L i f le. May-June 1972 Number 21. U.S. &Canada, $1.00. rei I, $1.25. I Magazine

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1 - L i f le Magazine May-June 1972 Number 21 U.S. &Canada, $1.00 rei, $1.25

2 - The Rifle Magazine Only accurate rifles are interesting - Col. Townsend Whelen Volume4, Number 3 May-June 1972 n This ssue Varminting... Les Bowman Bench Rest Hall of Fame... Rifle Staff Peeps, Beads, and Posts... A Miller Tempest in a Tube... Jim Carmichel Ned Roberts, Rifleman...Ken Waters 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoenauer... Gen. V. E. Megee Wildcatting the.300 Win. Mag.... Bob Hagel Model 1886 Winchester... James Barnard Velocity-Accuracy Tests... Neal Knox Crusader Rifles... Larry Sterett Departments Editorial... 6 Loading for Bear... 8 Aiming for Answers Muzzle Flashes Bench Report Product Proofing Just Jim Adopted in Augwt 1969 as Official Publication For National Bench Rest Shooters Association Cover The handsome plaque on the cover of this issue is one of the six prepared for initial members of The Rifle Magazine Bench Rest Hall of Fame, announced on Page 20 of this issue. Color transparency by Jim Gilmore. The RFLE Magazine is published bi-monthly by the Wolfe Publishing Co.. P.O. Box 3030, Prescott, Arizona Telephone (602) Second Class Postage paid at Prescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices. Single copy price of current issues-$1.00. Subscription price: six issues 55.00; 12 issues $9.00; 18 issues (Outside U.S. possessions and Canada-56.00, and $15.50). Recommended foreign single copy price Advertising rates furnished on request. All rights reserved. Publisher of The RFLE is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published data, or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the editor. Manuscripts from free-lance writers must be accompanied by stamped self-addressed envelope and the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mutilated manuscripts. Change of address: Please give one month s notice. Send both old and new address, plus mailing label if possible, to Circulation Dept.. The RFLE Magazine, P.O. Box 3030, Prescott, Ariz John Wootters, Associate Editor R.T. Wolfe, Ph. D., Associate Editor John Buhmiller, African Rifles Harvey Donaldson, Historical Roy Dunlap, Gunsmithing Edward C. Ezell, Ph. D., Technology Jim Gilmore, Bench Report Editor Bob Hagel, Hunting Norm Lammers, Tech. Adviser A1 Miller, General Assignment The Staff Dave Wolfe, Publisher Neal Knox, Editor Maj. George C. Nonte, Military Helen A. Martin, Asst. to Editor Ken Waters, General Assignment Edward M. Yard, Ballistics Don Zutz, General Assignment Dave LeGate, Art & Production Mgr. Barbara Laffey, Circulation Manager Jane Clark, Promo tion Manager Polly Starbuck, Executive Secretary Roy Starbuck, Administrative Assistant 4 The RFLE Magazine

3 -OR THREE GENERATONS J the philosophers of the Middle Ages debated most seriously the question of how many angels could dance on the point of a pin. Today, savants of the reloading bench often practice a similarly futile expenditure of intellectual energy, figuratively but quite heatedly arguing such vital questions as how points of ballistic coefficient can dance on the meplat of a spitzer. n short, it appears to be the nature of the study of ballistics, at the amateur, handloading level, to lead the devotees into labyrinths of highly technical but trivial hair-splitting. For example, 1 have heard two hunters debate the importance of five points of ballistic coefficient between two Range Your favorite,270 big game rifle is also one of the most potent varminters... when you load Hornady s new 110 gr. hollow point. With this bullet your.270 equals the best of the highvelocity varmint rifles...for accuracy, trajectory and energy. Clip this ad and check these ballistics with your other varminters. brands of bullets when one of those bullets was obviously unsuited for the purpose at hand because of its construction. A friend of mine recently approached me for an interpretation of a recoil formula d published in a Handloader article. He was inspired by the realization that one could produce equal ballistics with reduced recoil in many cartridges merely by substituting a smaller charge of faster-burning powder. This, of course, is theoretically true, but in trying to accomplish an almost imperceptible reduction of kick, one usually sacrifices the high loading density which so commonly contributes to uniform velocities and barrel times, and thus to accuracy. Again, know a Texas deer hunter Production Acceptance Target ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ; y 4 d o : Devastating, varmint-busting Hornady performance Velocity Energy Bullet Path Write for complete (fps) (ft lb) (200 Yd zero) bullet //st and brochure Muzzle yd FFL yd yd ornady 400yd yd HORNADY MANUFACTURNG COMPANY Sectional Density: 205 Dept R Grand sland Nebr Ballistic Coefficient:.371 Other Hornady Divisions P acihc Reloading Tools/Front#er Ammunition Bullets who routinely uses a threequarter - throttle hunting load because it makes smaller groups from a rest... but he s giving up a significant increment of trajectory flatness and long-range punch for exactly one quarter of an inch smaller groups at 100 yards. Another acquaintance uses a bullet in his which is designed for varmints and small game, except that he shoots it at whitetail deer. Again, he does it in the name of accuracy, but he s had a good deal of bad luck with crippled bucks. Still another fellow in my rifle club loads his big game ammunition with a powder which consider far too fast-burning and which my chronograph tells me is not delivering anything like top velocities. This reloader often boasts of the efficiency of this load, however, spouting impressive figures on his ratios of velocity to powder charge weight. A classic angels-on-thepoint-of-a-pin argument! The list could go on and on, but believe that the point is clear from these examples that a great many reloaders love the intricacies of ballistics for their own sakes. Which is absolutely OK; confess to such inclinations myself. However, try to keep my eyes fixed on the primary goals in loading for the hunting field, which include the reliable delivery of lethal projectiles to game animals. t will be noted that this statement says nothing whatsoever about BC s, fps s, SDs, twist rates, foot-pounds, etc. The key words are reliable and lethal, and they apply with equal force to all kinds of field shooting at all kinds of animals at all feasible ranges. t thus becomes important that every aspect of practical ballistics be integrated with all other aspects, and that no single factor be given disproportionate weight. For big game, the search for accuracy must be tempered by a consideration of terminal energies and appropriate bullet construction. When firing at a foot-square target, two or three hundred foot-pounds of energy are more important than that ultimate quarter-inch of grouping ability. On the other hand, even on big game wild flyers are unacceptable in the name of massive punch; a load which produces an occasional 3-inch-out flyer at 100 yards is off-target - or worse, a gut-shot - at 300 yards. Where very 8 The RFLE Magazine

4 l 4 long-range shooting is anticipated (as, perhaps, on pronghorns), trajectory becomes an important consideration, but not enough so to justify the use of a lightly constructed, varmint-type bullet. Pronghorns are tough! t all boils down to an evaluation of what is and what isn t important in a hunting load. n the most general terms, a properly built bullet (including good sectional density) is important, flat trajectory is important, and high terminal energies are important. Tack-driving accuracy is not important, ordinary recoil levels are not important, and minutiae such as loading density, specific propellants and primers, and so-called efficiency are not terribly important. Nice, yes, but not really necessary to bust a woodchuck or bash a bull elk except in an indirect way. The perfect hunting load, of course, is a perfect blend and balance of all these and other factors, and now and again a hunting handloader is fortunate enough to achieve such a paragon of a load. More often, however, all sorts of compromises are necessary (some of them painful) and it is at such times that a knowledgeable reloader may actually be trapped into digressions and ballistic blind alleys by his very mastery of the technical subtleties of the game. He might be better off if all he knew was how to look up a load in the handbook and how to assemble it competently. know several handloaders whose expertise extends only that far and no further, and whose curiosity extends not one inch beyond the proven fact that 60 grains of 4831 behind.such-and-such a 130-grain bullet in their good ole.270 always collects venison for them. Some of these fellows literally own nothing more than one brand, weight, and style of bullet, one powder, one kind of primer, and one set of dies (whose adjustments haven t been tinkered with in years). They possess one (old) handbook and no calculators or computers. They cannot quote a sectional density or a ballistic coefficient, and sometimes have to think pretty hard to remember which bullet weight it is that works so well for them.. but they know it works, and how to work it. Their innocence may be a blessing; they literally don t know how to make reloading for the hunting field complicated. sometimes think the rest of us know far too much for our own good. lr MayJune 1972 n good weather or bad, it seasiertoseeyourtargetwith Ray-Bar? Shooting Glasses from Bausch t Lomb. Available in your choice of lenses. Kalichrome Yellow - to cut through haze on dull days. Ray-Ban green or neutral gray-to protect against glare on bright days. And clear lenses for target shooting under artificial light. All are impact-resistant. To give you eye safety while shooting. And they meet the high professional standards of Bausch & Lomb. One of the world s leading optical houses. For better vision, and reliable eye protection, Bausch & Lomb Shooting Glasses make a big hit. Bausch & Lomb,Rochester, N.Y n BAUSCH 0 PT M U M 0 PT CS - 0 PT M U M R EL AB LlTY 9

5 - Magazine of Rif lc! The sought-after first six issues of the prestige magazine for knowledgeable riflemen We ll immediately send you this collector s set - which has been selling for $ when we receive your order and check for a three-year subscription (or renewal) to The Rifle at the reguzur $12.50 rate! n addition to owning the valuable First Year of Rifle you ll have the pleasure of reading MORE THAN 60 informative articles by respected writers such as Les Bowman, Jim Carmichel, Harvey Donaldson, Roy Dunhp, Jim Gihore, Bob Hagel, Neal Knox, George Nonte, Ken Waters, John Wootters and many others. And, for the next three years you ll receive every issue of The Rifleeach copy packed with lively, well-written, informative articles by the finest writers in the firearms field. YOUR TOTAL COST FOR THE FRST YEAR OF RFLE PLUS A THREE YEAR SUBSCRPTON - A $23.00 VALUE - S ONLY $ This offer is limited and cannot be repeated after these valuable first issues are gone. f copies are no longer available when your order is received, your check will be returned. To avoid disappointment, send your order today! Note to Charter Subscribers who have all the early issues - if you wish, you may take advantage of this offer to have an extra set of the Volume One issues. f you don t want to clip the coupon, besure to tell the circulation girls that you want to take advantage of the Free Volume 0ne deal - and whether your subscription is new or renewal. r * To: Wolfe Publishing Co. Please make payments in U. S. CURRENCY Box Prescott, Arizona Here s my check for $12.50 for a NEW 0 RENEWAL 0 (check one) three-year 1 subscription to The Rifle, plus the Free Volume One of Rifle deal. understand 1 that this offer is limited, and that my check will be returned if the offer is withdrawn. Name! ; Address MayJune L

6 By LES BOWMAN ROB ABLY N 0 BUS1NES.S affords a better knowledge of the various factors that go into the making of good shots and good hunters than operating a big game hunting outfit. Add spring, summer and early fall varmint shooting to the big game seasons, and you get a most complete course in all types of shooting. During my 20 years or so of outfitting found that most experienced varmint shooters are also fine game shots, for varmint shooting is ideal practice for the big game hunter. t is convincing proof that an accurate rifle and top notch sighting equipment are necessary for proper bullet placement and clean one.shot kills. t also provides lots of practice at live targets, under different wind and light situations in many hunting areas. The target never presents the same profile twice and shooting positions are continually changing, just as in big game hunting. The varmint shooter soon learns that 16 trigger pull is a very important aspect of accuracy and has his trigger adjusted for best use. He also learns to coordinate his trigger pull with his sight picture. He learns to use a rest of some sort whenever possible and if this isn t feasible, he knows how to shoot from a sitting position. Varmint shooters develop an excellent judgment of distance and are able to compensate for bullet drop and windage on any target; they allow for this in their aiming point and consider it constantly in stalking game or varmints. And they become very proficient in locating live animals in most any kind of cover or hunting terrain. Perhaps the only real fault a good varmint shooter carries through to his big game hunting is skrmess. He is apt to take a bit too mu& timc in getting off a shot, and will thus occasionally lose a chance for a kihs shot at a game animal. However, when hc does fire, he usually places his bullst correctly and makes a high percentrgc of one-shot kills. For a number of years have been taking young boys- a fsw years too young to get a legal big game license, on varmint hunting trips. These youngsters really surprise the older hunters with their long range shooting ability. Last fall, four of these young boys were old enough to get their big game licenses and each got both a deer and an antelope. Their varmint hunting trips had paid off. Varmint hunting seems to be a progressive type of hunting activity. Many of our top shots, best-known big game hunters and leading gun writers are enthusiastic varmint hunters - they will go varmint hunting at the drop of their blaze orange caps. And travel miles to do so. believe this country has the finest and most complete line of varmint calibers, and rifles for them, of any hunting nation. These rifles vary in price but not in accuracy potential; some of the most accurate are lowest in price. t can be argued that any or all hunting riflesrwill make a varmint rifle, if loads using lightweight bullets are used. While this may be true, it certainly isn t necessary with today s selection of varmint rifles. Also, the use of larger The RFLE Magazine

7 calibers is highly objectionable in suburban or small-farm areas. The report is much more noticeable and many bullets used in game cartridges have a tendency to richochet quite badly. True varmint calibers can be obtained in rifles that duplicate in size, weight and feel just about any make or type of hunting rifle used for larger game. The reduced cost of the loads, the lighter recoil, the lower report and the easy handling qualities all make the use of a true varmint rifle and cartridge much more desirable and pleasant to a shooter. The small caliber rifles and cartridges can be roughly divided into six or perhaps seven groups: Group 1 - The.22 Long Rifle. Tops for rabbits, squirrels, short range shooting of picket pins and prairie dogs and just general plinking practice. Group 2 - The.22 Winchester Magnum and 5mm Remington Magnum. Both of these are fine short range small varmint cartridges out to 125 or 150 yards. They should not be used on such animals as heavy rockchucks or groundhogs at distances greater than 100 yards, maximum. Remington and Sharps rifles shoot 1-inch groups or tighter. would not recommend the.17 caliber for large varmints or for predators of the coyote or larger class at distances that exceed 300 yards. The light bullet slows down fast after this distance and the effective killing power of these small bullets depends to a great extent on their high velocity. Contrary to the shooting fraternity s general opinion, the 25-grain.17 caliber bullet, leaving the barrel at 4,000 fps or more does not have an excessive amount of drift in wind. t is very little different from the.222 class cartridges in this respect. have figures from Homer Powley, the ballistics expert, showing that the 25-grain Hornady bullet, loaded to 4,100 fps drifts only 1.1 inches at 100 yards, 4.7 inches at 200 yards and 11.5 inches at 300 yards, in a 10 mph cross wind. This is compared with the 50-grain Hornady in a.222, which drifts 1.2, 5.4 and 13.1, at the same distance in the same wind. Shooters who say the.17 caliber has a high drift tendency have never taken the time to check the sectional density and ballistic coefficient of the.17 caliber 25-grain 0 Group 3 - The.17 caliber is now chambered by both Remington and Harrington & Richardson. Colt s Sharps Arms Company did considerable work on the.17 Sharps Magnum in the Sharps rifles, but it is not yet on the market. have used various.17 caliber wildcats and the Remington and Sharps cartridges for several years. Cartridges such as the.7 H&R (a handloader s case), the new.17 Remington produced by Remington and the.17 Sharps are all excellent cartridges for varmints of the woodchuck and rockchuck size, at distances to 300 yards. Bullet weights of 25 grains are standard for all of these and are made by Remington, Hornady, Hi-Precision and others. H&R, Remington, and Sharps cartridges produce velocities in the 4,000 fps class, with barrels of equal length. have found, after considerable experience with these rifles, that they show very little evidence of fouling troubles when used with stainless steel barrels. However, fouling troubles are magnified if chrome-moly barrels are used, at velocities of 3,900 fps or over. The.7 caliber has been very accurate in most all rifles that have used; my MayJune 1972 These boys, like their dads, are having a never-to-be-forgotten rock chuck hunt above timber line in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming - and Bowman says this training will insure that they never spray lead when old enough to start big game hunting. Varmint hunting teaches the value of using a rest for proper shot placement, gives excellent practice in spotting game in various cover, and judging,and holding for unknown ranges. 17

8 bullet against that of the 50-graip bullet in the.222. Group 4 - The.222 case head size series, consisting of the.222, the.223 and the.222 Magnum, are among the most accurate calibers in the world. They are used by more bench rest shooters than any others. These are very good varmint calibers for ranges up to 225 to 275 yards. The.222 Remington is in fifth position in overall ammunition sales in North America, certainly an indication of its popularity. The.222 Magnum has only about 25 to 30 yards of effective range over the.222 Remington. Group 5 - The.224 Weatherby Magnum, the.225 Winchester and the Remington are undoubtedly the tops in the field as true varmint cartridges; larger cartridges tend to overlap into the game field. These three are just about equal ballistically; they are good out to 400 yards, which is as far as any shooter can accurately place his shots. They are fine for all size varmints and predators except the larger wolves. Group 6 - The.243, the.244, and its twin brother, the 6mm Remington, and the.240 Weatherby Magnum. Again, in this group, it is merely a matter of personal preference, as their performance is almost equal. The.243, with varmint weight and structured bullets does about 3,500 fps and the.240 Weatherby Magnum around 3,600 to 3,750 fps, with varmint weight bullets. All are capable of real varmint accuracy and all will kill varmints at ranges at which no one should shoot at any animal. The largest caliber which can be termed a varmint rifle is Remington s Pushing the 87-grain varmint bullet at 3,600 fps, it has the longest range of any of them. The.25-06, using the proper bullets, is also an excellent choice for game such as sheep, goats and caribou and would be about the best there is for the big Barren Land wolves. However, even with the best of bullets it is marginal in the hands of the average Even when a natural rest is available, the addition of a good fore-end rest makes exact shot placement far more certain. shooter for game of elk size. This year Remington has brought out another bullet for the.25-06, now having a line of bullets ranging from the 87-grain varmint load through the favorite 100-grain antelope and deer bullet of the original wildcatters, to a tough 120-grain bullet meant for game of larger size. All these cartridges mentioned in Group 6 are legal in most states for game animals and their performance is adequate for deer and antelope at reasonably long ranges. For really big predators, such as these 170-pound Barren Land wolves, 90 and 1OO-grain 6mm bullets are the minimum which should be used, and the or 6.5 Remington Magnum is preferable. 18 There are dozens of wildcat cartridges that can be adapted to varmint rifles but any of the modern factory-produced cartridges can do just as well or better. An example of this is the highly regarded This one takes the standard.284 cartridge cases, formed to 6mm in special dies and handloaded. However, it does no better than the standard.240 Weatherby Magnum. Personally, really don t care for the 6mm s or larger calibers for varmint shooting. The loud report seems to keep the varmints down in their holes for a long time after the first shot and they are longer-ranging and more powerful than is necessary. For predators such as the coyote and wolf, the 6mm s and the are tops. They have the necessary range and buck winds extremely well, and the loud report is no drawback in hunting these animals. The one big advantage of the 6mm s and larger calibers is that they can also be used for The RFLE Magazine

9 L certain types of game. There are very few areas in our states that do not have some kind of varmint or predator shooting during the year. Varmint shooters can usually get in quite a bit of shooting if they wish. A study of varmint calibers would not be complete without the addition of the.22 Hornet which was so very popular many years ago. t is still being used by many varmint shooters and Winchester still makes ammunition for it. imagine this caliber was really the first of the true varmint cartridges. There has been some talk of reactivating it, but as yet no rifles are being factory chambered. f a cartridge in this category is brought out would prefer that it be the.221 Fireball, made for the Remington XP-100 handgun. t is a modern case and has a bit better performance than the Hornet. Although most true varmint rifles have heavy barrels, this feature is principally helpful because the extra weight is an aid in holding. have several varmint rifles with fairly light barrels which consistently shoot smaller groups than a top varmint rifle is supposed to. One of the most important parts of a good varmint rifle is a good trigger that can be set to the pull preferred by the shooter. My preference for a varmint rifle trigger pull is about 2 pounds. However, like about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds for game. t isn t really necessary to spend a lot of money for a good varmint rifle. An excellent example of this is the Remington Model 788. This rifle has an extremely fast lock time, a feature that more than makes up for its usually heavier trigger pull. t is my understanding that there are excellent adjustable triggers, such as the Canjar and Timney, available for this rifle. The 788 s price of under $100 makes it one of the better varmint rifle buys. built-in range finder that has given me any satisfaction for varmint shooting. The different sizes of varmints as well as the changing conditions of varmint areas make them useless to me. n varmint hunting areas it is almost a necessity that a shooter pace off some of his first shots in order to judge how tg hold for his succeeding shots. Varmint shooters soon learn that a rest of some sort, natural or otherwise, is necessary to make consistent one-shot kills, particularly at longer ranges. There are some foreend rests that are light, can be installed and carried right on the foreend and do not add any noticeable weight to the rifle. These rests are now being used by some of the foremost big game hunters. The Ten Ring Mfg. Corp., 44 Main St., New York City, New York and Harris Engineering, Box 305, Fraser, Mich , are making and marketing this type rest. For years have considered one of these rests a necessary part of my hunting equipment, whether for varmints or big game. They are especially fine on antelope hunts on the plains, where shots are long and natural rests very scarce. Regardless of the type of varmint hunting one does, the practice the shooter gets makes for a better game shot. t proves how important a rest of some kind is for accurate shooting. t teaches a shooter to take time, aim well and be sure of bullet placement. A good varmint hunter will never be guilty of just throwing lead at either varmints or big game. And last but not least - a shooter or hunter who has never been on a varmint hunt with a good rifle and sighting equipment has missed a lot of fun. A good rifle deserves a good scope, and for a varmint rifle it is a must. As 4 the photo shows, a prairie dog lying flat on a rock is a mighty small target. For varmint shooting, prefer a scope that has parallax adjustment; there are several fine variable power scopes that now include this feature. They cost a bit more but are certainly worth it. Lyman has a series of scopes from 6 to 20 power with internal adjustments and parallax adjustment; they are made for varmint use and are rugged. have not yet used a scope with a MayJune 1972 The picket pin variant of the prairie dog makes an extremely small target, as does the slightly larger common prairie dog. Precise hold, tack-driving accuracy and careful judgement of wind and mirqe are essential for a high percentage of hits. 19