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3

“Only accurate rifles are interesting” - Col Townsend Whelen

Volume 15, Number 5 September-October 1 983

Rifle The Magazine for Shooters

IN THIS ISSUE TCR83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L a yneSimpson 16

20

23

26

32

36

40

Quality Black-Powder Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Fadala

Classic 300 Magnum. ......................... Bob Hagel

Restoring Antique Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Bivins

2 2 Rimfires. ................................ Ed Matunas

Take-Down Mannlicher ......................... AI Miller

Tools for Cased Rifles.. ..................... Ron Swartley

DEPARTMENTS

Spotting Scope ................ .6 Classic Rifles ................. 10

Air Rifles. .................... 12

American Gunmakers. ........ . 14

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 3

Trophy Pointers .............. .66

ON THE COVER

The latest commemorative rifle from US Repeating Arms Company is this Chief Crazy Horse in .38-55, photo- graphed by Gene Fletcher Brownell of Jerome, Arizona. Pots were hand-made and hand-painted by Bonnie Lee Clayton, a Cherokee Indian from Tucson, Arizona. Brownell selected the inside of an Indian ruin near Sedona to set up this photograph, waiting for just the right late afternoon sunlight.

Rifle Magazine copyright 1983 is pLblished bi monthly by Wolfe Publishing Co Inc (Dave Wolle President) P 0 Box 3030 Prescott Arizona 86302 Telephone I6021 445 7810 Second Class Postage paid at Prescott Arizona and addittonal mailing olfices Single copy price 01 current issues $2 50 Subscription price six issues $13 00 12 issues $25 00 18 issues $37 00 (Outside U S possessions and Canada $1 6 00 $31 00 and $46 00 1 Recommended foreign stngle copy price $3 00 Advertising rates furnished on request All rights reserved

Publisher of Rifle is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use 01 published data or from recommendations by any member of The Stall No part of this publication may be reproduced wilhout written permission from the editor Manuscripts from free lance writers must be accompanied by stamped sell addressed envelope and the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mutilated manuscripts

Change of address please give six weeks notice Send both old and new address plus mailing labe if possible to Ccrculation Oept Rifle Magazine P 0 Box 3030 Prescott Arizona 86302

The Staff Dave Wolfe, Publisher Mark Harris, Assistant Publisher Ken Howell, Editor Jana KOSCO, Advertising Manager Dave LeGate, Art Director Barbara White, Production Supervisor Joyce Bueter, Circulation Director Susan Barney, Circulation Manager Terry Bueter, Accounting Mardell Harms, Executive Secretary Randy Swedlund, Photographer R.T. Wolfe, Ph.D., Consultant

Technical Staff

John Bivins Bob Brackney Sam Fadala J I Galan Bob Hagel Neal Knox Ed Matunas A1 Miller Ludwig Olson Stuart Otteson Homer Powley Layne Simpson Mike Venturino Ken Waters

4 RIFLE 89

Stuart Otteson’s * actions

BENCHREST ACTIONS Sr TRIGGERS

We’ve put together this collection of articles for the benchrest and accurate-gun enthusiast as a single handy source of information on the currently available actions and triggers.

These are the articles which have appeared in Rzfle magazine; Stuart has gone over the material again before it was assembled for this book to insure that all data is correct. Anyone who has read Stuart’s columns and articles is familiar with his attention to detail and clarity in dealing with his subject. His background in engineer- ing enables him to produce such thorough, practical design studies. This reprint of his

series on actions and triggers is thereby made a useful source of material for anyone planning to build or buy an accurate rifle - or someone more than casually interested in what makes an accurate rifle.

The book opens with a chapter on determining the rigidity of actions. Nine actions are then analyzed and des- cribed in seven chapters. Four triggers, plus four conversions of the Remington trigger are similai-ly studied. There’s a chapter on the basics of benchrest triggers, and a chapter on determining lock time. Other chapters tell how to estimate barrel weight, and how to estimate the weight of the complete rifle.

This is a 62-page book about the size of our magazines, printed on coated stock, with soft covers. The priceis $8.50, postpaid. The books are available, so send your order now!

Arizona residents add 5% sales tax

Wolfe Publishing Co., fnc.

3 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1983

rartley

Tool for

s

ASE TOOLS are accessories that C often accompany fine cased rifles, shotguns, and handguns. The custom of including these support items inside custom gun cases began back in the days when custom-made powder measures, flint boxes, and turnscrews (screwdrivers, that is) were bedded along with dueling pistols in velvet-lined cases. Flint-stock owners took-up the practice in the 1700s, and it gradually spread.

Today, case tools accompany many high-quality factory-made firearms - the limited editions, commemoratives, and field-grade guns - and to an even greater extent, all manner of custom- made guns. Case tools and accessories were prominent in the special Safari Club International rifles auctioned at the 1982 and 1983 Safari Club conven- tions. Almost always, the gun itself is exceptional in both beauty and the quality of its workmanship. Usually, it is reserved for display rather than hardy field use, although it is a point of honor among most owners of such distinctive firearms that the gun be a “banger” as well as a “hanger,” that it be a t least a practical and preferably an accurate firearm - with an excep- tion allowed if it is a true antique collector’s item.

There seems to be a great variety in the use of case tools today. Some truly exquisite cased guns have tools to match, while others don’t. Some have only one or two in the display case; others have what would be considered a full set. Some of these tools seem to be there strictly for show, while others are made with great precision and are functional in every way. Thus there is a great variety in the grades or qualities of such tools, as well as in their use.

Some questions therefore arise: Which tools should be included in a display case? What kind of quality should they have? Not much has been written about the subject since the time of those old dueling pistols, so what we have to offer here are some of our personal perspectives, based on a long fascination with these unique items of firearms hardware.

Case tools should be attractive. There is a kind of sculptural beauty to a well designed firearm, and the case tools that accompany it should be complimentary at least, if not down- right flattering. We think that the lines should tend toward the classic rather than the avante garde, to be consistent with the tenor of most cased firearms. Bizarre twists in

styling, just for the sake of being eye- catching (we’ve seen turnscrews that looked like wood chisels) have no place in the traditional display gun case. A well designed, well made case tool can have the same appeal as gems in a jewel box, particularly if the case itself is of a superior quality.

Case tools should be functional. They often appear to have no other purpose beyond a sort of window dressing for the display. If the gun is fully functional - and it usually is - then its supporting equipment should be just as functional. This means that the handles of the turnscrews shouldn’t twist off under the normal torque of typical use. The oil bottle should be designed and built so that the oil can be used without excessive dripping: and by the same token, the oil should remain in the bottle when the cap is tightened down - with no fear or hint of a leak.

Many an oil bottle goes unfilled because of anxiety - too often justi- fied - that the oil will leak out and ruin that expensive lining of ultra- suede, velvet, or whatever. Snap caps, if they’re included in the set, should be made rugged enough to withstand a realistic amount of dry-fire prac- tice without breaking-down, whether

RIFLE 89 40

bore brush, turnscrews, and dust brush (right) have ebony handles. These extra touches may not get the gun any cleaner, but pride in them Can make the task of cleaning the gun a good bit more pleasant.

they’re ever actually used or not. TOO often, there is silver-soldering where there should be hollow-grinding, toy- store springs where there should be high-tensile-strength steel, and flossy lacquer coating where there should be fine hand-finishing. Case tools can - materials as buffalo horn, ebony, and should - have the same precision African blackwood, and Indian ivory and craftsmanship applied to them as (still legal under certain conditions) for the maker has lavished on the gun tool handles, because these natural itself. materials look good, have class, and

wear well with long use. For metal, we The be specifcally for prefer brass, stainless steel, gold, and

the gun that they accompany* They silver when their softness makes their Of period use practical. Whenever a steel other

and provenance that the en has. than stainless is used the finished They should have the same flavor of origin. The blades of the turnscrews

have the Same

should match perfectly the particular screw-head slots of the gun. to permit serious use without danger of man- gling the heads of the screws -, serious business indeed if the screw heads happen to be beautifully engraved. The chamber and bore brushes should match the chamber and the bore. The dust brush shouldn’t be merely an off- the-shelf item but should incorporate some aspect that ties it to the gun that it is to be used on. The engraving of serial numbers that match those of the gun is one possible tie-in - and a nice touch.

The materials should be durable and distinctive. Plastic can be durable, but it lacks the distinctive look of class and rarity that is so appropriate for an accessory to a fine gun. Like- wise, there are some rare soft woods that look good when they are well finished, but they lack the durability that they need if they are to withstand the wear of serving a gun through- out its useful life. We prefer such

Ehony handles aren’t rad; ehony doesn’t come in uniform rod\ that can be chopped to length - custom work by a craftsman transforms raw wood into ‘1

special tool handle.

From a bar of solid brass like this one (left), a craftsman at the William lames Company made this core (right) for a brass oil bottle.

These sperial arrrswries arc a hiiffalo-horn and- brass iag for bore patches and thter snap < nps of solid brass, for a .35 Whdrn, a 12-gaugt. shotgun, and a .458 Winchrster Magnum.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1983 41

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The Orisel Artion with Rlackburn trigger

assic Rifle Builders ome features offered on our rifles:

Miller scope mount system Improved safety Custom iron sights Integral quarter rib Custom bottom metal

California french walnut Wood to metal inletting Cross bolts through stock Custom checkering Oil finished stock

Brochure $2.00

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product should be treated to dis- courage rust.

The number of tools should be appro- priate to the service that the gun requires. This is not to suggest that there should be enough hardware to conduct a complete field overhaul. Rather, there should be enough tools to take care of routine preventive maintenance and for normal support of the gun while it is in field use. With the average rifle, this minimum would include three turnscrews to fit the dif- ferent sizes of screw heads, an oil bottle with a good grade of gun oil, a cleaning rod - sectioned or one-piece, a dusting brush, a chamber brush, snap caps for dry-firing, and possibly a solvent bottle. Ideally, these tools should be “French-fit” into their case locations. None of the contents of the case - including the gun itself - should fit so loosely that it can rattle about under any but the roughest handling.

By now, it must be apparent that these ideal case tools aren’t typical off- the-shelf items. Obviously, there’s a lot of customizing involved, which makes them decidedly not of the bargain-basement vartety. Consider the fact that a custom-made, high- quality turnscrew takes upward of ten man-hours to manufacture. And consider that materials such as buffalo horn and ebony are both rare and expensive. Is it any wonder, then, that the purchase of a full set of good case tools can amount to a sizable investment?

Such fine-quality tools prbbably aren’t meant for the deer hunter who stands his rifle in a corner once he’s back from the hunt and looks upon his rifle strictly from the standpoint of its utility. . Probably, most hunters fit into that category.

Instead, quality case tools are for the enthusiast who sees beyond mere utility to aesthetics, for the type of person who has a special hankering for excellence, even artistry, in his hardware. This kind of shooter tends to see an element of art in the combination of well executed metal- work and woodwork, well functioning parts, and the colorful history that often accompanies a show-piece gun. This type of person, the connoisseur, is the one who should insist that the support items in the case match the high quality of the gun that they accompany. Only then can a fine cased gun be considered complete.

M

42 RIFLE 89

BOOK REVIEW

NRA Basic Hunter’s Guide N PREPARATION for our deer I hunt in Alberta last year, the Fish

and Wildlife Division of that province presented each of us with a beautiful,

T large-format paper-back book entitled Alberta Conservation and Hunter Education that impressed me so that I carefully brought mine back for frequent further use - to be another permanent addition to my hunting library.

I also thought that someone in the States should emulate this fine publi- cation, especially for use in training our youngsters to be knowledgeable, capable hunters and shooters - but really had no firm idea about whom to suggest this to. Fortunately, one or more of the fellows from The American Rifleman who were on that hunt had the same impression of the book and a much better-focused idea as to the United States distribution of it - republishing it here apparently without significant change (although an NRA release announcing the book says this about it: “The NRA Basic Hunter’s Guide is based on a publica- tion of the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division’s Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The National Rifle Association has taken the Alberta manual and expanded it to a 300-page, softbound book that covers hunting over the entire North American continent”). The only difference that I see, in a quick but searching look, is that the NRA version has its pages sequentially numbered 1 through 300, while my Alberta version has each internal section separately numbered.

After a brief introduction, the unnamed authors and illustrators present a very slick, well written, well illustrated, and colorful elementary textbook on these subjects: the ethics of hunting, the role of the hunter in conservation, the management of the wildlife resource as a renewable “fund,” the identification of a good many species of wildlife, equipment for hunters, firearms for hunters, hunting with the bow, hunters’ field techniques, methods of surviving hunters’ emergencies, the danger of hypothermia, some fundamentals of first aid, the importance of good vision and physical fitness, and the legal responsibilities of the hunter.

Just one perusal of that list gives a thoughtful man much to consider! But this rich tome is far more than the usual Fish-&-Game brochure. I t delves further into most of these topics than one would ordinarily

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1983

expect, accompanying clear and instructive text with a superlative supplement of equally illustrative drawings - mostly pen-and-ink sketches of surprisingly high quality but also a lovely section of full-color drawings of wildlife species. The sixty-two-page section on the identifi- cation of wildlife is enriched by a large selection of these color illustrations, but - strangely - I’ve seen no photo- graph whatever, anywhere throughout the book. Obviously, there were many instances when the preparers could have more easily found or made photo- graphs to illustrate certain points, yet they chose instead to use art through- out. The excellence of the art further attests to the preparers’ basic premise and determination that theirs would be a superbly attractive book.

Knowing that any book-loving hunter would want to preserve his copy while using it often, both the originators and the NRA drilled the three-hundred-page, eight-and-a-half- by-eleven-inch book to fit in a standard three-ring binder. I share their con- fidence that most hunters who want and obtain copies are most likely to keep them long and use them much. The Basic Hunter’s Guide is so clearly and simply presented that it is certain to be a hit with any youngster who has a modicum of interest with its contents, yet the matter that it so nicely presents is also rich with infor- mation for experienced hunters. I t bears much rereading through the years. In no area would I consider it shallow, though it is by no means encyclopedic in any of its coverage, either.

From think-matter to nuts-and-bolts technical matter, the Basic Hunter’s Guide is a useful book for the shelf of the hunter who is not an avid reader, as well as for those who revisit their favorites as old friends, time after time. I t is equally useful for the youngster who has to learn about hunting on his own and for those who are fortunate enough to have the tutoring of a hunter-father - and for those who get a good introduction in a hunter-safety course. I t is certain to be - if it isn’t already - a widely used textbook for introducing some of the finer points of hunting to our finest potential hunters.

The NRA Hunter Services Division of the NRA offers the Basic Hunter’s Guide for ten ninety-five (National Rifle Association; 1600 Rhode Island Avenue NW; Washington, DC 20036). - Ken Howell 0

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- meant to be proud and useful additions to your library

Our book-publishing business is only a few years old, but we are determined to make the most valuable contribution we can in a field well-populated with other gun books. Our magazines, Handloader and Rifle, are respected for their quality and credibility; we intend our books to earn similar respect.

We have collected and reprinted from the magazine material $0 provide a single- source reference on a subject; we -have reprinted other books which were not ours originally, but out-of-print and in great demand; and, we have undertaken some original books on new material. We are constantly looking for material, old and new, evaluating its usefulness to shooters and gun enthusiasts. Several books are in production or under consideration at this moment.

You can look to Wolfe Books as a source of reading and reference material of great- est value. Our professional staff can be depended upon to make that material as presentable as possible in terms of read- ability and graphic clarity. We are interested in presenting the very best books we can, covef-to-cover.

We have a catalog of our current offer- ings of books and related materials, with an order-form included. Send for this conven- ient listing for yourself, or a friend sharing your interest in guns and shooting.

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@dfe Publishing CoJnc. 21 I

P.O. Box 3030 138 North Montezuma Prescott, Arizona 86302

Telephone (602) 445-7810