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Part 5, questions and answers until 26.01.2000
G.O.W. Kickback:
Questions and Answers, part 5
Answered by: P. T. Kekkonen
Aguila SSS
(SubSonic Sniper) 22LR Ammo
Hi Pete! I've recently purchased a quantity of subsonic 22 ammo manufactured in Mexico
under the 'Aguila' name by Industrias Technos of
Cuernavaca. The firm is partially owned by Remington Arms.
The ammunition (see Gunwriters' archive image at
left) is of unique design, being essentially a
22Short case mounting a 60 grain lead bullet (20 gr heavier than the common 40 gr solid
bullet in most 22LR's) with a velocity of about 900 fps. Bullet length is half again the
length (visable) of the casing. The story I get from the supplier is that the round
was originally designed for use as sniper ammo for jungle warfare, hence the name
'SubSonic Sniper' that kept the shipment sitting in a US Customs warehouse for several
months while the beuracrats messed around with whether it was 'military application only'
and prohibited. The stuff is selling at an accelerated rate at gunshows nationwide
since the import red tape has cleared up. It is about as loud as a 22CB.
I've shot the stuff through every 22 I own and those of a couple of friends, it functions
well in autoloaders, both rifle and handgun, as well as bolt actions and revolvers.
Accuracy is generally as good as the weapon being used with two exceptions: the
long-barrel bolt actions (Mossberg and Radom) both with 25 inch barrels, keyhole the
bullets past a range of about 30 meters on a consistent basis. Is this the effect of twist
in the long barrels upon the elongated 60gr bullet? Interestingly enough, even with
keyholing, accuracy dosen't suffer, the bullet-strike is sideways, but on target.
I'd be very happy to hear any comments you have regarding this ammunition, and whether you
have any further information on it from other sources. Thanks, I very much enjoy your
articles.
Ziplock
I have no personal shooting experience with .22 SSS but our
test-shooter Markus has test-shot 30 rounds of them and another friend of mine shot also a
"preliminary test" to see, whether those cartridges are safe to shoot through
the Parker-Hale's "Sound Moderator MM1", mounted to a Russian TOZ Model 17-01
rifle (with barrel length ca. 10 inches). They were. Markus has also TOZ 17 rifle, made in
1961, nowadays with the real silencer of BR-Tuote and
hand-lapped bore, with a barrel length ca. 17 inches. I got a box of 50 cartridges from
USA as a X-mas present few weeks before Seasons and donated them for a most useful
purposes I can imagine, because I have no .22 LR firearms in my possession, but just one
12.17 x 44 mm R Swedish Remington rifle, made in 1875 and so allowed to possess without
any licence from "The Piggery". (Firearms, made before 1890, are "curios or
relics" according to Finnish firearms legislature).
Markus has shot three-shot groups, average size .35 inches at 25 meters, in the indoor
range (we have wintertime in Finland), without a real bench rest available. Accuracy seems
to be about equal or slightly better than that of Finnish Lapua Scoremax .22 LR. Aguila
SSS is TRULY subsonic, while Scoremax is trans-sonic when shot from rifles with 16"
barrel length or even supersonic, if shot from (say) 10" barrel of silenced rifles or
handguns. In Finland is not a minimum barrel length at all for .22 rimfire shoulder arms,
but a demand for overall rifle length must be about similar to the minimum O.A.L. in USA,
when the silencer is mounted.
Penetration of Aguila SSS bullets was more deep than usual .22 LR solid 40 grains bullets
or that of .22 LR Scoremax, despite of the fact that 60 gr SSS bullet yaws soon after the
hit on a dry paper pack used for penetration test media, and lost almost 50 % from it's
weight. According to test report of Markus: The bullet of SSS acts as a "furtive
DumDum" bullet soon after a hit, but as a real DumDum bullet of .303 British Mark II
Special cartridge after the deeper penetration. In the actual soft tissue, the 45 + per
cent fragmentation cannot, of course, exist, because of the low striking velocity, but the
yaw-effect is able to cause all that tissue destruction, available with a kinetic energy
or the striking momentum. (Kinetic energy = velocity x velocity x bullet weight per a
gravitational constant. Momentum = velocity x bullet weight).
Rifling twist of TOZ rifles is difficult to measure, because the four rifling grooves are
narrow and lands are broad, about two times as broad as the grooves. Bore and groove
diameters are usual (bore dia. 5.50 mm, groove dia. 5.70 mm), but because of wide lands,
the bore shall squeeze bullet tightly and concentrate it well into the bore. (If the
grooves and lands are equally wide, the bore diameter of really accurate barrel must be
5.40 or just 5.30 mm. Diameters so small are usually met in old rifles, made before year
1914, when European C.I.P. standards were adopted, with allowed minimum bore diameter
5.50. Austrian-made Voere rifles have, however, 5.4 mm bore diameter and splendid
accuracy). Chamber of TOZ rifle is also shorter than usual. Length for the .22 Long
(Rifle) shell chamber is as usual (14.8 mm) but the rifling starts after ca. two
millimeters distance from the mouth of chambered case. Closing movement of the bolt pushes
the bullet's rearmost "rotation ring" into the rifling, engraving four clearly
visible rifling marks on the bullet's shank.
TOZ rifles are very accurate firearms, if there is not a burr (made by a dull chambering
reamer) ahead of the chamber. This burr is easy to remove by hand-lapping. I don't know,
whether it is possible to shoot the burr away by so-called "firelapping",
because the fault is usually found by gauging with a lead plug, and lapped away with the
same lead rod, covered with emery powder and grease or valve grinding paste. Abbreviation
TOZ comes from name: "Tulskiy Oruzheiniy Zavod" = Arms Manufacture of
Tula".
I've possessed three TOZ rifles since mid-1970s (later sold or donated away), but I'm
almost ignorant about the rifling twist. I chopped the barrel of my first single-shot
TOZ-8 down to the length 150 mm (less than 6") before mounting of a long & rather
fat silencer. I could note that rifling made almost exactly a half rotation from the
chamber to muzzle. Twist might be therefore 300 millimeters (less than 1 - 12 inch). Usual
twists of .22 LR bores are 14" to 16". In Finland were made in late 1970s some
experimental barrels with 1 - 20" for shooting of High Speed cartridges only, but it
was soon found that Hi Speed ammo is not suitable for competition shooting ("running
boar" or "biathlon") at all. Those experimental barrels with 1 - 20"
twist were presumably never sold. Fruitless tests with them were ended, as far as I can
remember, in 1978. Manufacturer of them, Tampereen Asepaja Oy, has been out from business
more than a decade.
Your Mossberg and Radom rifles may have 1 - 16" twist. My simple calculations told
that 1 - 14" may be "marginal" and a twist 1 - 12" or less is needed
for gyro-stabilization of overly long bullet. I have "optimized" the .22 LR
subsonic bullet weight while designing a special TRURY subsonic cartridge for autoloading
firearms in 1992. Optimized bullet has the weight 50 grains (to become stable in ALL
existing riflings) or some 47 gr of a "stuffed hollow cavity" projectile. Not
explosive one, since the tried explosives may cause "duds", but good old mineral
jelly (vaseline) filling never fails to expand the bullet. Neither .22 Long nor .22 Short
case is good with 50 gr bullet, shaped for positive feed in autoloaders (including belt
fed miniature machine guns, shooting 1200 rounds per minute).
I forwarded my idea to Lapua cartridge manufacture in December 1992, but Lapua adopted
just the heavy projectile, ill-shaped for the autoloaders, because seated in the .22
Long/LR case and must therefore have too blunt point. Bullet of Lapua Scoremax is also
smeared with "tacky lube". It's muzzle velocity is O.K. for competition rifles
with 26" barrel length, but if the barrel is more common, with 16" to 22 inch
length, is the available velocity transsonic, and when shot from more shortened barrel of
silenced rifles (common in Finland), the bullet gains supersonic velocity. A silencer is
then needless, because the bullet's flight noise is more irritant and loud than the muzzle
blast of non-silenced rifles.
.22 LR Scoremax is designed like most of Lapua's .22 LRs (all those velocity-tested in 660
mm barrel length) to be good for "Finnish Lion" competition rifle with a long
barrel, bolt action, without a magazine at all. It is almost "silent without
silencer", when shot from a competition rifle, but majority of .22 LR rimfire rifles
are "utility guns", and many times autoloaders. I made the new cartridge
drawings for Remington in the mid-1990s. They also adopted the heavy bullet.. too heavy
one.! Many thanks to you for the information on the collaboration between Remington and
producer of Aguila cartridges !!! I presume that .22 SSS is designed by Remington, but
because of some unknown (political ??) reasons, it is impossible to yield .22 AutoLoader
Subsonic ammo in USA. (Use of "silent without a silencer" cartridges or loads is
a way to evade that lousy "Lex Morgenthau"/Federal Firearms Act 1934, without
violation of it, and so hold it up to ridicule. My idea was to load these .22 ALS
cartridges into the shortENED cases, but .22 Short cases may become utilized "for the
preliminary test-shootings, when the flight stabilization of extra-heavy bullet is needed
to test with various rifling twists by trial-and-error method".
Suggested .22 ALS cartridge was based on intermediate-length case, entirely novel one,
with a length 13 mm (= ½ inch, or half from the overall cartridge length, when crimped on
the bullet's heel). Designers of .22 SSS adopted, however, .22 Short case, which is found
to be somewhat too short, while the bullet is accordingly too long to become gyro-stable
in flight. My slogan was: "Functioning in ANY AND ALL firearms chambered for .22 LR
ammo". Designers of .22 SSS designed also a special rifle with extra-steep rifling
twist for shooting of these special "For Official Use Only" cartridges. One
characteristic of .22 SSS is pleasing me: Bullet velocity is TRULY subsonic.!!!
According to tests recently carried out in USA, SSS cartridge gives the maximum velocity
from 10 inch barrel length. My suggestion was to use 300 mm test-barrel with a tight
"Target" chamber and a mirror-bright lapped bore. Maximum bullet velocity might
be 300 meters per second, or 1000 feet per second; no more. If the barrel length is more
or less than 300 millimeters, the bullet velocity shall be less than maximum, and not even
trans-sonic in any conditions. It is easy to reach 1000 fps for 50 gr bullet without
overly high chamber pressure, if the powder charge is loaded into ½ inch case. The .22
Short case simply cannot hold enough powder, Q.E.D.
My original suggestion to Lapua Oy was based on our "Bullet
Velocity vs. Flight Noise" test-shootings, carried out in the early summer 1992.
We found the trans-sonic velocity level during our scientific studies, done 110
years after those of professor Ernst Mach, who had not yet the instruments
sensitive enough to find out the transsonic noise of projectiles. We had. Professor Mach
discovered in 1880s so-called "sound barrier" and he photographed the "bow
waves" of supersonic as early as in 1883. We continued his research work, and some
cartridge manufacturers are seemingly paid attention to our findings, published by several
technical periodicals and a book "Silencer History
and Performance, Vol. 1" by Alan C. Paulson. (See table on the page 70).
My suggestions and drawings, addressed to then-director of Lapua Oy, were never forwarded
to the product developement division of Lapua factory. Somebody, next from the director on
the hierarchy, thought those innovations to be once again: "The horrible products of
a brainstorm, designed seemingly to become pets of poachers and assassines".
Waste-paper basket is the usual grave of "N.I.H." suggestions. (= Not
Invented Here). When the .22 LR Scoremax cartridge was designed several years later,
the primary demand was - seemingly - that it must be as UNsuitable for autoloading
firearms as practicable to make.
Third set of suggestions and drawings were sent to Brazilian C.B.C. (manufacturer of
low-priced ammo), but once again without success... But now back to your problems with
long-barreled rifles Mossberg and Radom: A notable fault of .22 SSS is too thin (if any)
lubrication of the extra-long/extra-heavy bullet. The projectile acts as a
"compression bullet" of military rifles in 1850s to 1870s, including many early
breechloaders. A sudden thrust of chamber pressure expands the bullet into the bore. It is
beneficial for accuracy of shooting, but tends to cause leading of the bore; especially in
the muzzle end of barrel with a length more than 24"/ 61 cm.
Lead fouling may cause the "precession" (yaw) of bullet, already just marginally
stable because of too slow rotation. If the rifle shoots nice round holes to 50
yards/meters when cleaned, but starts to produce the "keyholes" after a dozen of
shots, the lead has accumulated into the bore. You may try to "dip lube" the
bullets in a melted bullet lubricant - or actually almost any fatty substance.
("Patent Medicine" of G.O.W's Technical Editor/Test Shooter Markus is the
purified neat's fat, sold as a shortening for cooking of Pommes Frités/ potato
chips in Finland). Bullets of .22 SSS have ample "cannelures" or lube grooves
knurled around to receive the dip lubricant.
For .22 ALS (originally .22 LASS = Lapua Autoloader SubSonic) bullets I suggested metal
plating with copper or cadmium, which is inherently "slippery" coating metal. It
was also suggested to plate the cartridge cases with cadmium. The same suggestions were
addressed also to Remington and C.B.C - without notable success. I have not yet abandoned
that "LASSIE Project", but I am lacking e-mail address of Klimovsk
cartridge factory in Russia and Norinco in China: "Ex Orient Lux.?!"
Russian cartridges may have steel cases. If plated with cadmium, they'll become ejected
reliably from the autoloading firearms, without too tight adhesion into the chamber.
Shortened length of the case shall also lessen the case adhesion.
I have shot ca. 7500 rounds of Russian Vostok Sport & Hunting .22 LR
cartridges with phosphate coated steel cases (known as "Black Russians" because
of dark grey color; almost black, when lubricated) from as "impossible" rifle as
Remington Nylon 66 autoloader, without feed or ejection jams or misfires, when I learnt to
rub the cartridges between the palms of my hands before dropping them into the buttstock
magazine of that "guttapercha gun". (Old folks in Finland call all kinds of
plastic as "guttapercha" - including, of course, Carother's "Polymer
66"). Bullets of Vostok S & Hs were greased heavily with the tacky lube,
which was easy to smear on the cases.
Phosphate coating (Parkerizing) made the cases very slippery and easy to eject, despite of
overly heavy breech-bolt and linear hammer of Remington rifle, needing more than 800
gram-meters per second of momentum for complete automatic cycle and cocking, even if the
case is of resilient metal. Shooting was somewhat messy bustling, but in 1970s "when
my heart was young and gay", I didn't took care of lead poisoning or other risks of
hobby. Entirely metal-plated cartridges are, however, "must" for the autoloading
firearms, and I presume, the cadmium plating don't wear away from the bullets.
I donated the .22 SSS cartridges to the test-shooters, because I am never more entitled to
possess (legally) any modern firearms or ammo. (In Finland the "gunwriter" is a
person who is entitled, or actually privileged, to write articles for the PRINTED media. I
am "black-listed" by the publishers of ALL Finnish periodicals. Finnish
"Freedom of the Press Law" don't know the existence of Internet at all. It was
enacted in the year 1919. The predictable next step is to extend our strict censorship and
"black-listing" to cover also the Web-media). My "prima vista"
impression was that bullets of .22 SSS cartridges are unlubricated and unplated, just like
the lead pellets of compressed air or carbon dioxide rifles and pistols..! If so, the
skill of dip-lubrication or home-workshop metal electroplating is needed. I'll try to
learn those useful tricks, by words and drawings.
2101 MM; Pete
"I HAVE A DREAM.!": Subsonic .22 LR for autoloading firearms.
Actually it is not a .22 LR, with it's case length simply too long, but the usual .22
Short case is not long enough. Experiences from the current Lapua Scoremax .22 LR and Aguila .22 SSS shows that my idea is not just "a
grey theory". Original suggested name of INTERMEDIATE-SIZED case was .22 LAPUA, and
the suggested name abbreviation of a cartridges, loaded in those cases was .22 LASS
(Lapua Autoloader Sub Sonic), but later I re-christened my "brainstorm" as
a .22 ALS (Auto-Loader Subsonic) and the special case as .22 AL (Auto-Loader),
since there were case sizes called "Automatic" designed by WINCHESTER and
REMINGTON in the early 20th century. They had a diameter similar to that of modern .22 WMR
case, because it was essential that usual .22 Long or LR is impossible to shoot from early
autoloading rimfire rifles, since the usual cartridges were loaded with sooty blackpowder
or LESMOKE powder. And copper was not uncommon rimfire case material in those days.
The concept cartridge above might be a subsonic .22 LR in year
2010. It is a combination of P. T. Kekkonen's "ALS" concept and the M/2030 type cartridge with a primer igniting against a solid pellet
of compressed powder (Monoblock powder). Resulting all base primer will work
equally easily in rimfire .22LR weapons and with cheap cartridge chamber adapters in 5.6
mm centerfire rifles like .222 Rem, .223 Rem, 5,45 x 45 etc. Blunt nose is suggested by
Mark White of Sound Tech by his experiences with wildlife managemant to improve terminal
ballistics of the subsonic bullet. See also Mark White's article
about the topic.
In the early summer 1992 I was a member of Finnish researcher team, studying flight noises of subsonic, trans-sonic, supersonic and
hypersonic projectiles. I handloaded all of the .308 Winchester cartridges to the velocity
levels needed, from 162 meters per second to 1200 mps muzzle velocities (532 to 3937 fps).
See the table of velocities at 23 meters from the muzzle from page 70 on the book Silencer History
and Performance, Vol. 1 by AL C. PAULSON. Our finding was that majority of available
factory-loaded "subsonic" cartridges were too heavily loaded, giving transsonic,
and many times even supersonic, velocities from the suppressed .22 LR rifles with
shortened barrels (10 to 14 inches; usual in Finland, because here is just a minimum
overall length but not minimum barrel length given for .22 rimfire rifles in Finnish
Firearms Act). So I suggested Finnish LAPUA cartridge manufacture to adopt a foot-long
test barrel (300 mm) for test-shooting of subsonic .22 LR, instead of usual 660 mm (26
inch) velocity and pressure test barrel - but in vain...
I had previously a nasty experience with Lapua .22 LR "Subsonic" H.P.
cartridges, when I had handlapped or fire-lapped the bore of a Sako rifle, with 250 mm
barrel length and almost 500 mm long silencer - with an intention to improve the accuracy.
After the lapping was accuracy O.K. (less than 25 mm five shot groups at 100 meters =
3/4" at 100 yards) but the inherently efficient suppressor (truly a silencer) had no
more silencing effect at all. Bullet velocities were measured: HELL's BELLS ! Average: 355
meters per second ! Ambient temperature was +19 degr. Centigrade. Sonic velocity: 343 mps.
It was essential to enlarge the rifle chamber from it's Target dimensions to the common,
exceedingly large, C.I.P. Standard diameter. (C.I.P. or European standards are usually
ratified in 1914..!).
Fortunately enough, the accuracy of a rifle suffered not too much: Groups were 1.2"
to 100 meters, or somewhat more than one Minute Of Angle. Average bullet velocity was now
330 m/s; still trans-sonic, but no more too noisy in flight, and decreasing after emerge
to the ambient air. When shot from 26" barrel, were (and are) the muzzle velocities
of "subsonic" Lapua's .22 LR bullets, including those of Scoremax, 315 meters
per second (1034 fps). Jess; it is a subsonic velocity.! But who is fool enough to kill
the rats on a dumping-ground with a silenced "Finnish Lion" competition
rifle - in the country, where barrel length of a .22 rimfire rifle may be (legally) mere
two inches, if the silencer's length is 15 to 16 inches ? Barrel length of a silenced
"rat slayer" is usually less than a foot.
All of Lapua's .22 LR cartridges (with the exceptions of .22 LR Pistol King, Pistol
Trainer and Polar Biathlon) are designed for "shooting from a
competition rifle with 26" barrel, because only legal use of .22 LR cartridges is
competition shooting, or training for the shooting events. The Match Grade rifles have a
bolt action and not the clip or magazine at all"! I was not yet aware of this
"factory policy" in December 1992, when I sent a letter, containing essentials
of my .22 LASS project to the director of Lapua Cartridge Factory. He was interested, but
some "old farth" below him, on the ladders of hierarchy, was not. My suggestions
never met the actual cartridge designers of Lapua - as far as I know. And I know VERY
far..!!
My idea was based on an intermediate-length case, because .22 Long/LR case is designed in
1870 for revolver cartridges and in 1887 for rifles, loaded with black powder only. This
is the reason, why the smokeless loads of most .22 LR cartridges burns more or less
incompletely, leaving unburnt or half-bunrnt powder kernels into the bore or (especially)
into the suppressor: The case, designed to burn 5 grains of FFF-grade blackpowder behind a
29-grainer lead bullet in .22 Long or 40 gr bullet of .22 LR, is simply 1/10 inch too long
for the smokeless powders - despite of 110 years long evolution of these
"modern" propellants. (Yesh; the VERY original nitro-cellulose mixture, with
12.6 % of chemically bound nitrogen, is still an ideal powder for .22 LR cartridges. It is
an "all-weather powder": Functional as well in Sahara as in Siberia. A Russian
professor of chemistry in the University of Sant Petersburg - Dmitri
Mendelyeyev - discovered this mixture already in 1890!).
Length of .22 AL case is 13 millimeters before loading, and ½ inch when crimped around
the bullet heel, or about half from overall length of a loaded cartridge. Cylindrical body
of the case is ca. 20 % shorter than that of .22 Long (Rifle) case. So the friction area
and friction between the walls of case and cartridge chamber are 1/5 less, when compared
with .22 LR case. There are, of course, still more ways to reduce the case friction:
Cadmium electroplating of cases, dry-wax coating of them, or simply use of hard &
resilient brass (alloy 67 % copper + 33 % zinc) as a case material.
I don't know the consistence of copper alloy of Lapua .22 LR cases, but they were in
mid-1980s annealed to become less soft than the copper cases made by East German
Schoenebeck cases. Not good for autoloader firearms, but don't forget: They were made
for bolt-action single-shot competition rifles ONLY by allies of ex-Soviet Union. Rimfire
cases (say, for example) of Remington .22 CB Long cartridges are of hard and resilient
brass. If coated with dry wax (which may be done by dipping loaded cartridges into the
mixture of carbon-tetra-chloride solvent and solid paraffine wax, leaving just the
cartridge head unlubed), must the case and bullet be so dimensioned that the wax coating
on a cartridge cannot yet raise diameter too much.
Priorities of characteristics are as follows. Number one: Reliable (read: POSITIVE) feed
from all imaginable kinds of clips and magazines, including belts of "miniature
machine guns", and equally positive extraction, ejection and re-cocking of the firing
mechanism of any & all autoloading firearms, chambered for .22 LR cartridges. Number
two: TRULY subsonic bullet velocity, despite of barrel length, chamber diameter (including
narrow "Target" chambers), and slickiness of the bore. Number three: Stable
"arrow-like" bullet flight from the muzzle to the extreme range. Number four:
Shooting accuracy. Number five: Lethal effect of a hit.. (Read: Hits).
Contrary to the "sniping philosophy", a combined effect of multiple hits, is
appreciated by many shooters. A vast majority of hunters or pest killers are less skilled
marksmen and even the masters may have "bad day" or a bad luck. Then is a quick
follow-up shot needed... or shots. Effect of three successive hits is cumulative.
Lethality of a shotgun is based on multiple simultaneous hits of low-powered pellet,
usually not penetrating the vital organs of a living target, but still lethal suddenly, as
a strike of three-forked thunderbolt. Most shooters are able to learn a "triple
tap" with a supported or rested autoloader .22 rimfire rifle. Three hits during 1½
second is a sufficient rate of fire.
"When my heart was yong and gay" and my eyesight was still keen (in early
1980s), I was able to shoot 14 shots from a rested feather-light Remington Nylon 66
autoloader during ca. three seconds - sometimes all the hits within ca. 30 millimeters
ring and usually within 1½ inch circle at 100 meters. Easy with a rested rifle, even
light one. Off-hand shooting I have never learnt, but those
"kuularuisku-demonstraatiot" (machine-gunning shows) attracted notice on the
public shooting range. I had a suppressor mounted on my own Remington, but the cartridges
used for those demonstrations (brand VOSTOK Sport & Hunting, with a phosphate-coated
steel case) gave transsonic or supersonic velocity and accordingly more or less loud
bullet flight noise.
Most accurate cartridge was Lapua Sound Moderator Hollowpoint, which gave
subsonic bullet velocity, but it was able to blow the overly heavy breech-bolt of
Remington back no more than .1 or .12 inch. Firepower was, however, satisfactory if
compared with a bolt-action rifle, and the dominant shooting signature was snap of the
heavy linear hammer inside the hollow plastic stock of that rifle. The brass case,
annealed "dead soft" (actually softer than the copper shell of contemporary
Schoenebeck .22 LR cartridges) prevented autoloading, along with a rather low
"momentum" of Lapua SMHP load. Bullet weight is 2.4 grams (when the deep
point-cavity was filled with mineral jelly/ Vaseline, which is more effective way to
enhance "DumDum effect" of that bullet than was use of real
shock-sensitive explosive. I tried mixture of potassium chlorate and black antimony
sulphide, sometimes made more sensitive with added glass powder, but the filling failed
many times to detonate, and the explosion was unable to cause more effective expansion of
bullet than Vaseline filling, which NEVER failed to function).
This weight 2.4 grams, multiplied by the measured average velocity 322 meters per second,
products the momentum 772.8 gm/s (gram-meters per second or "gempses").
Insufficient momentum for Remington Nylon 66 or Remington Viper action,
especially when the cases were of soft brass, almost without any degree of resilience. In
the mid-1980s I knew that one kilogram-meter per second or 1000 gm/s is a momentum needed
to give a positive autoloading cycle for any & all .22 LR firearms - if the case is of
resilient material or lubricated from it's mouth to the rim. Resilience of Soviet Vostok
.22 LR steel case was somewhat insufficient, but when I found a trick to lubricate the
phosphate coated (Parkerized) shells, I was able to shoot more than 7500 rounds of Vostok
S & Hs without failures of feed, misfires or ejection troubles with my own Remington
Nylon 66.
Bullet weight was usual 40 grains or 2.59 grams and average velocity 339 mps (transsonic
or subsonic in hottest summer days). Momentum was 2.59 g x 339 m/s = 878 gm/s. Ejection
failed sometimes before discovery of case lubrication, but never more, when the shells
were lubed by rolling the cartridges between palms of hands before dropping 15 rounds into
the butt magazine of Remington and cocking the action before pushing the magazine tube
into butt all the way. (Magazine held just 14 LRs). Lube was plentily available: Vostok S
& H's bullets were as excessively greased with a messy wax - as are many Lapua .22
LRs.
I have shot Vostoks from a Finnish Army .22 rimfire training rifle, owing the barrel
length 32½ inches (SIC ! 825 millimeters) without signs of "lube run off" and
muzzle end leading. Shots were almost silent without silencer and the bullet velocity was
apparently no more than ca. 250 meters per second. I had not yet a chronograph, but some
idea about flight times of bullets, which were also possible to see in flight with a naked
eye. Another amazing finding was that Remington Nylon 66 was able to feed and eject
positively some High Velocity .22 Short cartridges, despite of it's excessive breech-bolt
weight and the momentum of a heavy linear hammer, propelled by a stiff mainspring.
Those .22 Shorts were loaded by Winchester. (One "survivor" is headstamped with
a letter "H" from word Henry). Solid bullets are copper plated. Cases are of
unplated resilient brass. Bullet weight is 2.88 grams and measured velocity (average) was
347 meters per second. Momentum was so 999.4 gm/s or not far from 1 kilogram-meter per
second minimum. Automatic ejection and feeding cycles were not "sluggish", but
rather "vehement". I noted also a "farthing" from the action, i.e.
noisy blast of powder gas from the chamber end of bore. It is easy to imagine noisiness of
that farthing when Aguila SSS is shot from 20 inch barrel of an autoloading rifle. A
mounted suppressor may made the things still more difficult.
.22 Short case is really TOO short for ALS cartridge, although I recommended it in my
suggestions to Lapua "for the preliminary test-shootings with heavy bullets, for
search of the limits of stabilizing in the varying twists of rifling", or twist up to
1 - 20". There are actually existing some (very rare) TAP Wildboar and
Finnbiathlon-22 rifles, made by Tampereen Asepaja in the late 1970s, for shooting of High
Velocity .22 LR cartridges only, with "two rotations per a meter" twist. It was
found, however, that HV .22 LR cartridges are simply not loaded for the competition
shooting, but for "plinking" and hunting only, especially for the autoloading
rifles, designed for shooting of High Velocity .22 LRs. No alteration of rifling twist can
turn the HV cartridge to become a tack-driver: It is senseless to harness a race-horse to
the mule team.
Use of a .22 Short case for loading of ALS cartridge, which must have the overall length
about similar to the common .22 LR, mainly for the feed reliability from any & all
box, drum or arched magazines without need to file, stone & hone or bend the feeding
lips. A .22 Long cartridge is not much shorter in overall length than is .22 LR but if the
positive feed reliability is needed, many magazines are needing some kind of
"adjustment". And when these alterations are done, may the feed reliability of
usual .22 LR be questionable. Summa summarum: The side profile of ALS cartridge must be
similar to that of very most reliably feeding .22 LR cartridges.
Bullet must have a round or actually ogival point; not hemispherical or blunt; not a
truncated cone or slightly rounded wadcutter. Never forget the Priority Number One:
Reliability of feed in autoloaders! Another unconditional demand is gyro-stabilization of
the bullet in 1 - 16 or even in 1 - 18 rifling twist, despite of bad ambient conditions
(frosty or rainy weather). And the bullet's flight must be TRULY (not just marginally)
subsonic despite of bad ambient conditions (cold weather, when the sonic velocity in air
is lowered) and bore & chamber conditions or barrel length. Since the early summer
1992 I have been aware of the true meaning of words "subsonic" and
"trans-sonic".
Subsonic is a bullet with muzzle velocity no more than 1000 feet per second or 300 meters
per second, shot from the velocity/pressure test barrel with a length 12 inches or 300
millimeters, the bore lapped mirror-bright and with a Target chamber (= all the dimensions
close to allowed minimum of S.A.A.M.I. specifications). All the mentioned conditions tends
to increase the muzzle velocity of 50 grains .223" diameter bullet. No actual rifle
or handgun may develope "surprisingly" high bullet velocity (say 355 mps or 12
mps more than was a sonic velocity in ambient conditions, while factory test-barrel
velocity is 315 mps with a very small plus or minus variation. Factory test-barrel length
is, of course, 26 inches...). Momentum is calculated multiplying bullet weight 3.24 grams
by velocity 300 m/s. Product is 972 gm/s - and the case friction to the chamber wall is
about 13.4 % less than the friction of .22 Long/LR case by the shorter length of ALS case
only, if the pressures and case materials are equal.
If it is simply impossible to test-shoot .22 ALS cartridges with a shorter than 26 in test
barrel, it is essential to place the limit of maximum allowed bullet velocity to 290 mps
level/ ca. 950 feet per second. Producer of Aguila SSS has seemingly adopted information
from our "Bullet Flight Noise vs. Velocity"
table, but that velocity level is impossible to reach because of too small powder volume
of .22 Short case and 60 gr bullet, along with a projectile, long enough to act as a
"compression bullet" of muzzleloader military rifles in 1850s and 1860s, and so
develope an excessive bore friction. (A lesson: Study the history, when you're evolving a
novelty ! That's the way how to evade cardinal errors).
Combination of .22 Short case and slightly more "pointed" 50 gr. bullet may be
somewhat more reasonable combination for manually loaded firearms, but the
"farthing" problem still exists in autoloaders, especially rifles, and the
powder charge shall become crammed into too small space. Just 1/10 inch more case length
may offer a drastic improvement of the situations, and the overall cartridge length shall
become just correct for LR chambers and magazines. Fifty-grainer bullet, 1/10 inch shorter
than 60 gr Aguila projectile is gyro-stable in flight, and it's point shape may be
designed to allow easier feed.
This idea was, as mentioned, sent in December 1992 to Lapua Cartridge Plant (of course
without knowledge on Aguila .22 SSS, which was at least five years later innovation,
presumably evolved indepently, without knowledge on .22 ALS concept), without any effect.
Later I suggested production of .22 ALS to Remington, and a couple of years ago to
Brazilian C.B.C. - without effect. (I was presumably thought to be some "Gyro
Gearloose" with impossible-to-realize ideas, like re-starting production of 5.75 mm Velo-Dog
revolver cartridges as the reloadible ammo for "auxiliary cartridges" or
adapters and centerfire arms with rifled barrel liners for caliber .224" ammo).
Lefaucheux cartouche, .22 short, .22 long and .22 long rifle.
Velo-Dog cartridge at right.
I am interested in the e-mail address of Russian KLIMOVSK cartridge factory! (Producer of
Vostok .22 LR cartridges ). Steel, preferably cadmium-plated steel, may be a fine case
material for .22 ALS and the bullet may also be electroplated with cadmium. It is among
the most "slippery" metallic bullet coatings, adopted sometimes in 1920s or
1930s (for the special smokeless .22 LR cartridges offered for use especially in the
autoloading firearms in USA), but later abandoned, because of poisonous qualities of
cadmium salts. Metallic cadmium is, however, considerably less poisonous than are lead or
antimony-lead alloys.
Metallic coatings are preferable on the bullets of autoloading .22 rimfire arms,
especially rifles. Thin "dry wax" coating shall run off easily, and the thick
"tacky lube" (like that on Lapua Scoremax bullets) fouls the firearms action
badly when mixed with carbon and unburned powder kernels. Feed jams of the clean firearms
are also usual, when cold weather has congealed the tacky lube. There are some old but
nowadays forgotten tricks for improvement of bullet expansion. I mentioned already a
hollowpoint bullet with a narrow but deep point cavity of Lapua's Subsonic HP bullets,
filled with mineral jelly. Depth of the cavity is 7 millimeters (.28"). I presume,
the jelly filling of point cavity may be applied in a factory without too high extra cost.
Point channel of ALS bullet may be 9 mm in depth (.35"). Bullet weight of HP
variation shall be ca. 47 grains. There is also an interesting old trick: To cut two
crosswise slashes into the bullet point. Contrary to the hollowpointing, those slashes do
not cause loss of the bullet weight. Because of the inherently slow bullet velocity and
metal plating, it is also possible to reduce content of alloying metals so that the
bullet's lead percentage is 99.5 % and the rest .5 % is antimony and traces of other
metals. Soft lead bullets needs no hollowpointing or slashing. Diameter of them may be
.223" because of the compression effect, without the notable loss of accuracy. These
options are at least worth mentioning, althought professional animal controllers
presumably prefers "handcranked" rifles and more wadcutter-like bullets.
Millions of plinkers and hunters are stuck to their beloved .22 LR autorifles and
handguns.
We must remember that .22 ALS cartridge is not intented for 60 shots prone or 3 x 40 shots
Discipline Contests with single shot bolt-action rifles. It was designed primarily for
autoloading rifles, handguns, machine guns or submachine guns, and not "For Official
Use Only" but for each & every gun-owner, for use in silenced firearms but to
become also relatively "silent without a silencer". It is designed to become
loaded with smokeless powder; the first one of it's kind since 1903 or 1914, being
designed for autoloaders and the very first one to give a TRULY subsonic bullet velocity
along with function of autoloaders.
There are many reasons, why the cartridge manufacturers are hesitant to adopt my idea,
plus one insuperable cause of negation: "N.I.H. syndrome". Abbreviation
comes from words: "Not Invented Here".
13012000; P.T.Kekkonen, Special Editor
of "GUNWRITERS ON THE WEB" on-line magazine. Joensuu; FINLAND.
P.S. Idea about re-adoptment of .30 Long Rimfire cartridge might be my.
I'll cancel it after more careful consideration: As far as possible, all cartridges must
be reloadible with use of components generally available everywhere. Good calibers for
.30/ .308/ 7.62 mm subsonic firearms are .30 M1 Carbine, .32 S & W Long or H & R
Magnum and even .32 ACP. Chambers of some firearms may be "freebored" for use of
extra-long bullets. Several years ago I had a "cane gun", chambered for a .32
ACPEL cartridge, with a common .32 ACP case but freebored throat or leade of chamber. Into
the case mouth was possible to seat a cast bullet LEE C309-180R. That's why the cartridge
was "Extra Long". I shot just some usual .32 ACP factory-loads from that
inconvenient piece of equipment, before I sold it away.
Pete
Whisper of
The Reaper
HI, I'm enthusiast about your friend's (Marko) Mosin-Nagant/ DeLisle carbine. I want to
realized it with my Lee-Enfield .303 or with my Mosin-Nagant. I want to know the number of
the holes in the barrel, their measures, the lenght of the silencers and of the barrel,
and the project of the silencers.
Thanks ; Stefano (from Italy).
"EJA, ejá, ala lá !" (Quotation is from a recording of an old Italian
song with a refrain: "Giovinezza, giovinezza/ Prima vera di bellezza..!"
and it's text starts by words: "Salve, popolo..." Can you get to me wording of
this song ? It was once upon a time like National Anthem of Italy, of course along with
the official "Mameli's Song").
I think, that LEE-ENFIELD is more authentic "basis" for the DeLisle
Carbine clone than Mosin-Nagant. Original DL Carbine was overly complicated, "ad
absurdum", because of the huge size of it's silencer unit and inherently subsonic .45
A.C.P. cartridge. Efficient it's silencer was, nobody can deny, but you may build
considerably less complicated silencing unit and use the Lee-Enfield action unaltered: Old
cartridge designs, like .303 British, are easy to handload with small charges of easily
igniting pistol or shotgun powder for subsonic velocity level.
Powder gas-bleed vents through the barrel wall are unnecessary. These are good news, since
drilling and reaming of these vents is not so easy task: Many barrels are ruined by
venting. Accuracy is many times lost permanently. Barrel length has less importance. May
be 250 to 300 millimeters, or one complete rotation of bullet in the rifling ("twist
length" of grooves plus length of the chamber, measured from the muzzle to the
frontal recess of breech-bolt head). Silencer unit itself may be ca. 50 mm in outer
diameter, of mild steel. Seamless "drawn" tubing is preferable. About tenfold
diameter ( ½ meter) is sufficient length of the silencer jacket. Baffle construction may
be similar to that of Finnish BR-Tuote suppressors with
8 to 12 semi-toroidical baffles.
I found this text from my computer 1½ months afterwards. Sorry about long delay. I
receive e-mail by our "telegraph operator" on the diskettes, since there is not
e-mail or Internet communication to my ancient computer, used just as a typewriter only.
Unfortunately I am unable to produce Auto-CAD or other easily made drawings with my
available "machinery"...
1701MM; Pete
7.62 mm M-43 / AR-15: For Subsons Only
greetings from the great state of texas. i could use any help on loading 7.62x39 subsonic
for use in an AR-15. i have a 1 in 10 twist .311 barrel. it would be nice if i could get
this load to cycle the guns as a "Normal" load would. i can lighten the bolt,
remove weights from the recoil plunger in the stock or whatever is needed. do you know if
it would be advisable to move the gas port near the chamber where gas pressure is highest?
i can use the short gas tube which is only about 3 inches in front of the actual throat
area of the chamber. would this help to cycle the action more effectively?
can i do this with standard jacketed bullets to alleviate fouling of the gas port? can i
do this without stuffing the cartride case with a filler? should i shorten the barrel to
reduce velocity? i can go legally down to 16 inches (measured from the bolt face) or i can
register the gun as a short barrel rifle if needed ($200 tax and 4 month wait) as you can
tell i am starting from scratch on this! if it were a bolt action gun this would be easier
but then again the fun is in the challenge.
Hello; Bob
Shortened gas
tube may help. Gas pressure close to the chamber is rather high, when the subsonic
cartridges are loaded with advisable "subson" powder, with the burning rate
something between HODGDON CLAYS (original Australian product) and ALLIANT (HERCULES)
UNIQUE; including both mentioned brands. I don't know, however, whether 3 inches tube
length is short enough. Gas port of US M1 Carbine is closer to the chamber mouth: Carbine
action shall give reliable autoloading with these "hot" powder, but the subsonic
velocity may be impossible to get, because the bullet of .30 Carbine cartridge cannot be
much more heavy than standard 110 grains RN. Rifling twist of a carbine is simply too slow
to gyro-stabilize longer bullets.
7.62 x 39 mm Yelisarov & Syemin M-43 cartridges you can load with extra-heavy jacketed
bullets, with a weight 170 to 180 grains. Loads you must develope without known data, but
your starting loads may be very light (2 to 3 grains of handgun or shotgun powder; depents
on the burning rate). For .311" bore are .311" diameter bullets recommended;
those made for .303 British/ 7.65 mm Argentine Mauser or 7.7 mm Japanese rifle. Roundnose
plain based bullets are good for subsonic loads of M-43 Russian cartridge. Boat-tail
hollowpoints may be too long to become gyro-stable in 1 - 10" rifling. Original
Kalashnikov barrel has 240 millimeters twist.
Lightened bolt may help the autoloading, but if you are made a light bolt and reduced
recoil plunger and moved the gas port backwards, you must forget shooting the
"Normal" factory loads or handloads with usual rifle powders, giving the muzzle
velocities of full-powered ammo. Your rifle shall become "for subsonics only"
piece of equipment ! IMPORTANT NOTICE: Shortened barrel shall not reduce the available
velocity of subsonic handload bullets. On the contrary: Bullet velocity may be higher when
shot from 16" barrel than the velocity available from the standard barrel. Bore
friction of a jacketed bullet slows down it's velocity after acceleration gained by 10 to
12 inch travel in the rifling.
One of my friends in Finland has made a really unique rifle from the .308 Winchester
F.A.L. Autorifle for shooting of very mild subsonic handloads: He removed by grinding a
locking lug of a spare breech-bolt. His F.A.L. is a blowback rifle (with the gas piston
actuation), when the modified bolt is in the action, and when he shoots full-powered
factory loads or handloads, he can use an unaltered breech-bolt. Power of his subson
handloads is about similar to that of .32 ACP (pocket pistol) factory loads; almost silent
without silencer, save the noise of autoloading cycle.
I don't know mechanism of AR-15 well enough to say, whether it is possible to grind away
the locking lugs of spare breechblock of it, and use it as a blowback action rifle. If it
is possible, the cartridges must be handloaded to the very low power level, with a
standard bullet weight (123 grains) and start from (say) 2 grains of fast-burning powder
like Hodgdon CLAYS or VihtaVuori N 310, and step up the charge with .1 grain increments
until the bullet velocities are uniform. AR-15 with a blowback bolt needs not a gas tube
at all. Without a gas actuation it is possible to load the cartridges with somewhat
heavier powder charges, because the gas cannot kick the bolt open too rapidly.
Some earliest pre-Kalashnikov AK 47 prototype firearms were designed to function like
common submachine guns, even with the full-powered 7.62 mm M-43 cartridges, but they were
found to be impractical, because of a rather high chamber pressure and needed heavy weight
of the breech-bolt. With the reduced charge handloads may a blowback action be functional.
It is unnecessary to use any case filler material in 7.62 mm M-43 cartridges, but an
useful trick is to drill the flash hole (vent) of primer pocket with (up to) 4.0 mm/
0.16" drill bit. Too small flash holes of Boxer primer pockets were designed in 1868
for ignition of contemporary military rifle cartridges, crammed full of black gunpowder. A
small charge of smokeless powder needs more sudden and wide ignition flame from the
primer. Also is beneficial to lube the bullet of subsonic cartridge. Thin coating of
Molybdene Bi-sulphide on the jacketed bullet is useful lubrication, but almost any fatty
substance shall reduce the bore friction and variables of bullet velocities.
A lubricated cast bullet (.312" dia.) with a gas check is usually ideal for subson
loads, but cast bullets designed for 7.62 M-43s are inherently light, short and
sharp-pointed. A short-necked cartridge case and strictly limited overall cartridge length
are negations to successful use of cast bullets with a weight more than 150 grains.
1601MM; Pete
Still another wildcat caliber ?
I have been trying to think of a cartridge that will fit in .308 Win class bolt action
rifle, for suppressed subsonic use only. It must be roughly the same size as the .308 Win,
as I want it to feed well. Had thought of .308 Win with a fast 1-8" twist or .338
Whisper (7 mm Remington Brenchrest, necked up to .338). But what would a standard .308 Win
case be if necked up to .338 size ? The idea is to get the heaviest bullet weight I can
with jacketed rifle bullets. The rifle would have a barrel of around 12" and a large
silencer. A twist would be 1-10.
The question: Would the smaller .338 Whisper be better than the .338/308
wildcat ? The longer .308 case could offer more protection for the heavy bullet while
in the magazine.? The 1-10" twist would stabilize Lapua 250 gr and Sierra 300 gr,
.338 bullets, hopefully, or would I need a faster twist ? Any thoughts will be much
appreciated.
Yours Faithfully, Chris
Hi again,
Chris! I am sorry about the more and more long delay between the questions and my answers.
Many Finnish visitors are asking questions too. Those, who have paid the (rather nominal)
annual fee for keeping "Gunwriters On the Web" sites alive at all, are
privileged to get answers. Millennium is over. Now is 00:45 o'clock in 1st January '00 and
my old computer works very well. Stories about the Grand Total Delete of memory
seems to be just fairy tales. I'll look, however, whether my "ARCANE"
stories are still existing. (It is)..!
I presume, there are many "wildcatters" already designed a necked-up .308 Win
cartridge for .338 caliber bullets. I recommend also fire-forming of the case to make it
slightly "improved" one, with shoulder angle 25 degrees. There is an existing
factory-designed/factory-loaded cartridge .358 Winchester available since 1955, with a
shoulder angle mere 20 degrees. It became never very popular, because of some
"headspace troubles": If the cartridge was pushed speedily into the rifle
chamber, it could enter too deeply forwards, causing even misfires and extraction
failures. Especially some lever-action rifles suffered from these headspace problems. At
least SAVAGE Model 99 and BROWNING BLR rifles were (are ?) chambered for .358 Winchester
cartridge.
A much older .35 Remington cartridge, shooting the very same .358" diameter bullets,
designed in 1906 for a selfloader and slide-action rifle, didn't cause troubles, although
it has a case shoulder diameter .425" (10.80 mm) while that of .358 Win is .454"
(11.53 mm). Shoulder angle of .35 Rem case was carefully calculated 23 degr. 25 minutes.
With 25 degr. angle it is possible to use even the European 9.3 mm bullet in a necked-up
"improved" 9.3 x 51 mm wildcat cartridge with .308 Win fireformed case. For the
silenced rifle has 9.3 mm caliber, however, no advantage over .358" projectiles.
There is huge selection of factory-made lead bullets available for .358 caliber rifle, but
no more for 9.3 mm guns. And "happiness is a lubricated lead alloy bullet" for
the user of silenced rifle..!!
Your idea of necked-up 7 mm BR Remington case with .338" bullet sounds to be
reasonable - but - why to content yourself with half measures ? The universal scourge of
modern bottle-necked rifle cartridges is too short case neck - especially for use with the
swaged or cast lead alloy bullets. You may design a wildcat cartridge with a case body
length like that of 7 mm BR Rem and 25 degrees shoulder, but sized from a full-length .308
Win case for seating of .338" bullet. You must get a custom-made kit of sizing and
bullet seating dies, along with 3rd die for expansion of a case mouth (and flaring of it
for cast bullet seating).
It is possible to ream the rifle chamber with a sizing die reamer and to grind or
"lap" it slightly more large with sized cartridge cases and valve grinding
paste. Because your rifle shall be unique (one of it's kind), just a little allowance is
needed between the dimensions of cartridge case and rifle chamber. It may be made along
with "NIEDNER's Principle", so that you should not resize the cases after the
shooting at all, but just to reprime them, charge them with powder and seat the bullets.
When seating cast lead bullets, the case mouth must be slightly flared. If the bullets are
"gas checked" (which is recommended) it is needed just to bevel the inner edge
of case mouth. If flared, the case mouths must be also crimped enough to make them again
cylindrical or very slightly tapered. Bullet diameters must be as uniform as possible, and
so also the thicknesses of case neck walls. If a jacketed bullet is too "fat",
it is advisable to lathe-turn it to the correct diameter, and not try to squeeze it
through a bullet sizing die. Lead alloy bullets are easy to size with it. Slightly
undersized bullets are easy to "paste in" to the case necks with a sticky bullet
lubricant or even with the beeswax or candle wax, while applying a dip-lubrication; which
is a beneficial procedure - even for the jacketed bullets of subsonic handloads.
In the Good Old Times - presumably before invention of A.O. Niedner's
Principle of precision fit between cartridge "shell" and a rifle chamber -
dipped many Finnish target rifle shooters their loaded cartridges into the melted bovine
or mutton tallow entirely, hanging them bullet end downwards by the case rims. (Caliber of
the Target or Schützen Rifle - a "tussari" in arcaic Finnish - was
usually 8.15 x 46R, but .32-20 Win rifles were also used). The tallow coating prevented
expansion of a cartridge case. Resizing of the cases before reloading of cartridges was
unnecessary, but the tallow was obliged to wash away after the shooting session, because
it stained the brass "ugly" (= green in color). It didn't made the brass more
brittle.
Some shooters had tin-plated or even nickel-plated cases for use with tallow coating. They
were not lathe-turned solid-wall "Everlasting cases", but they could stand
several thousands reloadings and shots before the primer pocket became too large to hold
the primer - not because of chamber pressure (which was very low), but by the abrasion of
priming mass residue or careless use of depriming chisel. Most 8.15 x 46R cases had BERDAN
primer pockets with an integral anvil, very easy to ruin with a sharp chisel point. Those
.32-20 Winchester cases with BOXER primers were less risky to de-prime and re-prime.
The cases were sometimes neck-resized, if the neck was expanded too large to hold the
bullet and enter the chamber easily, but this action was carried out on a mature
deliberation. Riflemen knew since 1880s until early 1930s that ANY - even the slightest -
sizing of the cartridge case shall reduce it's active life. So it was essential to
eliminate the permanent case expansion and avoid need of any resizing.
Summa summarum: This combination of .308 Win basic case and .338" bullet sounds to be
functional, but somebody must be able to design and make a custom-made reamer for sizing
die of cases, especially if they are long-necked shells (.338 x 2"), and also a
reamer for the case neck inside diameter. If the neck wall is too thick, there is a risk
of explosion of rifle because of an excessive bullet friction in the case neck.
07012000; Pete
AL-43 Assault Rifle & mid-sized cartridges
Mr. Kekkonen: I read mention yesterday evening of Aimo Lahti's 1943 assault rifle in Suomi
History 2/2. I've been wondering for 35 years if this the "delayed blowback"
Suomi variant mentioned in Hogg's Small Arms Of The World which fired a 7.62 mid-sized
rimmed round (a shortened 7.62 mm Mosin-Nagant rifle round similar to the 7.92 x 33K and
its parent 7.92 x 57 ?). Your reply to both the weapon and the cartridge are appreciated.
Respectfully Yours; John
I have
held one AL-43 assault rifle prototype in my hands several times in the 1980s, when it was
in possession of Factory Studying Collection of VALMET TOURULA WORKS, but that collection
fell suddenly to the hands of enemy (SAKO Oy) about twelve years ago. I have no literature
about AL-43 at hand but just some "as-far-as-I-can-remember"-knowledge: Just
some prototype rifles were made by a Finnish firm PARTATERA Oy (Razor Blade Ltd.) as a
"Raskas Konepistooli m/43" (heavy submachine gun Model 1943). I had never enough
time to disassemble that rifle, but I think, it's action is a copy of Italian FIAT machine
gun / OFFICINE VILLAR PEROSA Model 1915 "miniature machine gun" / BERETTA Model
1918 submachine gun.
(All of them had similar delayed blowback action with a rotating breech-bolt but a
top-mounted vertical box magazine. AL-43 rifle had a bottom-mounted drum magazine for 56
rounds). The "heavy submachine gun" looks like a over-grown SUOMI KP/31. Weight
is ca. 6 kilograms with an empty magazine. According to the most respected Finnish
authority on firearms, Master of Arts MATTI U.K. VIRTANEN, the AL-43 prototypes were not
suitable for mass-production or use in the real battle, but they were just some kind of
cartridge test-shooting and comparison devices. Of course, they were never
"discharged in anger".
Finnish military authorities became aware of German assault rifle and cartridge designs in
the late 1942 or very early 1943. Some Finnish officers, who were ex-services of Imperial
Russian army, were also red the books and articles written by V.G.FYODOROV, who was able
to predict the arrival of 1st generation assault rifles, intermediate-length cartridges
and (NOTA BENE !) also the 2nd generation cartridges, like 5.56 x 45 mm NATO and Soviet
5.45 x 40 mm M-74 ... in the late 1920s.! This same Fyodorov was designed the first 6.5 x
50 mm "ABTOMAT" (assault rifle) in 1916.
It is not known, who designed Finnish war-time assault rifle cartridges, because all the
knowledge on their history is kept by the historians, who are not interested in the
cartridges, but they are also hostiles to persons, who are able to compile needed
information about history of military cartridges and cartridge designs in Finland. A book
"SUURI PATRUUNAKIRJA" ("The Great Cartridge Book", by TIMO HYYTINEN
& al.) was planned to become published ten years ago, but the plan was abortive. I
don't know, why..!! I have collected my scanty knowledge on 7.62 mm MOSIN cartridges by
correspondence, mainly from Germany, and from some French sources.
No information is offered to me from Finland, ESPECIALLY about Finnish military cartridges
and factory loads, with one exception: Home archives of M.A. Matti U.K. Virtanen (about
Civil Guards cartridge orders from SAKO Oy and cartridge designs) has been valuable source
of knowledge. Mr. Virtanen collected historical documents for the book "Suuri
Patruunakirja". He was also a co-editor of that planned book, which was never allowed
to become published. Finnish Ministry of Education was one known participant of "the
censorship plot".!
There were three kinds of heavy submachine gun cartridges designed in Finland, without
known immediate patterns. They are all loaded into RIMLESS cases. I have seen all of them.
Two of them were developed for 9 mm and 7.62 mm versions of AL-43 and third one for very
rare LILJA Carbine (which is usually mis-classified as a "submachine gun").
Cartridges for AL-43 were presumably based on the 6.5 x 55 mm Swedish MAUSER cases, with a
slightly bigger case head diameter than that of German Mauser cartridge Model 1888 (and
all of it's clones, like .30-06, .308 Win and their untold necked-up or necked-down
variations). Cases were made by LAPUA plant of VPT (Valtion Patruunatehtaat/ State's
Cartridge Manufactures, which had the plants also in Kanavuori and Ahtari, not in Lapua
only, during the 3rd Finnish Independence War in 1941 - 44).
Production of 6.5 x 55 mm cartridges was started after the 2nd Independence War, a.k.a.
the Winter War 1939 - 40. Since the order of Swedish Government, in August 1940, until the
end of year 1940, there were produced 18.5 millions rounds of 6.5 mm cartridges by Lapua
plant for Sweden, and when the production of them was ceased in 21st June 1941 (one day
before start of "Operation Barbarossa"), the grand total production of 6.5 x 55
mm Swedish cartridges was reached 65.9 millions rounds, lacking just 100 000 rds from the
Swedish order - but since 22th June, 7:15 o'clock there was a helluva hurry to start again
production of 7.62 Mosin-Nagant cartridges for our own armed forces "with a High Gear
switched on". There were, of course, a lot of surplus 6.5 mm cases left for prototype
cartridge designing.
Dies and tools for production of 6.5 x 55 mm cartridges were also still existing in 1943,
and there was a "lull time" of production, due to the lack of materials in VPT
Lapua plant, and a good time for evolution of some promising products - like the short
cases for AL-43 heavy submachine guns. I presume that the cartridge manufacturer was more
enthusiastic over the intermediate-sized cartridge than Aimo J. Lahti was about designing
of his assault rifle. Lahti was aware of the very limited resources of Finnish firearms
industry during the last half of our 3rd Independence War: Finland should be the least
possible country to adopt an entirely new kind of military firearms.
The minor improvements of KP/-31 were rejected in 1942, including the front sight
protection "ears" and the butt-stock mounting with a "MARTINI-HENRY"
bolt. There was not the production capacity even for the prototype samples of AL-43 by VKT
or TIKKAKOSKI Oy, but just in the small shop, which made GILLETTE razor blades and steel
washers for the barrel flanges of SUOMI KP/31s and toggle-joint adjustment washers of
MAXIM machine guns. In Finland there was not capacity for the complicated sheet steel
stampings, needed for mass-production of assault rifles similar to German MKb 42/43
(a.k.a. Sturmgewehr 44). AL-43 prototypes were therefore designed for production with
usual toolmaking shop's machinery, by highly skilled craftsmen; not for mass-production.
As mentioned, there were both 9 mm and 7.62 mm variations of the heavy submachine gun
AL-43. The cartridges had case length 35 mm; so the caliber designations were 9 x 35 mm
and 7.62 x 35 mm. The first one looks like .357 Auto Mag wildcat cartridge with a
roundnose FMJ bullet, but the case is longer by two millimeters. 7.62 x 35 mm AL-43
cartridge looks like .308 x 1½" BARNES wildcat with a pointed FMJ bullet, but the
case is ca. 3 millimeters shorter. 9 x 35 mm AL had somewhat better "stopping
power" at short ranges than 7.62 mm variation and slightly higher muzzle velocity,
but it's standard bullet (weight 7.5 grams/ 115.7 grains ?) had a rather poor sectional
density, ballistic coefficient and penetration, when compared with 7.62 mm projectile. 9
mm variation was abandoned after comparisons; presumably before the end of year 1943.
7.62 x 35 mm AL cartridge had a performance about equal with Soviet 7.62 x 39 mm M-43
(actually German 7.75 x 39.5 mm GeCo Model 34/35 cartridge). Finnish 7.62 mm cartridge
might give somewhat slower muzzle velocity, if it had then-standard S-30 flat-based
pointed bullet, weight 9.6 grams (148 grains). Ballistics of these cartridges is mere
guesswork. I cannot get confirmed information about Finnish cartridges from any Finnish
source (with an exception of M.A. Matti Virtanen), and about these rarities I am unable to
get data even from the colleagues living abroad. Sorry !
Cartridge of Lilja Carbine was based on 9 x 19 mm (Luger/Parabellum/submachine gun) case
extented to 40 millimeters length and equipped with usual 9 mm round-nose FMJ bullet. This
carbine has a plain blowback action with a hammer or striker mechanism, just like that of
selfloading 9 mm or .45 ACP "pistol carbines", popular in USA before restriction
of their sales. Lilja Carbine has, however, a movable barrel, like that of firearms with
short recoil action (pistols and machine guns since MAXIM MG). The barrel is not connected
with a breech-bolt by any mechanical means, but just by the friction of extra-long case
after shot, when the chamber pressure is still high.
Reciprocating barrel follows the breech-bolt, until the pressure in the bore and chamber
has dropped to safe level and the case wall is loosened from chamber wall by the
elasticity of case brass. Now the barrel return spring starts to push the barrel into it's
foremost position, while the extractor hook of breech-bolt pulls the spent case from a
chamber. Bolt completes ejection of the case and feeds the fresh cartridge into chamber
after re-cocking of the firing mechanism. Similar functioning is applied later in USA to
some handguns, namely ill-fated pistols designed by JOHN W. KIMBALL, Detroit, Michigan
(calibers .30 MI Carbine and .22 Hornet), introduced in 1955, discontinued in 1958, and
COLT COLD CUP NATIONAL MATCH pistol (caliber presumably .38 Special, flush wadcutter
target load only).
History of last mentioned pistol is unknown to me, but existing of barrel return spring on
the exploded drawing led (or misled) me to the conclusion that the barrel is reciprocating
one. Distance of axial barrel movement cannot be more than a couple of millimeters. Barrel
of Kimball pistols went backwards along with the slide 5 to 7.6 millimeters and barrel of
Lilja Carbine retreated at least 15 mm. (I have seen the prototype carbine in Tourula
Works Studying Collection in 1988. Presumably it is a really unique object. The collection
is nowadays scattered: Some objects are accommodated to Finnish Hunting Museum in
Riihimaki. Fate of the military firearms is unknown to me. A vast majority of objects were
military arms, including anti-tank rifles and 20 mm machine cannons).
Ballistics of 9 x 40 mm Lilja Carbine cartridge is, of course, unknown. It looks like .357
Maximum/Super Magnum cartridge without rim, with an extractor groove similar to that of 9
mm Luger case, and is equipped with usual 9 mm FMJ RN bullet. Head diameter is usual 10
millimeters and case mouth diameter 9.6 mm. Straightened case of 5.45 x 40 mm Russian M-74
cartridge is similar to 9 x 40 mm Lilja case, but the original Lilja shell is of brass.
VPT was bought some machinery for production of the steel cases and bullet jackets from
Germany, but the war ended before start of "iron age" in VPT. Production lines
of steel cases and jackets were incomplete and the personnel of Lapua was lacking some
know-how on "substitute cartridge" production.
Muzzle velocity of 115 grains bullet may be ca. 2000 feet per second or somewhat higher.
Inspector ERKKI LILJA of VKT (later: VALMET Tourula Works) started design of his
carbine during the war, presumably in 1943, but because there was not production capacity
for new-fangled firearms in VKT, he completed his prototype not until early or
mid-fifties. Barrel jacket of carbine is "Parkerized" or phosphate-coated. This
coating was adopted not until 1950s in Finland. 9 x 40 mm cartridges were loaded by VPT
during the war, like cartridges for AL-43 prototypes. Last test-shots from 7.62 mm AL-43
were shot in 1945.
As mentioned, I have no technical data of AL-43 easily available. Lilja Carbine
has characteristics as follows:
Caliber: 9.00 x 40 mm (lengthened, almost parallel-sided case).
Barrel length: 415 mm/ 16.3 inches.
Overall length of carbine: 925 mm/ 36.4".
Weight with empty magazine: 4 kilograms/ 8.83 lbs.
Magazine: 20 rounds; staggered box.
06012000; P. T. Kekkonen
Silence WithOut Silencer
Dear Sir, I greatly enjoy your site. I have a question for you I have read your comments
on the long barrel .22 rimfires, and have been looking to buy the longest barreled pistol
caliber (.38 - .45 or so) rifle that I can find. I think I have found exactly what I have
been looking for. There are several variations of lever action rifle replicas with 24 inch
barrels and Cimarron (I believe a US Importer) brought in 30 inch replicas of the Model
1873 Winchester lever action chambered in .22 LR, .22 WMR, .357 Mag, as well as .45
Long Colt. If I cannot find the 30" Cimarron, Marlin makes a 24" Cowboy
Classic in the same calibers that I might try as well. Soon I'll have a LONG barreled
rifle for .45 Colt, so what ?
Well, in the Handloaders Digest (15th ed. 1996 page 186) there is an article on "The
Quiet Big Game load" by P. A. Widegren (I can fax you the article if
you cannot get it otherwise). In it he describes a 500 grain lead Wadcutter load he
developed for the 454 Casull Revolver that he achieved 950 feet per second with 15 grains
of Winchester 296 powder (16.5 grains was all he could stuff in to the case without
deforming the bullet nose) through a Magna Ported 6 inch 454 Revolver.
Because of the minimal length of the flatnose bullet, I think it could be stabilized by
the lever action's rifling. (If this really works, I would then look at a radical boattail
- teardrop design - even if I needed a fast twist barrel) PS: Can you show the various
BC's for subsonic bullets.? Is the sharp pointed bullet turned backwards (tail first)
really the slipperiest bullet in the subsonic region ?
But before I go off and chuck a pile of money into this venture I would like to solicit
your advice & input. A TRULY QUIET rifle shooting 500 grain bullets at 800 - 900 fps
would be just the ticket for shooting without hearing protection, etc....
Rusty
Comments & I have just some experience about handloading of very mild S.W.O.S.
loads for .357 Magnum BROWNING lever action rifle (a very cute modified Japanese copy of
WINCHESTER Model 1892) by the commission of Finnish Police Arms Depot. Our Men in Blue had
in the early 1980s .38 Special SMITH & WESSON revolvers coming to be the standard belt
handguns. Previously they had .32 A.C.P. caliber F.N./BROWNING Model 1910 - if not Model
1900 - pistols, usually carried in their back-pockets, and many times left home. (A need
for actual use of the handgun is still extremely rare in Finland. Many policemen, nearing
the retirement, have "never discharged a shot in anger").
Chief of the Police Arms Depot knew very well that the use of firearms was usually to put
down the animals (cats and dogs, but occasionally whitetail deers, cows, horses and even
the big - up to 1000 lbs on the hoofs - mooses), injured by the traffic accidents. A
snubnose revolver was sometimes too noisy for this purpose, and it is much more difficult
to shoot a lethal shot with any handgun than with any shoulder arm, even to the very short
shooting distances. It was also a good idea to adopt the very same or similar cartridge
for handguns and shoulder arms. Carbines were not intented to become personal weapons but
to be the armament of patrol/cruiser cars and "Black Mary" vans.
It was possible to chamber the lever action Browning carbine with .38 Special police
revolver cartrige (with 158 grains lead bullet, of somewhat harder alloy than usual LAPUA
bullets) and a Silent Without Silencer cartridge for animal control or "coup
de grâce" commissions in the densely populated areas, or the full-power .357
Magnum cartridges, fed from the magazine for the most nasty operations of law-enforcement.
In those days was a SUOMI KP/31 an official police's long gun for emergencies. It was not
carried in a police car or van as routine, and it is hard to think use of KP/31 as a
"first line counter-sniping weapon", because it had just the iron sights, and
many policemen never learned to master it. Also there was not a silencer or Silencer Barrel Unit designed for KP/31 in early 1980s.
That Coup de Grâce cartridge of my design was loaded into the .357 Magnum case with usual
LAPUA 148 gr lead wadcutter bullet, seated into the case to much more depth than wc bullet
of usual target revolver load. Powder charge was mere 3.5 grains of VihtaVuori N 14
(salvaged from 7.62 x 39 mm blank cartridges), but the reduced powder volume assured it's
regular ignition. The lubrication of lead wadcutter bullet was, and it is still,
insufficient. So I filled the empty mouth of case with melted wax (beeswax with some
paraffine wax added), used for coating of Finnish Edamer cheese. Case mouths were crimped
no more than was needed to remove their mouth flare (which is essential for seating of
frail hollow-base wadcutter bullets).
That wax sealed the bullet hermetically and it was also a kind of code color, being bright
red, but it's purpose was primarily to prevent the bore leading. I was shot no more than
20 or 25 rounds of these cartridges, when The Reaper cancelled the commission of load
development: Chief of Finnish Police Arms Depot passed away suddenly. Owner of that test
carbine called his sample-gun back, also very suddenly, without any explanation.!
It was an era of "Governmental Hoplophobia" in Finland. Ministers of
the Interior were not human beings at all: They were, as a rule, the leftist radicals -
the creatures like a cattle or beasts of burden. And the officials of that Ministry,
especially those of the Police Administration, were hoplophobics; some of them inherently
and the others "ex officio". In those circumstances it was impossible
to adopt "the Wild-Western Gun" as a police carbine, despite of it's
versatility.
I could just test the noise level of my special load. It was like snap of a dry broken-off
pinewood branch, thickness about one inch. I had no means to measure the noise level. I
had a chronograph, but not yet an opportunity to measure bullet velocities, or carry out
penetration tests or accuracy test-shootings. I know, however, that the lever action rifle
and a handgun cartridge (especially the hand-loaded one) is not overly noisy combination,
even without a mounted silencer. Finnish police adopted later 9 mm CLOCK pistols
and HECKLER & KOCH MP 5 submachine guns; some of them equipped with silencers. The old idea of late NIILO UUSKALLIO became realized
(= same caliber of handguns and light shoulder arms), but versatility of a lever action
carbine is impossible to achieve.
A submachine gun with delayed blowback action is inherently noisy, because of mechanical
noise of the action - even when shot with a silencer and subsonic cartridges. And that 9
mm Luger cartridge is, on the other hand, impossible to become loaded to the performance
of .357 Magnum. You must remember that a .357 Magnum cartridge, when handloaded especially
for shoulder arms, with a proper powder and premium bullet, is a lot better deerslayer
than is .44 Magnum, when loaded for a handgun with too light or frail bullet.
But now to your .45 Long Colt lever action rifle with TRULY LONG barrel: Your idea is O.K.
If you must get your rifle re-barreled, my recommendation is to get a barrel-blank rifled
for .458 Winchester Magnum rifle with 1 - 12 twist, and load your ammo with the bullets of
.458 WiMa /.45-70 Government cartridges. Chamber of your rifle must - of course - be
reamed so that a cartridge with .458" diameter bullet slips in easily. Another trick
is to turn or ream walls of cartridge cases thin enough to accept .458" bullets
without expansion of loaded cartridge. You may shoot also usual .45 Long Colt cartridges
from that rifle with .45 LC chamber, but if you'll shoot more fat bullets, those cases for
them must be thinned.
That drop-shaped bullet is an old Prussian invention from the era, when there was not yet
a German Empire established (it was pre-1871 era. Inventor of drop-shaped projectile was
one JOHANN NICOLAUS DREYSE, who died in 1867). For the .45 LC cartridge is a drop bullet
or a reversed pointed bullet not so good idea, since there is not too much powder space in
a .45 LC cartridge. I recommend almost cylindrical cast bullet with just a little rounded
edges of a point to assist the feed. It seems to be really possible to cast .45 LC bullet
with a weight 500 grains and diameter .4560" (maximum for .45 LC), but I think that
the reaming of case walls is once again needed, because of the depth of bullet seating.
Throat or leade of the chamber must also be "freebored" for the cylindrical
projectile: Distance between the head recess of a breechbolt and the rifled bore must be
at least 1.60". Action of Winchester 1873 replica may be too weak for your intented
conversion. I recommend HEPBURN action of current MARLIN lever action repeater centerfire
rifles. The COWBOY CLASSIC may presumably be based on that Hepburn mechanism, able to
stand even the unkind .45-70 Gvt. handloads, kicking like a mule.
Drawing: Action of MARLIN Repeater Centerfire rifles; design HEPBURN
in ca. 1893. "H" = a cartridge case (HYLSY in Finnish). "L" = a
breech-bolt (LUKKO). "S" = a block wedge (SULKUKIILA). "K" = an
opening hook of a lever (AUKAISUVIVUN KOUKKU). Black arrows denote distribution of
stresses between the receiver roof and rear edges of the bolt mortise. If the breech-bolt
and it's channel in the receiver are kept "bone dry" (= unlubricated), the
friction between them shall reduce somewhat the stress of the block wedge.
As well as I can recall, it was possible to handload some noiseless loads even for the
.45-70 Gvt. MARLIN Model 1895 SS rifle with .45 caliber Minié bullets wrapped
into the paper jacket and propelled with 7.7 grains of Finnish VihtaVuori N 320 powder.
Nowadays I am without the right to possess (and even to borrow) firearms and cartridges
legally, thanks to our "amended" firearms legislature, dictated from the
European Union. So I cannot design handloads for .45 LC rifles. "Cowboy Action"
shooting is -however- coming over here too, and I am not a "law-abiding (read:
SLAVISH) citizen", but we have depth of winter here, preventing the outdoors
activity.
In the 1st day of 21st Century; Pete
Desaleux "torpedo" bullet
Hello, I am a French student in Paris. I was surffing on the web when I discover in your
website "Gunwriter" that you were dealing with the BALLE DESALEUX. All I know
from my grandmother, is that one of my ancestors was involved as a general in the French
Army, and that he created this famous Bullet.
This part is from your Finnish web site. Please could you let
me know in English what your are saying in it ? I will be really pleased to know more
about my family and what they have done.
Descendant of General Desaleux
Solid or
actually homogenous copper alloy bullet Balle Desaleux is in those days (1998) a full
hudred years old. For the hunting are pure solid copper bullets coming swiftly popular for
rifles, and shotguns too. Solid iron bullets were often used by Germans in the submachine
gun cartridges during the 2nd World War and for the assault rifles there were designed
also a Bernstein bullet, lathe-turned from the free-cut steel, but the production of them
was never started. (Addition: The first prototype Bernstein bullets had a paper jacket or
rotation band).
The "black bullets" for 9 x 19 mm submachine guns were of compressed iron
powder/dust, heated close to the melting point of iron. Tiny metal particles amalgamated
to become a solid piece of metal with precise dimensions. (The center of mass might remain
slightly porous).
Menetelmän nimi on "pulverimetallurginen muovaus" tai tavallisimmin
"sintraus". Teknologian tunsivat Etelä-Amerikan intiaanit jo vuosisatoja ennen
Amerikan "löytämistä", koska he eivät osanneet hyödyntää rautaa, tai
tuottaa terästä, vaan joutuivat valmistamaan purevimmat teräaseensa platina-metallin ja
jonkin helpommin sulavan metallin seoksesta; sintraamalla. Venäjällä sintrattiin
1800-luvulla metallirahoja platina- ja hopeajauheiden seoksesta. (Platinaa ei kyetty
sulattamaan senaikaisilla menetelmillä, ennen vety-happipolttimen keksimistä).
Engl. Name of this procedure is "powder metal moulding" or more usually
"Sinterung" (in German). This technology was known among South-American indians
centuries before Columbian era, because indians were unable to make iron or produce steel.
The most keen metal edges were made from an alloy of powdered platinum and some other
metal powder easier to melt; by Sinterung. Russians sintered also the metal coins by
amalgamating of platimum and silver dusts. (It was not yet known the method for melting of
platinum before invention of a hydrogen & oxygen burner).
Engl. A large technical application of powder metallurgy is production of electrical
glowing lamp filaments (since 1910) from the heat-resistant metal tungsten, and later a
production of "Widia" spare bits of high-speed metal cutting dies. There were
also produced armor-piercing bullet cores and penetrators of artillery piece
AP-projectiles, sintered from the powdered tungsten carbide and cobalt dust. Sintered iron
was primarily applied as a material of artillery shell rotation rings but later for the
mass-production of more complicated products.
Some artillery projectiles are mentioned in the "Official (Finnish infantry
munitions) Nomenclature" (in 1947) as the "bullets": A French 25 mm
HOTCHKISS anti-tank cannon AP-projectile was just like an over-grown armor penetrating
bullet of a rifle, with a jacket, lead sheath and hardened alloy steel penetrator. Real
"solid shots", designed for practice shooting, had the rotation ring and flat
point. Material of practice ammo was mild steel. These cannons were bought from France,
just before (or during ?) the Finnish Winter War 1939 - 40, also known as 2nd Finnish
Independence War. They were called by a pet-name "Marianne Whip-Gun". (Addition:
Although obsolescent in 1940, it could wreck some obsolescent Russian armored vehicles
with well-placed shots with a soft practice ammo !!! The flat nose of projectile could
perforate a thin armor, brittle in minus 40 degrees Centigrade, like a punch or a wad
cutter.
I have, unfortunately any knowledge about late General Desaleux, not even his first
name(s) or dates of birth & death. Just his solid pointed 8 mm LEBEL bullet with a
well-designed boat tail (or torpedo shape) is known even in Finnish books, including the
drawing with dimensions and allowances.
Balle Desaleux was officially adopted in 1898. It was made originally entirely by
lathe-turning but later was adopted swaging for the mass production of point and tail
ends. Just the crimp groove was turned. Crimping of the bullet into a cartridge mouth was
essential, because contemporary LEBEL rifle had a tubular magazine. Sharp point of bullet
rested in the annular groove of cartridge case heads around the central primers, and the
"double conical" shape of cases prevented the bullets from resting on the
priming cap of the next cartridge.
(In general is use of the pointed FMJ or solid bullets in the cartridges very risky, if
they are loaded into the tubular magazine, but "chain ignitions" of Lebel rifle
magazines were rare accidents. Just some special bullets - like explosive Balle Matter -
could produce sometimes very nasty surprises. It was allowed to single-load the rifle when
Balle Matter cartridges were used, but if some enemy soldier or querilla warrior had
captured a Lebel rifle and some Matter cartridges, he filled, of course, the magazine with
these "booby-trap cartridges").
Firearms technical and historical books don't tell the metal alloy of Balle-D projectiles.
Some books mention it as "copper", some others as "bronze" and fewer
sources as "brass". Range of Desaleux torpedo bullets was ca. 5 kilometers with
still considerable (lethal) penetrating power, depending on wind direction.
For target practice that range within 5 km was too long. For the LEBEL and BERTHIER rifles
was designed a shortened variation of Balle-D with 16 mm of tail-end cut off. Machine guns
with gas-piston actions (PUTEAUX, St.ETIENNE or HOTCHKISS) were unable to function when
shot using cartridges with reduced bullet weight. So the sides of practice MG bullets were
flattened somewhat at their points by a hydraulic press. Parallel flat surfaces reduced
the rotational rate of bullet, making it unstable after it's rather short (200 to 400
meters) flight, and when the solid bullets yawed to fly sideways, the excessive range was
considerably reduced by the air resistance.
During the 2nd World War produced the French Maquissards a very special "furtive
Dum-Dum" projectile from Balle-D, by filing or milling a deep notch onto it's point
ogivé, developing so a kind of "Loeffelspitz" or "spoon-point"
bullet. Rifles or carbines were, however, less suitable weaponry for resistance fighting.
As soon as the Britons could delivery STEN submachine guns to the Maquissards, this
Balle-D speciality went to oblivion. I have just one old Swedish book, telling about
shortened and flattened Balle-D practice bullets of rifles and machine guns. That book
cannot tell about "Maquissard Special" bullets, because it is printed before
World War II.
In Finnish are pointed boat-tail bullets, designed in 1920s or 30s, known as
"D-luoti" (D-bullet). There are two theories about the birth of their name:
Bullets looks like Balle-D, and are named after them, although Finnish D-luoti is a very
common projectile with a lead core and copper alloy jacket. D-46 and D-47 bullets are
still in production by LAPUA manufacture. There was also a heavy bullet D-166, designed
for long range machine gun shooting with "indirect aim".
All of D-bullets are made for 7.62 mm MOSIN cartridges but today they have diameter fit
for Western .30/.308" bores. D-166 (weight 13 grams) had the accuracy and range equal
with 8 mm Balle-D. Among it's designers (or a supporter of designers) was a famed Finnish
Artillery General Wilho Petter Nenonen, who was studied ballistics in France. He might be
a pupil or at least a friend of General Desaleux ??.
Another theory about bullet's name is a Russian word "davyitovaya (pulya)" =
heavy (bullet). General Nenonen was originally an officer of Imperial Russian Artillery
(just as our Marshall Mannerheim was a Russian Cavalry General. Finland had an Army not
before 1918. Our First Independence War was fought by Civil Guards, first established in
1906 and then in 1917).
Russians have also a D-bullet, but since year 1930. It's name was presumably copied from
Finnish nomenclature with a French origin. The very first Finnish D-luoti bullets were
designed already in 1927. According to the history of Lapua: "The name D-bullet is
internationally known name of torpedo shaped rifle projectile". Derivation from name
Desaleux, I think so..!
17121999: Pete
"Unit's Property" Plaques
I have a Finnish Mosin-Nagant 91/30 sniper rifle 1939 dated receiver and SA
marked barrel. Scope and mount serial numbers are matching to gun's serial n:r. The stock
has a small circle carved out of the side of the butt stock about the size and depth of a
quarter; inside this circle are 2 small nail holes at the 3-9 o'clock position. Do you
know what type of medail or disc could have been inset into this spot ? I hope you can
help.
Thank you. Greg
Your
rifle is captured by Finns for sniping during our Winter War (105 Glorious Days,
60 years ago, between 30th November 1939 and 13th March 1940) or our Third
Independence War (25th June 1941 to 4th September 1944). Soviet-Russian MOSIN-NAGANTs
Model 91/30 were test-shot in the factories, and those rifles able to give very best
accuracy were picked to become sniping rifles. They were equipped with scopes and mounts,
usually serial numbered with a serial n:r of the rifle.
Gunwriters' archive photo: Property discs similar to this were common with
pre-war Finnish Army rifles and pistols like this Luger P-09 or Parabellum,
as Finns preferred to call it. During wartime the plaques were removed before the firearm
was assigned to the front. This Luger has luckily preserved it's brass disc with stamped
letters "RATSU K" meaning Finnish Cavalry School (Ratsukoulu) located
in Vöyri before wars.
Carved circle on the buttstock is a recess for the metal plate, known as "Unit's
Property Plaque". It was usually of brass but sometimes of copper. Abbreviation
of military unit's name and number was usually stamped, but sometimes engraved on this
plate. I don't know, whether that plaque was nailed on the buttstock in Soviet-Russia or
in Finland, because it is torn off before sales of that very rifle. Property plaques were
more common on the German military firearms, especially before the First World War, but
they were gradually omitted during that Big War. In 1909 there were regulated shapes and
sizes of letters and figures of these plaques by the rules: "Vorschrift über das
Stempeln der Handwaffen", but the very first booklet about the German states
unit property marking rules was published already in 1877.
Use of property mark was less common practice in Soviet-Union and Finland. Just some elite
units had these plaques on their arms. There were some special sniping units in
Soviet-Russia, like: "Proletarian Sniper Division". P.S.D's Regiment of
Moscow had the assault rifles (SIC !) soon after the October Revolution 1917 but these Fyodorov
Avtomat Model 1916 rifles were declared obsolete since improvement of Mosin-Nagant
rifle in 1930. Assault rifles were chambered for Japanese 6.5 mm Arisaka
cartridges, since Russians had the inherently inaccurate spitzer bullets model 1908 in
their 7.62 mm Mosin cartridges, unfit for sniping. Avtomat 1916 rifles were
captured by Finns during the Winter War. Some of them had still plaques with Proletarian
Sniper Division stamp on their buttstocks.
Along with improvement of 7.62 mm rifle, Russian cartridge designers (Yelisarov,
Syemin & al) developed a new line of improved Mosin cartridges with the
sniping accuracy since 1930, like one with a boat-tail bullet D-30. The very most beloved
cartridge was, however, one with red color-coded (red tip) bullet "Za-Ra"
(Zazhigatyelno-Razryivnaya Pulya), not because of it's explosive effect but since
that bullet was VERY accurate one. The cartridges loaded with ZR bullets were loaded for
the Soviet-Russian ShKAS aircraft machine guns, which didn't allow the large
dimendional allowances of usual rifle or MAXIM machine gun cartridges. ShKAS cartridges
had a small headstamp E on 9 o'clock position. Those with red priming annulus are second
grade cartridges (but still of "Match Grade" quality). "Sha"
cartridges without a lacquer ring around primer pockets were fit for use in synchronized
machine funs of the fighter planes.
German specialists assisted Russian cartridge designers already since the Peace Dictation
of Versailles in 1919. D-30 bullet is just a variety of German 7.9 mm s.S. boattail
bullet, designed during the World War I. ZR bullet was also, like the almost similar
German "Beobachtung" 7.9 mm bullet, just a derivation of an Austrian
pattern 1913 explosive bullet with the "flashlight powder" as it's igniting
explosive. Very similar German "B-bullet" had a small explosive charge of a
primer composition and white phosphorus filling inside the bullet point. (You can see, I
am an expert of ballistics, rather than an authority of the "Collector's Items".
Please, forgive me..!).
I have a wall-hanger, "sporterized" Swedish 12.17 x 44R (centerfire) Remington
Rolling Block rifle, made by CARL-GUSTAVS STADS GEVARSFAKTORI in Eskilstuna, with an
engraved manufacturing year stamp 1875 (SIC !) on the right side of receiver. It has been
originally a military rifle, having also a recess for an Unit Property Plaque on
the left side of buttstock, with a diameter 30 mm and a depth minimum 1.0 mm and maximum
1.5 mm. The round plaque was - of course - removed when the rifle was sold from some
Swedish Army depot to some gunsmith's shop for "sporterizing" or removal of
military sights and mounting of fixed one with a bead front sight, shortening of the
forearm, soldering of a front sling swivel below the barrel, and removal of a swivel from
the trigger guard. I presume, the bore was "virginal" when I bought this very
rifle.
I've shot just one spherical lead bullet through it, with 1/3 charge of black powder. New
cases for this caliber are nowadays available from Australia, but I cannot afford them.
They are not overly expensive, but the "dole" in Finland is simply too scanty
for a human (urban) life. "Summa summarum": Many Russian, Finnish, German and
Swedish firearms have a round recess for the plaque, but not so many guns in the private
collections have original plaques still on them. "Swedish exception" (sight
re-adjustment plaque) is, however, still common.
Your 91/30 Mosin-Nagant rifle has been sometimes the property of some very special unit;
Russian or Finnish one. Swedish MAUSER 1896s have usually a sight correction plaque
instead of a property plate, for re-adjustment markings of rear sight elevation, when the
"Field Torpedo" bullets were shot instead of the original 6.5 mm
roundnose bullets. These sight adjustment plaques of brass or copper are usually not
removed from Swedish Mausers with original graduation of the rear sight.
Germans stamped or branded Unit's Property stamps on the wood of rifle buttstocks,
especially when the rifle was imported or captured during 1st World War. German Auxiliary
Reserve cavalry units were sometimes armed with Japanese Arisaka carbines. Russian
Mosin-Nagants were exported to Finland in 1917 and 1918 from Germany. They could have the
German property brands or stamps, but most of these captured rifles have just Russian or
Finnish stamps on their stocks - if any.
08121999; Pete
Subsonics - but accurate !
Hi, I am an Italian reloader, I use a single shot rifle cal. .308, bull-pup, Burly falling
block, made by an artisan with this technical data:
overall lenght: 22,5"
barrel lenght: 20"
twist: 1:10"
I'll try accurate subsonic loading. I use bullet Sierra hpbt from 200 to 240 grs, and
Hodgdon H110 from 8 to 10 grs. What are your opinions about it ? Do you know best accurate
loading data?
MANUEL
SALVE !
It is nice to meet an Italian visitor again ! Because of 20" barrel length of your
rifle it is recommended to use some kind of porous-kernel (easy to ignite) powder for the
subsonic handloads, or those with disc-shaped kernels with 50% of them perforated. If you
can get the Original CLAYS powder (also distributed by Hodgdon although made by ADI in
Australia as a shotshell powder AS-30N - NOT the Clays "Universal" or Clays
"International") I recommend use of it.! H110 may ignite properly behind 240 grs
SIERRA HOLLOW POINT BOATTAIL bullets, BUT those projectiles are in all probability too
long to become gyro-stabilized in their subsonic flight at the rotational rate 1200 rounds
per second..!
Jo vain ( = "yes" in Lappish), the truly subsonic bullet velocity is no more
than 300 meters per second and 10" rifling makes just 4 full rotations per a meter of
bullet's flight... The length of 200 grns HPBT may also be excessive for subsonics in
10" rifling twist. Finnish LAPUA 200 grns FMJ BT bullets was just marginally stable,
although it was shorter and less pointed. It was designed for 240 mm per rotational twist
of Russian caliber 7.62 mm MOSIN-NAGANT firearms and those chambered for 7.62 mm YELISAROV
& SYEMIN M-43 cartridges (incorrectly called as the Kalashnikov cartridges). The
powder H110 is presumably too erratic to ignite even as a propellant of 200 grns bullets
in .308 Winchester cartridges. It is a RIFLE powder with smooth kernels and deterrent
coating.
That "Centralite" coating slows down burning rate of kernel surface, making the
powder "progressive" but also less sensitive to ignite. Use of progressive
powder for subsonic loads may cause a Reduced Charge Detonation: Sudden rise of the
pressure after smouldering of the charge until highly explosive mixture of smoke-like
gasses and ignition of that gas mixture by a "Diesel effect". The gas mixture
may have explosive power MUCH more shattering than that of solid TNT or liquid
Nitro-Glycerol..! Almost ANY powder, including black gunpowder, is able to cause
detonation, if ignition of the powder is insufficient, and the too SMALL charges are more
hazardous than are somewhat excessive charges. 0.20 gram of smokeless powder may wreck the
.308 Win. rifle, while double over-charge may just make a hard extraction and bend the
extractor, but nothing more alarming is usually happened.
For the subsonic rifle loads are even the most easily igniting tested powders no more/not
yet rapidly burning enough (with one exception: NORMA R1 "revolver powder"; not
yet tested/ available in Finland). In our country is now-a-days a most advanced know-how
on the subsonic rifle handloading, but a very limited selection of powders available.
Experience about subsonic handloading of rifle cartridges is derived from year 1902 or so.
Our very most respected National Hero EUGEN SCHAUMAN, who shot a Russian Governor-General
of Finland in 1904, was a well-known pioneer of this special handloading - seven years
before the introduction of the first functional firearms silencers. Eugen Schauman
designed "silent without any silencer" handloads, because there were not yet
rifle silencers available at all...
Recommended maximum bullet weight for .308 Win. with 1 - 10" rifling twist is 11
grams or 170 grains, if pointed FMJ or Hollow Point boat-tail bullets are used. A plain
based round nose bullet is used, the projectile weight may be 12 grams, but not much more.
I don't know current selection of SIERRA bullets but I presume the fine old
"International" .308" dia. 168 grns HP BT is still on the production line.
(May be of "Match King" series). It is presumably a most "balanced"
bullet for your very rifle. Finnish LAPUA bullet D-46, weight 11 grams, is also proven.
It's jacket is somewhat harder than Gilding Metal jacket of SIERRA bullets, but
lubrication of the bullets shall reduce the bore-friction (= muzzle velocity) variations.
Lubrication of the jacketed bullets is an old trick, forgotten, and once again
re-discovered - in Finland during my reduced charge handloading trials in early 1980s and
in USA more recently. Americans use powdered Molybdenium Bi-Sulphide as a bullet lube. In
my experience is almost any synthetic or natural fatty substance suitable for purpose, but
some of them are messy in use. I've seated the bullets unlubricated and dip-lubed the
cartridges: Visible bullet point and a couple millimeters of a case neck dipped into the
hot lubricant. After ca. 30 seconds the lube is sealed also the seam between bullet and
the case neck.
Now I let the cartridges to cool and the lubricant to solify, hanging the cartridges
bullet-ends downwards. Last step is wiping the excessive lube away from the bullet tip and
case neck.This procedure is similar to the lubrication of .22 rimfire cartridge lead
bullets, already seated to the loaded cartridges. The very most "tidy" is
so-called "dry wax lubrication" of cool cartridges by dipping the bullets into
volatile solvent, carbon tetra-chloride, saturated with solid paraffine wax. When that
solvent is evaporated, remains a thin coating of paraffine wax onto the bullets.
It is possible to carry dry-waxed loose cartridges in the pocket, since the lints and
tobacco crumbs shall not stick on the coating. It is, however, difficult to get carbon
tetra-chloride, since it may be a carsinogenic chemical, and production of the asphyxing
poison gas (phosgene) from "Tetra" is notably less difficult than destillation
of the potheen (= home-made Grappa or vodka, "pontikka" in Finnish) of potable
quality.
Since you are using a falling block single shot rifle, you may also shoot the bullets
"dry" and lubricate the rear end of bore, including the "throat" or
"leade" (a space for the bullet of chambered cartridge) but excluding the
chamber, before each shot with a lubricating oil or grease - but, please, do not use
excessive dose of lube. Just moisten the metal of bore. Excessive lube may degrade
shooting accuracy.
Adjust the overall length of cartridge so that the ogive of a bullet, seated into the
chambered cartridge, is just toughing the rifling without sticking. Use of neck-resized
cases is preferable. I have resized just 4½ millimeters length of .308 case neck. When
you are "fireformed" your cases with full-pressure charges, mark the "12
o'clock" position of a case head before ejection of empty case with a felt-tip
marker, and after ejection with puncturing, engraving or some other more permanent method.
After the reloading(s), chamber the cartridge so that the "indexing mark" comes
always to twelve-o'clock position. This is also an old trick from the times when most of
the competition and bench-rest rifles had falling, dropping or rolling block action.
With these tricks, along with mild loads used, you may reload and shoot the same cases
fifty or more times. Sometimes you must, of course, anneal the case necks (with a candle
flame or propane torch) and trim the case length to 50 or 51 mm. (Length may be shorter
than recommended nominal Trim-To Length 50.8 mm, since your cartridges are never crimped.
It is, however, advisable to trim all the cases to same length. In general the Dark
Mystery of shooting accuracy is condensed to a saying: "The name of the Game is THE
SAME !"
Like each and every handloader of subsonic rifle cartridges, you must develope them
exclusively for your rifle. Use SIERRA 168 grs HPBT bullets or LAPUA 11 grams D-46 bullets
if you can get them, or other about similar projectiles. 200 grs and heavier bullets are
presumably too long to become stable. Use them just with full-power loads. 240 grns
bullets may be unstable even when shot with a full available velocity, I afraid. They are
presumably designed for custom-made rifles with extra steep rifling twist: 1 - 8" or
1 - 7".. Powder may be distributed by Hodgdon, but propellants like original CLAYS or
HP-38 are more preferable for subsonic loads than is harder-to-ignite H110. Use the
primers of good quality. Do not handle them with greasy or oily fingers and don't seat
them too deep. Faulty priming may cause a big "BOOM !" with the tiny charges of
subsonics.
Safe starting load of CLAYS is seven grains (7.0 grs) and start load of HP-38 is 7.4
grains. These loads may give subsonic bullet velocity "Per Primam Intentionem"
(= by the first trial), or not. All the rifles are individuals; especially custom-made
guns like your bullpup. If the bullet velocity sounds to be supersonic (a
"cracky" flight noise is echoing from direction of the target - and it is
usually more loud than the muzzle blast of a rifle, even without a mounted silencer), you
may reduce the charge of next batch of cartridges by one or two tenths of grains at a
time, but not below the calculated minimum charge, ca. 6½ grains of Clays or seven grains
of HP-38.
Because Hodgdon powders seems to be plentily
available in Italy, you can ask more exact information from the distributor by E-mail.
Addresses of reloading info service are: <hpchelp@swbell.net>
or <help@hodgdon.com>. Say "hellow"
to my friend MIKE DALY.! Handloading information may
also be available from manufacturer of Clays/AS-30N
powder: <adi@cnl.com.au>.
Nota Bene: HP-38 powder is not made in Australia but in USA. According to Mike Daly, there
is no E-mail address of the plant known or existing at all....... Ejá, ejá alalá..!
12121999; Pete
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