T.St.V. identification update/confirmation
Digging around today for means of identifying a P08 pistol with non-standard markings, I found a picture of the identical markings as on this rifle.
The marking is the Nazi emblem of the Tiroler Standschützen Verband, used after this old organization had been turned into a Nazi paramilitary unit, and the rifle is one of a series of Wehrmanngewehre specifically made by Mauser for the T.St.V. - not a remarked earlier version. Apparently no less than 34000 shooters took part in that last championship in 1944!
That rifle is, with those stickers on it, in effect a historical document. Do not alter it! OK, I know I said that before, but it really is extremely rarely that one knows so precisely "where it's been".
Patrick
:wave:
Establishing maximum usable bullet diameter
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jmoore
The drama with such a wide range of possible "correct" bullet diameters is that any loading die that is purchased "off the shelf" is going to almost certainly do a poor job at getting a proper neck I.D.
Well, there is a simple trick that one can use to make a good estimate of the maximum neck size that will fit. Simply use a neck expander to a make an increasingly "blunderbuss" mouth to the neck, until you find that the cartridge case mouth is scraping in the chamber. Back off the expander a bit and repeat with another case, until you reach a condition where, if you mark the case mouth with a felt-tip pen, you do not get a bright line right round the mouth after chambering the cartridge. You need the felt pen trick, because it is too difficult to detect by feel alone. Measure that neck diameter and you know the absolute maximum neck diameter that will fit. Reduce that by another couple of thou, for safety and you have just about the maximum neck diameter that you can use when a bullet is seated. When you have acquired bullets of what seem to be the right diameter, repeat the test with a seated bullet in an empty case!
WARNING! As always, this kind of measurement places the responsibility entirely on YOU. This is not bench-rest equipment with bench-rest tolerances, so you must allow a looser fit than a bench-rest shooter would go for. If you use cases from a different manufacturer, you will have to make the test again!
:wave: