Another Reduced Charge for the Springfield
By W. Cary Nicholas
American Rifleman, vol 62, no. 16, July 14, 1917 – pages 309-310
MANY and varied are the special loads for the service rifle which have been suggested to N. R. A. members through ARMS AND THE MAN and other sporting papers, so that it seems hardly necessary to try and add anything to the sum total of information on this subject, especially since the load I am going to describe is neither new nor of my own concoction. It is, however. as I have found through personal experience, a thoroughly reliable practice load for the Springfield rifle “as issued.” Therefore it may stand further discussion.
With it, thousands of rounds may be fired without the slightest injury to the barrel and the rifle may be cleaned as easily as a .22 calibre, arm is “doped,” with no resultant trouble from metal fouling, as is sometimes the case when the full service charge and metal-cased bullet is used. It is furthermore, extremely pleasant to shoot, as the recoil is reduced to a minimum—-a consideration which is well worth while since, as every rifleman knows, even the “old timer” gets from the full service charge an occasional jab that shakes him up a bit; also, while “an occasional jab” means nothing to the seasoned shot, it is likely to induce that propensity so fatal to good shooting—flinching—in the raw recruit.
It is fairly astonishing how many N. R. A. riflemen have never tried reduced charge shooting, especially in the face of the present prohibitive cost of full charge cartridges, and when the only answer possible to the question “How can a man continue shooting?” is: “Use reduced charges and load your own.”
It is really a case of load your own or go without. Personally I have had the most gratifying results and at the same time found a great deal of pleasure in preparing my own ammunition both in the reduced loads and the full charges. If you are to prepare your own ammunition it will require, of course, a set of good tools.
As my experience has been confined to one make for a period of years I mention them: the Ideal tools made by the Ideal Mfg. Co. of New Haven, Conn. I know, of course, that there are other makers of reloading tools that will answer just as well but as I have not used them I am not qualified to speak, and as this is an effort to put before the members of the N. R. A. a concrete example of personal experience I will confine myself entirely to just what I know to be good and to make no comparisons in any way.
As the reloading of different bullets require slightly different tools we will consider only those necessary for the reloading the reduced charge of 25 ½ grams of Dupont No. 21 with Bullet No. 308,334, leaving the loading of the full charge to a later date, the tools needed in addition to the reduced charge outfit being few and inexpensive.
Tools required for reloading reduced charge are:
One Ideal No. 5 universal powder measure with short drop tube.
One Ideal Bullet mould for bullet No. 308.334
One Ideal melting pot.
One Ideal dipper.
One Ideal No. 10 special tool with single adjustable chamber .30 Cal.
One Ideal muzzle resizer for shell.
One Ideal Kake cutter.
One Ideal bullet sizer chamber to size bullet No. 308,334 down to .311", the bullet as it comes from the mould measuring approximately .314” on the first band and .313" on the second (measured from the point). As the greatest diameter of the rifle is .308", the bullet must be sized down to .311", this extra size permitting the bullet to fit snugly in the rifling and preventing any possible escape of gas ahead of the bullet which will streak it and possibly cause erosion. The entire cost of the above tools will not exceed ten dollars and from this a liberal discount is allowed by the makers to N. R. A. members. -
A pound of Dupont powder No. 2: costs in the open market $1.25 and to load 1,000 shells with 25 ½ grains, 3 3/5 pounds will be required. .
Ideal Bullet metal- No. 2 costs, or did a short time ago 18 cents per pound. This metal is composed of 90 parts of lead, 5 parts tin and 5 parts antimony. It will require about 28 pounds to make 1,000 Bullets No. 308,334
Gas check cups (these are little copper cups which are fitted onto the base of the bullet to prevent the hot gases from melting the metal) can be tapped on with a few sharp blows, but a machine which will do this work can be purchased at small cost. They will cost about $1.00 per thousand.
Lubrication can be accomplished with a number of materials. I have always made my own out of yellow beeswax and cylinder oil, a combination which works very well.
If this mixture be used, heat it to the right consistency and dip the bullet base downward into it up to and including the first ring. The lubricant must be thick enough to stay in the ring without running off. After dipping set the bullets aside and they will dry in a few minutes. They can then be run through the kake cutter.
You can lubricate enough bullets in a couple of hours to last you all season, although it is rather sticky work and you may have to re-heat your material once Or twice to keep it at the right thickness. Do not lubricate the second ring on the bullet and you will have a cleaner job, it is not necessary and you can use this ring as a guide when seating the bullet in the shell, adjusting the single adjustable chamber in such a manner that the mouth of the shell will come just to the upper edge of the second ring.
Any non-mercuric primer will answer that is adapted to the service shell; as a matter of fact the U. S. No. 8 does my work very nicely. They will cost around $3.25 per M.
From the above it will appear that the reloading of 1,000 shells with 25 ½ grains of No. 21 Dupont powder and bullet No. 308,334 will cost as follows:
Cost of
Powder, 3 3/5 lbs.
at $1.25 per lb . .
. . $4.50
“ “ Bullets,
28 lbs. of
metal at .18 per lb . . . . 5.04
“ “ Primers
at $3.25 per
M. . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.25
Total . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . $12.79
I am not considering the cost of the lubricant as it is practically nothing, nor am I considering the original cost of the tolls as they will last a life time with a little care and attention and save their cost many times over in the first few hundred shells reloaded. Neither are the shells themselves considered as with the reduced load I have reloaded some of mine as high as twenty times and still have them in very good condition.
With the full service charge, of course, shells will not last as long although I have some that have been reloaded ten times and they show no signs of deterioration as yet. The chief place to look for trouble is in splitting of the necks and enlarged primer seats when using full charges.
As soon as possible after using your shells, decap the empties. The tool for this job comes with tool No. 10. Then throw shells into warm water and wash with common soap; this will prolong the life of the shells consider ably. After washing put away to dry. The sun light is the best but on no account put them in an oven in order to hasten the drying process. If there is no sun and you must not put them in an oven, why you should worry; the shells will dry all right.
When dry recap and size the necks with the muzzle resizer. The shell should be sized for a distance of about 1/8 " from end; if you do not do this the bullet will drop down into the shell. Shells always have to be resized after firing because the explosion of the powder swells the necks and in fact sometimes the entire shell. You will not have much trouble with swelling, however, if you do not overload.
To load the powder, set the slide D at 30, using both D and E slides; slide F should be pushed all the way home. This setting will give you 25 ½ Gr. of No. 21 powder or near enough to it for all practical uses. Then place the neck of the shell under the short drop tube and work the handle of the powder measure; this will transfer 25 ½ Gr. of powder from the powder reservoir into the shell.
When the shells have been charged (being careful not to get two charges in one shell), take the No. 10 tool and the single adjustable chamber which comes with the tool and adjust the chamber in the screw socket in such a manner that when the cartridge has been placed in the tool and the handle completely closed it will bring the neck of the shell up to the edge of the second ring on the bullet No. 308,334.
You will have to do this very carefully as all shells are not the same length and one bullet may be seated too deep and_ another not deep enough. You will understand the thing with a little practice-. Remove the cartridge from time to time, applying a little more pressure each time until the bullet appears to be seated properly.
When it appears that the chamber has been set just the right distance you can then use the locknut on the chamber and set it just as you wish. Even then you must watch carefully for any variation in lengths. The variations are never such as you can see but practice will tell you best how to get each bullet seated just right.
Moulding the bullet is a hot job, but once you get the knack of it you will make progress rapidly. The main thing is to keep the metal at the right heat. The bullet mould itself is a contrary cuss and will refuse to work properly until heated up to just the right degree. Do not attempt to gain time, however, by hastening its heating in any other way than just pouring the lead into it.
After a dozen casts or so have been made the mould will be heated sufficiently and you will begin to get perfect bullets. Once you have the mould heated and the metal working right, you will be astonished to see what perfect bullets you can cast.
Do not be discouraged if at first you don’t get it just right and the bullets look crimpy and creased—you can remelt the poor ones, so don’t keep any but perfect bullets; chuck the deformed ones back in the melting pot.
When the metal gets too hot the bullets will appear gray and sort of granulated; when they appear so let the metal cool off a bit.
When using this ammunition it will be necessary to set the sight at 750 yards when actually shooting but 200 yards using the 8" bull’s-eye. When shooting at 300 yards set the sight at 925 yards when shooting at an actual 300 yards.
While shooting at 500 yards it is necessary to set the sight at 1150 yards, using the 20" bull’s-eye.
The fact of the additional allowance of sighting need not bother anyone in the least. in fact it will be rather good practice for shooting the longer ranges but 500 yards is as far as it is practical to use this reduced load, yet up to and including this range you will find that you can get possibles with this combination, provided, of course, that the firer holds properly. However, if he can do it with any load he can do it with this, with the proper sight setting as described above.
Personally I am very much in favor of practice with the reduced load as it will induce many to shoot who otherwise could not afford it, and as a matter of practice it is my conviction that a man who can prove himself proficient with the reduced loads at the various distances from 200 yards to 500 yards will require but very little if any practice with the service charge in order to hold up his end.
In addition to that he will have had the same practice as if he had actually shot at 750, 925 and 1150 yards, due to the necessity of fixing his elevation to allow for the reduced load at actual 200- 300- and 500-yard ranges.
If you are considering the reloading of your own ammunition, by all means secure an Ideal handbook No. 26 from the makers of these tools. In it you will find in a clear and concise manner described all the points, etc., that it will be necessary to know in reloading any shell. Follow directions implicitly until you find you can improve upon them.
Moreover if you find marked upon the powder can so many grains of powder for this or that load do not let your powder measure slip a grain or two over or under as a grain more or less one way or the other may some time astonish you. Set the measure at the proper mark and verify the weight by some reliable scale.
Never attempt to cast bullets of pure lead; the metal must be hardened and properly fluxed. The best way is to buy your metal already prepared.
If you are in any doubt as to powder, etc., ask any of the standard powder makers and they will send you reams of literature free of charge. Tell them, however, just what you want and for what load; don't leave any thing to guesswork.
With a little care and interest in preparing the ammunition you will never regret having taking up loading your own.