Handloader October/November 2022

On May 6 of this year, a buddy and I attended the SIG Freedom Days at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility near Phoenix, Arizona. This one-of-a-kind event was open to the public and allowed consumers to test-fire many of the firearms in SIG’s lineup, for a small fee of course. They also had demonstrations and discussions about the winner of the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) trials, the MCX Spear (also known as the XM5 chambered in 6.8x51), the SIG LMG-6.8 (or the M250) and the SIG MG 338. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this system is the fact that it uses a two-piece case. The case head is steel while the body and neck are made of brass. ...Read More >

If you are like me, you have one or two propellant powders stashed away in your powder magazine that are there not because of their versatility, but because they fill a more specialized roll. Vihtavuori N105 Super Magnum is one of those powders that I don’t burn up pounds of, but I consider it a must-have powder for loading two firearm/cartridge combinations, a .44 Magnum Marlin Model 1894-P and a friend’s .454 Casull Big Horn Armory Model 90A. VV-N105 Super Magnum delivers performance way beyond the many other propellants and bullet combinations I have tried in those two firearms. ...Read More >

Q: I have been handloading ammunition for the .45 ACP for nearly 20 years, in conjunction with several Model 1911 pistols that I own. I have tried a variety of bullets, but mostly stick with either 230-grain roundnose ball-style, or JHP’s from Hornady or Nosler that are of the same weight. Recently, I purchased a large quantity of once-fired cases, as I cannot find them available new, but when I began loading them, it was quickly noticed that about half of them take small pistol primers. ...Read More >

Picking a new rifle and cartridge for any military force sets in motion a process with difficulty ranking somewhere between lassoing gophers and trimming the toenails of wild lions. Everyone from military officers and politicians to their office staff, relatives and landscapers have an opinion on the subject. It just has such an effect on people. Given that our cartridge this time is the 5.45x39mm Russian, certainly the powers-that-be (or powers-that-were) in the former Soviet Union could design the perfect military rifle cartridge without a lot of distraction. Let’s see. ...Read More >

After passing harsh military tests and passing with flying colors so to speak, Colt’s remarkable Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol was officially adopted by the U.S. military on March 29, 1911. After 74 years of outstanding service that included countless wars and skirmishes, in 1985 the U.S. changed its official sidearm to 9mm NATO (to become NATO compliant). However, many select units from the U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps continue to use the proven Model 1911. ...Read More >

My opinion is that recent shortages of reloading components, specifically bullets of all sorts, have caused many handloaders to return to bullet casting or to start casting. One reason I believe this is that more than one custom mould maker advised me their orders have boomed in 2021 and 2022. Of course, moulds are useless without lead alloys, which also are not as plentiful as in past times. ...Read More >

We may never know for certain who was first to neck up the .223 Remington case for .243-inch bullets, but it just might have been longtime Remington Design Engineer, Jim Stekl. The 6x45mm (sometimes called the 6mm-223) did not become as popular in benchrest competition as the earlier 6x47mm on the .222 Remington Magnum case, but Stekl gave it a serious whirl. ...Read More >

Recent powder shortages have forced some retrenchment among handloaders. Some powders are sold out because of unprecedented demand; others appear to be tied up somewhere off the coast in a tramp steamer that’s 427th in line to offload cargo. With a full-scale war raging in Europe and everyone busily rearming in the face of a Russian threat most thought was a thing of the past, there are many strains on supplies of brass, powder and primers. ...Read More >

In late spring of 2022, even more evidence of the 6.5 Creedmoor’s popularity showed up on my front porch, a cardboard parcel containing two boxes of a new Lapua factory load. As most handloaders know, Lapua is a company in Finland known for very high-quality cartridge cases, plus accurate match bullets and ammunition. The 6.5 Creedmoor is also known for accuracy, especially with high ballistic coefficient (BC) boat-tail bullets, and I assumed the ammunition featured one of those bullets – but I was very wrong. ...Read More >

The .22 TCM has been around since 2012 and is most commonly chambered in Rock Island Armory 1911- style handguns. Two Armscor/Rock Island rifle models have been chambered for the round as well, one each with wood and synthetic stocks. The .22 TCM is a bottlenecked pistol cartridge based on a necked-down .223 Remington case shortened to function from 9mm Luger magazines. ...Read More >

The .35 Remington was introduced in 1906 in the Model 8 autoloading rifle. In spite of legendary lawman Frank Hamer using this rifle and cartridge combination on May 23, 1934, to abruptly end the bloody career of the notorious killers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the Model 8 rifle was rather odd in both appearance and function. As a result, this early rifle and cartridge combination only enjoyed modest popularity among hunters and sportsman. However, as early as 1912, Remington introduced its Model 14 slide-action rifle, which became the improved Model 141 Gamemaster in 1935, with each being chambered in .35 Remington. Both of these “trombone” or pump-action rifles became fairly popular and the cartridge earned respect among hunters. As early as 1910, Stevens offered its Model 425 lever-action rifle. ...Read More >

One of the first lessons one learns in this business is to expect the unexpected. Logic may tell you this powder or that will deliver the best results, but when you try it, it may fail abysmally. So we come to reloading ammunition for the venerable English .300 Rook Rifle. ...Read More >

As a student of history for some 60 years, I am saddened to see the rewriting of our American story by today’s revisionist historians. This scholar malpractice is obvious when firearms are the topic. The new historians insist ordinary citizens didn’t own many revolvers in the late 1800s, except “on the frontier,” and these were discarded by the turn of the twentieth-century because there was simply no need for them! Such history is exposed when we look at the story of America’s so-called .32-caliber revolvers. ...Read More >