RELOADING AMMUNITION

The factory-loaded ammunition for pistols is so excellent that little is to be gained by hand loading. It is sometimes desirable, however, to use special loads that are not furnished by the factories, and such ammunition must be loaded by hand. Then, too, many persons prefer to reload ammunition for economical reasons. In order to do this successfully, considerable experience and skill are necessary. The first attempts at reloading are invariably unsatisfactory and disappointing, and sometimes result disastrously. Extreme care and close attention to details are absolutely essential, especially if smokeless powders are used. It is much the safest and best plan for those who are unfamiliar with reloading to observe and study the methods used by skilled persons, and, if possible, have their first work supervised by an experienced person.

Primers.—The primers are made of copper and brass and are adapted for either black or smokeless powders. The primers for pistol and revolver cartridges are made more sensitive than for rifle cartridges. If, by mistake, rifle-cartridge primers are used, there are likely to be many misfires. The original pasteboard boxes in which the cartridges or shells are purchased invariably have labels designating the kind of primer that should be used in reloading them.

The quality of the primers affects the results to a much greater degree than most persons imagine, especially in reduced or gallery charges. In handling or in transportation the priming composition is sometimes loosened, dropping out of some of the primers and leaving them considerably weaker than the rest. On opening a new box, empty it carefully, and if any appreciable quantity of loose priming is found, the primers should not be used for ammunition intended for fine shooting.

Shells.—The shells are generally made of brass with a solid head containing a pocket for a primer. There is considerable variation in the thickness of the metal from which shells are made by the various manufacturers. Since the outside dimensions must be the same in order to fit the chamber, it follows that the inside diameter of the shells will vary. When the shell is to be crimped a slight difference in the size is unimportant, but for fine target work using black powder, it is preferable not to crimp the shell. In the latter case the bullet must fit sufficiently tight so that it will not be dislodged by the recoil of the arm.

The size of the bore, when adapted to the same cartridge, varies a trifle, also, with different manufacturers. With the slight difference in the size of the shells it is therefore generally possible to select a make of shell the size of which will be just right to hold snugly in position by friction a bullet that exactly fits the bore of the arm. These refinements in the fit of the bullet and shell are important in securing good results with reduced loads.

In pistol and revolver shooting, the shells may be reloaded many times with smokeless powders. The small charge and the consequent reduced pressure do not seem to render the shells brittle and unsuitable for reloading, as is the case with the shells of many of the high-pressure rifle cartridges.

Bullets.—In the large ammunition factories the bullets are made by the swaging process, with heavy machinery. They are, in consequence, very uniform in density and size. They are packed in boxes of twenty-five and fifty and are lubricated ready for use. While very few persons are able to mould bullets as good as those factory-made, when bullets of a particular shape, weight, or temper are desired, they must be moulded.

The Ideal Manufacturing Company’s dipper and melting pot[17] are useful for this purpose. The best quality of lead in bars or pigs should be used. If the bullets are to be hardened, “block tin,” which may be had at any hardware store is alloyed with the lead. Weigh the proper quantity of each metal to give the desired proportions. Melt the lead in the pot over a steady fire and then add the tin. At this stage add a small quantity of tallow or beeswax to the molten metal (about the size of a .45-caliber round bullet) and stir briskly with the dipper. This will flux the mixture and make it flow better. After both are melted immerse the dipper and allow it to acquire the temperature of the melted lead. Then fill the dipper and, with the nozzle horizontal, raise it two or three inches above the surface of the lead in the pot. With the mould in the other hand, turn it sidewise and bring the pouring hole of the mould to the nozzle of the dipper. Then, with the mould and dipper in contact, tilt or turn both in this position until the dipper is over the mould and the nozzle vertical as shown.

Fig. 87.—Moulding Bullets.

The weight or pressure of the lead in the dipper is thus utilized to force the lead into and completely fill the corners of the mould. It will be necessary to mould forty or fifty bullets before the mould acquires the proper temperature and casts first-class bullets. All imperfect bullets should be thrown back into the melting-pot. Experience has shown that the best results are obtained when the lead and mould are at such temperature that two or three seconds elapse before the lead solidifies in the pouring hole after the nozzle has been removed from it. Do not allow the lead to get red-hot, as it oxidizes very rapidly and more dross forms on its surface at that temperature. The dross should be skimmed off frequently and not allowed to collect in the dipper. A new mould will not cast perfect bullets until the surfaces in contact with the lead are free from oil and have become oxidized, assuming a deep blue color.

Provide a soft surface for the bullets to fall upon after releasing them from the mould, as they are easily deformed while hot. The sliding top or “cut-off” should be operated by pressing down the lever end on a board or table, or striking the lever with a small wooden mallet. The mould is then opened, and the bullet drops out. If the bullet sticks in the mould, strike the empty half of the mould on the outside, directing the blow toward the bullet. This will jar the bullet out of the mould without difficulty. Never strike the mould with a hammer or any hard substance, and never attempt to pry a bullet out of the mould or touch the interior surface with an iron implement, tool, or anything that will mar it. The least indentation of the sharp edges of the mould will cause the bullets to stick and make them imperfect. After using the mould, oil the exterior and the surfaces of the joint while warm, wrap in a dry cloth, and keep in a dry place where it will not rust. It is a good plan to leave the last bullet (with the neck cut off) in the mould until used again.

The fit of the bullets is very important. Nearly all the bullets for revolver cartridges were originally designed to be used with black powder. Many of them were slightly under size and have concave bases which upset sufficiently, on the ignition of the regulation powder charge, to fill the grooves of the barrel. Reduced charges of black powder, and smokeless powders, even in full charges, seldom upset the bases of these bullets, and the powder gas escapes around the sides of the bullet, which is known as “gas cutting.” This is fatal to accuracy. For smokeless powders and reduced loads the concave cavity at the base of the bullet must be large enough to reduce the thickness of the outer rim of the bullet and weaken it so it will be expanded sufficiently by the powder to fill the grooves of the barrel; or the diameter of the bullet should be increased so as to produce the same effect.

A simple test to determine the fit of the bullet is to force it into a clean barrel, and then hold the barrel in the direction of a window or bright light. If light can be seen in any of the grooves around the bullet, it is too small for smokeless powder. The remedy is to have the bullet mould reamed out and enlarged so the bullets will be the proper size.

To determine the actual diameter of the bore of a pistol or revolver, oil the inside of the barrel liberally and then force a bullet into it a couple of inches. With a short wooden cleaning rod, hold the bullet in that position while you drive against it with another rod from the opposite direction, swaging it so as to fill the barrel. This must be done gently and carefully so as not to strain or injure the barrel. The bullet is then driven out and carefully measured with a micrometer gauge.

Many who mould their own bullets prefer to order the mould to cast the bullets the exact size to fit the barrel; while others prefer to have the mould cast the bullet one or two thousandths of an inch too large, and then pass them through a sizing tool, reducing them to the correct size. The latter method insures absolute uniformity.

For smokeless powders the bullets are generally cast a little harder than for black powder, the proportions being from 30 to 1, to 20 to 1, of lead and tin, respectively. To secure good results, the bullets should not vary more than ¹/200 in weight.

The next operation after moulding the bullets is to lubricate them. A good lubricant may be prepared by melting together 1½ lbs. of Japan wax, 1 lb. of mutton tallow, and 1 lb. of vaseline. The bullets should be set in a shallow pan, bases down, and with a small space separating them. The lubricant can then be poured around them until it rises high enough to fill the top cannelure. After cooling, the bullets are cut out of the lubricant by forcing them into the mouth of a specially prepared shell with the top or head cut off. Each bullet is picked up in this way and then pushed out with a round rod. Any lubricant on the base of the bullet should be removed with a cloth before loading. An excellent machine for lubricating bullets is made by the Ideal Manufacturing Company. The machine sizes and lubricates the bullet at one operation. It is rapid, clean, and performs the work perfectly.

Powders.—American powder manufacturers have no uniform practice in regard to designating the different grades of powder, sizes of grains, etc. The powders that give the best results under certain conditions must therefore be classified. The following black powders are best suited for ammunition in which the charge is ten to twenty grains:

American Powder Mills Rifle Cartridge No. 4.

Hazard Powder Company’s “Kentucky Rifle F F G.”

E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Company’s “Dupont Rifle F F G.”

Laflin & Rand Powder Company’s “Orange Rifle Extra F F G.”

King Powder Company’s “Semi-smokeless F F G.”

When the charge is less than ten grains in weight, one size finer grain of the above powders should be used; and for charges heavier than twenty grains, one size coarser grain will give the best results.

Lesmok powder, now so extensively used for .22-caliber rim fire ammunition, is a combination of black powder with high-grade gun-cotton.

For reduced or gallery charges, the high-grade quick-burning shotgun powders are sometimes used, such as “Hazard’s Electric,” “Dupont’s Diamond Grain,” etc. These powders should not be used in full charges, and if compressed in the shell will give very irregular shooting.Smokeless powder differs from black not only in composition but also in the phenomena that attend combustion. Special conditions are therefore created which have an important bearing on the results. Smokeless powders are divided into two general classes, designated as “bulk” and “dense,” the former having approximately the same strength as an equal bulk of black powder, while the same quantity by bulk of the latter may have from five to ten times the strength of black powder.

The bulk powders may be used very much the same as black powder, except that they should never be compressed. No air space is required between the powder and the bullet. Dupont’s Smokeless Rifle Powder No. 2 and Hazard’s Smokeless Rifle Powder No. 2 are good examples of the bulk powders. Dupont’s R. S. Q. is a bulk powder that has recently been introduced. It gives fair results in pistol and revolver ammunition in full charges, but is not as well adapted for reduced or gallery loads. It requires an air space for the best results.

The dense powders, such as Bullseye, Du Pont Pistol No. 3, Walsrode, and others, on account of their concentrated form, must be manipulated with great care and precision. The same quantity by bulk as black powder of any of these would in many cases cause disaster. Special shells with an annular crease, which only admits the bullet a certain distance into the mouth of the shell, and providing an air space, should in all cases be used with these powders.

Nearly all varieties of smokeless powders require a certain amount of confinement in order to secure complete combustion, and do not give good results unless the shell is crimped securely to the bullet.

A table giving the proper charges is supplied by all the manufacturers of smokeless powders, suitable for revolver and pistol shooting. These charges should in no case be increased. If it is desired to adapt a smokeless charge to a special bullet, which gives good results with black powder, the approximate equivalent in smokeless powder can easily be calculated from the powder company’s table of charges. If the calculated charge does not give good results, compare the penetration of the smokeless charge with the black powder charge, and modify the former until it gives approximately the same penetration as the latter. If this does not correct the difficulty, the fit of the bullet should be investigated, and possibly it may have to be increased in size slightly and hardened before the best results will be obtained.No attempt should be made to secure higher velocities or greater penetration with the ordinary lead bullet than is obtained with black powder. Such results can only be produced with hard alloy or jacketed bullets, special rifling, etc., and in arms designed to withstand the severe conditions incident to such augmented effects. Excessive charges in regulation arms, besides being extremely dangerous, are likely to cause the bullet to strip the rifling and lead the barrel.

The most recent activity in the matter of smokeless powders is the series of experiments with the U. S. Government pyro-cellulose formula. The powders are cut to such dimensions as will fit them for both pistol and rifle cartridges. This powder has the advantage of causing much less erosion than the nitro-glycerine powders and for that reason will probably appeal to the ammunition manufacturers and consumers, to such an extent as to secure its adoption, if the experiments now in progress prove to be satisfactory from a ballistic standpoint.

Reloading.—Suitable tools for reloading are furnished by the Ideal Manufacturing Company, Smith & Wesson, and the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. These usually consist of one or more combination tools, with which the various operations may be performed with rapidity and precision.

In reloading ammunition the one thing to be borne in mind above all else is uniformity. No matter how excellent may be the quality of the powder, or how perfect the bullets, if there is any variation in quantity, size, etc., the results will surely be irregular and disappointing. The bullets should be of the same diameter and weight, the mouth of the shells of uniform size, the powder accurately measured, and all the details in the operation of loading each shell should be as nearly identical as it is possible to make them.

Shells that have been loaded with black powder will corrode very rapidly if not properly and promptly cared for. The primer should be extracted from the shells as soon as practicable after firing. The shells should then be immersed in hot soap-suds and stirred around briskly until thoroughly washed. If it is desired to brighten them or to remove corrosion, add one tablespoonful of sulphuric acid to each quart of suds. Rinse the shells in two clean boiling waters by agitating them as before, and then dry them by exposure to sunlight or mild heat. Intense heat will draw the temper of the shells and ruin them.If the shells were originally crimped they will have to be opened with the tool so as to admit the bullet without shaving off or abrading its surface. The Ideal Manufacturing Company can furnish a special plug, screwed to the tool, by which the primer may be extracted and the mouth of the shell opened in one operation, the tool automatically releasing the shell from the plug, thus making the operation of opening the mouth of the shell rapid and easy. In the case of smokeless powders the cleaning of the shells is not so important, but is desirable, as some of the powders leave a sticky residue which interferes more or less with the reloading process.

After the shells have been cleaned and dried the new primers may be placed in position. In doing this be sure to seat them firmly on the bottom of the pocket and below the surface of the head of the shell. This will prevent misfires and premature explosions.

The measuring of the powder charge is the most important detail in reloading ammunition. There are several devices to measure powder that are convenient and fairly accurate. Those furnished by the Ideal Manufacturing Company, designated as No. 5 or No. 6, and those made by H. M. Pope are the best.[18]The usual method is to measure the powder with a charge cup that is supplied with the reloading tools. A quantity of the powder should be poured from the can into a small box and the charge cup dipped into it and filled. With a thin lead-pencil tap the cup lightly two or three times on the side to settle the powder uniformly. If the powder settles below the top of the cup dip the cup into the powder again and fill it, being careful not to tilt the cup so as to disturb the powder already in it. Strike off the powder in the cup with the pencil and pour it into the shell. By measuring the powder in this way and verifying it by weighing each charge in a delicate balance, a high degree of skill may be acquired in a short time. Ordinary revolver charges should not vary more than one-tenth of a grain in weight.

The charge cup method is preferred by many in measuring smokeless powders, as some varieties, being coarse grained and light in weight, are liable to form large voids. Such voids are invariably corrected when the charge cup is tapped and the powder settles.

After the desired quantity of shells has been primed and charged with powder, the bullets, properly lubricated, are started into the shells by hand and then one by one the cartridges are placed in the reloading tool, which seats the bullet and crimps the shell.

In reduced black powder charges, when the bullet is seated below the mouth of the shell, the tool should be adjusted so as not to crimp the shell.

In loading cartridges in which the shells are not crimped on the bullets, it is very important that both the shells and the bullets should be absolutely uniform in size, so that the fit, and consequently the friction, of the bullets in the shell will be the same in all cases. By reloading some of the shells oftener than others or with different charges, the expansion of the shells will vary and the bullets will fit more or less tightly. Such ammunition when fired will vary in elevation. It is well to begin with new shells using the same load in them and reloading them the same number of times. Even with the same charge and under apparently identical conditions a few of the shells will expand differently. This variation will, however, be readily discovered in seating the bullets with the tool. Cartridges in which the bullets seat with greater or less effort than the average should be carefully separated from the rest and not used when fine shooting is required.

In reloading ammunition with spherical or “round” bullets the neck of the bullet should be up, opposite the powder side. In this position the neck is always in sight, and any turning of the bullet so as to bring the neck on the side and in contact with the barrel will be apparent and can be corrected. All round bullets should be at least ¹/1000 of an inch larger in diameter than the bottom of the grooves of the barrel. This causes them to deform slightly on the circle of contact with the barrel, and creates a narrow cylindrical surface around the bullet, securing a better bearing and greatly increasing the accuracy. It also insures the tight fitting of the bullet in the shell, preventing it from being displaced by the recoil. If round bullets fit loosely, or if there is the slightest imperfection in the bullet where it comes in contact with the shell or the barrel, “gas-cutting” will result and hot lubricant is liable to pass by the bullet into the powder charge. In either case the accuracy is impaired.

When round bullets are used, the lubricant must be applied after they have been seated. This can best be done with a small brush. The brush is dipped into melted lubricant and then passed around the bullet where it is in contact with the shell. Too much lubricant is undesirable. At least three-quarters of the surface of the bullet should project above the lubricant. By keeping the lubricant at a constant temperature, the quantity adhering to the brush will be approximately the same and the results uniform.

In reduced loads, when black powder or “bulk” smokeless powder is used, the bullets may be seated so as to just touch the powder charge; never so as to compress it. When “dense” smokeless powder is used, a suitable air space must always be provided. This is necessary both when round or conical bullets are used.

With all forms of conical bullets and when using either “dense” or “bulk” smokeless powder, in full or reduced charges, better results are invariably obtained by seating the bullets in the regulation position and crimping the shells moderately and uniformly on the middle of the front band of the bullet.

Ammunition for automatic pistols may also be reloaded by hand, but there is much less economy than in reloading other ammunition. When the full charge is used, a metal-cased bullet is required which must be purchased from the manufacturers. Reduced loads with lead bullets will operate in some of the pistols only. An overcharge of powder for a lead bullet will lead the barrel and is liable to cause difficulty with the mechanism, and accidents. Only experienced persons familiar with the operations of loading the rimless shells and whether or not the arms will operate with the charges they propose to use, should attempt reloading this ammunition.