Printable View
The samples I have of original 7.35mm ball ammunition have bullets coated with a fairly heavy waxy lubricant - I seem to remember that the 6.5mm ammunition also had waxed bullets. However, I haven't been able to find any source explaining what the Italians' reason for applying the wax was, or the formula of the stuff.
Anyone know more about it?
Thanks!
mhb - MIke
The Swiss GP11 ammo has the heavy wax bullet seal to this day. I had not read or heard of Italians issuing lubed bullet ammo? I wonder if it's for machine-gun use or the like?
The GP11 is lubricated at the case mouth only, while the Italian ammo has a waxy coating on the bullet itself: heavy enough to be scraped-off with the thumbnail. I believe the GP11 wax is intended to help ease extraction in the straight-pull Swiss action, which does not have the powerful primary extraction camming of the turnbolt actions. The Italian waxed bullet is still a puzzler.Quote:
Originally Posted by Havenot
mhb - MIke
Always have read that the swiss military left and shot their rifles with a good layer of grease in the barrel.
Always see in the old US Military shooting manuals for springfield rifle to use cosmoline to put a thin layer of bullets when shooting for maximum accuracy or large amounts to help reduce cleaning effort
The Swiss greased their barrels for long term storage . Many rifles stayed under the bed except when used to requailify . It is a standard joke with the Swiss shooters that the grease guys were the ones who needed new barrels installed . US cosmoline is also for storage or shipping . A lot of any grease or oil will ruin a barrel when shot . A clean barrel with a few fouling shots is standard for any match shooter .
Swiss did away with the outer wax seal around 79-80. It was there for two different reasonsQuote:
Originally Posted by Havenot
1) prevent moisture from getting in the case
2) aid in extraction from the LMG-25
*information gained from Guisan, one of the foremost authorities on Swiss firearms until he passed away
The grease used on bullets by U.S. shooters was 'Mobilubricant', in the early days of the 1903 in match competition. The purpose was to help prevent metal fouling from the cupronickel jackets of the original M1906 ball ammunition. The CN tended to leave lumpy patches in the bore, which was very detrimental to accurate shooting and difficult to remove. The grease was applied with a little device called a 'spitzer greaser', which was a small tin can with a snug fitting washer in the top. The washer had a hole just large enough to permit insertion of the bullet up to the neck of the case, and pressing downward on the washer insured that the bullet received an even coat of the grease. The lid was kept on the can between uses to prevent the entry of dirt and grit. With the adoption of gilding metal for bullet jackets in the mid-1920s, the need for grease disappeared with the metal fouling problem. Cosmoline, or cosmic, is a compound of vaseline and rosin, which is an excellent long-term rust preventive, and was never used for lubrication of either mechanisms or bullets. In fact, because of the rosin content, it makes a rather excellent flux, which can actually cause bullet jacket material, including gilding metal, to sort of 'solder' itself to the rifle bore, if the cosmoline is not thoroughly removed before firing: I've seen several instances of this problem over the years.Quote:
Originally Posted by pocketshaver
That aside, oil or grease in the chamber or bore of a rifle is undesireable, because it prevents proper expansion/adhesion of the cartridge case in the chamber, raises chamber pressure, and increases backthrust on the bolt, though there have been a few rifle and machinegun designs which require oiled cartridges to insure proper function and extraction - those are rare, and no modern sporting or military rifle requires or would benefit from oil or grease in the chamber or bore.
mhb - MIke
Lubed bullets are covered in Hatcher's Book of the Garand, as I recall(might have been his Notebook). JC tried 'em in his early experiments but found they caused more grief than they fixed.
Cosmoline, like Parkerizing, is a brand name. Cosmoline is just thick petroleum jelly.
Absolutely correct! I have to plead aging memory, and explain that the compound I wanted to name and advise against using as a bullet lube or leaving in the bore before shooting is 'RIG': an excellent rust preventive which is compounded as I stated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunray
mhb - MIke