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  1. #1
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    More 6.5 Carcano fun coming!

    Got inspired to put a few rounds together for some reason!





    Broke out the 2007 edition of Hornady's w/ a few 0.2673" projectiles and a bit of new brass. Let's see what happens!
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    Last edited by jmoore; 07-01-2010 at 10:32 AM.

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    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

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    jmoore, that is an interesting presentation. Reloaders seems to have very similar equipment. Do you have also problems with the Hornady Lock `n Load powder charger and powders like Trail Boss ? The digital powder charger looks like from RCBS but it seems from a other maker. Couldn`t read the label on the packaging.

    Regards

    Gunner

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    The powder dispenser is really pre-lock-n-load and works great! The digital stuff is Pact mfg., but w/ ball powder is redundant as the old fangled dispenser throws charges w/in a 1/10 grain window. I know this because I still check each one w/ the digital scale and/or the beam scale next to it! (Belt, suspenders, and safety pins!)

    Trail Boss- no problemo, altough mostly TB loads are run on a Dillon progressive press.
    Last edited by jmoore; 09-06-2009 at 02:37 PM. Reason: TB (not the disease)

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    jmoore, thanks for the answer. I have a Lyman digital dispenser it works great but not with all types of powder. For some powders the " old Stuff " is better.

    Regards

    Gunner

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    Fired well over 100 rounds of 6.5 today (18 Sept 09 ) and lived to tell the tale! (Not that I'm much of a tale teller)

    5 rifles- of which three had no dramas.

    1) The '41 model rifle would not reliably ignite the thick walled WLRM primers due to a flat nosed firing pin (I think- will "R and R" and try again). Prvi shot about a 12" pattern at 100yd. Primers were just about blanked out by the firing pin, but they all fired NP.

    2) The sporterized 1890's clunker shot the two initial test rounds of Prvi but would NOT chamber a factory Hornady round.-When the bolt was popped back, the bullet stayed in the barrel; powder spilled out- quite the mess!

    I believe the cause of the "clunker's" failure derives from the fact that a "new" barrel was inserted into the old barrel shank and indifferently chambered (the fired Prvi cases were rather more misshapened than those of any of the others). The rifling form is odd too, more of a heavily cut multi-groove form. Will try more Prvi later- Could this be a purpose built .264" Carcano? Weird.

    3) The folding bayonet carbine shot everything except the Prvi into a 50 shot pattern 6" round at 100 yards. Accuracy problematic due to the fact that the rounds impact about 2 feet above point of aim even with the front sight buried into the bottom of the rear sight notch, so I was holding under the target frame w/ only the teeniest bit of sight to focus upon. Will refine shooting this weapon later. (The Prvi I'm not even sure where all the rounds went! The ones that stayed on the 24" square paper were impacting slightly off axis.)

    4) The plain M38 grouped the Prvi w/in 10". All other loads grouped between 2" and 4" -not bad! No real favourite load though. Also shot a bit high, approx. 18", probably as intended, given the fixed sights.

    5) The "Oswald" M38 shot everything w/in 4". (didn't bother w/ Prvi here- I know it won't group in this rifle and only had a limited supply.) The beauty is, one of the test loads (previously known to be good BTW) shoots consistant 1"-2" groups, averaging around an 1 1/4"! Guy I bought this rifle from obsessed over the Kennedy shooting for years, convinced that it couldn't be done. Now he thinks it could have fairly easily been done w/ this rifle setup, I don't disagree. (He still isn't sure of Oswald's involvement, but that's a different topic altogether!) Oh, this rifle w/ a handloaded Hornady bullet put down a nice deer last year.

    Ammo notes:

    A) Prvi showed no real pressure signs in any rifle except the "clunker", where normal primer flattening was observed. No case head expansion measured. Bullet marks in the target paper were "dirty" brown and generally oblong.

    B) Hornady factory ammo showed as little pressure sign- No case head expansion, no flattening or cratering of the primers. Accuracy acceptable, not the best nor worst in any of the rifles. Cases marked either "GRAF" or "FRONTIER".

    C) Four handloads tried in this first test: Two w/ WW760 and two w/ H414. Top load in each was one step below MAX in the 7th ed. Hornady manual. I don't believe I have any desire to try the max loads as the top loads all looked and shot "right". Bolt turn and extraction forces were the same as factory. Pressure signs looked normal, w/ a bit more primer flattening than the factory loads, but the factory pressure signs were almost non-existant- except for the firing pin indentation!
    C1) The WW760 loads were OK no problems. Given the slightly better loading density, I keep expecting this to be the better powder. Just hasn't happened yet w/ the rifles tried.
    C2) The H414 worked fine, too, except in the scoped but otherwise unmodified M38 it is DEFINITELY the powder to use. However, the starting load isn't any better than any other load tried. I guess its just a matter of everything working together w/ the Happy load!

    D) No chronograph data, yet! (It was raining off and on)

    E) OT Saw a mature bear cross the dirt road leading to the range, which butts up to our hunting property. That's a first for this part of the world! Gotta love it. I'll leave 'em alone until they start to overrun the place, I don't mind a little company.

    Gotta be my longest post, hope y'all are still awake!

    More to come!

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    Now you know part of the reason why the Italians lost the war.

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    Someone tell the folks here that H414 and 760 are different lots of the same powder.

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    Not in my rifles!

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    Is there a Trail-Boss set of reloading data around?
    I've been using H4895, Hornady .268 bullets, and the mag primers.
    Paul in Oregon

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    I have been using 4198 in my Shorties, with good results, also 4895 in my Model 1941, which is shooting exactly 1 inch at 100 with Remington bulk-pack 264-140 flatbase slugs.

    I am interested in what you are saying about your "clunker". This could be a Cooey Carcano, also called an "Eaton's Carcano": built in Toronto, Ontario, Canadaicon by the H.W. Cooey company on contract for the T. Eaton mail-order company. This is quite an (in)famous rifle in Canada and is responsible for giving the entire 6.5mm bore size a black eye for many, many years. There are all sorts of awful tales of mayhem, mangling and murder with these rifles, but I have been able to run down only ONE actual case of injury. Special ammunition was made for these for a short time (pink box of 20, headstamp just "R" at noon and "6.5mm" at 6 'clock). These were built in the 1920s from surplus WW1 rifles and the extended-barrel-stub construction is actually stronger than it looks. I picked up a wreck about 20 years ago, just to have an example of this famous firearms failure, picked up a really nice one at an auction just a couple of weeks ago: 50 bucks! Part of the problem with these seems to have been that 6.5MS ammo was available and people were cramming it into the Carcano chambers and getting really high pressures. I have 2 rounds of the 'special' ammunition for these and cannot tell it from Carcano. The rifles were called back on a moneyback basis any years ago. There never were a lot, very few survive and even fewer are in shooting condition. Both of mine have double set-triggers.

    Good to see more than just my old relics still out on the range.
    .

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