JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1990 NUMBER 127

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The Sporting Firearms Journal

Number 127

Volume 22, Number 1 ISSN 0162-3583 January-February 1990

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FEATURES Notes on African Hunting - Part I1 Layne Simpson 20 Clothing and personal gear.

A Father, A Son & Two 7mm’s Dan Aadland 23 A tale of two hunters.

Scope Mounts: Holding the Rifle’s Eye Wayne van Zwoll 26 Which is best for your gun? A .444 SMLE Harley Shaw 30 An interesting and useful conversion.

Gunsmithing the Swedish Mauser Bruce Bolster and 3 3 Civilianizing a veteran. Erich Mantler

hading for Speed - Cast Bullets at 2,700 fps . . . Accurately Dave Scovill 36 Making cast bullets live up to their potential.

Bullet Expansion from the 6.5mm TCU Charles A. Benke 42 Selecting game bullets for the small round.

Gil Sengel Examines the P.A.S. Action Gil Sengel 44 A new action for accuracy buffs.

DEPARTMENTS

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10 12 14 16 19 65 67 72

A1 Miller Spotting Scope We’ve Come a Long Way, Buddy. . . . Classic Rifles Ken Waters The Ward-Burton. Capitol Watch Neal Knox Drugs Triggering Berserkers? Dear Editor March on Washington, Stand for Rights, Thanks - But No Thanks, .358 Super Mag. Air Rifles Jess Galan Reflections on a Decade. The Armsmaker Wayne van Zwoll Remington’s Renewal. Famous Riflemen Sam Fadala Jim Corbett. Custom Corner A1 Miller Brad Horning.

Product & Service News Simmons Outdoor Corporation, Shur-Aim, Beretta USA, Nosler Bullets, Inc.

ProducTests Bausch & Lomb 1 . 5 ~ 6 ~ Variable, Zoli Model AZ-1900, Steiner Binoculars. Book/Video Reviews Marlin Firearms, Tales of the Big Game Hunters, Fast and Fancy Shooters.

On the cover . . . A fine rifle deserves quality accessories. The Steyr-Mannlicher Luxus model, with its in- tricately engraved receiver and choice wood is complemented nicely by the cleaning rod, tools, brushes and jags from a Crane & Crane cleaning set. Photo by Gerald Hudson.

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AIR RIFLES Jess Calan

Reflections on a Decade S THE LAST WEEKS of 1989 A slipped by, bringing the decade

to a close, I couldn’t help but reflect back upon the numerous and some- t h e s tremendous changes that have taken place in the world of airguns dur- ing the past several years.

To be sure, that world was quite dif- ferent back in January of 1980 when I attended my first SHOT Show. Although most of the half dozen or so airgun companies at that show were exhibiting new models and related equipment, adult airguns in general were still struggling to win recognition as a serious and permanent branch of the shooting sports. Many firearms en- thusiasts, for instance, still viewed all airguns as scarcely one step above toys, with little redeeming value when com- pared with “real” guns. Some even went so far as to point accusing fingers at airguns, denouncing them as a potential threat to the legitimate use and ownership of firearms.

The die was cast, however, and airguns began to gain ground faster than ever before. The impetus was maintained by a veritable onslaught of models from all the major manufac- turers, American as well as foreign. In the latter category, three major West German airgun companies - Dianawerk, Feinwerkbau and Weih- rauch - led the assault, almost totally dominating the airgun market of the early 1980s, as they had the previous two decades. Nevertheless, the winds of change were beginning to blow in a way that would affect the entire airgun scene profoundly.

In 1980, for instance, the Daisy Manufacturing Company marketed the first match-grade air pistol made in America, the Model 777. Just as significant, the Model 777 - still very much in production, by the way - utilized the single-stroke pneumatic power plant. Up to that time, only Walther and a couple of Italian com- panies had incorporated that power plant in their match air pistols. Although the Daisy 777 did not achieve the success of some‘ of its European rivals, it signified America’s first serious attempt to challenge the big

names in international airgun compe- tition.

By late 1983, Crosman Air Guns was ready with its own challenge to the West Germans. The superb Crosman Model 84 match rifle was topnotch in every respect and intended €or the 1984 Olympics, which incorporated the 10- meter air rifle course as a sanctioned event for the first time ever. Although the Model 84 did not win any medals at the Olympics that year, it estab- lished itself firmly in international shooting circles. Just as important, it was the first world-class match rifle to be powered by CO2, a radical departure from the spring-piston match airguns so predominant at the time.

By the mid-l980s, the days of the spring-piston match airgun were numbered. This power plant, refined to the utmost with ingenious recoilless operation, had reigned supreme since the West Germans first developed the modern match airgun during the early 1960s. The tremendous advance of the inherently recoilless single-stroke pneumatic and C02 systems, however, rendered the complex spring-piston power plants used in match airguns basically obsolete. Currently, the vast majority of world-class match air rifles and air pistols utilize either the single- stroke pneumatic system or C02 opera- tion. Dianawerk was the last of the major West German airgun manufac. turers to introduce a single-stroke pneumatic match rifle, the Model 100, while Feinwerkbau’s Model 600 has been available for several years and Walther’s Model LGR, the first of the genre, dates back to the mid-1970s.

Walther and Feinwerkbau also pro- duce respective world-class CO2 rifles and pistols, by the way. In the United States, a couple of years ago Crosman introduced the Model 88 CO2 match pistol, designed in cooperation with Olympic pistol champion Ragnar Skanaker of Sweden. The trend is clear as far as match airguns are concerned.

Despite its steep decline in match airguns, the spring-piston power plant is still going strong in the area of sport- ing adult airguns. This group includes

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Textbook o f Pistols & Revolvers by Julian Hatcher #570.8 $54.00 Hatcher wrote this shooters' bible in 1935 and it remains a classic full of invaluable information.

Military and Sporting Rifle Shooting by Captain E.C. Crossman R570.9 $45.00 A complete and practical treatise covering the use of rifles. Truly a book for shooters by shooters.

A Hunter's Wanderings in Africa by F.C. Selous #570.10 $47.00 A narrative of nine years spent amongst the game of South Africa's far interior.

Modern Sportsman's Gun and Rifle Vol. I by J.H. Walsh ("Stonehenge") #570.11 555.00 Extremely rare book in America; covers game, sporting ana match rifles, and revolvers.

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Modern American Pistols and Revolvers by A.C. Gould #570.13 $37.00 An account of the development of these arms as well as the manner of shooting them.

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Wilderness Hunting and Wildcraft by Townsend Whelen #570.15 $39.00 Plentiful information on sheep and mountain hunting with notes on life histories of big game animals. Profusely illustrated.

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January-February 1990 77

Formerly chambered for the .303 British, the 444 Marlin SMLE sporter features a Weaver K1 scope, a Fajen prefitted stock and an Apex one-in-18-inch twist barrel to stabilize heavy .44caliber bullets.

Harley Shaw

ONVERSION OF military rifles C has proliferated to the point that devising something unique is almost impossible. The project described here was pursued over a 15-year period, with no particular purpose in mind other than satisfying my curiosity. At this time, the job seems complete and I deem it a total, if unlikely, success.

The project started with the carcass of a No. IV Short Model Lee-Enfield (SMLE, known with various degrees of affection as the “Smelly”). At the time I acquired the rifle, the action was intact, but the stock was shattered and the barrel was bent midpoint a t an angle of about 25 degrees. Considering the price of these surplus rifles a t the time ($15 to $20), the materials in hand were little more than a pile of scrap.

The pile of scrap came to me accom- panied by a vague tale of a hunter who had pounded the rifle to smithereens against a rock before handing it over to a game warden.

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A .444

The Smelly carcass (pardon the pun) had inhabited a corner of my office for several years before I realized that the action could be salvaged. The mag- azine was missing, but the action func- tioned as reliably as any other surplus military rifle.

In considering possible conversions I reviewed P.O. Ackley’s Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders and Barnes’ Cartridges of the World. I could have simply screwed another .303 British

barrel in place of the bent one but such barrels were abundant and cheap and going back to the original caliber seemed to lack adventure.

I also discovered an array of Australian and Canadian conversions that are based on the .303 British case: .22/.303 (Sprinter), .243/.303, .25/.303, .303 ICL Improved, .303 Epps Im- proved, .270/.303 British (Shannon), 6mml.303 Epps, .25/.303 Epps, 6.51.303 Epps and the .270/.303 Epps. These car- tridges, however, were designed to beef up the standard .303 and they reached their best potential in the strong P14 Enfield or modern single shots. My old No. IV had no such reputation for strength, hence I was looking for a car- tridge that it could handle easily. Besides, those wildcats required fire- forming or a loading technique that looked more like work than fun. I continued to search outside of the array of conventional conversions.

There was little evidence that the .303 British could be adapted to larger calibers such as ,338 or .35. As it turned out, creating a big bore on the .303 cartridge would require special reamers and loading dies. I had gone this route before (Handloader No. 83,

Rim diameters for the ,303 British and ,444 Marlin case are similar and bolt face alterations are not required.

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SMLE “A Sensible Wildcat”) and while the results were gratifying, I decided that the luxury of shooting a unique car- tridge was worth the expense only once. I focused on something more con- ventional.

Then came a revelation. While reading Cartridges of the World for the one-hundredth time, I discovered that the rim diameter of the .303 British and the .444 Marlin were essentially identical. Fiddling with a .444 case in the Enfield action disclosed that the ex- tractor grasped the rim adequately. The .444 was a natural for lobbing large cast bullets. I was on my way.

A survey of old Handloader and Rifle magazines disclosed that Frank de Haas had explored the problems of shooting heavy bullets in the .444. Basically, he discovered that the slow twist of the Marlin lever actions would not stabilize bullets that weighed much over 300 grains and that something on the order of a one-in-15 to one-in- 20-inch twist was required to make bigger bullets strike the target nose first.

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The rails on the original rear sight (inset) were cut off and the aperture was secured with setscrews.

Ed Havens of Flagstaff, Arizona, fitted a 1-in-18-inch twist Apex barrel. He also modified a Weaver scope mount which allowed me to attach an inexpen- sive 4x scope for load testing. A Fajen prefinished sporter stock literally snapped into place after I gouged some wood out to make room for the large barrel and Ed dug a spare box magazine out of a drawer in his shop. Overnight my scrap heap became a shootable rifle and my costs were hovering around $150. It all seemed to be a miracle.

I did not yet have the heavy bullets for which the gun was designed, so my

initial experiments were with standard jacketed 240 and 265-grain factory loads or their equivalents. These per- formed well, shooting generally within t

two to three inches at 100 yards. Stan- dard .44 Magnum cast pistol bullets in the 240-grain range also shot well when pushed around 1,500 fps. The lit- tle 190-grain Lee wadcutter bullet ahead of 5 grains of Bullseye was a special surprise. It punched a ragged hole at 40 yards and hit point of aim at that range using the same sight set- ting for the 265-grain jacketed factory load at 100 yards. It was a perfect com- bination gun for small and big game, something I’d never been able to make

Bullets tested in the ,444 Marlin included (left To right) 265-grain JSP, NEl‘s 350.429, Lyman’s (obsolete) 429434 and Lee’s 429-208-WC.

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January-February 1990 31

work with other rifles or cartridges. I was still not lobbing the large

bullets for which the rifle was in- tended. To accelerate my experiments along these lines, I ordered a batch of 350-grain Barnes jacketed bullets. Shooting the jacketed bullets would give me some idea of the performance of bullets of this weight before I invested in a custom mould. As it turned out, this decision slowed my progress. Over a period of about seven years, involving orders and reorders through a variety of dealers, the heavy jacketed bullets never arrived. The crux of the matter, as I understand it, was that my order alone was not worth tooling up for and nobody was ordering that particular bullet. I had no desire to acquire a large supply, so finally gave up on that source.

In the meantime, however, I attacked the problem of getting the .444 Marlin cartridges to feed from the magazine. Anyone who has fiddled with rifle con- versions knows that making a car- tridge feed from a magazine for which it was not designed can be impossible and may diminish the perfection of the most exciting projects. For the Enfield, I’m happy to say, this did not turn out to be the case.

The long, tapered .303 British cases feed from staggered positions in the

Enfield’s wide box clip. Attempts to in- sert the .444 cases into the unmodified clip revealed that this chubby, un- tapered case would neither stagger nor feed. Something was needed to allow the cartridges to be stacked straight. At the time I reached this stage of development, I was living at an isolated location in Arizona’s North Kaibab Forest and had little available in the way of tools. In a scrap pile behind the cabin, I found a piece of sheet iron of appropriate thickness and stiffness and fashioned an insert for the Enfield clip. This held the .444 car- tridges in line and the follower and spring were removed from the original clip. The inverted spring, without follower, fit inside the rough-formed in- sert perfectly. A cold chisel was used to form the lips of the insert, the base of a Handyman jack served as an anvil, and a battery-operated chainsaw sharpener polished the chiseled lips after they were bent into place. The result was a clip inside a clip that feeds every load I’ve pushed through it. I im- agine a good gunsmith could take this prototype and make something that looks more presentable but I doubt that I’ll bother. My rough metal work is in- visible as long as the action is closed and the thing works.

A series of moves forced me to store the rifle and my plans to lob large

The ,444 Marlin “clip within a clip” conversion (left) i s compared to the standard ,303 British version (right).

Backed by 5.0 grains of Bullseye, the Lee 429-208-WC cut this point of aim cluster at 40 yards with the same sight setting used for the 265-grain JSP at 100 yards.

chunks of lead were postponed for some six years. Once settled again, however, I dug the crude old beast from storage and ordered a two-cavity mould from NEUTooldyne (9330 NE Halsey, Portland OR 97220). This mould throws a roundnosed gas check bullet of about 350 grains. I played with loads ranging from 30.0 to 35.0 grains of 4198 and settled on 32.0 grains. The gun will shoot this load inside a six- inch bull at 100 yards all day and most of the shots stay inside three inches.

The only other refinements I’ve made involve sights. I found a Weaver steel- tubed K1 in virtually new condition gathering dust in an antique shop in Yarnell, Arizona. The price was right and this non-magnifying scope fits the rifle’s lines and carries out my concept of a short-range lead-lobber. It is the ri- fle’s primary sight.

As a backup, I installed a Patridge front blade and sighted the rifle in for the aforementioned cast bullet load us- ing the aperture portion of the original military sight. Once the proper setting for the rear sight was determined, ver- tical cuts were made in the rails and the aperture was secured with two small screws. This eliminated the ad- justable elevation feature but it folds nicely under the scope and lies ready should the scope fail.

My epic with the Lee Enfield seems to have ended and I can file it away until a suitable hunt is scheduled. I keep looking at the toe of the buttstock and thinking how nice it would be to have a trapdoor compartment for three or four cartridges. Now where did I leave Brownells’ catalog? 0

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