NZDA H&W 198 WEB

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Lock, Stock & Barrel The “grand-daddy” cartridges by Chaz Forsyth, Otago branch The smooth-bored Brown Bess muskets and their equivalents dominated European land-force armaments for nearly three centuries. In power, these resembled the 12-gauge shotgun. Although the smooth-bored musket had been replaced in most nations by the early 19th century, rifled muzzle-loading rifles were initially viewed with suspicion because they were difficult to load in the field. The Minie bullet greatly simplified this because it fitted loosely down the barrel, and distortion of its base when fired provided the gas seal required for efficient longer-range shooting (more than 100 m) (Swenson, 1971). Within 20 years, the advent of reliable metallic ammunition with smokeless propellant first replaced percussion-ignition muzzle-loading military rifled arms, then saw an end to cartridge black powder rifles (at least among the major Western powers). An arms race took place as magazinefed repeating rifles replaced single-shot designs, and range greatly increased as power and downrange retained velocities increased (HMSO, 1929). This article explores the pathways which led to the “granddaddy” cartridges, the 8 x 57 mm and the .30’06. These soon became widely used in hunting circles and spawned a myriad of descendants before less-powerful military cartridges became the norm, long after World War 2. This led to the recent popularity of cartridges that have less power but are still entirely adequate for medium-size game animals (O’Connor, 1970). Precursor ammunition development By the 1890s, the major Western powers had developed bottlenecked black powder cartridges. These included the British .577/450 Martini-Henry (adopted in 1871), French 11 x 59 mm R Gras (1874), 11.15 x 58 mm R Spanish (.43 Spanish) (about 1867), German 11.15 x 60 mm R Mauser (1871), Russian 10.75 x 58 mm R Berdan (.43 Russian Berdan) (1868), and 9.5 x 50 mm R Turkish Mauser (the last black powder military cartridge to be adopted) in 1887 (Barnes, 2003). Replacement chamberings in smokeless options began appearing in the 1880s and from the outset offered greater power (Barnes, 2003). Each new cartridge could be smaller and lighter, enabling the soldier to carry more ammunition. Smokeless propellants practically eliminated bore-fouling, thus enabling many more rapid follow-up shots (Swenson, 1971). In military use, this was obviously important because volume of fire had become a key battlefield practice, making machine guns a workable reality (Ellis, 1975). For riflemen, the ability to quickly reload from a magazine by a simple manipulation of the action, and to refill the magazine by using stripper clips (chargers), enabled aimed rapid fire, and with less training than before (Swenson, 1971). Between 1889 and 1903, more than 20 nations equipped themselves with designs based on the Mauser, in calibers ranging from 6.5 to 7.9 mm (HMSO, 1929). The first smokeless powder cartridge was the French 8 mm Lebel (1886), soon followed by the .303 British (1888, first in black powder; smokeless after 1892); 7.65 x 54 mm Belgian, 44 From left: 577/.450 Martini-Henry (foil case, pre-dating drawn brass cartridge cases); .303 British Mk VI; 8 x 57 mm Mauser; 7.62 x 54 mm R Russian; 6.5 x 50 mm Japanese Arisaka; .30 ’06 Springfield; .303 British Mk VII. Argentine and Turkish Mauser (1889); Spanish 7 x 57 mm (1892); Swedish-Norwegian 6.5 x 55 mm (1894); Russian 7.62 x 54 mm Mosin Nagant (1891); US .30-40 Krag (1892); and the .30 models of 1903 and 1906 (Barnes, 2003). Just two chamberings, the US .30’06 and the German 8 x 57 mm Mauser, became the “grand-daddy” cartridges, being used themselves as powerful sporting rounds and also as the basis for many civilian sporting cartridges. The Swedes adopted the 8 x 63 mm as a machine-gun cartridge in the late 1930s. This necessitated equipping their units with rifles to use the same ammunition. This has been argued to be the world’s most powerful military round, but was not of general issue. It was also converted to the military 8 x 57 mm, paving the way for the “poor man’s magnum” – the wildcat 8 mm’06 sporting cartridge (Barnes 2003; Jones 2003; Waters 1984; Zutz 1972). The 8 x 57 mm and the .30’06, were necked up and down to produce many chamberings, nearly all of which were commercialised. Military cartridge developments after World War 1 In World War 1, engagement ranges for riflemen and infantrymen rarely exceeded 400 metres, and there was less need for a cartridge capable of lethally wounding a soldier at greater ranges because of the widespread availability of area weapons – mainly machine guns, artillery and mortars (Ellis 1970; Swenson 1971). Descendants Descendants from the 8 x 57 mm cartridge include the .244 Remington, 6 mm Remington, .257 Roberts, 6.5 x 57 mm, 7 x 57 mm, 9 x 57 mm, 9.3 x 57 mm, 9.5 x 57 mm and the 10.75 x 57 mm. (The .257 Roberts was developed from the 7 x 57 mm, but as it appeared after the 8 x 57 mm, it is regarded as a descendant of the latter – Barnes, 2003). Many of these are hardly known in New Zealand, and nearly obsolete in Europe and the US. The .30’06 Springfield’s many descendents include the 6 mm ’06, .25’06 Remington, 6.5’06, 7 mm’06, 8 mm ’06, the .35 and .400 Whelen, 7 mm ’06 (a close relative of the older 7 x 64 mm Brenneke) and the much younger .280 Remington cartridges. The .270 Winchester, although appearing to be a derivative of the .30’06, more probably originated from the 6.8 x 57, a military cartridge developed about 1912 by Mauser NZ Hunting & Wildlife 198 - Spring 2017
for the Chinese. It could be argued that the .308 Winchester is a descendant of the .30’06, although it may have been inspired by the .300 Savage (Barnes 2003). The .276 Enfield (intended to replace the .303 British in 1909) was the ballistic equivalent of the 7 mm Remington magnum, but World War 1 intervened during trials for the Enfield Pattern 1913 rifle for which the new cartridge had been developed. In contrast, another .276 cartridge, better known as the 7 x 57 mm, had been adopted by Spain and several South American countries, and its descendants include the .244 Remington and the .257 Roberts (Barnes 2003). Another cartridge much used for hunting (and not only in New Zealand) was the .303 British. This spawned around a dozen proprietary versions including the .303-.22 Sprinter, the .303-.22 Falcon (full length), .303-.243, .303-.25, .303-.270 and the 7.7 x 54 mm, developed to circumvent a New South Wales law that for some years forbade the use of rifles using military ammunition. There are some sporting descendants of the 7.62 x 54 mm Mosin Nagant , including a 9 mm version popular in Finland. Nearly all of the “descendant” cartridges developed less downrange power than their parent rounds, because they used small-calibre bullets that developed less kinetic energy despite higher muzzle velocities. A reduction in power, although seemingly counter-productive, meant that the recoil or “kick” was less than for the original “grand-daddy” cartridges, so the shooter could fire more shots without fatigue and pain. It also meant a shorter time between shots because less time was needed to recover from the kick (Grant and Grant 1982; Hatcher 1962). This led to a new class of what O’Connor (1970) calls “mild” cartridges. O’Connor’s post-war mild cartridges Noted author Jack O’Connor championed the mild cartridges (alternatives to the .30’06, .270W and larger chamberings) as being easier on the shooter because they had adequate downrange ballistics but wouldn’t kick the shooter out of their time zone. Although he argued that good shots flinched consistently, he appreciated that no one enjoys being kicked by a hard-recoiling rifle, so he urged the use of mild cartridges such as the .243W, the .308W and even the .284W. He also recommended the .30-30 Winchester as another example of an effective cartridge whose availability in handy, lightweight carbines with minimal kick has long endeared it to hunters. The .308W cartridge, although very popular among New Zealand recreational hunters, may have been eclipsed by its own descendant, the 7mm ’08 Remington. Other .308W descendants include the .243W, .260 Remington, .338 Federal, .358W and the wildcat .25 Souper. All of these work through short actions because they use cartridges whose overall length References Barnes FC (2003). Cartridges of the World. 10 th Edition, revised and expanded, (Stan Skinner, Ed.) Wisconsin: Krause Publications. Ellis J (1975). The Social History of the Machine Gun. London: Croom Helm. Grant M, Grant BA (1982). The Sharp Shooter. Wellington: AH & AW Reed. Hatcher JS (1962). Hatcher’s Notebook (3rd Edition). Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company. His Majesty’s Stationary Office (HMSO) (1929). The Textbook of Small Arms 1929. Jones D (2003). Crown Jewels – The Mauser in Sweden – A Century of Accuracy and Precision. (R Blake Stevens, Ed.) Ontario: Collector Grade Publications Incorporated. does not exceed 73 mm (whereas the grand-daddy cartridges are up to 86 mm long, requiring rifles with longer action that increases the weight by 500 grams.) Thus these mild cartridges make for lighter, more portable rifles. Overview Military shoulder-arms ammunition, after some 200 years, underwent major changes in convenience, accuracy and power upon the development of rifled arms, fixed (metallic) cartridges, smokeless propellant, magazines and jacketed bullets. As metallic ammunition developed, effective engagement ranges extended to beyond a kilometre, until it was realised in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that combat range was usually less than 500 metres. Mechanisation and economies of scale also greatly reduced the cost of infantry small arms and support weapons such as mortars, machine guns and artillery that could be used over longer ranges. Eventually the major powers realised that they no longer needed large cartridges for infantry rifles, and this, along with international standardisation, alternately promoted and stifled development of more appropriate ammunition. Inevitably, surplus military rifles using the cartridges of yesteryear became popular for civilian hunting and target shooting. The compromise forced upon the military eventually saw less powerful sporting cartridges developed from 1925 onward, although magnums appeared from the late 1940s. The grand-daddy cartridges, although popular for sport, have diminished in size – both in calibre (for retaining good downrange ballistic performance while minimising kick) and in case capacity (for prolonging accuracy life). Late in the 1990s, magnum sporting rifle cartridges were developed from shortened .404 Jeffrey cartridge cases. Known as the supershort magnums, they were initially popular, with performance similar to the short-belted magnums of the 1950s–1960s. However, the smaller standard cartridges remain popular among hunters because they have a relatively mild kick while still matching the ballistic advantages of the extra power of the larger chamberings. The acceptance of so-called target cartridges as hunting cartridges, such as the 6.5 Creedmore, has cemented a trend towards relatively mild chamberings as milder loadings continue to enjoy widespread support among their hunting users. Size does matter. Milder cartridges enable rifles to be made about 500 g lighter so the wise shooter can either save weight, put the saved weight into better optical sights, and/or put the weight into a longer barrel for slightly improved ballistics. The result is also less muzzle blast and kick than with the granddaddy chamberings. It’s all part of the choices facing rifle users! Labbett P, Brown FA (1989). The Development of the German 7.9 mm x 33 Kurz cartridge 1939-45. Special Edition Technical Ammunition Guide Series 3 Pamphlet 3. London: The authors. O’Connor J (1970). The Hunting Rifle. New Jersey, USA: Stoeger Publishing Co. Swenson GWP (1971). Pictorial History of the Rifle. London: Ian Allan. Waters K (1984). The 8 mm-06, Wildcat Cartridges. Handloader 169, 16–17. Wikipedia (2017). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Spanish%E2%80%93American_War, downloaded 03/08/2017. Zutz D (1972). 8mm-06 - A Worthwhile Wildcat. The RIFLE Magazine 20, 23–25, 51, 52. NZ Hunting & Wildlife 198 - Spring 2017 45
Page 1 and 2: Hunting NEW ZEALAND SPRING ISSUE 19
Page 3 and 4: Joshua Keen, Tahr, 3rd, G Jamie Fai
Page 5 and 6: Contents News and features Reports
Page 7 and 8: For the past 10 years Natex has pur
Page 9 and 10: Kirstie Wilson and Sue van den Bers
Page 11 and 12: Speech by Hon Peter Dunne, MP for
Page 13 and 14: Tale material produced a number of
Page 15 and 16: Keith Milne, "Purple Flower", 1st,
Page 17 and 18: Mandatory consultation As a statuto
Page 19 and 20: Joshua Keen, "Frosty Morning", 2nd,
Page 21 and 22: TREVOR CHAPPELL TROPHY - Wild sheep
Page 23 and 24: Game management Sika poised for Her
Page 25 and 26: forests at higher altitude within t
Page 27 and 28: Four management units A mixture of
Page 29 and 30: POWER & PRECISION FOR A DEVASTATING
Page 31 and 32: A closer look at Pete’s trophy. T
Page 33 and 34: Jack and Alfie’s first tahr hunt
Page 35 and 36: KIDS' PAGE Stephanie Waghorn (14) s
Page 37 and 38: the things that don’t go as well
Page 39 and 40: Game animal management Wakatipu whi
Page 41 and 42: Action plan What actions could be i
Page 43 and 44: “A change of tactics was called f
Page 45: World Benchrest Championships prepa
Page 49 and 50: The pathologist at work: Jim used e
Page 51 and 52: McCONACHIE TROPHY (chamois) & EGMON

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