filled up the space ahead of the powder charge with cotton, asbestos, sawdust, etc., all to no purpose. It remained for J. H. Keough, one of the 1903 Palma trophy team men (and the man with the. highest score at that) to show that if the air space in front of the powder charge was filled with some starch-containing cereal like that sold in grocery stores under the name of cream of wheat, the fusion troubles which previously interfered with our increasing the load were entirely overcome, even to a point where the bullets begin to strip. Mr. Keough imparted his discovery to several other riflemen at the National matches at Fort Riley last year, with the result that several others took up the idea, and at the present time there are several of us working on it in the endeavor to produce more powerful cartridges by its aid.
Sergeant Doyle, of the Seventy-first Regiment, N. G. N. Y., also a Palma team man and probably the best long range wind coach in the country, was the first to perceive that the use of the cereal rendered superfluous my gas-check band on the bullet, and he produced a bullet (No. 308274) of 200 grains in weight, which is very similar in shape to the well-known Thomas bullet, except that it has grooves for lubricant. It is a well balanced bullet, and as it is made sufficiently large in diameter to insure a positive fit, it does very good work, even in the over-sized Krags that are still unfortunately so numerous. Where the shells are always to be used with the cereal, Doyle’s bullet is probably the best of any so far brought out. But when using a powder charge that is loose in the shell, I cannot help believing that my enlarged front band offers many advantages. If a weight of 200 grains is desired, the No. 308279 will give it while retaining the enlarged front band, and does good work also with the cereal, but not quite so good as Doyle’s.
147206
The powder charge developed by Doyle consisted of 14 to 15 grains weight of Sharpshooter powder, giving a velocity of about 1450 foot seconds, and the recovered bullets showed no fusion (owing to the cereal), while the accuracy was good at 200 and 300 yards, and fairly good at 500 and 600 yards. But when the ammunition was submitted to the makers of the powder for trial, it was found that the pressures developed greatly exceeded even the full service load, and were high enough to cause the company to condemn it and to decline to be responsible for accidents resulting from the obliteration of the air space either in this way or in any other. But the idea still impressed me as being worthy of further development, and I resolved to try slower burning powders that would be more normal to the conditions of pressure produced by the lessened air space.
Lightning and W. A. appeared to be steps in this direction, and through the courtesy of the Seventy-first Regiment I was enabled to use their water tank in order to determine how far the load could be increased before troubles from fusion or stripping developed. It was found that slight evidences of stripping appeared when 20 grains of Lightning were passed, which became marked at 22 grains. There was no fusion, the cereal absolutely preventing it. With the 20-grain load, the pressures as observed by their effect on the primer were not excessive, although I have not yet had a chance to get exact instrumental data on this point.*
* Tests made by the Laflin & Rand Powder Co. since this was written, with cartridges loaded with 20 grains of Lightning powder, balance of shell filled with a cereal, cream of wheat, and the Doyle bullet, gave a mean pressure of 38600 and an extreme of 41,700 pounds.
The report of the ballistic man on velocities showed that the load developed somewhat over 1600 foot seconds, while the accuracy test at 200 yards from the machine rest gave ten shots in a four-inch circle—somewhat better than 14 grains of Sharpshooter. It is true that the old line of bullets with enlarged front bands gave even better accuracy than this without any filling, but here was a load with very satisfactory accuracy, and with sufficient energy to promise really good results at 500 and 600 yards. For that reason we all considered it a distinct advance.
I must here confess to a little disappointment in trying the load at 500 and 600 yards. I made several trips to the range for this purpose, but each time the wind was so strong and unsteady as to put a perhaps unfair tax upon the qualities of the new load. There were puffs of wind that, even with careful watching, would frequently blow the bullets from good service cartridges out into the four ring, and sometimes into the three ring; but such puffs were sufficient to blow the reduced load clear off the target. On the other hand, when the weather conditions have been exceptionally quiet, the 15 or 16 grain Marksman load with almost any of the bullets mentioned weighing in the vicinity of 200 grains—but preferably Ideal bullets Nos. 308268, 308274 or 308279—have given good results at the mid ranges, without any cereal filling. Right here is the stumbling block for many; the service ammunition is at its-best at 500 and 600 yards, and too much is expected of the reduced load in comparison. It should be remembered that before the Krag ammunition had been brought to its present high state of development, no such remarkable mid range shooting with military rifles was ever thought possible as the scores our good shots now roll up on the 500 and 600-yard ranges without giving the matter a second thought; it is not remarkable shooting any more, simply be cause so many are doing it.
Therefore, in judging of the merits of Keough's idea, I think the crucial test should be its adaptability to mid range work under ordinary average weather conditions, and its capability under such conditions of doing good enough work for ordinary military practice shooting. That it will fulfill these requirements I firmly believe from the observations already made, and as Keough is still working on it we may perhaps witness the production of even better results than have yet appeared.
The point I desire to emphasize is, that experiments involving the obliteration of the air space are accompanied by more or less danger to the experimenter, and for that reason should be undertaken with caution and only by experienced riflemen. The manufacturers of the powder have distinctly stated that it is not designed to be so used, and they cannot be held responsible if we blow ourselves up in such investigations. At the same time, there are several of us who are sufficiently interested to assume the risk, and publish an account of successful results. At the present writing the 20-grain Lightning load appears to be the most powerful one successfully used, and the pressures from it appear to be within safe limits; quicker powders, such as Sharpshooter, Unique, and various shotgun powders should not be fired from the shoulder with the cereal, until the pressures they develop are ascertained.
Another development during the past year which has been of great assistance to many rifle men has been the marketing of a suitably prepared alloy for these bullets by the Ideal Mfg. Co., under the name of smokeless alloy. It is the same antimony, lead, and tin mixture I have recommended so long, except that through the aid of an expert metallurgist a small percentage of copper has been combined with it in a permanent alloy. To the man with patience, the preparation of these antimony alloys has never been much trouble, providing he followed the instructions in the Ideal Handbook. But it does require a good deal of heat and some patience to get the antimony thoroughly melted into the lead, and some riflemen have found it easier to prepare the alloy from type metal of known composition instead of attempting to alloy the three primary metals.
Type metal differs so much in composition, however, that it is safer to compare the hardness of the bullet prepared from reduced type metal with one that is known to be right, than to trust to the supposed composition of a given lot of old type. An average composition for type metal (namely type, not blanks or spaces) is 23 per cent antimony, 10 per cent tin, and 67 per cent lead.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5cwAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA50&dq=krag+308268&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMIv9fvsee8xwIVhA-SCh2kBwb1#v=onepage&q=krag%20308268&f=false
American Rifleman, vol 38, No 3, April 27, 1905, pages 50-51
The more general adoption of the Krag by the various state military organizations has made this subject one of increasing interest, and it has caused many skilled riflemen to devote more or less attention to improving our reloaded ammunition. Important improvements have resulted, many of which I take pleasure in recording rather as a compiler than as an originator, and with a sincere admiration for the ingenious ideas of brother riflemen.
The principal aim in these developments has been the production of a home-made, cast bullet load having greater energy than those heretofore in use, the most powerful of which, up to very recently, have been the series of bullets designed by the writer—Ideal bullets Nos. 308256, 308259, 308268 and 308279, with 15 to 16 grains weight of Marksman powder. I have received assurances from many sources that these have given no little satisfaction and help to many small (and large) military organizations. But except on very quiet days, they do not give sufficient energy to afford really satisfactory practice at ranges beyond 300 yards, and this is particularly noticeable because the service load has been brought to so high a degree of excellence at the 500 and 600-yard ranges.
Many of us looked for better alloys, others tried wads of various kinds back of the bullet, and others filled up the space ahead of the powder charge with cotton, asbestos, sawdust, etc., all to no purpose. It remained for J. H. Keough, one of the 1903 Palma trophy team men (and the man with the. highest score at that) to show that if the air space in front of the powder charge was filled with some starch-containing cereal like that sold in grocery stores under the name of cream of wheat, the fusion troubles which previously interfered with our increasing the load were entirely overcome, even to a point where the bullets begin to strip. Mr. Keough imparted his discovery to several other riflemen at the National matches at Fort Riley last year, with the result that several others took up the idea, and at the present time there are several of us working on it in the endeavor to produce more powerful cartridges by its aid.
Sergeant Doyle, of the Seventy-first Regiment, N. G. N. Y., also a Palma team man and probably the best long range wind coach in the country, was the first to perceive that the use of the cereal rendered superfluous my gas-check band on the bullet, and he produced a bullet (No. 308274) of 200 grains in weight, which is very similar in shape to the well-known Thomas bullet, except that it has grooves for lubricant. It is a well balanced bullet, and as it is made sufficiently large in diameter to insure a positive fit, it does very good work, even in the over-sized Krags that are still unfortunately so numerous. Where the shells are always to be used with the cereal, Doyle’s bullet is probably the best of any so far brought out. But when using a powder charge that is loose in the shell, I cannot help believing that my enlarged front band offers many advantages. If a weight of 200 grains is desired, the No. 308279 will give it while retaining the enlarged front band, and does good work also with the cereal, but not quite so good as Doyle’s.
147206
The powder charge developed by Doyle consisted of 14 to 15 grains weight of Sharpshooter powder, giving a velocity of about 1450 foot seconds, and the recovered bullets showed no fusion (owing to the cereal), while the accuracy was good at 200 and 300 yards, and fairly good at 500 and 600 yards. But when the ammunition was submitted to the makers of the powder for trial, it was found that the pressures developed greatly exceeded even the full service load, and were high enough to cause the company to condemn it and to decline to be responsible for accidents resulting from the obliteration of the air space either in this way or in any other. But the idea still impressed me as being worthy of further development, and I resolved to try slower burning powders that would be more normal to the conditions of pressure produced by the lessened air space.
Lightning and W. A. appeared to be steps in this direction, and through the courtesy of the Seventy-first Regiment I was enabled to use their water tank in order to determine how far the load could be increased before troubles from fusion or stripping developed. It was found that slight evidences of stripping appeared when 20 grains of Lightning were passed, which became marked at 22 grains. There was no fusion, the cereal absolutely preventing it. With the 20-grain load, the pressures as observed by their effect on the primer were not excessive, although I have not yet had a chance to get exact instrumental data on this point.*
* Tests made by the Laflin & Rand Powder Co. since this was written, with cartridges loaded with 20 grains of Lightning powder, balance of shell filled with a cereal, cream of wheat, and the Doyle bullet, gave a mean pressure of 38600 and an extreme of 41,700 pounds.
The report of the ballistic man on velocities showed that the load developed somewhat over 1600 foot seconds, while the accuracy test at 200 yards from the machine rest gave ten shots in a four-inch circle—somewhat better than 14 grains of Sharpshooter. It is true that the old line of bullets with enlarged front bands gave even better accuracy than this without any filling, but here was a load with very satisfactory accuracy, and with sufficient energy to promise really good results at 500 and 600 yards. For that reason we all considered it a distinct advance.
I must here confess to a little disappointment in trying the load at 500 and 600 yards. I made several trips to the range for this purpose, but each time the wind was so strong and unsteady as to put a perhaps unfair tax upon the qualities of the new load. There were puffs of wind that, even with careful watching, would frequently blow the bullets from good service cartridges out into the four ring, and sometimes into the three ring; but such puffs were sufficient to blow the reduced load clear off the target. On the other hand, when the weather conditions have been exceptionally quiet, the 15 or 16 grain Marksman load with almost any of the bullets mentioned weighing in the vicinity of 200 grains—but preferably Ideal bullets Nos. 308268, 308274 or 308279—have given good results at the mid ranges, without any cereal filling. Right here is the stumbling block for many; the service ammunition is at its-best at 500 and 600 yards, and too much is expected of the reduced load in comparison. It should be remembered that before the Krag ammunition had been brought to its present high state of development, no such remarkable mid range shooting with military rifles was ever thought possible as the scores our good shots now roll up on the 500 and 600-yard ranges without giving the matter a second thought; it is not remarkable shooting any more, simply be cause so many are doing it.
Therefore, in judging of the merits of Keough's idea, I think the crucial test should be its adaptability to mid range work under ordinary average weather conditions, and its capability under such conditions of doing good enough work for ordinary military practice shooting. That it will fulfill these requirements I firmly believe from the observations already made, and as Keough is still working on it we may perhaps witness the production of even better results than have yet appeared.
The point I desire to emphasize is, that experiments involving the obliteration of the air space are accompanied by more or less danger to the experimenter, and for that reason should be undertaken with caution and only by experienced riflemen. The manufacturers of the powder have distinctly stated that it is not designed to be so used, and they cannot be held responsible if we blow ourselves up in such investigations. At the same time, there are several of us who are sufficiently interested to assume the risk, and publish an account of successful results. At the present writing the 20-grain Lightning load appears to be the most powerful one successfully used, and the pressures from it appear to be within safe limits; quicker powders, such as Sharpshooter, Unique, and various shotgun powders should not be fired from the shoulder with the cereal, until the pressures they develop are ascertained.
Another development during the past year which has been of great assistance to many rifle men has been the marketing of a suitably prepared alloy for these bullets by the Ideal Mfg. Co., under the name of smokeless alloy. It is the same antimony, lead, and tin mixture I have recommended so long, except that through the aid of an expert metallurgist a small percentage of copper has been combined with it in a permanent alloy. To the man with patience, the preparation of these antimony alloys has never been much trouble, providing he followed the instructions in the Ideal Handbook. But it does require a good deal of heat and some patience to get the antimony thoroughly melted into the lead, and some riflemen have found it easier to prepare the alloy from type metal of known composition instead of attempting to alloy the three primary metals.
Type metal differs so much in composition, however, that it is safer to compare the hardness of the bullet prepared from reduced type metal with one that is known to be right, than to trust to the supposed composition of a given lot of old type. An average composition for type metal (namely type, not blanks or spaces) is 23 per cent antimony, 10 per cent tin, and 67 per cent lead.