February, 1922 
FOREST AND STREAM 
73 
: each class, but as the_ amounts named 
I gfive all the powder needed for their par- 
' ticular use, there is no need in getting 
closer to the point where there is liable 
to be fusion of the base of the bullet. 
Too much powder in a reiuced load 
in a high-power cartridge will cause the 
base of the bullet to melt, resulting in a 
leaded barrel and a wild-shooting bullet. 
Bulk for bulk, practically none of the 
many brands of smokeless powder will 
weigh exactly the same, nor will ten 
grains of one powder equal the shooting 
; strength of another of the same weight. 
, Every can of smokeless powder gives 
■ the amount that should be used with any 
particular load, and this limit should 
. never be overstepped. Stick to the brand 
, of powder that suits your particular pur- 
: pose best, learn all its peculiarities, and 
? then most of your powder troubles will 
I vanish. 
P ITTING the bullet into the mouth of 
^ the shell is a more painstaking piece 
of work than many would imagine. A 
brass shell cannot be heavily crimped 
into a hard metal bullet, nor can a shell 
be resized with a bullet in the mouth of 
it without deforming the bullet. In black 
; powder shells, where the powder charge 
i fills the shell, crimping is a com- 
paratively easy matter as all that is nec- 
essary is to crimp the shell in front of 
the forward band on the bullet and the 
I pressure of the powder against the base 
I of the bullet will keep it in the desired 
position. 
ii In smokless powder cartridges the 
[, charge of powder does not fill the shell 
and some means must be taken to pre- 
! vent the bullet from sliding back into the 
enlarged chamber of the shell, as will 
sometimes happen with bullets in the 
short range loads. As alloy bullets are, 
as a rule, slightly larger in diameter than 
the metal-cased bullets in order to shut 
off all escape of gas, they may fit tight 
enough in the shells so that the car- 
tridges can be handled without danger 
of the bullets receding in the shells. 
Where the bullets do not fit snugly in 
the mouth o.f the shell and when the 
mechanism of the rifle demands a tight 
fitting bullet, as in a turblar magazine 
gun, there are four ways of making the 
bullet stay in the mouth of the shell 
where it belongs. These ways are : using 
grooved shells, making indentations in 
the shells, crimping the shell slightly into 
the forward groove on the bullet and re- 
sizing the shell so that the bullet will fit 
tightly. Grooved shells, having a groove 
around the shell for the base of the 
bullet to rest against, are obtained of the 
cartridge companies. Sometimes these 
shells cause trouble in some arms after 
being used several times on account of 
the shell lengthening out as the groove 
in the shell straightens. Slight indenta- 
tions can be made in the shells to pre- 
vent the bullets from receding by using 
what is called a “shell indentor” which 
will make slight indentations in the shells 
for the base of the bullet to rest against 
when placed in the mouth of the shell. 
By using a reloading tool having a 
crimping shoulder, the shell can be 
slightly crimped into the forward groove 
on the bullet, which will hold the bullet 
in place and prevent it from receding 
or working loose and getting out of the 
shed. Bullets can be held tightly in place 
in a shell by first resizing the muzzle of 
the shell and forcing the bullet, base 
first, back into the shell to the required 
depth. This method of seating bullets 
requires considerable care to avoid in- 
jury to the base of the bullet or scraping 
the sides of the bullet as it is pushed 
down into place. It should be remem- 
bered that crimping a shell does not add 
to the accuracy of the cartridge and the 
less crimping that is done on bottle 
Sectional view of adjustable chamber 
necked shells, the better results will be 
obtained. 
Bullets for reduced loads in high- 
power rifles are made of one part tin to 
ten parts lead. Pure lead bullets cannot 
be used in rifles with quick twists on 
account of the metal being too soft to 
prevent the bullet from stripping as it 
goes through the barrel. While tin gives 
the bullet toughness and hardness, it has 
the disadvantage of having a lower melt- 
ing point than has lead. Lead melts at 
626°F, while tin melts at 451 °F, and 
volume for volume, lead is almost twice 
as heavy as tin. However, tin is the 
most satisfactory metal that can be used 
with lead to make a bullet for the lighter 
smokeless powder loads. Antimony is 
often added to bullet metal to give it 
hardness and prevent stripping, about 
3 to 5 per cent, being sufficient. Anti- 
mony melts at a temperature slightly 
higher than that of lead and is only a 
trifle heavier than tin. It makes ■ the 
bullet hard and somewhat brittle, and 
A tool for reloading high-power rifle 
shells with reduced loads 
unless absolutely necessary to prevent 
stripping, it is probably best not to use 
this metal. Antimony will not mix well 
with lead without the addition of a small 
quantity of tin and it possesses the pecu- 
liarity of expanding on solidification. 
Sometimes it is difficult to secure block 
tin, and solder, containing half tin and 
half lead, can be used. 
|W| OULDING bullets requires a little 
practice. The metal should be 
heated in an iron kettle over a gas or 
kerosene flame so that the heat can be 
regulated easily and kept uniform, a re- 
quirement for the moulding of good bul- 
lets. A dipper made for the purpose, 
having a nozzle which fits the pouring- 
hole of the cut - off on the mould, 
should be used if the best results are 
expected. Before beginning to use the 
molten metal, drop in a small piece of 
tallow or a few drops of oil and stir 
to flux the metal and make it flow easier. 
Keep the metal at as low a temperature 
as will enable it to flow freely and make 
good smooth bullets. 
If it is heated to a temperature too 
high the metal deteriorates rapidly and 
the bullets will be porous. The mould 
must be kept hot, and if a pair of cotton 
gloves are worn on the hands the work 
of moulding bullets will be made more 
pleasant. As the bullets come from the 
mould they should be allowed to fall 
gently on a piece of clean cotton cloth 
where they can remain until cool. As 
a rule new bullet moulds do not cast 
good smooth bullets until they have been 
used a short time and the interior sur- 
faces of the mould have become oxidized. 
The mould must be kept clean and well 
oiled or it will soon become useless. 
A bullet of 125 to 150 grains weight 
makes a well balanced bullet for re- 
duced loads in high-power rifles of the 
30 calibers and about 80 or 90 grains 
weight is most satisfactory for high- 
power rifles of the 25 calibers. If lighter 
bullets are used the powder charge must 
be reduced to prevent stripping and a 
longer and heavier bullet is liable to tip 
in its flight after leaving the muzzle of 
the rifle and destroy its accuracy and 
efficiency. 
A high-power rifle sighted for high 
velocity ammunition will not shoot short 
range loads correctly. Such a rifle will 
shoot to the left and a little low when 
used with the short range loads, there- 
fore an adjustment of the sights must 
be made if accurate shooting is to be 
done. Should the rifle be equipped with 
a peep sight, similar to Lyman’s No. 103, 
which has a very fine adjustment for 
both windage and elevation, the problem 
of keeping the rifle sighted for both 
short range and high velocity loads be- 
comes an easy matter. By marking the 
stem above the adjusting sleeve and 
marking the windage adjustment for 
point blank range with high velocity 
ammunition at a range of about a hun- 
dred yards., and making similar marks 
for the point blank range with short 
range loads at about fifty or seventy-five 
yards, the rifle is very quickly adjusted 
for either of the two loads. 
I F trouble is experienced in having 
shells stick in the chamber of the rifle, 
the difficulty can be remedied by resizing 
the entire shell in a resizing tool made 
especially for the purpose. To resize a 
shell, the exterior surface should be 
wiped with an oily rag and the shell 
driven into the resizing die with a 
wooden mallet. If the resizing tool rests 
{Continued on page 94) 
