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Tom Turpin

Greatest Cartridges: The Life-Saving .357 Magnum

The .357 Magnum became a popular law enforcement choice, after it was found the .38 Special did not have the stopping power to save officers' lives.
The .357 Magnum became a popular law enforcement choice, after it was found the .38 Special did not have the stopping power to save officers' lives.

This powerful-for-the-time cartridge was introduced in 1934 and was an almost immediate success. It is, in essence, a .38 Special case lengthened by 1/8th of an inch to prevent the possibility of firing the higher pressure round in chambers designed for .38 Special pressures.

Wikipedia credits Elmer Keith, Phil Sharpe, D.B. Wesson of Smith & Wesson, and Winchester, for the development of the cartridge. The 3rd Edition of Mike Bussard's Ammo Encyclopedia credits only Smith & Wesson.

Elmer Keith writes in his book Sixguns as follows: “Next we have the .357 magnum Smith & Wesson cartridge. I worked with Doug Wesson on this development and sent him the first Keith bullets used in developing the load. We also put 1000 rounds of 173 grain Keith solids backed by 11 grains No. 80 through a .38/44 Heavy duty S.&W. Revolver just to see if it would take them or blow up. They developed an average of 42,000 pounds and the gun held them with no danger.”

Phil Sharpe, in his book, Complete Guide to Handloading, wrote “The .357 Magnum cartridge was born in the mind of the author several years ago. On a hunting trip with Colonel D. B. Wesson, Vice-President of Smith & Wesson, a pair of heavy frame Outdoorsmen model revolvers were used with a large assortment of handloads developed and previously tested by the author. In the field they proved entirely practical, but Colonel Wesson was not content to attempt the development of a Magnum .38 special cartridge for ordinary revolvers, and set to work on a new gun planned in the field.”

However, a bit later in the same chapter, he wrote, “The author is not connected with any arms or ammunition maker and desires this fact clearly understood. He did not design the gun or the cartridge, although he cooperated and collaborated in a minor way.” Why he chose to distance himself from the project, I have no idea. Perhaps he was concerned about liability issues.

Both Keith and Sharpe mention Colonel Wesson and also Winchester in their writings on the .357 magnum, so it's a safe bet that all were involved.

For many years, starting around 1902, through essentially WWII, the chances of finding a police department armed with anything other than a revolver, either Colt or Smith & Wesson, chambered for the .38 Special cartridge, were about the same as finding a rooster with lips!

Police files are rife with hair raising details of police shootings which involved multiple hits on criminals and still having the perp wound or even worse kill the officer(s) involved. I personally witnessed such an event many years ago. The policeman involved was a friend of my family.

A few weeks before the incident, he had reluctantly accepted the job as Chief of Police of a small town. The town provided no equipment support and each LEO was required to provide his on handgun. The only one my friend owned was a WWII surplus 1911 auto in .45 ACP.

He caught all manners of flak about carrying such a cannon, so he traded it in on a new S&W Chief's Special. A few weeks later, while serving a warrant, he was involved in a shootout. He shot the perp several times, putting him on the ground, down but no where near out. The perp shot him from the ground and killed my friend instantly and he expired from his wounds later that evening.

The .357 Magnum is simple a .38 Special cartridge that has been lengthened by 1/8 of an inch.
The .357 Magnum is simple a .38 Special cartridge that has been lengthened by 1/8 of an inch.

Had the LEO still been armed with the 1911, I'm sure the outcome would have been far different.

Many police officers across the country upgraded their arms by adding a revolver chambered for the .357 magnum, often doing so at their own expense. While many Police Departments frowned on the practice, the officers could use either .38 Special or .357 magnum cartridges in the same revolver.

These days, most PDs around the country have armed their officers with semi-auto pistols. Quite a few switched to the 9mm Luger, but it is my sense that many have gone to larger calibers such as the .40 S&W, 10mm, or even the .45 ACP.

As I write these words, the US Army has announced that they are looking to replace the standard sidearm, the Beretta 9mm, with a larger, more powerful handgun/cartridge combination. I thought that they had learned that lesson in the Spanish-American conflict before the turn of the twentieth century.

I guess the old adage, the more things change, the more they stay the same, applies.

Greatest Cartridges: 7.62×51 NATO or .308, Either Way it Packs a Punch

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The 7.62x51 NATO or .308 Winchester offers nearly the same ballistics as a .30-06, but in a more compact cartridge.
The 7.62×51 NATO or .308 Winchester offers nearly the same ballistics as a .30-06, but in a more compact cartridge.

First, let's start this discussion with a comparison between the 7.62×51 NATO cartridge and its civilian counterpart, the .308 Winchester. The differences between them are very small, but they are not precisely the same.

Since the cartridge was designed to be the NATO standard military battle rifle cartridge, the military specification for the NATO round required a thicker brass cartridge case, and established a maximum chamber pressure of 50,000 psi. On the other hand, the commercial .308 Winchester has no such brass thickness specifications, and the SAAMI established maximum chamber pressure is 60,000 psi.

There are some other very minimal differences, but in practice it is generally safe to use the two cartridges interchangeably. If using .308 Win. ammo in a rifle chambered for the 7.62×51 NATO round, the shooter should pay close attention to the overall condition of the rifle, as the commercial round is loaded to higher maximum pressures.

The cartridge was developed in the 1950's as the NATO standard small-arms cartridge. Standardizing a single cartridge for use among all the NATO allies provided a substantial advantage over the previous situation whereby each NATO nation was armed with its own cartridge with little, if any, interchangeability.

The US military at the time was still armed with the M1 Garand .30-06. NATO adopted the cartridge as its standard in 1954. Winchester ammunition offered the commercial version of the cartridge to the marketplace in 1952, a couple years earlier than the NATO adoption. The US Army adopted the M14 rifle in 1957, and chambered it and the M60 machine gun for the 7.62×51mm NATO round.

As an aside, I entered the US Army in 1960, and the M14 hadn't yet reached Fort Gordon, Georgia by then. We were still using the old M1. I don't remember when I saw my first M14, but it was sometime after that. I was on a couple military rifle teams during that era, and for our competitive shooting, we were using National Match M1 rifles. The M14 had a very short service life as the main battle rifle. Not very many years after its introduction, Vietnam got hot and hotter as time passed.

In that jungle atmosphere, the M14 posed several problems.

It was a long and reasonably heavy rifle, neither of which was well suited for the steaming jungles of RVN. In addition, the weight of the ammunition restricted the amount that could be carried by the individual soldier. The DOD folks did numerous studies and conducted countless tests finally arriving at the conclusion that in this case anyway, smaller really was better. They deduced that an 8-soldier unit armed with AR-15 rifles and .223 Remington ammo could outgun an 11-soldier unit armed with M14 rifles and 7.62×51 ammo.

The M14 was one of the first battle rifles specifically chambered for the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge. The popular semiautomatic M1A is also fed the round.
The M14 was one of the first battle rifles specifically chambered for the 7.62×51 NATO cartridge. The popular semiautomatic M1A is also fed the round.

On the other hand, the .308 Winchester is still going strong. There is good reason for that fact.

The difference in power between the .30-06 and the .308 Win is, on average, around 100 fps, using the same bullet weight. The cartridge will fit through a shorter action than the .30-06, which to some might offer an advantage. We could probably come up with other nits, but in reality no animal that ever lived could tell the difference in being squarely struck with a good 165 grain bullet traveling at 2700 fps, and the same good bullet 100 fps faster.

I recently picked up a very nice .308 custom rifle built for someone else, with metalsmithing by Dave Talley. I haven't been able to determine with 100-percent certainty who crafted the stock, but all indications point to the late Jere Eggleston as the maker.

It is a terrific little rifle. It is built on an intermediate length Mauser action, and shoots like a dream. With the unlikely exception of another Cape buffalo hunt in Africa, I could comfortably and efficiently do all the remaining hunting I have left in me with this one rifle. So could most everyone else.

Greatest Cartridges: The Amazing .30-06 Springfield

A hunter with a rifle chambered .30-06 Springfield will find the world his oyster.
A hunter with a rifle chambered .30-06 Springfield will find the world his oyster.

There is now, and has been since the Chinese invented gunpowder, a continuing debate seeking the mythical “best all-around cartridge.” One can make a really convincing argument for the .30-06 as that cartridge.

Excluding the elephant, Cape buffalo, rhino, hippo, and I might add lion of Africa, and, perhaps another animal or two from elsewhere, an accurate rifle using proper bullets in the old Springfield will get most any job done convincingly.

Fortunately, most of us do not have to make that kind of decision as we can select a cartridge that is essentially ideal for a particular animal being hunted. How this really splendid cartridge came about is an interesting story.

In 1898, the Spanish-American war broke out. While US power prevailed handily, it was not without some eye-opening experiences.

At the time, the standard military armament was the .30 Government (.30-40 Krag) and the 6mm Lee Navy. The Krag was loaded with a 220-grain round-nosed bullet with a velocity of 2000 fps, whereas the opposition were armed with Mauser rifles chambered for the 7×57 cartridge loaded with lighter weight spitzer bullets at a much faster velocity.

Both the 7×57 cartridge and the Mauser rifles that fired it proved to be far superior to the arms and ammunition carried by our soldiers. When that fracas was over, the military planners set about designing a new rifle and a new cartridge.

Most of Europe had rearmed with spitzer bullet designs when the military introduced the new Springfield rifle and the equally new .30-03 cartridge to accompany it in 1903. Unfortunately, the .30-03 service cartridge was loaded with the same 220-grain round-nose bullet as the Krag. They did increase the velocity to about 2300 fps, but it still fell well behind the European developments in performance.

The cartridge was then redesigned with a slightly shorter neck to accommodate a spitzer flat-based bullet weighing 150 grains and developing a muzzle velocity of around 2,700 fps. The Springfield rifles brought out for the .30-03 cartridge were modified to accept the new cartridge, designated the M1906 cartridge.

Several modifications were made to the loading of the cartridge from time to time and for various reasons. In 1938, the M2 Ball cartridge, loaded with a 151 grain, flat base bullet and delivering a minimum of 2,740 fps velocity, became the standard issue ammunition for military rifles and .30 caliber machine guns until the cartridge was replaced by the 7.62×51(.308) NATO service round.

It didn't take long before the US commercial rifle and ammunition manufacturers began producing both rifles and ammo for the new military cartridge, and, as the old saying goes, “the rest is history.”

In its long history, it has been loaded in about every bullet weight available in .30 caliber. The lightest bullet weight that I've seen commercially loaded was the 110-grain bullet, and the heaviest, the 220-grain bullet. I've heard of lighter than 110-grain and heavier than 220-grain bullets loaded in custom ammo, however.

A quick look in the ammo section of the 2014 68th edition of Gun Digest reflects ammo available loaded with bullets weighing 55, 125, 150, 152, 165, 168, 170, 178, 180, and 220 grains. If that doesn't cover the waterfront, I don't know what would.

Personally, I don't subscribe to the one-gun fits all theory anyway. I suspect the .30-06 is probably as close as it gets to fitting that one gun does all requirements, but it is still a compromise on the upper and lower ends of the spectrum.

The .30-06 Springfield know today has gone through many evolutions. One of its first was a shorting of its neck from the .30-03 to better hold the flat-based spitzer bullet.
The .30-06 Springfield know today has gone through many evolutions. One of its first was a shorting of its neck from the .30-03 to better hold the flat-based spitzer bullet.

Even so, dead is dead and there are ample examples to prove it will work in the right hands and with the proper bullets. A friend of mine killed a Cape buffalo too dead to bellow using a .30-06. He had to get special permission from the game department to do so. A bum shoulder followed by less than 100% successful surgery limited the amount of recoil he could tolerate. The .30-06 was his limit.

Also, the late Jack O'Connor's lovely wife Eleanor brained an elephant too dead to wiggle with a single .30-06 round. The late Hosea Sarber, an Alaskan Game and Fish Agent and well-known guide for those huge Alaskan brown bears, used a .30-06 as his back-up rifle for his clients after the big bruins.

Still, as the late outdoor writer, guide, and who knows what else Bob Hagel wrote – or at least it is attributed to him – that one should not carry a rifle that works well when everything goes right, but, rather one that will carry the day when everything goes wrong, or words to that effect. There is merit to that argument.

I have two rifles in my safe chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. One of them is a lovely custom Model 70 stocked by Gary Goudy. I have had it to Africa twice, once in Tanzania where I took a zebra, East African impala, and a Grant's gazelle, and as my only rifle in Namibia where I took a mountain zebra, gemsbok, springbok, and a huge eland.

In Tanzania I used 165-grain Barnes TSX bullets and in Namibia, due to the eland on the menu, I used 180-grain Norma Oryx bullets. It worked just fine, and I expected no less.

An added bonus to using a .30-06 is that I have never been in a business that sold ammunition in any form, that didn't have .30-06 fodder in stock.

Greatest Cartridges: 9.3X62 Mauser, Effective On About Everything

Norma Oryx Soft Point 9.3x62 Mauser cartridge cartridges.
Norma Oryx Soft Point 9.3×62 Muser cartridge cartridges. Photo: Arz.

In the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, the continental Europeans and the United Kingdom were busy expanding their spheres of influence around the world. No continent experienced these expansions more than Africa.

The Dutch were busy in South Africa, the Portuguese in Mozambique, the Belgians in Zaire, the English in Kenya and Rhodesia, the French in Central African Republic and the Germans in Namibia and Tanzania as primary conquests. Most had a few other involvements as well.

The English produced heavy caliber rifles as well as ammunition for them, suitable for the largest and most dangerous game the Dark Continent had to offer. Alas, while the UK products were excellent and reliable, they were quite expensive, out of the budget range for the average farmer/colonist.

The German colonists living in German SW Africa and German East Africa were very active in complaining to the home country for their need for affordable rifles and ammunition suitable for use against Africa's big and dangerous game animals.

Germany was already producing what was to become the best bolt-action rifle available with their Mauser Model 98. They just didn't have a powerful enough cartridge to fit in a standard Model 98 length, to do battle against Africa's dangerous fauna.

Early in the twentieth century, a gunsmith by the name of Otto Bock, took on the task of developing such a cartridge. In 1905, he introduced the results of his developmental efforts, the 9.3×62mm cartridge – also known as the 9.3×62 Mauser.

The cartridge featured a 9.3mm bullet diameter (.366”) loaded into a 62mm long rimless case. The cartridge was originally loaded with a 285-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps. It fit nicely in a Mauser 98 action, and operation and feeding was excellent. Later, the cartridge was juiced up a bit, and loaded primarily with a 286-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of around 2400 fps.

The CIP established a Maximum Average Pressure of 56,500 psi. In modern strong rifles, there is no reason that it could not be safely loaded to 60,000 psi, providing around 2500 fps, if such was deemed desirable. The cartridge became exceeding popular in Europe and in Africa, and still is today.

On this side of the Atlantic though, it scarcely ruffled a feather. Until recently, the last five years or so, no American manufacturer made a rifle for it, no American ammunition company loaded ammo for it, and the major American reloading components folks offered neither bullets nor brass for the 9.3×62. If someone happened to have a rifle so chambered, he was totally dependent upon European sources for loaded ammunition and components.

Things have changed considerably in the past few years. Thanks largely to the efforts of writers like John Barsness, Chub Eastman, Phil Shoemaker, and to a much lesser extent, my modest efforts, the cartridge is gaining popularity by leaps and bounds. And, well it should. It is one hell of a cartridge.

The 9.3x62 Mauser (left) compared to a number of popular rifle cartridges. Next in line from the left: .30-06 Springfield, 8x57 IS, 6.5x55, .308 Winchester.
The 9.3x62mm (left) compared to a number of popular rifle cartridges. Next in line from the left: .30-06 Springfield, 8×57 IS, 6.5×55, .308 Winchester. Photo: Kalashnikov

Even old John “Pondoro” Taylor, Anglophil that he was, even had good things to say about the 9.3×62 cartridge. He wrote in African Rifles and Cartridges, “I have never heard any complaints about the 9.3mm. Its penetration is adequate for anything. It has never had the write-up that certain other calibers received from time to time. Men just take it for granted and it goes steadily on its way like some honest old farm horse. In spite of all the more modern magnums and ‘supers,' the 9.3mm still remains the favorite medium bore of many experienced hunters.”

Today, factory loaded ammunition is available from Federal, Barnes, Hornady, Nosler, and I believe that Winchester has been loading it for some time for European consumption, but, to my knowledge, none has been sold in this country. Bullets are available from a variety of bullet makers in weights from 232 grain (Norma) to a whopping 320 grains (Woodleigh) and about every stop in-between those extremes.

I can't imagine a better cartridge for chasing elk in heavy timber, rooting a mad brown bear out of the alders, or laying on the winters meat supply by taking a moose in the willows. There is no whiz-bang about the cartridge.

As Pondoro Taylor put it, it's just a workhorse of cartridges, effective and useful on about anything.

Greatest Cartridges: O’Connor’s Baby, the .270 Winchester

The .270 Winchester has become one of the most celebrated hunting cartridges 90 or so years. Famed outdoor writer Jack O'Connor could say enough good things about the red-hot cartridge.
The .270 Winchester has become one of the most celebrated hunting cartridges 90 or so years. Famed outdoor writer Jack O'Connor could say enough good things about the cartridge.

One of my favorite cartridges, and the one I've personally used more than any other in a lifetime of hunting, is the .270 Winchester.

I was turned on to the cartridge by reading Jack O'Connor's magazine articles and books. I grew up reading O'Connor's prose when he was the Arms & Ammunition Editor of Outdoor Life magazine, and arguably the most influential outdoor writer ever.

Winchester engineers developed the cartridge in 1923, and introduced it to the shooting public in their new Model 54 rifle in 1925. The hype accompanying the introduction advertised it as delivering a velocity of 3,160 feet-per-second using a 130-grain bullet. That got O'Connor's attention and he ordered one with a Lyman 48 receiver sight. It proved to be a lifelong partnership between O'Connor and the cartridge.

In the December 1943 issue of Outdoor Life, he wrote, “Assuming that a cartridge can make its way on merit alone, that cartridge is the .270 W.C.F. In its early years it sat in the corner, dressed in sackcloth and covered with ashes, while few riflemen suspected that underneath it had a figger like Miss America, a disposition like an angel, and that it could bake pies like Mother used to make.”

O'Connor used the cartridge all over the world and wrote reams of material about how well it performed in the hunting fields.

I got my first .270 chambered rifle in about 1963 or so. I've not been without at least one rifle in that chambering since. I presently have five in my battery. Several others have passed through my safe during that time.

All together, I've probably owned fifteen or twenty rifles, perhaps more, chambered for the .270, and all I've owned, except one, were superbly accurate. That one rifle had a nagging problem of putting the first shot through a cold barrel some 12 inches higher that the second and subsequent shots. After that first shot, it too placed the rest of its shots in very tiny groups.

The rifle was a very lightweight Husqvarna Mauser with a pencil thin 22” barrel, and stocked to the muzzle `ala Mannlicher. I sold it to a fellow that was going to have it custom stocked and he was sure that would solve the problem. I never found out if it did or not. All the rest that have come my way have been trouble free and deadly accurate.

My favorite and the one that I've used the most by far, is my old David Miller Co. custom that I've owned since the mid-1980s. David started with a Mauser actioned Browning factory Safari Grade rifle. Before starting on the project, he took it to the range and found it was very accurate, shooting under MOA groups, so he retained the factory barrel. He went through the action inside and out, built a fine custom stock from English walnut, and sent it on its way to a client. Whether he cut the factory barrel or not I can't say and I never asked.

When I got the rifle, the barrel was 22”. I suspect that in its factory guise, it was probably 24” but can't say for sure.

A couple years later, the owner of the rifle got seriously into competitive shotgun shooting, and traded the rifle in on a high-grade shotgun. David found out about it, and bought the rifle from the dealer and offered it to me for a reasonable price (for a Miller rifle).

I've used it for most of my hunting since. My handload for it consists of 59.5 grains of H4831 pushing any good 130-grain bullet. That gives me 3130 fps through the 22” barrel, and that load has taken everything from a 50-60 pound roe deer up to and including a 1500 pound Alaska-Yukon moose, and about everything in between those extremes. If there is a better killer of animals in those ranges, I've yet to find it.

The .270 Winchester (right) compared to the .32-40 Ballard (center) and .223 Remington (left).
The .270 Winchester (right) compared to the .32-40 Ballard (center) and .223 Remington (left).

O'Connor wrote of loading his .270s a bit hotter than I do. His load was 62 grains of H4831 pushing a 130-grain bullet at about 3,200 fps. He must have used a super drop tube for those loads as that has to be a really compressed load.

I loaded a few rounds at 60 grains, but they weren't as accurate as my 59.5-grain loads, so I standardized on that load. It has worked exceedingly well in all of my .270 rifles except one. I have a Heym SR-20 rifle that must have a tighter chamber or tighter bore as my load is a bit warm in that rifle. I dropped back to 58.0 grains in that rifle, which works just fine, and I lose very little velocity for some reason.

As an aside that some might find interesting, the parent case for the .270 is most often thought to be the .30-06 case. However, Winchester, when developing the cartridge, did not use the .30-06 as the parent case, but rather the earlier, and slightly longer, .30-03 case. Why they did so is a mystery to me. Whatever the reason, the .270 has worked very nicely for almost nine decades now, and is still going strong.

At my age, I'm sure I could keep one of my .270s, and get rid of everything else, and use but that one rifle for the remainder of my hunting that I have ahead of me. That, and my AYA Nr. 2 28 bore, would cover the waterfront. Hmmm, that's a thought!

Greatest Cartridges: The .30 WCF Better Known as the .30-30

For many years, the .30-30 was the most popular cartridge in North America. In part, this acclaim grew due to the cartridge's usefulness in deer hunting.
For many years, the .30-30 was the most popular cartridge in North America. In part, this acclaim grew due to the cartridge's usefulness in deer hunting.

Introduced to the public in 1895 and mated up with the Winchester Model 94 lever action rifle, this duo was the most popular rifle and cartridge in North America for a long time. They are both still quite popular today.

The Model 94 was the first commercial rifle specifically developed for use with smokeless powder. Last count I had, more than 7.5 million had been produced and sold, the vast majority of which were chambered for the .30-30.

Other manufacturers have also manufactured rifles chambered for the cartridge. Two other lever action rifles, ones made by Marlin and the Savage Model 99 were available in .30-30. Mossberg also made a few lever action models for the cartridge.

Some single shot rifles have also been available in .30-30, most notably those made by Thompson-Center, and I believe that I've seen a Stevens and Savage single shot rifle so chambered.

Very few bolt-action rifles have been made for the .30-30 as the cartridge uses a rimmed case which is generally unsuited for bolt actions. A few did make their way to market though.

Early on, Winchester chambered its Model 54 bolt-action rifle for the .30-30, but it did poorly in the marketplace. Stevens and Savage produced a bolt-action model or two for the cartridge and the Remington Model 788 was also available for the .30-30.

The cartridge got its name from the fact that it had a bullet diameter of 30 caliber, and its original loading used 30 grains of smokeless powder. Although it has been factory loaded for an assortment of bullet weights from 110 grain to 170 grains, plus an assortment of cast bullet weights are available for it, the 150-grain and 170-grain factory loads are the most popular.

Until the introduction by Hornady of the Leverevolution bullet, all bullets intended for the cartridge were either flat-nosed or round-nosed in design and construction. This was caused by safety concerns with the tubular magazines of the Winchester and Marlin lever action rifles.

Like so many American cartridges, the .30-30 has a somewhat confusing name. The .30 connotes the cartridge is a 30 caliber, the other 30, however, is less intuitive. It comes from the cartridges original loading using 30 grains of smokeless powder
Like so many American cartridges, the .30-30 has a somewhat confusing name. The .30 connotes the cartridge is a 30 caliber, the other 30, however, is less intuitive. It comes from the cartridges original loading using 30 grains of smokeless powder

It has been a very popular round for deer hunting in the eastern US, and equally popular in the western US as a saddle gun/pickup truck gun. Lever action Winchester model 92s and 94s were popularized in Hollywood western movies, which, I suspect, had much to do with its overwhelming acceptance. The compactness, lightweight, and very modest recoil, of most rifles chambered for the .30-30 also had a great deal to do with its popularity.

Even though the cartridge is loaded to modest velocities, these days the 150 grain around 2,400 fps, the 160 grain around 2,300 fps, and the 170 grain at 2,200 fps, it is perfectly adequate for moderate range hunting for animals the size of deer and black bear.

I would estimate that Canadian hunters have taken a ton of moose and caribou with it. It is difficult to make a satisfactory argument with success, although I wouldn't personally take one on a moose hunt unless it was all that I had. There are better choices.

I have two friends of mine that have Thompson Center handguns chambered for the .30-30, and they are superbly accurate. They use handloaded ammunition with pointed boat-tail bullets in their single shot TCs, and they are as scary accurate as any rifle I've come across, and more so than most.

One of these days when I have nothing better to do and a few extra bucks in my pocket, I'll pick up a TC Contender rifle chambered for the .30-30 just to see how well I can make it shoot. I'd almost bet that groups in the .2s are achievable. It'll be fun to find out.

I don't have a lot of experience with TC rifles, having owned but one, but the seem to be exceptionally accurate. The two that my friends own chambered for the .30-30, and my rifle chambered for the .338 Federal, are all capable of teeny tiny groups.

Greatest Cartridges: The Indispensable .45 ACP

Over the past 100 years, the .45 ACP has become one of the most iconic American pistol cartridges every devised.
Over the past 100 years, the .45 ACP has become one of the most iconic American pistol cartridges every devised.

The .45 ACP cartridge was a development of necessity. It was designed in 1904 by one of our most prolific firearms geniuses, the brilliant John Moses Browning, to be used in his newly designed Colt semi-automatic pistol.

At the time of the Moro Rebellion in the Philippines, the US Cavalry there was armed with double action handguns chambered for both the .45 Colt and .38 Long Colt cartridges, and the .30-40 Krag rifle. The Moro insurgents proved to be a formidable opponent. Both the .38 Long Colt and the .30-40 Krag cartridges proved to be largely deficient in stopping the Moro warriors effectively.

Largely as a result of the Philippine experience and the results of the Thompson-LaGarde testing of 1904, the US Army and the US Cavalry decided that a minimum of .45 caliber would be required for any new military handgun.

At the time, Colt and John Browning were working on a .41 caliber cartridge for Browning's newly designed pistol. They then modified both the pistol and cartridge resulting in the Model 1905 pistol and the new .45 ACP cartridge.

After considerable experimentation involving several different government departments and other involved American companies, they settled on a load consisting of a 230-grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 850 fps.

In 1906, the army decided to conduct a series of tests to determine the best pistol to be adopted as the military's new sidearm, and invited the firearms industry to submit their example to be tested. Models from three manufacturers made it through the first series of tests, Colt, DWM, and Savage. One company, DWM, even though they had made the cut in the first round, withdrew, leaving a shoot-off (no pun intended) between Colt and Savage for the gold medal.

The second trial was held in 1910, with the Browning designed Colt handily coming out on top. It was then adopted as the Model 1911, now an icon among handguns. From that time until 1985, the 1911, and the modification of it, the 1911 A1, chambered for the .45 ACP, was the standard firearm of the US military, a very long time, attesting to the success of the handgun for military applications. It was eventually replaced by the Beretta M9 9mm, although some units retained the 1911A1 as their primary sidearm.

As a youngster, surplus 1911A1s were common items in gun shops, pawnshops and at gun shows. They were not very expensive and surplus .45ACP ammo was plentiful and cheap. The first one I can remember that came my way in a trade was a surplus 1911A1 that someone had chrome plated and fitted with simulated stag grips.

The 1911 pistol is one of the main reasons why the .45 ACP grew in popularity. After 74 years of service as the U.S. Military's sidearm, the pistol and its cartridge more than proved they were battle ready.
The 1911 pistol is one of the main reasons why the .45 ACP grew in popularity. After 74 years of service as the U.S. Military's sidearm, the pistol and its cartridge more than proved they were battle ready.

I got the pistol and 100 rounds of surplus military ammo for something like $25.00. That would have been in the late 1950s I believe. At the time, I thought the combination was the cat's meow. In retrospect, it was pretty hideous although it shot well and would have served its purpose admirably if needed.

The ballistics of the .45 ACP is pretty anemic by today's standards. Even though the standard military load of a 230-grain FMJ bullet at 830 fps is, by most assessments, formidable, ammo manufacturers are continually tinkering with the round.

The SAAMI max pressure is set at 21,000 psi. Higher and higher velocities seems to be the holy grail of loading ammo these days, and consequently, SAAMI approved a pressure increase to 23,000 psi for .45 ACP +P ammo. Why, I can't say.

For home defense and self defense purposes, it has done very nicely without the increased pressure. It seems to me that the increased pressure and therefore velocity, is a solution to a nonexistent problem.

Added to that opinion, there is a downside to adding pressure to the cartridge. While the standard military .45 ACP cartridge, fired in a Colt 1911A1 or one of the many, many equivalent clones, is by no means a horrifically recoiling combination, it does require training to master. Add to the recoil, and one must also add to the training.

The most common complaint that I heard during my military career when on the pistol range with the 1911A1 firing standard ball ammo, was that it kicked too hard.

Greatest Cartridges: The .375 H&H Magnum

Box of .375 H&H cartridges with UNI-Classic 300-gr Bullets. The .375 is one of the most widely utilized cartridges in the world.
Box of .375 H&H cartridges with UNI-Classic 300-gr Bullets. The .375 is one of the most widely utilized cartridges in the world.

The .375 Belted Rimless Nitro Express, better known these days as the .375 H&H Magnum, is a medium-bore cartridge developed by the renowned British firm of Holland & Holland in 1912 as a one-upmanship on the Teutonic 9.3×62 cartridge, introduced some seven years earlier.

During the early twentieth century and earlier, many of the European powers were in expansive moods. Africa was one of their major expansion targets to increase their empires. Great Britain, along with Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany and perhaps another or two, were busy carving out territories there.

One thing these early colonists learned early on was the critters they encountered in Africa were nothing like those inhabiting the hedgerows of Europe and the UK. Africa's wildlife had many species with the will and capability of biting back in spades. There was an ever-increasing demand for affordable rifles and ammunition capable of dealing with these animals.

The London and Birmingham gun trade in the UK supplied many such arms and ammo, but the English-built rifles could hardly be considered affordable by the settling farmers. The majority of the British large bore rifles capable of taking on the dangerous game of Africa at the time, were expensive double rifles, with a few single-shot rifles thrown in for good measure.

They were, by and large, superb quality rifles, mostly hand-made, and they and their ammunition were expensive. Otto Bock, a German gun maker, threw a monkey wrench into the English knickers when he introduced the 9.3×62 cartridge in 1905, and chambered many Mauser 98 rifles for this capable round.

The combination of the dangerous game capable cartridge, chambered in the comparatively inexpensive Mauser 98 rifle, was an immediate hit. Shortly after its introduction, most of the British manufacturers set about coming up with their own designs to compete with the Teutonic marvel, including Holland & Holland.

H&H chose a design that featured a rather long case with a long, slow taper. Since the shoulder was pretty small, H&H used a belted case for better headspace control, only the second cartridge to do so.

The powder used at the time was cordite, which consisted of long strands of propellent, rather than granules. The long slow tapered case facilitated the loading process, and contributed to almost fool-proof feeding and extraction, a big advantage, particularly in tropical climates.

The downside is that the cartridge length required a longer length action. It is possible, with substantial machining, to fit the cartridge in a standard length Model 98 Mauser action, but generally it is not a good idea.

If a world-wide hunter wanted to hunt anything on the planet with but a single rifle, the .375 H&H is one of, if not the best all-around choice. Commercially loaded ammunition is available just about everywhere, and practically every hunting camp in Africa has at least a box or two around.

It is loaded in primarily two bullet weights, 270 and 300 grains. In the past it was also available in a bullet weight of 235 grains, but I've not seen any in decades. I'm not sure it is even loaded in the bullet weight anymore, but that doesn't matter. The two bullet weights that are readily available everywhere cover the planet nicely.

Jack O'Connor was a great admirer of the cartridge, and used it extensively, mostly on the big cats, lions and tigers. John “Pondoro” Taylor, author of the bible on African Rifles & Cartridges and so titled, raconteur, avid hunter, and highly successful elephant poacher, also thought very highly of the cartridge.

The .375 H&H cartridge (middle) bracketed by the .458 Lott (left) and the .458 Winchester Magnum (right).
The .375 H&H cartridge (middle) bracketed by the .458 Lott (left) and the .458 Winchester Magnum (right). Photo: Peter Gnanapragasam, Wikimedia Commons.

He wrote that one of his rifles in that chambering had accounted for more than 100 elephant and some 411 buffalo, besides rhino, lions and lesser game. He also wrote, “Altho my formula gives this rifle a Knock-Out value of 40 points, I must regretfully admit that does not really do full justice to it. In actual practice the stopping power of the .375 Magnum would seem to warrant a higher classification.”

Originally a proprietary cartridge loaded exclusively for H&H, they released it to the trade after WWI, and it eventually made its way to the USA. Winchester apparently saw some marketing promise and began manufacturing rifles chambered for it in 1925.

It became quite popular for American safari hunters and also brown bear guides in Alaska, and still is. I currently have three rifles chambered for this magnificent cartridge, and will never be without at least one in my battery.

Actually, largely due to the vast improvements in bullet design and construction, it is a more efficient cartridge today than it has ever been. But then, so are all the rest of today's cartridges.

Greatest Cartridges: The Revolutionary 7mm Mauser

The Spanish Mauser, firing 7x57mm cartridges, was used with great effect by the Spanish in the Spanish-American War. It was among the first of a number of late 19th- early 20th-Century conflicts the 7mm Mauser cartridge proved its worth.
The Spanish Mauser, firing 7x57mm cartridges, was used with great effect by the Spanish in the Spanish-American War. It was among the first of a number of late 19th- early 20th-Century conflicts the 7mm Mauser cartridge proved its worth.

If Paul Mauser had not developed this cartridge in 1892, and had Spain not adopted it as their military cartridge a year later, we might not have developed and then adopted the .30-06 in 1906.

At the time of the Spanish-American conflict in 1898, the US Army was armed with the .30-40 Krag cartridge loaded with a 220 grain round-nose bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2000 fps. The rifle for it by Krag-Jorgensen had to be loaded a single cartridge at a time, whereas the Spanish troops were armed with Mauser 93, which was loaded from a clip, a much faster method.

At the major battle of the campaign, about 6,500 U.S. soldiers attacked around 750 Spanish defenders in and around San Juan Hill. While the US forces prevailed, they did so at a very high price. About twice the number of defenders were casualties on the US side. Later assessments by US military authorities of the battle results concluded that the reason for the substantial casualties suffered by the US forces was that they were out-gunned by the Spanish defenders and their Model 93 Mauser rifles chambered for the 7×57mm cartridge.

Not long after this finding, the US came out with the .30-03 cartridge and the 1903 Springfield rifle modified soon thereafter to the .30-06 cartridge. Not only was the 7×57 cartridge a proven military round, it was quickly loaded in civilian guise for the sporting market.

Germany found a ready market for their cartridge and Mauser actions in England. Sport hunters quickly learned that the cartridge was a great hunting round. It was an efficient killer of game while delivering very modest recoil to the shooter.

The old firm of John Rigby produced a goodly number of their fine rifles for the 7×57, which they chose to call the .275 Rigby. Perhaps its best known proponent was W.D.M. “Karamojo” Bell. John “Pondoro” Taylor reports in his landmark book on African Rifles and Cartridges, that Bell killed 1,011 elephants during his career, “practically all of which he shot with his Rigby-Mauser of this caliber” (.275 Rigby). Jim Corbett of The Man-Eaters Kumaon fame, used a .275 Rigby as his #2 rifle. With it, he shot all manners of tigers and leopards in India.

It's popularity as a sporting cartridge didn't take long to cross the Atlantic. Most major US rifle manufacturers, sooner or later, chambered rifles in for the cartridge. One of the rarer pre-64 Model 70 chamberings was for the 7×57.

Outdoor writer icon Jack O'Connor was an early fan of the cartridge. Both he and his wife Eleanor were big fans, but it was Eleanor's favorite and most used rifle. It was a custom job that Jack had built for himself. Metalsmith Tom Burgess did all the metalwork and Russell Leonard crafted the stock. Eleanor tried the rifle and after having the stock shortened a bit, decided that it had to be hers. She used it for the vast majority of her hunting from then on. She used it to take a 44-1/4 inch Dall ram that won a Boone & Crockett medal in 1963. She took it to Mozambique in 1962 and shot seventeen animals with nineteen shots.

Jack wrote in his book, The Hunting Rifle, “The only animal that took more that one shot was a kudu bull that didn't know when it was dead.”

Jack finally got his own 7×57 chambered rifle a few years later, in 1957, when he contacted Winchester and inquired about a Model 70 in 7×57. The Winchester folks told him that they had exactly one 7mm barrel left and they'd do up a rifle for him. He sent it to Al Biesen who shortened the barrel to 22”, stocked it in a nice stick of French walnut, and mounted a Weaver K4 scope in Redfield mounts. He used it on quite a few hunts after that, including taking it to Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Two 7x57 cartridges (left) next to 7.5x55 Swiss / GP11 (mid), .308 Winchester and .223 Remington (right).
Two 7x57mm cartridges (left) next to 7.5×55 Swiss / GP11 (mid), .308 Winchester and .223 Remington (right).

The C.I.P established maximum pressure for the cartridge is 56,5565 psi. The SAAMI maximum average pressure is set at 51,000 psi, in deference to the older Mauser still around in that chambering. A modern rifle in that cartridge should be perfectly safe at 60,000 psi. I wouldn't hesitate to load cartridges at that pressure level for use in my semi-custom Ruger rifle, or in a custom rifle on a pre-64 Model 70 action that I once owned but stupidly let get away from me.

The 7×57 has been around for a long time, but even so, the one-rifle North American hunter could do far worse than the little 7mm as his/her choice of cartridge provided, the big bears weren't on the menu. It leaves little to be desired on the table. It is difficult to argue with success and one look at Eleanor O'Connor's track record with it should be sufficient.

Greatest Cartridges: The Eminently Useful .22 Rimfire

Outside the recent ammo shortage, the .22 Rimfire might be one of the most ubiquitous rounds in the shooting world. A great majority of shooters sent a .22 bullet down range the first time they pulled the trigger.
Outside the recent ammo shortage, the .22 Rimfire might be one of the most ubiquitous rounds in the shooting world. A great majority of shooters sent a .22 bullet down range the first time they pulled the trigger.

The little rimfire round is one of the most useful cartridges ever developed. I have not been without at least one firearm so chambered in more than 69 years.

I presently have three rifles and one handgun, including a rifle that I've owned for about 65 years. It was my second rifle ever. My dad traded the first, a single shot Winchester Model 68, in on a Marlin Model 81-DL repeater when I felt that I had outgrown the single shot. My ammo bill went up appreciably with that acquisition.

I bought my ammo at Bill Williams's general store for the hefty price of one penny per round. A ten round purchase was about the most I could ever afford at one time.

My new Marlin was deadly accurate and I kept the local population of starlings, squirrels, cottontail rabbits, possums and ground hogs pretty much in check, so long as I could come up with a nickel or two for ammo. I usually reserved my meager supply of ammo for serious purposes, and used my Daisy BB gun for the more mundane shooting.

Ten cents doesn't sound like much today, but back then it was a lot of money and squandering it on less than necessary usage was deeply frowned by my dad. A product of the great depression, he wasted nothing. I had to account for each round of the precious rimfire ammo.

Over the years, I've owned a number of handguns chambered for the little rimfire. Alas I recently sold my next-to-last remaining handgun so chambered. It was a Smith & Wesson Model 18 Combat Masterpiece with target trigger and hammer. I've also owned and used several Colt Woodsman semi-autos, as well as a Colt Ace or three. I've had Ruger Single-Sixes, High Standard semi-autos, and both Harrington & Richardson and Iver Johnson revolvers.

I once had a S&W Model 34 Kit Gun chambered for the rimfire. I usually carried it with me when deer and antelope hunting, to administer the coup de gras if necessary, and whatever else I might need it for. I've long since lost track of all that have come and gone through my hands, but all have been handy and useful, as well as a lot of fun.

Perhaps the best use for the cartridge is as a training and practice round. Just about every kid learns to shoot with .22 RF chambered firearm. However, it does have some serious applications.

For example, during my college days, I was a ROTC cadet for all four years, and shot competitively on the collegiate rifle team. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when they issued me a new Winchester Model 52D rifle, all the ammunition I could shoot, and keys to the indoor rifle range. I shot that same Model 52 all four years on the team and really hated to have to turn it in upon graduation. I don't have any idea how many rounds I used during those collegiate years, but it was a bunch – many thousands to be sure.

In the hands of a good marksman who is careful with his shots, it is very effective on small game and varmints. One of our best squirrel hunters in my part of Appalachia was Lonnie Murphy. While most local squirrel hunters used shotguns, Lonnie used nothing but his trusty Winchester Model 61 pump. He also wasted no meat as he shot all his squirrels in the head! I had the pleasure of hunting with him a few times and he taught me a lot about hunting the delicious little rodents.

When I was growing up, there were three varieties of .22 RF ammo widely available. They were classified as shorts, longs, and long rifle. Most of the available rifles were chambered for all of the three varieties. A few, mostly so-called Gallery rifles, were chambered for the .22 short only. Every county fair and/or traveling carnival, had at least one shooting gallery equipped with rifles shooting .22 shorts only.

Many use the .22 Rimfire as a plinking load, but it also has many practical applications. For small varmints, there might not be a better or more economical round.
Many use the .22 Rimfire as a plinking load, but it also has many practical applications. For small varmints, there might not be a better or more economical round.

I'm sure that shorts and longs are still loaded in modest quantities, but they have largely disappeared and replaced by the vastly more popular long rifle variety. Though I've not been to a carnival in a very long time, I believe the shooting galleries have also gone the way of the dodo bird. There may still be a few around, but in today's phobia with political correctness, I doubt it.

I've been told, and I have read of Eskimo hunters in the Arctic shooting polar bears with the .22 RF. I don't think I'd want to participate in such a feat, but no doubt, it has happened. The only time that I was ever in an Eskimo hunting camp, the lone rifle in camp was a .223 chambered rifle held together with hose clamps. I didn't see them shoot it, but I'd guess that they would have to close the range to a few feet to hit anything with it. Perhaps that is the reason that they can get away with such small cartridges on large game.

Greatest Cartridges: A Debate with Plenty of Ammo

Figuring out the greatest cartridges of all time has the benefit of having to test a ton of ammo.
Figuring out the greatest cartridges of all time has the benefit of having to test a ton of ammo.

When it comes to talking about the great cartridges of the world, there is plenty of ammo to support many arguments.

I'll ask the question for you esteemed reader, what divine proclamation anointed your humble scribe the guru of all the cartridges that exists? The answer is simple, there is no such anointment. Well, perhaps my publisher indicated such, but that certainly isn't divine providence.

I have, however, had a long and varied shooting and hunting career. I received my first firearm, a Winchester youth rifle (a Model 68 I believe it was), single-shot .22 RF, at the ripe old age of six years. If I make it to Mid-August this year, I'll turn seventy-six. Math has never been my strong suite, but I think that gives me seventy years of shooting experience.

In addition, for more than four decades, I have earned at least a part of my living writing about shooting, hunting, and firearms. I also spent twenty-six years wearing a US Army uniform as a professional soldier.

In that time, I've shot just about every commercially available cartridge at least a few times. Those that I've not personally fired, I've generally witnessed them in action, either on the range or in the field.

The smallest I've shot is the .17 rimfire, and the largest, a .600 Nitro Express. I have never known anyone that owned a .700 NE, and the last time I had any information on the subject a single round of .700 ammo was $100.00 or more. I'll leave that one to one of the youngsters in the business.

I have learned a few things in my seven-decade shooting career so far. One is that shooters are a finicky lot with a strong tendency to pick a lot of nits.

The truth be told, practically speaking that is, we have at least ten or fifteen times the number of cartridges available that any reasonably sane person could possibly justify needing. However, since when does NEED enter into the decision making process. The fact that one wants some off-the-wall, ten-times duplicated cartridge is enough justification. If need was the determining factor, most of the rifle and ammunition manufacturers would have gone out of business eons ago.

The average North American hunter, for example, could make it very nicely with only three or four rifles. Add a couple handguns and a couple shotguns, and he could handle anything in North America very handily. For the International hunter, add one more rifle and he'd be set for anything from a titmouse to a T-Rex.

One of the most experienced hunters that I knew, the late C. J. McElroy, took just about every animal on our earth with one rifle, a .300 Weatherby Mark V. He did, later in life, switch to a 7mm Weatherby Mark V with its softer recoil. He told me he couldn't tell any difference in killing power between the two. Another, the late Grancel Fitz, took all twenty-five legal species of North American game, using but one rifle, a Griffin & Howe .30-06. Those two examples should answer the NEED debate quite nicely.

I will add one thing, however, neither Mr. McElroy nor Mr. Fitz were gun nuts. Both were pragmatic men that viewed their rifle as a tool, and nothing more.

Truly we live in the golden age of ammo. There are more calibers and cartridges available now than at any other time in the history of firearms.
Truly we live in the golden age of ammo. There are more calibers and cartridges available now than at any other time in the history of firearms.

Mr. McElroy's rifle was a stock factory Weatherby Mark V .300, and when he retired it in favor of another, but chambered for the 7mm Weatherby, the .300 was the most dilapidated rifle I think I've ever seen. It looked as though Mac had used it for a boat anchor for at least a decade or two. At least, Mr. Fitz had Griffin & Howe make his rifle for him. He treated it a bit better than Mac did his, but nevertheless it was still a tool to him.

However, when rifle, handgun, or shotgun nuttiness enters the equation, all sanity and reason goes out the window.

Pragmatism gives way to silliness. The nits get smaller and smaller, but picking them gets more and more frequent. I can't condemn anyone for this malady, as I am one of the better examples of the genre. Even so, if forced to do so, I could eliminate most of my vault contents and pretty much be unaffected in a practical sense in the field, or on the range, or defending my Arizona pea patch.

What follows then is a listing of cartridges that I have found to be as good or better than most in their category, and why I've found them to be so.

Photo Gallery: 20 Eye-Popping Custom Guns

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Modern Custom Guns, 2nd EditionThis photo gallery is an excerpt from Tom Turpin's Modern Custom Guns, 2nd Edition, and features just a sliver of the great custom gun content you'll find in the full-color book. Click Here to snag your copy!

 

Photo Gallery: 10 Stunning Custom & Engraved Guns

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A look at 10 drool-worthy custom and engraved guns from Gun Digest 2014.

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This photo gallery is an excerpt from the new Gun Digest 2014 annual book.

Explained: The Three Types of Custom Rifle Barrels

A lathe for maching custom rifle barrels
Much of the custom rifle barrel work in any shop takes place on a machine lathe, as in this typical set-up.

Learn about the three kinds of barrel rifling in this article about custom rifle barrels.

The vast majority of custom rifle makers do not manufacture their own barrels. It is simply too costly to perform this function in-house due to the cost of the equipment necessary and the relatively few barrels that the maker will require. This is, simply put, another area that required years of expertise to achieve anything close to perfection. Instead, they rely on specialists that usually do nothing but manufacture barrels.

The three basic methods in common use for rifling a barrel are cut, button and hammer forging. Each method is widely used for custom rifle barrels. Each can and does produce quality barrels.

Cut Rifling

Cut rifling is the oldest method and has been in use for about 500 years. I-read somewhere that it was invented in Germany about the time Columbus was sailing the ocean blue.

It is performed basically as it has always been done, the only exception being the equipment used to perform the cutting. To simplify, cut rifling involves actually cutting or scraping the grooves in the steel to eventually form the lands and grooves of the rifling.

These days, specialized equipment is used to insert a cutter in the drilled-and-reamed bore of the billet in order to cut and remove a small amount of steel with each pass of the cutter.

While the cutting is going on, either the steel billet or the cutter is slowly rotated to form the twist in the rifling. Such twist normally is specified in number of inches required to complete one full turn in the bore.

For example, the usual twist for a 30-06 is one in ten or 1:10. That means that the rifling requires ten inches to make one complete turn in the bore.

The cutter is passed through the bore as many times as is necessary to cut the grooves to the desired depth, one groove at a time. The number of grooves cut in a barrel is variable, but three, four or six are the most common.

Button Rifling

Cutting a custom rifle barrel
The operator prepares to cut the action threads on this Krieger barrel.

Perhaps the most commonly used method today among custom barrel makers is button-rifling.

In this method, the deep drilling and reaming are the same as for cut-rifling, except that the finished hole is slightly undersized for the button system. The barrel maker either makes or purchases a carbide “button” that contains the rifling impression in reverse in the button.

Once the bore is drilled and reamed, this button is either pushed or pulled through the bore, essentially “ironing” the rifling into the steel of the bore.

Whether pulling or pushing the button is the best method remains the subject of debate with advocates on both sides. I think that it is safe to say that a majority of barrel makers using the button method pull the button through the bore.

Still, some much prefer pushing the button through. Excellent barrels can be and are made using both methods.

Hammer-Forging Rifling

The third method of rifling is hammer-forging.

Another German development, this method is not in common use among custom barrel makers. In fact, I don’t know of a single one that hammer-forges their barrels.

Many factories do, however. The cost of the equipment to hammer-forge a barrel is very expensive and is cost effective only for high volume barrel production.

A lathe for a custom rifle barrel
A lathe is set up for cutting the chamber and fitting the custom rifle barrel to the action.

Hammer-forging is quite similar to button-rifling. In hammer-forging, the barrel billet is drilled and reamed as with the other systems. However, the billet is much shorter and much larger in diameter. The billet is inserted on a precisely finished bore-size mandrel containing the rifling (and in some cases, the chamber and outside contour as well) in reverse.

This mandrel, with its stubby barrel billet attached, is then inserted into the hammer machine which literally pounds the steel in the billet to form not only the rifling in the bore, but some machines also forge the outside of the barrel billet to the final contour.

One company, I believe it was Steyr from Austria, proudly proclaimed that their barrels were hammer-forged and the spiral hammer marks were left on the outside surface of the barrel to prove it.

This system is very fast and very efficient at producing barrels in quantity and quality. The best of the hammerforge machines will produce a barrel about every three or four minutes.

The commonly held view is that hammer-forging produces the least desirable quality barrels of the three methods although I haven’t found this to be particularly true. Very high quality barrels can be and are produced using all three of these methods of
production.

Personally, I think the major difference in quality of barrels produced by all three methods is much more dependent on the experience of and care exercised by the operator and the condition of the equipment being used than it is the method employed.

The Art of Engraved & Custom Guns

As investors flock to collectible guns as safe havens in these unstable economic times, we take a look at examples of some of the finer engraved and embellished guns.

A factory Ruger No. 1 chambered for the 300 H&H cartridge was the raw material provided to Gary Goudy. He fitted the Kepplinger trigger to the rifle and did all the metal polishing. Photo by Gary Bolster

Goudy then crafted the stock from a superb stick of English walnut, finished off by one of his trademark exquisite checkering jobs. The pattern he used is reminiscent of patterns used on high-grade Winchester guns in the past. All Photos by Gary Bolster

Herman Waldron started with a small ring VZ-33 Mauser action for this rifle. He did all the metalsmithing chores necessary to convert the military action to a wonderful sporting rifle, including stippling the bolt knob. He fitted the barrel and chambered it for the 25-06 cartridge. Fisher/Blackburn rounded bottom metal was used for the rifle as well. Gary Goudy fashioned the lovely custom stock from a nice stick of California English walnut, and executed one of his renowned checkering patterns on it. This rifle is ready for the field.


This Remington Model 700 Left Hand rifle came from the shop of the Williams Gun Sight Company. The detail photos show various examples of the work. The factory action was “blueprinted” and the barrel-mounted recoil lug removed. A new recoil lug was pinned and soldered in place. New England Custom Gun sights and EAW scope mounts were installed. The custom Bastogne walnut stock features a Dakota skeleton grip cap and buttplate, and is extensively checkered with a 26 panel pattern with fine ribbons throughout. All metalwork was accomplished by Williams metalsmith Rob Canze, and the stock and checkering executed by Williams stockmaker Kevin Wigton. Photo by Terry Tremewan


Gunmaker Hughes was looking for a suitable sidelock barreled action around which to craft a superb duck gun for one of his clients. He found what he was looking for when a Belgian exhibitor at the SCI Convention displayed an in-the-white barreled action. It had been made in Belgium by Britte Armes En Blanc, which ceased making sporting gun parts in 1936. That barreled action had been sitting in the basement of the former company for nearly seventy years! Hughes did much of the metalwork, rust-bluing the gun, and nitre-bluing the screws and small parts. E.L. “Larry” Peters executed the wonderful layout and engraving, Doug Turnbull Restorations did the color case-hardening, and J. Peter “Pete” Mazur charcoal-blacked the furniture and gold-plated the lock parts. Photo by Steven Dodd Hughes

A lightweight 270 Improved from the shop of Lee Helgeland, weighing in at six pounds, twelve ounces, with scope and mounts. It features a G3?0 Mauser action and a 26-inch Krieger barrel. The stock was crafted from a stick of tiger-tail California English walnut. Jerome Glimm did the screw head engraving, George Komadina did the rust blue, and Larry Baer did the color case on the trigger guard, rings and bases. Lee did everything else, in-house. Photos by Steven Dodd Hughes


Close-up view of an absolutely magnificent Winchester 73 that Bob Swartley engraved “after the art of Albert Bierstadt.” Swartley's scrollwork is so distinctive that it can be recognized from a distance by anyone even slightly knowledgeable of his work. His bulino work is delicate and utterly exquisite.

Jim Blair is another relatively young engraver whose work is so good it is mind-boggling. His work on this 22 is superlative. I can't imagine a more attractive job than this example of his artistry.


A right side and left-side view of a lovely rifle which exhibits a little of the California influence on maker Ray Riganian. The diamond-shaped ivory inlays are somewhat reminiscent of the Roy Weatherby rifle. Ray started with a Winchester Model 70 Classic action, and he applied all the bells and whistles to it. Surface grinding, truing all surfaces concentric with the bore, fitting Blackburn bottom metal, making custom bases for modified Talley rings, building up and checkering the bolt release, and thinning the trigger to a shotgun-type trigger, are just some of the refinements to the action. He fitted a Krieger barrel and chambered it for the 7mm Weatherby Magnum cartridge. He then crafted the stock from a very nice stick of California English walnut, and pillar-bedded the barreled action into the wood. This rifle is a tack-driver, according to Riganian. Photo courtesy of Ray Riganian

The Springfield action 400 Whelen rifle from the shop of N.L. Heineke is shown here without the case and accessories. Styled after the pre-war Griffin & Howe sporters so favored by Col. Whelen, it is a superb rifle. The rifle is chambered for the 400 Whelen cartridge, and is fitted with two scopes, a Burris 4? scope and a Lyman Alaskan 2.5? scope, but mounted in G&H side mounts.


A magnificent Terry Tussey custom .45 auto fabricated from a Caspian Arms frame and slide. When finished, master engraver Eric Gold, who also carved the superb ivory grips, marvelously engraved the gun. This gun is a superb example of the engraver's art.


This cased flintlock pistol is the work of Jerry Huddleston. Jerry made every item and every piece in this set, including the case, with the exception of the commercially acquired lock. Even there, he completely redid the lock to meet his requirements. He even cast all the silver accoutrements, and made the barrel. He also did all the engraving and inlay work.


A nice side view of a lovely Colt Single Action Army revolver. The revolver is a 5-inch barrel 357 Magnum 3rd Generation Colt. Ron engraved the gun in what Colt calls tight American scroll, ? coverage or “C” coverage. The gold inlay work is in the fashion of Leonard Francolini. Dan Chesnak did the ivory grips, and the case colors and bluing are by Dewey Vicknair.


Two images of a glorious rifle put together by a team of superb craftsmen. The action is a “baby” Farquharson that was made by Clayton Nelson, probably twenty or so years ago. Fine rifle connoisseur Jack Lilliendahl somehow ended up with the action and another superb project was begun. Steve Heilmann did the metalwork on the rifle, and barreled and chambered it for the 17 HMR cartridge. Stockmaker James Tucker crafted the extraordinary stock from an exceptional stick of walnut. Sam Welch executed the engraving in a theme suitable to the caliber of the rifle, and dubbed the rifle the “Rabbit rifle,” or sometimes “Thumper.” The finishing chores were turned over to Pete Mazur, a master of the alchemy of metal finishing.

 

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