Author: Long branch
Subject: Service load duplication
Posted: October 26 2014 at 11:08am
I'm a relative newcomer here, but I've been playing with surplus rifles for as long as I've been of legal age to buy them. I've been reloading almost as long. I've reloaded for mausers, enfields, and 1 Swiss k31. I've always found that surplus rifles shoot best with the loads they were designed for. I always try to duplicate these loads. There's one problem, I have never owned a Chronograph. Up until recently, they were prohibitively expensive. So, how do I know I have the right velocity? The answer came when a friend of mine asked me to zero the iron sights on an old '94 Winchester. He had just bought some of the then new lever evolution ammunition for it. He told me it wasn't "doin' right". I didn't know what that meant until I took it out and shot it. The bullets were hitting 6" low and 10" to the right, in the direction of the rifling twist. The bullet weight was the same 150 grains he'd always shot, but these moved faster. It was then that I developed a theory that the increased velocity was causing increased spin drift.
Later on, I was playing with a Mauser. I was shooting some federal ammunition. The listed muzzle velocity was lower than the military load that I had researched. Sure enough, it shot high and left.
So, here is my procedure for service load duplication. I first try to find a bullet of the correct weight and general type. For most of our purposes, that means a 174grain spitzer. 180 grain is probably close enough for those of you that have boat tail intolerant rifles. Then, I start with a minimum load for that bullet. I say minimum because you'll probably be using a different primer and brass type than what was tested in the book. If it shoots where it should, you're done. On a #4 enfield, this should be a couple inches high at 100 yards. If it hits extremely high, you need more velocity. Windage should also center itself up, provided the rifle was properly zeroed when you got it.
Subject: Service load duplication
Posted: October 26 2014 at 11:08am
I'm a relative newcomer here, but I've been playing with surplus rifles for as long as I've been of legal age to buy them. I've been reloading almost as long. I've reloaded for mausers, enfields, and 1 Swiss k31. I've always found that surplus rifles shoot best with the loads they were designed for. I always try to duplicate these loads. There's one problem, I have never owned a Chronograph. Up until recently, they were prohibitively expensive. So, how do I know I have the right velocity? The answer came when a friend of mine asked me to zero the iron sights on an old '94 Winchester. He had just bought some of the then new lever evolution ammunition for it. He told me it wasn't "doin' right". I didn't know what that meant until I took it out and shot it. The bullets were hitting 6" low and 10" to the right, in the direction of the rifling twist. The bullet weight was the same 150 grains he'd always shot, but these moved faster. It was then that I developed a theory that the increased velocity was causing increased spin drift.
Later on, I was playing with a Mauser. I was shooting some federal ammunition. The listed muzzle velocity was lower than the military load that I had researched. Sure enough, it shot high and left.
So, here is my procedure for service load duplication. I first try to find a bullet of the correct weight and general type. For most of our purposes, that means a 174grain spitzer. 180 grain is probably close enough for those of you that have boat tail intolerant rifles. Then, I start with a minimum load for that bullet. I say minimum because you'll probably be using a different primer and brass type than what was tested in the book. If it shoots where it should, you're done. On a #4 enfield, this should be a couple inches high at 100 yards. If it hits extremely high, you need more velocity. Windage should also center itself up, provided the rifle was properly zeroed when you got it.