David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. XXV

[bradshaw]

Fowler.... the CCI 350 large pistol magnum primer has with the .44 Magnum collected the international championships with Hercules 2400, IMR and Hodgdon 4227, Win 296 and H110 powders, extreme spreads obviously tight enough for the task. It is pure corn pone to----and I am NOT accusing you of this----state accuracy requires a non-magnum primer.

Using Oehler chronographs, I have measured velocities in freezing weather. Haven't tried it at sub-ZERO. My recommendation for such torture would begin with the fine Oehler Model 33 Chronogtaph, which predates the Model 35P (35 Proof Channel), and which has no printer to freeze and die. The power the M33 runs on six D-cells, which equals 9 volts. I have also run the 35P by removing the little 9V battery and hooking up six D-cells, which at 1.5V each make 9 volts with much more power and cold-resistance.

Dr. Kenneth Oehler didn't especially recommend the substitution, but he didn't try to stop me. The printer is not designed for such cold. Neither am I.

As a comparison of 296/H110 and 4227 in the .44 Magnum, in my experience 4227 peaks faster above 100-degrees F. Whether 4227 suffers less than 296/H110 under hard freezing I never determined to my satisfaction. Load density factors with 296/H110 AND 4227 in freezing. Hercules 2400 seemed less reactive to cold, although it normally tolerates a bit of air space; certainly more so than ball 296/H110 and stick 4227.

Don't recall whether you mentioned load density.
David Bradshaw

[Fowler]

I was never scientific about choosing one primer over another, when I started I used WLP primers for everything to keep things simple. The dual std/mag designation, ease of finding them, and reasonable price made them my main primer for years. My limited chrono testing with them proved very uniform SD readings, the load we discussed earlier had on two different test days proved to produced SD that was under 10. The load was extremely accurate, as accurate as any 45 colt load I have ever tried even today although its not a pleasant load to shoot. Based on others recommendations I switched to the CCI350 and chronoed them only once or twice and noted the velocity was faster but the SD spreads also grew. In theory the load should not be as accurate but I have never been able to prove any of it on paper.

Like I said I don't pull the chrono out very often, generally speaking I don't care what speed my load is going. If it is accurate and at the relative power level I expect I'm happy, I also rarely redline anything anymore, why do it? Ross Seyfried said back when he won the IPSC world championship everyone was trying to win by building a better gun, to buy the advantage. He won by shooting the snot out of his guns and just being the better shooter. I guess I am more in the latter school of thought, get a good enough load and then shoot it as much as you can through all weather conditions possible.

[bradshaw]

Fowler.... to win the Revolver Championship in steel shooting you had to use a factory production gun. To win the Championship in "practical" shooting, custom guns ONLY were used. For either game no amount of equipment delivers bullets on target without serious marksmanship. In silhouette, however, the revolver must be damn accurate, five inches at 200 meters, and then you must shoot it very tightly. With a three inch revolver you have about an inch more slop in your aim to do the same thin at 200 meters.

The Winchester LP is an excellent primer, and will take you to the winners circles as assuredly as the CCI 350 or Federal 155.

A dirty little secret of my silhouette revolver handloads:
* I like clean primer pockets but don't consider them life-or-death.
* Dirty shoots straight as polished brass.
* Prefer case mouth with square corner (unchamfered) for jacketed bullets.
* Prefer roll crimp to profile crimp for slightly better velocity and slightly tighter ES..
* Federal cases of same lot, with Winchester second choice.
* No trim.
* Firm seating.
* Bullets which seat easily consign ammo and that brass to practice.
* Lightest crimp possible which does pull on recoil. Neck tension counts more.
David Bradshaw