Remington HYPERSONIC Shotgun Pressures:

  12  GAUGE  3-INCH.

During the 8 – 11 June Molesworth Station goose shoot, discussion among the nine shooters inevitably got around to shotgun shells.

Apart from Mark & Col, none of the other shooters load their own shot shells and naturally used only factory loads. As the rules for these goose shoots stipulated only ‘steel shot’ Mark & Col also used factory shells.

One of the shooters mentioned that he was using ‘Remington Hypersonic Steel’ shells which Remington claimed achieved 1700 feet per second.

1700fps???? That’s the highest velocity shot-load that we have ever heard of. What level of pressure was required? The shooter then very kindly gave Col five rounds to chronograph.

A couple of weeks later these rounds were chronographed and recorded an average of 1655 fps from a Mossberg M930 semi-auto with 28-inch barrel.

An intriguing aspect of this is that the hulls are stamped MAX 1050 BAR which equates to 15,229 P.S.I. while the American Sporting Arms and Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) states a maximum allowable pressure level of 11,500 P.S.I. for 12 gauge 2-¾ and 3-inch shells. For obscure reasons, the exception to this is the 12 gauge 3-½ inch shell which may be loaded to 14,000 P.S.I., although still way short of these Remington shells at 15,229 P.S.I. and .410 bore shells may be loaded to 13,500 P.S.I.

If, in fact, these Remington shotshells ARE producing pressures in excess of 15,200 P.S.I. as indicated by the hull-stamp, then that is clearly a matter for some concern.

We are not suggesting that modern well made shotguns will NOT withstand these 15,200+ P.S.I. pressures, as SAAMI allows an average of 19,800 P.S.I. for ‘proof -loads’ for the purpose of testing shotgun barrels.
                                             
While on the subject of ‘steel shot’ (which is actually iron) it may be worthwhile to remind shooters of the possible dangers involved when firing ‘steel shot’ through a full choke.

Quite simply, it is NOT recommended and can be detrimental to the barrel and choke tube.

Obviously, ‘steel shot’ does not compress as readily as lead shot and can produce a ‘pressure ring’ behind a tight choke tube. In a worst case a ‘steel shot’ load can blow a tight choke tube completely out of the barrel. This problem is naturally exacerbated with high pressure shells.

Anyway ‘steel shot’ produces tighter patterns than lead shot through any given choke size.

STEEL  SHOT  PATTERNS.
Some shot-gunners may not realize that ‘steel shot’ produces tighter patterns than does lead shot through any given choke constriction.

Additionally, for safety reasons there is less choice of chokes recommended for use with ‘steel shot’. However, this fact does not necessarily restrict the shooter to appreciably shorter ranges.

Assuming a shooter is using two sizes larger of ‘steel shot’ than they would when using lead shot and the ‘steel shot’ load is driven at considerably higher velocities in order to partially compensate for steel’s inherent lesser density, weight and penetration capabilities, it is then possible that the ‘steel shot’ will approximate the terminal effect of lead shot.

Colpepper Aramberri

Broad Arrow British Markings:

The British 'Broad Arrow' mark used to denote Crown or Defense Department property is perhaps an iteration of the Heraldic Pheon figure that is associated with Sir Phillip Sidney - who was the Joint Master of Ordnance 1585 - 1586 at The Office of Ordnance founded by Henry VIII in 1544.

Broad PHEON.

The Heraldic 'Pheon' is known in connection with the Sidney family of Penshurst from earlier times ... however this broad arrow mark may also be related to a similar "anchor" stamp that was used to mark Naval properties.

I recall seeing many military items marked with the 'Broad Arrow ..

but I can't really bring to mind handling any firearms so marked :

- but they are obviously around.

I'm just not very observant I guess (one of my many faults, - ask my "ex").

Marty K.

Slugging Bores - Pt. 2 - A Winchester Story:

 

Greetings Mister K.

Yep, 'slugging the bore' can certainly be beneficial, particularly if done before the actual purchase.

Years ago having spotted several traditional style lever-action Winchester M94 angle-eject 'trapper' models with 16 inch barrels in .44 Magnum at a major firearms retailers shop we decided that this was a short, handy & desirable carbine that was worthy of a closer look.

A 'Commemorative' M 94 Winchester - Should Be 'on -Spec'?

Turned out that every one we looked at had the sights misaligned and they leaned to one side. We then ordered one from Richard (a firearms retailer) which duly arrived from the agent and this one had the same problem, although the agent was prepared to pay for a gunsmith (Rod) to rectify the problem. Before Rod commenced the work we asked him to 'slug the bore'.....and shock horror..... the bore turned out to be .4315 instead of .429. Hell; who makes .432 diameter projectiles?.....Anyone?

Bugger that; the rifle was returned to the agent and a replacement supplied. This one had the sights aligned and the bore slugged at .4295, which we figured was possibly as good as we were likely to get. We somewhat reluctantly accepted this although with serious misgivings regarding 'quality control' or lack of, at the Winchester factory.

We then scoped the Winchester with a new Tasco 'World Class' low powered 1x-5x variable which proved to be a huge mistake. While testing various hand-loads the Tasco was found to arbitrarily adjust the point of impact in pronounced curves instead of just vertical and horizontal, which made it impossible to 'sight in' the carbine.

A credit was duly obtained on the Tasco and a Leupold 1x-5x variable with aftermarket pop-up scope caps was fitted. However, no matter what load & brand of projectile was tried, we could not obtain acceptable groups at 100 meters.

We then found that Richard-The-Retailer had several boxes of a particular discontinued Winchester .430 diameter 240 grain JSHP projectile which he was jealously hoarding for a future Ruger .44 Magnum semi-auto project. He offered to let us try a few with the warning that additional stocks would be unobtainable.

A Nosler .44 Magnum JSHP

Bingo.....the groups shrunk from around 3+ inches at 100 meters to 1-1/8 inches. Certainly not bench rest accuracy, but quite acceptable given the range limitations of a .44 Magnum carbine.

We then figured we had to coerce Richard into selling us his remaining stock of these projectiles. After several horses had changed hands in the trade, thankfully, we ended up with around 700 of the projectiles.

As a 'bush rifle' and for general use out to around 150 meters this particular Winchester is superb. Being so short it's also very handy to carry and great when crawling through scrub.

Regards.

Colpepper Aramberriberri.

- A bloody good story Col, well done,

Marty K.

Slugging A Rifled Bore & Measuring the Result:

I was inspired to research this skill (Me? ..inspired?) when I last had to use my brass knocker to remove a popped bullet from stuck in my Ruger .327 Federal Magnum revolvers 4 inch bore .. I was shooting-off the last of the way-under-powered .32" Long wimp rounds that were loaded to the Manual's supposed MAXIMUM LOAD recommendation! - and had fired the primer only squib load that had arrived in the guns cylinder.

- I dropped the spent pill into my pocket thinking that it might be interesting to mike-it-up when I got home .. then later I found an informative story 'SLUG, MIKE, MATCH' in the 1979 Gun Digest. that aroused my interest further.

- Well my particular slug came-out at .312" as measured by my old Mitutoyo - as it should I guess.

Slugging a bore is fairly simple task of hammering into the bore a soft lead ball or cylinder (slug) and pushing it through and out of the barrel to then measure the groove diameter .. which will strongly indicate the best size bullet to use for maximum accuracy in that particular barrel.

Note: Best that you use a metal rod rather than a wooden dowel .. wooden rods have been known to splinter and jam the slug into the barrel almost permanently/ solidly!.

A Slugged Bullet With An Unused One.

Piece of cake - easy-peasy .. until you find that your bore has an odd number of grooves eh.  Then you can't just mike or simply measure a slug from a 3 Groove or 5 Groove barrel.

- because there is a 'land' opposite each 'groove' -  remember the 'slug' is a reversed image of the bore.

I did not have that problem with this SP 101 Ruger in 327 Fed. Magnum but you never know when it might arise in future.

  

There are somewhat complicated ways of doing this measurement using a V-Block of known angles and dimension. Link:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?239450-Vee-block-for-measuring-odd-numberof-lands-and-grooves

- but I reckon to use a vernier or dial/digital type caliper for this job because the narrow jaws will fit into the slugs 'groove' and over it's opposite 'land' too. This will give a measurement for the known bore diameter plus one groove depth ... all you need to do is add that figure (groove depth) again and you've got the groove diameter or desired bullet diameter. Maybe.

- or perhaps you could use known size precision drill blanks (+- expected size) to sit in the V and measure-compare with your slug in any unknown V-Block?

- Will that work? - I'll try it someday - when I take-up long range rifle shooting eh.

- Or you could find a real expert engineer with decent measuring facilities or ring gauges to voluntarily take-on the task.

Marty K.

After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/24075745

Sensory Overload:

I've not posted for a while as I've been overwhelmed by other activities .. Builder 'Hugh' spent five days knocking-out approximately one & a half tons of concrete chimney from my living room and substituting a new free-standing log burner for the old earthquake effected one... concrete rubble, grit and dust everywhere.

That'll warm the "Cockles-of Your-heart" Eh.

- Then I updated my wee Honda for one eight years younger - a process more stressful than taking-on a female eight years younger.

.. now I am having to learn how to cope with driving a "key-less entry with button-start" that can brake for me in traffic, a 'touch screen' "GPS navigation system" that also seems able to link-up to NASA while playing UK radio station LBC Radio (in NZ) and accepting mobile calls (the car) via a 'Blue Tooth' linkage to a (also new) "smart phone" that is about as smart(not) as some of my old fellow trade-union members at Air XX.

Hey Ho - I guess that I'll get used to it eventually - practice, practice eh.

I'll work on some shooting stuff shortly - provided the p.c. doesn't consume too much plaster dust and get constipated.

Lessons Learned: First I've found that I can learn new tricks if they are explained to me .. and second I've been reminded that my useful working day has reduced from 12 hours hard labor that I could laugh at when I was a 20 y.o. - to around 2 or 3 hours light work now before I feel the need for a 'granny-nap'.😊

Marty K.

2017 Mainland Arms & Militaria Show:

Now I'm betting that some of you locals will be surprised that it's that time again!

This year's Christchurch MAMS show is THIS Saturday July 22nd .. two large rooms of displays and sales tables of all things firearms related, and books.

Link:

http://gunshows.co.nz/wordpress/


Be there or miss it for ever eh - Remember that This years Rooster is next years Feather duster.

Marty K.

Change of Telecoms Supplier NZ Style:

- How very refreshing for SPARK to send me a record of my recent conversation eh:

00:00:03 Spark : Question:Un-connect 00:02:14 Donna-marie : Hi there, how are you today? 00:02:46 Martin : very patient. 00:03:21 Donna-marie : yes thank you, we are having system issues which is causing delays currently, so how can help you today? 00:04:38 Martin : I waited 73 minutes on my landline before giving-up. - I want to cancel my mobile phone 027 4313812 00:05:24 Donna-marie : I am really sorry Martin, let me have a look for you, can I please get your full name and date of birth 00:06:04 Martin : Martin xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 00:06:48 Donna-marie : Thank you, and can I please ask for your main reason for cancelling? 00:08:06 Martin : Because the mobile is DEAD and I dont use it & SPARK is completely USELESS and seems unable to run a booze-up in a brewery. 00:08:31 Donna-marie : Okay sure, let me do that for you right away, hold one moment please 00:10:04 Donna-marie : Okay so that has been done for you on order number 1-123083083119, have a lovely day, my email is t823348@spark.co.nz 00:12:39 Martin : I will be surprised & gratified IF this instruction IS carried-out. NO other amendment yet has been correctly conducted. 00:13:33 Donna-marie : Okay sure, well you have my email if you need to email me, is there anything else I can help you with today Martin? 00:14:33 Martin : Thank you but I will be fine with VODAFONE. 00:14:58 Donna-marie : 😇 00:15:20 Martin : ;-)

Cheers,

The Team at Spark Marty K.