Handloader August/September 2018

Reviewing years of correspondence with readers of this column and the now-defunct cast bullet column of the late 1980s, it is apparent that most, if not all, folks are interested in “good, accurate” loads with powders and bullets on hand for the cartridge of interest. ...Read More >

When forming shorter cases from long parent cases, a good portion of brass must sometimes be removed from a newly elongated neck, as in making .22-250 Remington cases from .30-06 brass. This same long-neck situation may come about when forming various wildcat cartridges. Sometimes .30 or .40 inch of neck must be removed; too much to take off with a conventional case trimmer. ...Read More >

I have been a reader of Handloader magazine since 2013 and really appreciate your articles. I just bought a new “old production” Ruger New Model Blackhawk convertible in .38-40 Winchester and 10mm Auto. In referencing the enclosed paperwork, Ruger states that the gun can be used with “38-40 regular and high speed” ammunition. All of the data that I have found for this caliber are for Cowboy Action Shooting with low pressures and low velocities. ...Read More >

Origin of the 8x60mm cartridge is unique in the annals of ammunition design. Riflefolk were not asking for a larger or smaller caliber than some other popular round. There was no cry for higher velocity; no demand for greater energy to better take “thousand-pound greater unicorns.” Strange? Yes, because the 8x60 was created not by ballistic need, but by treaty. ...Read More >

Over the past year this column has been used to review Accurate Powder Company’s double-base spherical powders that have been moved from their European source back home to the U.S. and are now manufactured in Florida by St. Marks Powders. Included in the move were Accurate 2230, 2460 and 2520, along with Ramshot X-Terminator. ...Read More >

When the Glock Model 17 autoloading 9mm pistol was introduced in 1983, it clearly demonstrated significant innovation; however, many skeptics questioned how the polymer frame could possibly hold up to continuous usage. The unusual (but not new) “safe action” safety built into the trigger caused concern among some traditionalists. However, as pistols began selling in large quantities in other countries and the U.S., the Glock began proving itself to be extremely reliable, tough as nails and accurate. ...Read More >

Throughout most of my life, if something piqued my interest I would dive head first into it. Also for most of my life, I would not have given $1 for a bucket of snub-nose .38 revolvers. That is not the same as saying I never owned any. I did, but they never stayed around long. ...Read More >

The photo of a very dead Alaskan brown bear took up a full page in a 1960’s magazine article. The caption read “10½ footer,” and it appeared to be no exaggeration. Compared to the bear, the tiny rifle held by one of the two hunters in the photo looked like a toy. It was not far from being just that. ...Read More >

Handloaders are all amateur ballisticians and, by default, amateur statisticians. Professionals of either ilk would laugh at the very idea that any of us is really a ballistician or statistician, and when you read some papers written by these people, you begin to see the difference. ...Read More >

The very first Colt Single Action Army (SAA) I saw in person was also the very first one I bought. That was in the summer of 1968 just after my 19th birthday. It was a very slightly used .45 Colt manufactured in 1964, a 2nd Generation version. Barrel length was 5.5 inches, which was by far the most common length in that production run. ...Read More >

The Lyman Products Corporation began in 1878 as the Lyman Gun Sight Company, when 24-year-old William Lyman started making his No. 1 Combination tang sight. His first “assembly line” was an unused space in a laundry-wringer factory, located on his father David’s farm near Middlefield, Connecticut, co-owned by David and the wringer’s inventor, W.M. Terrell. ...Read More >

The .204 Ruger was formally announced in 2004, was quickly accepted by many varmint shooters and hunters and has become one of the most reloaded rifle cartridges. Its virtues include an unusually flat trajectory, mild recoil, outstanding accuracy, modest muzzle report and velocities of 4,225 fps with 32-grain bullets or 3,900 fps with 40-grain versions. ...Read More >

In this age of specialization, hunters feel obligated to shoot a rifle chambered for a cartridge deemed appropriate for small game and another rifle and cartridge proper for big game. That sounds like good advice, because the more rifles the merrier. But no law states that a big-game rifle cannot pull double duty by being used for hunting small game. ...Read More >

The venerable .32-40 is one of the oldest cartridges still in regular use and in a variety of ways. New brass is generally available, and while no one is falling over themselves to chamber it in new rifles, there are so many old cases around that it’s likely to remain in active use as long as there are handloaders. ...Read More >

Those of us who dote on reloading manuals have been waiting patiently for Western Powders to introduce its promised “big book” on reloading. Originally known as Roundup Powders, in 1992 the company moved to Miles City, Montana, and became Western Powders. ...Read More >