Handloader August/September 2021

It is fitting in this edition of Propellant Profiles that we recognize Hodgdon Powder Company’s 45-year, ongoing commitment to those of us who avail ourselves to the convenience and performance of the industry-changing black-powder substitute propellant powders to stoke our muzzleloading firearms. ...Read More >

Q: Many reloading manuals suggest when loading the Lyman Keith-style bullet from mould 358429 in .38 Special (listed at 170 to 173 grains) that bullets should be crimped over the front driving band, or cases need to be shortened. I plan to use this bullet in my USFA .38 Special single action, but would like to crimp it in the crimp groove and use full-length cases. ...Read More >

This story begins with one Richard Schuler of the gunmaking firm August Schuler Waffenfabrik in Suhl, Germany. Richard had interest in big-bore cartridges for African game. He developed the 11.2x60mm (1904), 11.2x72mm (1906) and the 12.7x70mm (mid-1920s). All were intended to use an inexpensive standard length Mauser M98 action with a modified magazine box, action rails, and in the case of the 12.7mm, a larger diameter bolt face recess. All used cases have rebated rims (rim smaller in diameter than case body). Schuler even patented the idea. ...Read More >

The CZ 75 was first offered in 1975 and quickly earned a reputation for being well-made, accurate, rugged and reliable while offering natural pointing characteristics. In the past 45 years, it has been produced in many variations to better accommodate a variety of applications that include personal defense/concealed carry, military, law enforcement and competition. It is available in all steel versions. It’s also offered with an alloy frame, as a semi-compact, compact, competition and even in a polymer frame version. Each have many sub-variant models. The CZ 75 has adapted to changing times and certainly accommodates the modern shooter. ...Read More >

Modern folks might ask, “Why would anyone give a handgun to a preteen?” My father did just that for me when I was about age 12. He had three reasons: The first was because I wanted a “real” handgun badly. The second reason was because I was trustworthy. He ordered me not to take it out of my room or show it to friends without his permission. I never did. The third reason, and probably most important, was that there was no ammunition available for my very first pistol. ...Read More >

Robert “Bob” Chatfield-Taylor was a test pilot for the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation during World War II. He later flew for a commercial airline company headquartered in Massachusetts. Bob was also an experienced big-game hunter, and occasionally wrote about his adventures. In 1960, he booked with Ker & Downey Safaris, Ltd., in East Africa, during which both he and his professional hunter, Harry Selby, used rifles in .416 Rigby. He came away from the hunt with visions of a .416-caliber cartridge in a smaller package. ...Read More >

Faithful readers of Handloader will be familiar with the name Bob Hayley, a man who was, I believe, unique in the world: He made the wherewithal – bullets, cases and anything else necessary – to keep old guns shooting. Although he had many pursuits in his life, including oil-patch geologist, horseback cattleman and Presbyterian minister, I believe that old guns and ballistics were the subjects dearest to his heart. ...Read More >

As a teen in the 1970s, I cobbled centerfire ammunition together for varmint shoots and serious big-game hunts alike, using a plastic hammer and classic Lee Loader (still available). I later added a Lee Powder Measure Kit with plastic scoops and a slide rule charge card, which provided vastly more options than the limited loads allowed by the single scoop provided with the Lee Loader kit. ...Read More >

The “U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1,” or more commonly known simply as the M1 Garand, was designed by John Garand (pronounced to rhyme with “errand”), with development beginning around 1924. However, it took many years for its design to be fully developed. Finally, on July 21, 1937, the first production version was proof fired, function tested and checked for accuracy, but it wasn’t until September of that year that deliveries were made to the U.S. Army. ...Read More >

London-based John Rigby & Company introduced the .416 Rigby on a lengthened version of the Mauser Model 98 action in 1911. The No. 5 Magnum action, as it would be called, was a perfect fit for the new cartridge. As stated in Rigby’s introductory advertisement, “Unlike other large bore magazine rifles which are made from military actions originally designed for smaller cartridges and converted in various ways, the magazine and action of this rifle have been specially designed and manufactured for our new cartridge.” ...Read More >

Somewhere in the distant mists of time lies the truth about the origins of the .22 Hornet, one of the twentieth-century’s most successful small-game cartridges. It proves the adage that success has many fathers while failure is an orphan because, for the better part of a century, at least half a dozen men have been credited with developing the Hornet. ...Read More >

Among the subjects often arising on the internet, that twenty-first-century source of information and myth, involves whether boat-tail rifle bullets increase barrel erosion compared to flatbased bullets. Some shooters claim they do, because the tapered boat-tail allows hot-powder gas to slip past the bullet’s base as it enters the rifling. Flatbase bullets form a far firmer gas seal, especially lead-core bullets, since they tend to “bump up” a little in diameter when powder gas boots them in the butt. ...Read More >