Updated Loads - Wolfe Publishing · PDF fileUpdated Loads: † .270 Winchester † .260 ... Canadian returns: PM #40612608. Pitney Bowes, ... for loading Nosler 160-grain

$5.99 U.S./Canada

June 2011 No. 272Rifle Magazine Presents - HANDLOADER

Printed in USA7 25274 01240 4

0 6

$5.99

Put To the Test!Accurate’s “Camp Perry” Powder

Colt’s Big 3!

UpdatedLoads:• .270

Winchester• .260

Remington• 6.5mm

Creedmore

4 Handloader 272

AMMUNAMMUNITITIONON REL RELOADING NG JOJOURURNAL AL

June 2011Volume 46, Number 3

ISSN 0017-7393 Issue No. 272

Background Photo: © 2011 Vic Schendel

Page 50 . . .

Page 42 . . .

Page 34 . . .

28 Where Do We Learn? Pistol Pointers - Charles E. Petty

30 Hodgdon’s LEVERevolution Propellant Profiles - R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.

34 Colt’s Big Three When These Wheelguns and Autos Ruled! Mike Venturino

42 6.5 Creedmoor Loads for an Up-and- Coming Cartridge John Barsness

50 .260 Remington Handloads for a Sensible Cartridge John Haviland

8 Bullet Diameter Versus Pressure Reloader’s Press - Dave Scovill

12 .44 Special Data Dangers Bullets & Brass - Brian Pearce

16 .360-21⁄4-Inch Express Cartridge Board - Gil Sengel

20 Handgun Hunting From the Hip - Brian Pearce

24 The .38 Colt, aka .38 Long Colt Mike’s Shootin’ Shack - Mike Venturino

Publisher of Handloader™ is not responsible for mishaps of any nature that might occur from use of published load-ing data or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproduced withoutwritten permission from the publisher. Publisher assumes all North American Rights upon acceptance and paymentfor all manuscripts. Although all possible care is exercised, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mu-tilated manuscripts.

Issue No. 272 June 2011

AMMUNAMMUNITITIONON REL RELOADING NG JOJOURURNAL AL Publisher/President – Don Polacek

Publishing Consultant – Mark Harris

Editor in Chief – Dave Scovill

Associate Editor – Lee J. Hoots

Managing Editor – Roberta Scovill

Assisting Editor – Al Miller

Senior Art Director – Gerald Hudson

Production Director – Becky Pinkley

Contributing EditorsJohn Haviland Ron SpomerBrian Pearce Stan TrzoniecCharles E. Petty R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.Clair Rees Mike VenturinoGil Sengel Ken Waters Terry Wieland

AdvertisingAdvertising Director - Stefanie Ramsey

[email protected]

Advertising Representative - Tom [email protected]

Advertising Information: 1-800-899-7810

CirculationCirculation Manager – Luree McCann

[email protected]

Subscription Information: 1-800-899-7810www.riflemagazine.com

Handloader® (ISSN 0017-7393) is published bi-monthly by Polacek Publishing Corporation, dbaWolfe Publishing Company (Don Polacek, Pres -ident), 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona86301 (also publisher of Rifle® magazine). Tele -phone: (928) 445-7810. Periodical Postage paid atPrescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices.Subscription prices: U.S. possessions – single issue,$5.99; 6 issues, $22.97; 12 issues, $39.00. Foreignand Canada – single issue, $5.99; 6 issues $29.00; 12issues, $51.00. Please allow 8-10 weeks for firstissue. Advertising rates furnished on request. Allrights reserved.Change of address: Please give six weeks notice.

Send both the old and new address, plus mailinglabel if possible, to Circulation Dept., Handloader®

Magazine, 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott, Ari-zona 86301. POSTMASTER: Send address changesto Handloader®, 2180 Gulfstream, Ste. A, Prescott,Arizona 86301.

Canadian returns: PM #40612608. Pitney Bowes,P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

Wolfe Publishing Co.2180 Gulfstream, Ste. APrescott, AZ 86301Tel: (928) 445-7810 Fax: (928) 778-5124© Polacek Publishing Corporation

Page 34Page 32Page 50

Background Photo: © 2011 Vic Schendel6 Handloader 272

On the cover . . .The Ruger Hawkeye 6.5 Creedmoor (right) isshown with a custom FN Mauser 6.5x55. Bothrifles feature Leupold scopes. Photo by JohnBarsness. Pistol photos by Yvonne Venturino.

Page 66 . . .

Page 76 . . .

58 The (Almost) Forgotten Colt Thuer Shooting a Footnote Terry Wieland

66 Handloading the .270 Winchester New powders and bullets make it better than ever. Brian Pearce

74 Case Preparation Thoughts on a Critical Component R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.

82 What’s New in the Marketplace Inside Product News - Clair Rees

90 Shooting – and Limits of Human Ingenuity In Range - Terry Wieland

Handloader 27212 www.handloadermagazine.com

Q: A couple of days ago, I had

a new and sobering experi-ence with my handloading. Afterreading your article on the Ruger“Lipsey’s” New Model Blackhawk.44 Special, I purchased one andhave been working on loads. I de-cided to try the Sierra 300-grainjacketed softpoint. In referencingthe Hodgdon #26 Data Manual, itlists a large pistol magnum primerwith a 10.5-grain start load andmaximum of 11.0 grains of Win-chester 296 powder. I did not haveany W-296 so used 10.5 grains ofHodgdon H-110 powder instead.

With the above load I began shoot-ing and adjusting my sights ac-cordingly, when the gun pepperedmy face a little. I glanced at themuzzle and could see the bulletabout ¼-inch from the muzzle. Iwas shocked! I drove the bulletout, which was smoked heavilyand so was the case. I ran a patchthrough the barrel and could seeno damage.

I shudder to think what couldhave happened had I not seen thebullet in the barrel, etc. I am an ex-perienced handloader – certainlyenough to realize that a personcan do something dangerous if

and buy new ones. Do you thinkthat I should take up bird watch-ing? Perhaps you should write anarticle on handloading mistakes,which would help educate some-one like me. Keep up the goodwork.

– T.J.S., Brady TX

A: The instant I read your load, I

knew you were going to stick a

bullet in the bore and hoped that

you had caught the error before

pulling the trigger again.

I’m not sure where to begin, but

in referencing all .44 Special data

in the Hodgdon Data Manual No.26, there is no data containing

either Winchester 296 or Hodg-

don H-110 powders for any bullet

weight. Furthermore, I have more

than 100 handloading manuals

spanning more than a century,

and there is no data for the .44

Special load that you referenced.

The Sierra 300-grain JSP (along

with any other jacketed bullets of

the same weight) has a long bear-

proper attention is not used, but I cannot figure out what I didwrong, unless my primers wereold . . . which they were. In one ofyour last articles, you indicatedthat we should use current dataand “fresh components.”

The above experience really shookme up, and I wonder if I shouldhave substituted powders. MaybeI should toss all my old manuals

BULLETS & BRASS by Brian Pearce • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

.44 SPECIAL

DATA DANGERS

Shane HallMarketing/Sales

Rainier Ballistics, L.L.C.

253-922-7589800-638-8722

RainierBallisticsLeadSafe®

Reduced-VaporBullets

www.rainierballistics.com

Brian does not usually recommend using 300-grain jacketed bulletsfrom Speer, Hornady and Sierra (not shown) in the .44 Special. A toolight charge of Hodgdon H-110 will stick these bullets in the bore,which may prove catastrophic.

June-July 2011 13www.handloadermagazine.com

ing surface and considerable re-

sistance as it travels down the

bore. As a result it requires signif-

icant pressure to reliably get it

out the barrel, and your light

charge of Hodgdon H-110 was in-

sufficient. I do not generally sug-

gest using 300-grain jacketed

bullets in the .44 Special. On the

other hand, due to cast bullets’

lower barrel resistance, 300- to

310-grain weights can safely be

used in revolvers that can handle

25,000 psi using 15.5 grains of H-

110 for between 1,050 to 1,100 fps

from most revolvers (capped with

a large pistol magnum primer).

Your concerns for “substituting”

powders are unwarranted, as Hodg-

don H-110 and Winchester 296

are not just similar but are ex-

actly the same and come from

the same production spout! Even

if your components were old,

that was not the problem in this

instance.

Perhaps the single biggest les-

son is to be 100 percent positive

of your load data and be certain

it comes from a credible source.

It is always a good idea to cross-

reference that load. And never

memorize a load . . . unless you

know it better than your own

name! I hope this experience does

not scare you into retiring your

loading equipment, but rather

you will have a greater under-

standing and respect to be cer-

tain what components constitute

your loads.

7MM REMINGTON

MAGNUM

Q: With all the hype over the vari-ous short magnums, I rarely see orread much about an old favorite of mine, the 7mm Remington Mag-num. I have three rifles so cham-bered and have hunted most NorthAmerican big game with one since1964.

My question has to do with casecapacity. Over the years I triedcases from many manufactur ers,including Remington, Browning,Winchester, Federal, Imperial,Norma, Frontier and others buthave generally settled on Winches-ter, because they had the mostcase capacity. Back in the 1970s,I purchased several hundred Win-chester Super-X cases and have reloaded them many times but decided to retire them, as they

Alliant Reloder 25 is top choicefor loading Nosler 160-grainPartition bullets in the 7mm

Remington Magnum.

Q: I have a question about the .444Marlin. I have used Hornady 240-and 300-grain XTP bullets with -out problem but have recentlybeen using the Hornady 265-grainFlex Tip. Using your article inHandloader from August 2003 asa guide, I am using 52.0 to 53.0grains of Hodgdon H-322 powder

guns. Thanks for your help andkeep up the good work.

– D.M., Julian CA

A: In developing the .430-inch,

265-grain Flex Tip bullet, Hor-

nady engineers decided that in

order to obtain the shape of bullet

desired, the .444 Marlin case must

be shortened to observe overall

cartridge length requirements. As

and like the load. However, whenhunting with a round in the cham-ber, I cannot eject it when remov-ing the loaded cartridge from thechamber, as it is too long with the plastic tip. If I crimp the bullet in the cannelure, I get a cartridgeoverall length of 2.720 to 2.730inches. By making a dummy car-tridge, I have determined that acartridge length of 2.677 will eject.The problem is that the case mouthis above the crimp cannelure. Inorder to place the crimp properlyin the cannelure, the case wouldneed to be trimmed to around 2.150inches. I do have a CH CannelureTool, but that would place thecrimp over the point of the shoul-der. Do you have any suggestions?

Incidentally, my rifle is a MarlinModel 444SS with a 22-inch barreland Micro-Groove rifling. I wouldlike to see an article on reloadingHornady Flex Tip bullets in lever-

a result, they suggest handload-

ers trim cases to 2.065 inches

and keep overall cartridge length

at 2.580 inches. It may be of in-

terest that Hornady factory loads

feature cases that are of that

length (or slightly less).

In selecting the 265-grain Flex

Tip bullet, there are two other

points you should be aware of.

First, the bearing surface is sub-

stantially greater than the Hor-

nady 265-grain FP InterLock, which

will raise pressures some if the

same powder charge is used. Sec-

ond, since the bullet must be seated

deeper into the case to compen-

sate for the longer nose, powder

capacity is reduced. Both of those

features will increase pressure

to some degree. With that said,

Hodgdon H-322 should be safe

with a 100-percent density load,

which will be slightly less than

data obtained with other 265-

grain bullets. On the other hand,

many popular powders common

to this cartridge may show a

noticeable increase in pressure if

the charge is not reduced. The

point being, .444 Marlin data is

not interchangeable with differ-

ent bullets of the same weight.


showed signs of fatigue. I recentlyreplaced them with new Win chesterheadstamped cases. The problemis my standard load containing aNosler 160-grain Par tition bulletand 69.0 grains of Alliant Reloder25 powder is only leaving a smallairspace when compared to the oldSuper-X cases. Will this new casewith less capacity change pres-sures enough to require reducingthe load?

– T.S., Denver CO

A: This will probably bump pres-

sures some, but even with your

new lower-capacity Winchester

cases, your load is well within

suggested SAAMI pressure limits.

In fact you are still at least one to

two grains below maximum. Re-

gardless, any time you change

components, you should be alert

to any changes in pressures, so

watch for the usual signs and

check the head for excess expan-

sion. You should be commended

for your attention to detail.

.444 MARLIN

When handloading theHornady 265-grain Flex

Tip bullets in the .444Marlin, cases should be

trimmed to 2.0650inches to allow crimpingin the cannelure grooveand to keep the overallcartridge length within

SAAMI guidelines. Italso aids in correct

function through lever-action rifles.

The 2011 Redding Catalog features a hostof new products for the serious handloadingenthusiast. The LR-1000 Powder Measure

offers benchrest consistency to powdercharges up to 140 grs., creating a new level

of precision for the long range shooter.The new Bullet Seating Micrometers areavailable as a direct replacement for your

original seat plugs in standard Reddingdies for popular rifle calibers. Plus the most

technically advanced Dual Ring Carbidedies for the competitive handgunner.

For up-to-the-minute Redding informationand helpful tech tips, visit our website atwww.redding-reloading.com

•

More How-To’s for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Shooter

$22.50

Forty Years with the .45-70 Revised

$22.50

How-to’s for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Shooter

$22.50

Loading the Black Powder Rifle Cartridge

$22.50

The Paper Jacket

$22.50

Shooting the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle

$22.50

Cast Bullets for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle

$22.50

Black Powder, Pig Lead and Steel Silhouettes

$22.50

Wind Drift and Deceleration of the Cast Bullet at Black Powder Velocities

$19.95CD ROM

Casting Premium Bullets for the Black Powder Cartridge Rifle

$19.95 CD ROM

Dear Folks

$22.50

Buy the Entire Collection!Only $190.00

Plus FREE!

Wolfe Publishing Co. • 2180 Gulfstream, Suite A • Prescott, AZ 863011-800-899-7810 • www.riflemagazine.com

NewestBook!

Save Over$50.00

on CompleteSet!

PDF formaton CD ROM

IMike VenturinoPhotos by Yvonne Venturino

In a recent phone conversationwith Dave Scovill, we both ex-pressed agreement about a cou-ple of points. One is that while

Colt’s Single Action Army revolverand Government Model pistol (1911s)are well known the world over, itsNew Service double-action revolver is relatively obscure except to avidhandgunners. That’s despite the factthat it was produced in nearly equalnumbers to the SAA during a muchshorter manufacturing period. Thesecond point is that many shooterstoday are so enamoured of early S&WN-frame .44 Special revolvers thatthey nearly genuflect at the sight ofone. Yet the Colt New Service pre-dated them, was stronger and out-numbered S&W .44 Specials by asubstantial degree.

My reasoning as to why the first item is true is thewestern genre of movies. While Colt SAAs may nothave made it to all corners of the earth, most certainlywestern movies have. Even an avid movie buff likemyself can hardly think of a prominent use of aColt New Service in cinema. The only exceptionthat comes instantly to mind is the one used byLee Marvin in the mid-1960s film The Profes-

sionals.

The reason for the Colt .45 Auto’s fame isnot that it has been a movie star. It’s that atone time or another during its three-quarterscentury of U.S. military issue it virtually wasin all corners of the earth in American sol-diers’, sailors’ and marines’ holsters asModel 1911s (and 1911 A1s).

As to the New Service being shadowed by S&W N-frame .44 Specials, we can attribute that to gun writ-ers of a former era such as Elmer Keith. He touted the.44 Special and its S&W N-frame sixguns in print somuch for so many decades that they gained almostmythical status. I was not invulnerable to that senti-ment either and have owned virtually all S&W varia-tions of the .44 Special made between 1908 and 1966.

sales slowed remarkably with only about10 percent more (32,000) being madeuntil the end of what is known as the 1stGeneration in 1941. Remember, too, thatduring the 1st Generation’s time span, thepopulation of this country was a fraction oftoday’s numbers, so one-third of a million ColtSAAs made and sold was an impressive accomplish-

Colt’s Big Three (from left):Single Action Army .45, NewService Model 1917 .45 andU.S. Model 1911 .45.


Colt’sLet’s look at some chronology. The SAA came first in

1873 when adopted in the new .45 Colt caliber as asidearm for U.S. Army officers and cavalrymen. It wassuperceded by the .38 Colt Model 1892, but in practicethe big .45 Colts continued to serve because of the.38’s poor performance. Some perspective of the U.S.Army’s tiny size in those decades is evidenced by thesmall number of SAA .45s bought by the governmentin almost two decades. Only about 37,000 wereshipped from Colt to government facilities.

However, the SAA also proved immensely popularon the civilian market. In its first four decades, from1873 to 1913, more than 325,000 were made. After that

troduction to 1921, no less than 315,000 were made.From then until the end only from 1,000 to 3,000 wereproduced each year.

The New Service also was honored in that it servedas a U.S. Army handgun twice – chambered for a different cartridge each time. First it was the U.S.Model 1909 and its cartridge was a version of .45 Colt made with an extra wide rim to help facilitate ex-

35www.handloadermagazine.com

When TheseWheelguns and

Autos Ruled!

Big Threement. It must also be recognized that a 2nd Generationof about 74,000 Colt SAAs came about from 1956 to1974, and then a 3rd Generation started in 1976 andcontinues to this day.

Colt brought out the New Service in 1898 and con-tinued making it until 1944, which in itself is odd. MostAmerican firearms manufacturers only producedweapons for the U.S. and allied militaries betweenearly 1942 and war’s end in 1945, and I’ve not foundany reference to any of the 4,000 to 5,000 New Servicerevolvers made during World War II going to the gov-ernment. As with the SAA, New Service productionpeaked long before the model was dropped. From in-


price was $13.50 each, including ascrewdriver.)

Civilian sales of Colt .45 Autopistols began almost simultane-ously. The government’s designa-tion was U.S. Model 1911, but thesame handgun’s name when soldon the civilian market was Gov-ernment Model. Each version hadits own serial number range, withthe civilian versions’ numbers log-ically having a C prefix. It is rela-tively easy to pin down productionfigures of prewar GovernmentModels: serial numbers reachedabout C215,000, circa 1942. How-

ever, all those were .45 ACP cal-iber. Colt produced the same pis-tol chambered for .38 Super in aseparate serial number range. Pro-duction of those also ended earlyin 1942 with about 34,500 made.

Determining U.S. Model 1911production made solely by Colt isa different matter. At serial num-ber 700,001 the U.S. governmentchanged the model designation toU.S. Model 1911 A1 meaning “Al-teration #1.” This was due to somerelatively minor design changes.Determining exactly how many ofthose first 700,000 U.S. Model1911s were made at the Colt fac-tory is difficult, because somewere made at the government’sown Springfield Armory, others byRemington Arms Company andsome blocks of serial numberswere not used at all.

Here’s a best guess taken fromfigures printed in the book

The Model 1911 and Model

1911A1 Military and Com-

mercial Pistols by Joe Poyerand edited by Craig Riesch. Onpage 454 it states that Colt’sModel 1911 serial numbersreached 629,500 by 1919. ThenColt delivered no more Model

1911s to the government until

Colt’sBig3

This pair of 1975-vintage PeacemakerCentennials are Mike’s all-time favoriteColt Single Action revolvers. Grips arecrafted from bison bull thighbones.

The SAA came first in1873 when adopted in

the new .45 Colt caliber.

Above, the ColtNew Service was

used twice by theAmerican military, once

as the Model 1909 .45 Colt and thesecond time as the Model 1917 .45ACP. Right, for adaptation to a rim-less cartridge in 1917, three-roundspring steel clips were invented.

traction. The second timewas as the U.S. Model 1917,when its cartridge had norim but was used in steelthree-round, half-moon clipsto facilitate extraction. Sourcesvary but general figures for U.S.Model 1909s and U.S. Model 1917sare about 21,000 to 22,000 and151,000 to 152,000, respectively.That means only about 10 percentof 1st Generation Colt SAAs weresold to the government, but about48 percent of New Service re-volvers went to it.

Even as the U.S. Model 1909 wasadopted, all concerned partiesknew that a semiautomatic pistolwas coming soon. It most as-suredly would be the collabora-tion between Colt and John M.Browning that was in develop-mental stages already. Adopted in1911, deliveries began in 1912priced at $14.25 each with onemagazine. (When the governmentbought Colt SAA .45s in 1873, the


1924 when 10,000 of the newModel 1911 A1s were purchased.After that the government pro-cured none until 1937. At the endof 1941, serial number 756,733 wasreached. On page 46 the same bookstates that Colt alone produced an“estimated” 629,000 Model 1911A1s “during World War II.” (Othermanufacturers during the war pro-duced many more 1911 A1s, butwe’re only concerned with Colthere.) So in very rough figures, itappears that between 1911 and1945, when the government ceasedbuying 1911s altogether, only aboutone in every six or seven .45 ACPpistols made by Colt went to civil-ian sales. Virtually all Colt Govern-ment Models made from 1945 topresent have been for the civilianmarket.

Now let’s take a look at the gen-eral physical characteristics ofColt’s Big Three. The followingstatistics are taken directly froman original Colt catalog dated Jan-uary 1935. The SAA’s standard bar-rel lengths were 4¾, 5½ and 7½inches. Overall length with a 4¾-inch barrel was 10¼ inches andweight when chambered as .45Colt was 36 ounces. Calibers also

sions: the Shooting Masterand the New Service Tar-get. A standard New Serv-ice came with 4½-, 5½- and7½-inch barrel lengths. Withthe shortest length andchambered as .45 Colt theirweight was 39 ounces. Over-all length also with theshort barrel was 9¾ inches.Caliber options were thesame as the SAA with theaddition of .45 ACP and.455 Eley.

At this point someone hasto be thinking, Dummy!

You’re forgetting .38 Spe-

cial. Well, no I am not. For some reason in that1935 catalog, Colt put New Service .38 Specials on aseparate page. They alsogave them different barrel

lengths of 4, 5 and 6 inches. Withthe smaller bore and chambers,weight increased to 44 ounceswith a 6-inch barrel. The onlyother difference I see in the twofixed-sight New Services is thatthe non-.38 Special versions havea lanyard ring on the butt and the.38s do not. Finish options are full-blue and full-nickel plating. Re-gardless of caliber or finish, all thefixed-sight New Service revolversin 1935 were also priced at $34.

Colt’s 1935 catalog is also a littleconfusing in regard to the Shoot-ing Master and New Service Tar-get revolvers. The Shooting Masteris listed only with a 6-inch barrelchambered for .38 Special, .44Special, .45 Colt and .45 ACP. The

One criticism often aimed at theColt New Service is that long fin-gers are required in order to shootit easily in double-action mode.

Above, the Colt Single ActionArmy’s worldwide fame stemmedfrom its use in western movies inthe hands of such actors as JohnWayne. Right, Mike thinks ColtU.S. Model 1911’s worldwidefame came more from the fact thatit was used by American troops forthree-quarters of a century. This photo of a U.S. cavalry trooper probably dates from the mid-1900s.

offered in 1935 were .32-20, .38Special, .38-40, .44 Special and .44-40. Finish options were color case-hardened frame with the rest of the revolver blued or fullynickel-plated. (A little known factis that when nickel plated theSAA’s frames were not hardened.)Regardless of finish or caliber op-tions 1935’s retail price was $34.

In the 1935 catalog, New Serviceoptions were much greater. Alsothere were two target-sighted ver-

Photo courtesy Herb Peck Jr. Collection


Colt’sBig3

Above, an early 2000-vintage repro-duction U.S. Model1911 A1 .45 (left)with an original ColtU.S. Model 1911 A1 made in1944 (right). Right, the craftsmanship Colt put into the Big Three intended forcommercial sales in the pre-World WarII years was perhaps the best ever forAmerican-made handguns. This sampleis a 1937-vintage Colt Government Model .45.

available in target-sighted versionspriced at $44.25.

To this point this article hasmostly been a recital of facts.From here on it will be more orless subjective based on my per-sonal experience with Colt’s BigThree. To begin I perused my ownhand-jotted records of every hand-gun owned in my lifetime. Since1966 I’ve owned 68 Colt SAAs in-clusive of all generations. Only adozen Colt 1911 and/or Govern-ment Models have passed throughmy hands and a paltry half-dozenNew Service revolvers. From thoseI base the following opinions:

The cosmetic manufacturing qual-ity invested in Colt’s Big Three, es-pecially in the time frame from1900 to 1940, is unrivaled. Polishand blue were beyond reproach.Fit of grips, whether hard rubberor walnut, were perfect as was let-tering and/or stampings. Timing of

blue. Nickel plating was a $5 op-tion. Weight was 39 ounces, or thesame as a .45 Colt New Servicewith 4½-inch barrel. Although thespecifications for 1911s cham-bered for .38 Super are identical,that model rated its own name ofSuper .38 instead of GovernmentModel. Both calibers were also

New Service Target is only offeredfor the latter three cartridges butalso comes with a 7½-inch barrel.Both have identical target sights.As usual for Colt revolver targetsights of that era, the front one isadjustable for elevation and therear for windage. Also there’s aprice difference; a Shooting Mas-ter is $52.50, but the New ServiceTarget is an even $50. Both pricesare a substantial increase in 1935dollars over fixed-sight New Serv-ice versions.

Colt’s Government Model .45ACP pistols were priced margin-ally higher than the revolvers at$36.75 with an extra magazinecosting $1.25. Anyone who boughta Government Model and didn’tbuy at least one extra magazinewould have been foolish. There-fore, I consider the true base priceto be $38. Barrel length was 5inches only, grips were checkeredwalnut, and standard finish was


revolvers and functioning of auto-loaders was superb. However, notuncommonly, dimensions of re-volver chambers in relation to barrel groove diameters did leavesomething to be desired. We’lltouch on that soon.

It is a well-known fact that in its lengthy history, the Colt SAAhas been chambered for about 30 different cartridges. It is alsotrue that only eight of those cham-berings have been produced inenough numbers to be significant:.45 Colt, .44 WCF (.44-40), .44 Spe-cial, .38 WCF (.38-40), .41 Colt,.357 Magnum, .38 Special and .32WCF (.32-20).

As a handloader I’ve dealt exten-sively with each of those car-tridges in the SAA. In the 1970s myfirst inkling that all was not al-ways right with Colt’s barrel andchamber dimensions came withan 1890’s vintage .44 WCF (.44-40).Its chambers would not acceptcartridges loaded with bulletslarger than .425 inch, but its barrelslugged the nominal .427 inch. Ac-curacy was poor. On the alertthereafter, I’ve checked barrelsand chambers of scores of SAAs,especially if they were not shoot-ing as well as expected. In all thatmeasuring, I’ve found .44 Specialswith .427-inch barrel groove diam-eters but chamber mouths as largeas .435 inch. Likewise most .45Colt 2nd Generation SAAs of myexperience have had .451-inchbarrel groove diameters and .456-inch chamber mouths. On theother end, some 1st Generationmodels have measured .454 inchacross their barrels’ grooves butas tight as .449 inch at the cham-ber mouths.

There are several remedies avail-able to make most mismatched dimension SAAs shoot reason-ably well. One is to do as the ammunition factories and use softalloy, hollowbase bullets. Theycan squeeze down or bump up as

New Service productionpeaked long before the

model was dropped.

We supply all of CorBon’scast bullets!

• Gas Checked & Plain Base Match Grade Cast Bullets• Everything from 6.5mm to .500 S&W, 20-22 BHN• Real Keith Bullets - .357, .41, .44 & .45440, 465 & 500 Gr. in .500 S&W, .460 S&W - 395 Gr.

349 NW 100 St. • St. John, KS 67576Tel: 620-549-6475Website: www.proshootpro.com

• Custom, odd, obsoleteand specialty

ammunition• Wildcat development

• Loading OVER 200 different calibers• Correct headstamped wildcat brass

WEBSITE: http://www.qual-cart.comP.O. Box 445, Hollywood, MD 20636 (301 373-3719)


25 yards are not too bad for as-issue military sidearms.

Two- to 3-inch, 10-shot clustersare precisely what I’ve come to ex-pect from tight but unaltered Colt1911s either of military or civilianorigin. The key word there is “tight.”In a 75-year hitch with the Ameri-

Colt’sBig3

This 21⁄4-inch group at 25 yards isabout par for a decent condition,off-the-shelf Colt GovernmentModel or U.S. Model 1911 A1.

When some effort is involved indeveloping good .45 Colt hand-loads, an off-the-shelf SAA .45Colt is capable of great accuracy.

An early 1900-vintage Colt NewService .38 WCF (.38-40) willgroup like this (17⁄8 inches) withgood handloads.

WORLD’S FINEST PRODUCTIONRIFLE BARRELS

DOUGLASULTRARIFLED

BARRELS IN MOST SIZES,SHAPES AND CALIBERS.

• Stainless Steel or Chrome Moly •–AFFORDABLE QUALITY–

Write for free information to:

DOUGLAS BARRELS, INC.5504 Big Tyler Rd., HL6Charleston, WV 25313

304-776-1341 FAX 304-776-8560

needed and give reasonable preci-sion. Another path is to load alloybullets to fit oversize chamber

mouths. Even if .003 inch over barrel groove diameter, they willpresent no great problem. Best yetis just find an SAA with dimen-sions that match. Then it willlikely be one of those proverbialtack-drivers. A good example ismy pair of 1970’s vintage Peace-maker Centennial Frontier SixShooters (.44 WCF/.44-40). Theyhave the usual .427-inch barrelgroove dimension, but both six-guns’ cylinders have .429-inch cham-ber mouths all around. Loaded with.428-inch bullets, they shoot liketarget handguns.

As said above, my experiencewith Colt New Service revolvershas been more limited. In fact, ofthe six owned, three have beenU.S. Model 1917s, one a U.S. Model1909 and one each .38 WCF (.38-40) and .44 WCF (.44-40). On handnow are two 1917s and the .38WCF. To my dismay I’ve never hadan opportunity to even shoot aNew Service chambered for .38 or.44 Special and never so much asseen a .455 Eley.

One charge often leveled at theNew Service is that the distancefrom grip to trigger is excessive,making double-action shootingawkward. Some shooters poo-poothis, but I tend to agree with thecharge. My hands are not small,but I feel that my trigger finger isat its limit when shooting a NewService in double-action mode.Once I handed my .38-40 to Yvonneto try, and she couldn’t fire it as adouble action at all.

There is no reason to believe thatColt got barrel and cylinder di-mensions matched with its bigdouble action any better than withits SAA. However, my .38 WCF(.38-40) has .400-inch chambermouths that match its .400-inchbarrel groove diameter. It is an ac-curate handgun. Conversely, bothof my 1917 Colts have .456-inchchamber mouths, much largerthan their .451-inch barrel groovediameters. They do not shoot asaccurately as the .38 WCF, buttheir 2- to 3-inch, 10-shot groups at


can military, the inventory of .45automatics was used constantlybut perhaps not rebuilt as often asneeded. It is always humorous atgun shows to watch a knowledge-able browser pick up a militarysurplus 1911, give it a shake andif it rattles then put it down. 0Re member: No more were pur-chased after 1945, yet they wereissued for 40+ more years until theM9 Beretta 9mm got into commondistribution. Ones that have beenaccurized by knowledgeable pro-fessionals can deliver far moreprecision on target ranges.

At times that precision comes atthe price of reliability. My friendClint Smith, director of ThunderRanch, the well-known shootingschool, has likely seen more andvaried 1911 .45 ACP pistols actu-ally fired than anyone. The first

time I attended one of his classesshooting a stock Colt GovernmentModel dating from the early 1960s,he asked to look it over. Then hesaid, “Where did you get this?” Ireplied, “Just picked it up at a gunshow.” Next he said, “It’s a nicegun and obviously functions fine.Don’t let some gunsmith tune itfor you, because then it won’t.”

At this writing my vault containsthree Colt .45 Autos, all of militarystyle. They are a Model 1911 from1918, a Model 1911 A1 from 1944,and one of the new productionModel 1911 A1s made in the early2000s. All are stock; none willshoot ragged hole groups, but allrun 100 percent.

Colt’s Big Three production to-tals have collectively run in themillions. Two models are stillgoing, albeit altered somewhatfrom their original designs andcertainly not cosmetically equal tothe same versions made a centuryago. Still, they are vestiges of atime when Colt handguns ruled.

ACTION

BULLETS & ALLOY, INC

P.O. Box 189 - Quinter, KS 67752Tel: 785-754-3609

E-Mail: [email protected]

PURE TINLinotype, Pure Lead, WW alloy, Lyman #2,

16/1-20/1-30/1, other alloys available.Manfacturer of hard cast pistol bullets.

Cowboy Action Shooting bullets.

Thompson Center Arms CompanyEncore & Contender/G2

Accuracy Solutions byMike Bellm’s TCs

We make ‘em work!Tel: 1-970-314-9901

www.bellmtcs.com

Quality hand-cast bullets for reloaders,competitors & recreational shooters!

Extensive selection of pistol, rifle,big bore & paper-patched bullets.

Website: www.MontanaBulletWorks.com7730 Hesper Rd. • Billings, MT 59106 • Tel: 406-655-8163

NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADAMoose, Woodland Caribou & Black Bear Hunts

Book now for 2010 & 2011 • Tel/Fax: (709) [email protected] www.biggamecanada.com

P.O. Box 159, York Harbour, NL, Canada A0L 1L0

Only about 10 percent of 1st Generation

Colt SAAs were sold tothe government.

•

Documents

Updated Loads - Wolfe Publishing · PDF fileUpdated Loads: † .270 Winchester † .260 ... Canadian returns: PM #40612608. Pitney Bowes, ... for loading Nosler 160-grain