Eddystone 1917 Mark

[Patrick Chadwick]

On that...we've seen '94 Winchester rifles with almost nothing left shoot fine with jackets ...

It just so happens that today I made an ammo comparison test with my WIN94 in 32-40. This rifle was once inspected by an expert shooter with a professional endoscope (NOT a cheapo borescope). His verdict: the rifle was useless for shooting - bore heavily worn at front and back, and rough in the middle. “Put it in a display cabinet or sell it to a collector” was his recommendation.

Fortunately, my rifle does not understand German and was thus not offended. I continued to use it, and last year managed to win the BDMP national competition at 100 meters /seated (I cannot manage prone any more). This was (and has been for years) using Speer .321/170gn flat-nose jacketed bullets (Hot-Cor).

However, those bullets are pricey over here, and today I tried out some g-g lead bullets and some plastic-coated thin-copper jacketed bullets. (Yes, I confess - looking for a cheaper solution!)

The results: the Speer performed as expected, the g-g lead were all over the target, and the plastic-coated ones must still be under way, as they haven’t reached the target yet.

Conclusion: as Jim pointed out: an optically lousy barrel can still perform well with the right ammo!

[ArtPahl]

Mr. Chadwick,

I have two questions: First; I have a Winchester 1894 in 32-40 and a Marlin 336 in .32 Special but .32-30? That's one I haven't heard of.

Second; I know that Speer makes a 170 gr. .321 diameter flat point bullet #2259. I have a box of them on the shelf. But I can't find any reference to a 180 gr. .321.

Can you elaborate?

[DustyRusty]

Patrick, the crown shows no sign of 10,000 strokes with a segmented steel cleaning rod or snake bite.
I'll get her on paper when the range dries up a bit and see how she acts.
My oldest is the trapdoor and she kicks like an angry mules.

[browningautorifle]

I'll get her on paper when the range dries up a bit and see how she acts.

Take a sandbag to rest and then there's no messin' around. Nice and careful at 25 and 100. Very interested...

[MOS-45]

I would humbly submit that this is an Eddystone bolt. The 3 Enfield producers, R, W, E, stamped their initials on the underside of the bolt handle. In addition, Eddystone stamped a letter on the top side of the bolt. A to Z. I have seen all letters of the alphabet on Eddystone bolts. I have never found an explanation for why Eddystone did this. Kingsbury stamped the letter K on the underside of the bolt. USMC put their stamp on the top of the bolt.

Take a close look at the underside of your bolt. You may find an E. I have an Eddystone bolt that was very lightly struck. The E is hard to see without magnification.

[DustyRusty]

I removed the bolt and Shazam, more markings.

[browningautorifle]

And the "E" is an Eddystone...

[Patrick Chadwick]

Art, your questions have been answered - I corrected the typos!

[bob q]

Please describe the BDMP lever rifle shoot . What size target , how is it scored , how many shots , what size groups ?

[Calif-Steve]

Try this: Fire 5 rounds clean the bore with wet patch, repeat for a total of 20 rounds. Use nice flat base hunting bullets, they will run well. No idea if target boat tail bullets will run well or not. Try to shoot a Match with hunting bullets and try a Match with Sierra 168gr match bullets. Good luck.