ifle he Magazine for Shooters Sauer

ifle he Magazine for Shooters Sauer

$6.00, Rifle Only accurate rifles are interesting - Col Townsend Whelen The Magazine for Shooters Volume 5, Number 2 March-April 1973 In This Issue The Innovative Colt Sauer......... Neal Knox The Many Uses of Fiberglass...... L. S. Hacker, Jr. Barrel Length and Velocity......... Jon Sundra Shooting the Muzzle Loaders...... Henry Beverage Hunting Rifle Make-Ready....... John Wootters Playing the Pre 64 Model 70 Market..... Dan Flores The Little Things.............. AlMiller Small Arc Trajectories..........Homer Powley 18 24 27 30 34 38 42 44 Departments Editorial....... 6 Dear Editor...... 8 Loading for Bear.... 11 Muzzle Flashes..... 13 Aiming for Answers... 15 Classic Rifles..... 54 Product Proofing.... 62 Bench Report..... 65 Trophy Pointers.... 74 Adopted in August 1969 as Official Publication For National Bench Rest Shooters Association SHOOT1 bg 5P09TS Cover The Colt Sauer rifle has several unique features - the most obvious being its split-trail movable rear.l,ocking lug setup. (The inset shows the lugs in the engaged position.) The rifle also employs a split receiver ring, which clamps around the barrel threads, an innovative trigger design and a loaded chamber indicator. The wood is hand-checkered American walnut with contrasting rosewood fore-end and grip caps. Photo by Richard L. Aldis, using a 4x5 Graphic View. The RIFLE Magazine IS published bi-monthly by WOlfe Publishing Co, Inc., P. 0. Box 3030, PresCOtt, Arizona 86301. Telephone (602) 445-7810. Second Class Postage paid at Prescott. Arizona. and additional mailing offices. Single copy price of current issues $1.00. Subscription price six issues $5.00, 12 issues $9.00, 18 issues $12.50 (Outside U. S. possessions and Canada ~ $11.00 and $15.50) Recommended foreign single copy price $1.25. Advertising rates furnished on request. AII rights reserved. Publisher of The RIFLE is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published data, or from recornmendations by any member of The Staff. NO part of this PUbliCatlon 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 mutiliated 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 RIFLE Magazine, P 0. BOX 3030, Prescott. Arizona 86301 4 Helen Martin, Asst. to Editor John Wootters, Associate Editor R. T. Wolfe, Ph. D., Associate Editor Les Bowman, Technology Jim Gilmore, Bench Rest Bob Hagel, Hunting A1 Miller, General Assignment Maj. George C. Nonte, Military Ken Waters, General Assignment Edward M. Yard, Ballistics Don Zutz, General Assignment The Staff Dave Wolfe, Publisher Neal Knox. Editor Bill Gowdey, Advertising Director Barbara Pickering, Advertising Production Dave LeGate, Art Director Judi Bowles, Production Assistant Richard L. Aldis, Staff Photographer Joyce Bueter, Circulation Manager Willie Lee, Circulation Jane Clark, Promotion Manager Helen Hahn, Executive Secretary The RIFLE Magazine

MUZZLE FLISHES - N THE MORE THAN FOUR years since Rifle first saw the light of day, we ve restricted the content strictly to articles concerning rifles - the only time handguns and shotguns have been mentioned is when they were used for rifle-type shooting, or when the material covered was also applicable to short guns and scatterguns. But for some time I ve wondered about the wisdom of that policy, principally because I ve read many excellent articles that had to be returned to the writers because they concerned neither rifles nor handloading, the sole topics of our two magazines. It can be frustrating to an editor to reject interesting, well-done manuscripts - particularly when it s difficult to ob- EAL K d, tain enough high-quality manuscripts. If Rifle went exclusively to shooters who only own and use rifles, rejecting non-rifle manuscripts might make good sense. But, judging from the number of questions we receive on non-rifle subjects, and knowing of the broad interests of the many readers with whom I am personally acquainted, I am confident that almost all of you readers also own handguns and shotguns, and find them interesting. So we have been considering accepting good articles concerning handgun and shotgun design and use; frankly, one reason is the previously mentioned difficulty in finding enough high-quality articles for The Rifle. I d sooner have a first-rate article on automatic pistol design, for instance, than a just-so-so article in the rifle area. 1 discussed ~ this with quite a few readers, and with our staff, and have received a mixed reaction. Most approve of the idea, though they d prefer not to see more than a couple of nonrifle articles in any one issue. That suits me, for I don t want to change the overall tone of The Rifle, and I doubt that I could find more than a couple of really good shotgun or handgun articles for each issue, if that many. But by expanding the format, we wouldn t be so limited in our coverage, and I think we would have a better more interesting magazine. I ll appreciate having your thoughts on this matter; we ll let the majority rule. * * * Speaking of articles, I would like to see more from you readers. - I know that many of you are quite capable of writing articles that the rest of the readers would appreciate, for I have read your letters. A lot of articles are never to mare. The double cannelure accommodates all seating depths. 30 CAL. VARMINTER This brand new 110-grain Hollow Point is an ideal allaround 30 caliber performer for varmint shooting. Makes any 30 carbine or 30-30 rifle practical for small game (the double cannelure on the jacket indicates appropriate seating at different depths). Many shooters have asked for this lightweight, which combines the high speed and accuracy of other 110-grains with the shock power of the Hollow Point design. It joins 18 other proven Speer 30-cal. bullets. For complete loading data on these two unpublished bullets send 25$ for return postage and handling. EXCLUSIVE FROM M arch-april 1973 P.O. Box 896 Lewiston, Idaho 83501 13

written simply because the potential writer doesn t think of himself as a writer. But anyone who has the facts and can put them down in understandable form can write for us, for we can do whatever cleaning up is necessary to put the article in proper style. We don t mind doing complete rewrites of articles which have the necessary factual information. And we don t care whether or not people who write for us are name writers; some of the best articles we ve had have come from people who never wrote a magazine article before. We don t need opinion pieces, but we would like to see illustrated articles concerning experiments, specific techniques and procedures - just the facts, ma am. Many people who write excellent letters simply can t write articles, because they try to be cute or else they attempt to adopt their favorite writer s style, neither of which is likely to result in a good article. The best way for a beginner to write an article for us is to write it exactly as if he were writing a letter to a knowledgeable 14 BIRCHWOOD CASEY Introduces Super Smooth Rubbing Compound For a low-sheen finish yet glass-like smoothness on new gun stocks. Knocks aown shme on oil. varn6h. lacquer or plastic finisnes without using sandpaper or steelwool Super Smooth Is fne perfect compie menttomefine family of Bircnwood Cosey Wood Care Prod xts TRu-OlLm Gun Stock Wax, Stock Sheen, Stock Filler, and Water-Bare Stains., Write today for Jim Carmichel s How To booklet on gun care and free catalog. BIRCHWOOD CASEY, Eden Prairie, Minn. 55343 Canada: 675 Monteede Liesse, Montreal 377 Que. shooter-friend. Few people attempt to impress their buddies with their command of the English language, and as a result, their letters are both readable and interesting - articles should be written the same way. Manuscripts should be about 10 or 12 pages, double spaced (though longer or shorter articles are sometimes acceptable), accompanied by sharp black and white photographs which help explain the points made in the article. To avoid a lot of work, it s usually best to check in advance to see if we have anything scheduled on a similar subject, or if we are interested in the topic you have in mind. *** The gremlins are at it again. In the final preparation stage of Jim Barnard s article on the 1873 Winchester, in Rifle No. 25, the captions on loads for the.32-20 and.38-40 were transposed. The error was obvious, since the bullet numbers and weights didn t match the cartridges, so 1 doubt that anyone was led astray. But it was also too obvious for us to have let it go by. We apologize. *** There wasn t a great deal of news for riflemen at either the Remington or Winchester seminars, held in November at Remington Farms, in Maryland, and Nil0 Farms, in Illinois. However, southpaws will undoubtedly be delighted to know that a lefthand version of the Model 700 BDL Bolt Action will be available from Remington. It s a mirror-image of the standard 700, even to having the safety on the lefthand side of the tang. The best news of general interest was the announcement of the new Model 3200 American-made Remington overlunder shotgun. This double is externally similar to the classic Remington Model 32, but internally it s an all new, fascinating design with selective trigger and automatic ejection. powders, but nothing that we can write about yet. Both Remington and Winchester expressed concern over the rapidly growing anti-hunter sentiment, and both outlined steps they were taking to combat the problem. For instance, Winchester s 1973 catalog is laden with information concerning the hunters part in the conservation effort. Bill Steck, president and general manager of W. R. Weaver Co., was at the Winchester seminar showing a new line of total reliability Weaver scopes. The aluminum-bodied Classic Series has been discontinued, and the all-steel K and V Models have been extensively revamped for greater ruggedness and fogproofing. Bill says, They will not fog, period. Weaver is also introducing, as an option, a Wider-View scope, which offers an increased field of view, like the Redfield Widefield. We ll have more on these scopes after the staff has had time to give them a workout. I** About the first of January the first issue of a new magazine, published by an affiliate of Wolfe Publishing Co., was mailed to 250,000 physicians. Our new baby, entitled Relax, is tailored to the general recreational interests of doctors, and will cover such areas as travel, recreational vehicles, flying, and other leisure-time activities, including hunting and fishing. The editor is Dick Voelkel, who succeeded Dave Wolfe as editor of Shooting Times - many years ago. This magazine represents - we hope - a great step forward for our young publishing company. Judging from our mail, a considerable number of Rifle readers are physicians; we would greatly appreciate having your comments about the new magazine for we hope to make it a well-liked publication and, frankly, this is a new field for Dave and me, so we would welcome your suggestions. If At Winchester, the only thing new in the rifle line is another commemorative, the Texas Ranger Model 94, which would be worth having, since only 5,000 will be made, but it will only be you enjoy Relax we would particularly appreciate your letting the advertisers know, for they pay the full cost of producing the magazine - and reader response will determine whether the sold in Texas. Numerous slides were magazine is successful. shown of the new St. Marks, Florida, powder plant, which is now producing some new shotshell propellants, and We hope all of you readers will wish us well in this new venture; we ll apmay eventually produce some new rifle preciate your moral support. 0 The RIFLE Magazine

Homer Powley s contributions to ballistics are well-known to every serious rifleman, many of whom have used his load and pressure calculators. But with this article Mr. Powley details, in simplified form, what may prove to be his most important contribution to the science of riflery. Although Mr. Powley calls the Small Arc Trajectory method a breakthrough, he was too modest to mention in the article that he was the one who had made the breakthrough. Mr. Powley developed the formulas used in this method of external ballistics calculations for computer programs, then shortened and simplified the equations for use by those of us who have a limited understanding of math. However, the greatest significance of his method is not that any of us can solve the problems - for most of us will wait for the manufacturers to provide most of the answers in tables. What is more significant is the fact that answers by the Powley method will be more accurate. The ballistic coefficients used by Mr. Powley differ greatly from the ones published by the manufacturers because the handbook figures are all based, with slight variations, upon the old Siacci methods and the Americanized version, the lngalls Tables. These tables determine ballistic coefficients of bullets by comparing their performance to the performance of artillery shell projectile forms. However, the bullet forms on which Mr. Powley based his equations were the same as the U. S. Army Ball M1.30 caliber 172-grain boat-tail, the Ball M2.30 caliber 150-grain flat base, and the Army G7 and G8 secant ogive bullet designs similar to the Hornady Spire Point. Because these bullet forms are similar to the modern bullets we use. the data is more accurate. By the use of nothing more complicated than high school freshman algebra, trajectories can be determined for pointed and pointed boat-tail bullets out to almost any reasonable range. Time of flight, remaining velocity, maximum ordinates (mid-range trajectory) and drop, the effects of a 10 mph cross-wind, altitude and temperature, and even the sight adjustment necessary to change a 100-yard zero to a 1,000-yard zero can be calculated if the Powley ballistic coefficient is known (many are listed in Table 111). If the ballistic coefficient isn t known, the sectional density of the bullet can be used in place of the ballistic coefficient with reasonable accuracy; or the Powley ballistic coefficient can be computed from initial and remaining velocities published in ballistic tables, or from that same information, or time of flight, determined experimentally with a chronograph. Considering the importance of this work, we are particularly pleased that Mr. Powley chose to have it published in The Rifle. - Neal Knox 44 The RIFLE Magazine

March-April 1973

I 1 46 The RIFLE Magazine

Velocity fls 3272 31 07 2944 2784 2627 Energy Max. Ord, Drop, f-lb inches inches 3325 0.o 0.0 3080 0.4 1.7 2770 1.8 6.9 2478 4.3 16.2 2206 8.1 30.O 2473 2322 2175 2033 1895 1763 1636 151 6 1403 1297 1200 1112 1033 964 938 91 3 1961 13.4 1724 20.5 1512 29.7 1321 41.5 1148 56.3 994 74.7 857 97.4 735 125 629 159 538 201 469 251 395 311 341 383 297 469 281 569 266 682 48.8 73.4 104 143 189 246 31 4 394 49 0 604 7 39 898 1085 1305 1572 1869 I March-April 1973 47

~ Haridloader coefficient, assume the sectional density is the ballistic coefficient (i = 1.00) since most pointed bullets have form factors which are not too far away &om unity (I.OO). For the present, this system is not to be used with Ingalls tables, or for spheres or blunt shapes in general. A different set of equations will have to be developed to find times of flight and remaining velocities for such shapes. However, for rough trajectory estimates, you may take remaining velocity data for an Ingalls projectile and use equation No. 9 to find a ballistic coefficient for the TFB bullet; it will have a form factor in the vicinity of 1.5. Following is a way to estimate form factors with which to divide the Sectional Density to more closely estimate Ballistic Coefficients. It is theoretically sound for bullets with tangent radii and sound enough for estimates for bullets with secant radii. If the tangent radius (or, one-half the secant radius) divided by the height of head (the part of the bullet forward of the full diameter) equals or exceeds the Mach Number at the muzzle, then: or, ifbt B~~~ = 0.91 + 4M2 iboat ~ ~ i4.56 l = M2 + 1.6 BT2 where M = meplat diameter, calibers, and BT = base diameter, calibers. The meplat is a word from the French meaning flat front. Recall that the Mach Number is the velocity in feet per second divided by the velocity of sound L ---- V Complete One Cartridgt Size No tiller tool made for loading target quality- ammunition. The features emploved in the Lee Target Model Loader reflect. and are consistent with, the best and iiioyt current thinking and practice 111 the field of loading u1tr.i-fine ammo..\la,qazinc> Lee Custom Engineering, Inc. Hartford, Wisconsin 53027 which is, at 59 F., 1,116.45 feet per second. To determine the effect of your altitude, z, use equation No. 13 as a divisor for C. For example, a trajectory in Grand Island, Nebraska which is 1,850 feet above sea level is calculated for the above 87-grain bullet by CSFB = 0.163/(1-0.0000336*1850) = 0.163l0.938 = 0.174 If, by any chance, you used chronograph data here, then the ballistic coefficient you determined should be multiplied by the altitude factor, h, in order to find the ICAO value. Barometer readings are customarily corrected to sea level when you are not at sea level. The corrected readings are furnished by the weather bureau at airports, or by your own barometer from the adjustment on the back to what it would read if you were at sea level. If you wish to find a trajectory for non-standard conditions of temperature and barometric pressure and not at sea level you change the ICAO C value by dividing it by h, the altitude factor, and then dividing by R, the density ratio, from equations Nos. 13 and 14. R depends upon your barometer reading and the temperature reading. Also it is necessary to divide the muzzle velocity by the mach ratio, s, from equation No. 15 before starting. As an example, let us assume that I. I you wish to calculate a trajectory for use at Camp Perry, where the altitude is 573 feet. Suppose the temperature is 80 F., Barometer is 30.2 inches and you use a match cartridge with 70 F. muzzle velocity equal to 2,594 fps. Using the Speer Manual, you estimate the effect of temperature on the powder will increase the muzzle velocity to an actual 2,641. Use equation No. 15 to calculate s =*j(460 + 80)/519 = 1.020 Then 2641/1.02 = 2589 f/s This is for aerodynamic reasons. Use equation No. 13 to calculate h = 1-0.0000336*573 = 0.9808 and use equation No. 14 to calculate R = 29.92(460 + 80)/519*30.2 = 1.0308 l/hr = 1/1.0308*0.9808 = 0.989 The ballistic coefficient of the match bullet was 0.259 at ICAO conditions, so this is to be multiplied by the factor, 0.989, = 0.256, the value to be used for calculation with a velocity of 2589 fps for a summer s afternoon at Camp Perry. You note that we have not considered humidity. There are additional corrections to be used for humidity but they are ordinarily too small to justify extending the calculations to include them. Occasionally, angles of departure in mils are required. For example, from Table V where the drop at 2,000 yards (6000 feet) is 1,869 inches, use equation No. 16: 1869*84.83/6000 = 26.4 mils More frequently, we have a rifle zeroed at some range and we wish to know how much to hold over, or under; that is, we require to know the sighting error. First use equation No. 17 to get this in inches. For example, look at Table V where the drop at 100 yards is 1.7 inches and at 600 yards it is 73.4 inches. The sight is 2.1 inches above the bore. 1800( 1.7 + 2.1)/300-73.4-2.1 = -52.7 inches below aim. Next use equation No. 18: 300*52.7/1800 = 8.76 = MOA In target shooting vernacular, 600 is 8 minutes and 3 clicks up from 100. Other substitute equations have been put together to accommodate pistols and the like but it is time now to pause and put what we have above to good use. Now, has it occurred to you that we have a rather complete ballistic system for small arms and we no longer are dependent on the old Siacci ballistic table methods? 48 The RIFLE Magazine