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FAQs - PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

How do we actually make these rifles?

Manufacturing these days is a complex process. We have adopted standard manufacturing procedures to handle the task. Integral with these procedures is the aforementioned Q.A. - which process, amongst other things, goes a long way towards ensuring any outsourced componentry we have ordered actually meets our specification.

The best way to describe our operations would be - PRS. designs, prototypes, develops, and manufactures rifles and all manner of related equipment just as described elsewhere here. When complex projects come along - like supplying Weapons Clearing Stations to the Qld. Police Service - we operate as the contractual agency, project manager, and also fit in a deal of hands-on work within the project structure.
In this regard PRS becomes Precision Rifle Systems and associates. Not exactly wearing a different hat by any means - though the scope of work we take on in this role may be vastly expanded. Our industry network provides additional manufacturing capacity while our skills base is similarly expanded. This expanded process of operations provides exactly what the defence customer requires - defence oriented project coordination able to link together a flexible, modular manufacturing team. None of this is anything new. The aircraft and automotive industries have been operating this way for almost a century.

A myth that has to be cast aside that We have some great factory with thundering hammers and grinding gears, something visitors may enjoy watching sweating workers backlit by the glow of the forge. Things simply do not work that way any more. The City Fathers would kick us out of Town.

We bow to the modern age. Ours is a Clean, Green, ’chimneyless’ industry, only marred by the usual state of clutter at my own prototyping workbench. Many are not current with modern manufacturing industry practice. Very rarely these days are goods created ‘from go to whoa’ under the one roof. It makes good economic and organisational sense to present specialised production elements to the specialists and to purchase fasteners, springs, and sub componentry from quality suppliers.

This process also offers all sorts of benefits, assets in real terms, for the Defence customer - prime being the facility for dispersed production/increased production during defence emergency.

Now, in practical terms, this has to be rationalised to suit the particular project workload, the timeframe, and the production units required - so for instance the one off magazine for a long range custom rifle chambered to some wildcat cartridge would be fabricated ‘in house’ using traditional sheet metal shop techniques - it would look like a ‘bought one’ but would take a little longer to make. On the other hand when we receive an order for, say, a dozen of those rifles with three or four magazines supplied with each rifle we would have our specialist laser cut, then fold the magazine bodies - have these passed on to have appropriate guide rails impressed - followed, maybe, by T.I.G. welding elsewhere, then finishing, assembly, etc.. There is nothing new there except how we go about it efficiently, economically, and in time - along with providing interesting work to specialist workshops that still retain some attitudes of ‘Tender Loving Care’.

This is just one example of how we do things. Much the same applies to our order of operations. To keep costs down for the customer we must approach things this way and very much using the Q.A. principle, “Just in Time”. One thing is for sure - if we ordered one hundred thirty cal. barrels from Toblers, on spec. - the next fifty orders we receive would be for every calibre other than thirty.

Oy! That’s not what I meant. How do you actually make those rifles?

Quite some years ago someone pinched the plans of the Mirage fighter aircraft from the French. Marcel Dassault was not amused and certain diplomatic relations suffered for a while, especially when a Mirage copy with little winglets and a snazzy paint job appeared in the glossy magazines.

These things DO happen. Though our products are perhaps not as famous yet as M. Dassault’s, it certainly has not escaped our notice that certain examples all too similar to our designs are cropping up all over the place. Now, when it comes to manufacturers, sometimes, just sometimes, one has to accept that market forces, new techniques, lack of traditional materials, great minds thinking alike - maybe just the desire for a refreshing new product, drives these events. All this may be considered well and good.

What scares us rigid though is the thought that if we provide too much information to unqualified individuals - that someone, one day - someone who is not all that sure what locking lugs do in a rifle action - or someone who decides that threads are a bit past their ability to cut in their hobby lathe, so superglue will do the job of retaining the barrel just as well --- Well. You ‘get the picture’! Or do you?

We can, of course, provide requisite information in support of our addressing serious commercial enquiries, bids, tenders and the like. After much consideration we have decided that we cannot afford to pass on our hard gained design elements and Intellectual Property to casual enquirers. The safety concern alone is, for us, very real.

What materials do we (usually) make them with?


Whose actions do we use?

Completely and totally our own design. We do, of course, work with other makers products by way of repair, refurbishment, modification, accurising or whatever service a customer requires. We refuse to stamp our names on other’s products and if a customer asks us to rebarrel and restock a Remington, for instance - as far as we are concerned it proudly remains a Remington.

There is no way an outside supplier could offer us the model range we require or provide the features we know makes for accurate rifles. The whole purpose of getting into this game in the first place was to design the ultimate target rifle - because no rifle action available then matched our standards.

We have made real progress towards this ‘Holy Grail’ and in the meantime simply cannot think of another specialist manufacturer with a similar products base. We make front locking, mid locking, rear locking bolt actions with optional triple locking or multi thread breeching in most chamberings from .22 to 50 BMG (Some larger bore sizes available). All these may be ordered with right or left handed actions - as single shot or magazine equipped - and with centre line or side mounted magazine positioning options.

Standard actions and associated componentry are designed, scaled, and proportioned to suit four cartridge ‘families’ with ‘realtime design/prototyping’ providing the ability to readily supply an efficiently working action for a completely oddball cartridge.

We also make self loading/selective fire quad lockers. There is not much demand for these on the Australian market though our overseas defence readers might be interested.

The next step with the project will be scroll magazines and belt feed after trialling the most efficient firing rates. Presently we are working at about 750 RPM., cyclic. Presently, totally controllable double taps are available; though we need to reach the best compromise between available link lifting power and any loss of accuracy we may encounter by ‘jetting up’ the gas operating system.

Do we make our own match triggers?

Yes. And they are not clapped on there as an afterthought. Spring pressures are high in our firing systems to assure consistent ignition and rapid lock time. Our triggers are made to withstand this duty for years and still meet the exacting requirements of the expert marksman. We provide complete adjustment and positive adjustment lock-up of trigger pressure, trigger overtravel, and sear engagement. We believe that too light triggers are dangerous, therefore stipulate a minimum consistent trigger pressure of about one pound (450 g.). Our trigger adjustment range will accommodate higher pressures and overcautiously ‘safe’ sear engagement adjustments (2mm. travel and 20 lb. pressure) though normal adjustment for match rifle events provides for a consistent 3.3 pound (1.5 kg) set off with unnoticeable travel upon firing.

Do we heat treat our parts?

It would be difficult to manufacture metals and provide them as an acceptable raw material without some form of heat treatment. We would prefer to state that our process of manufacture is based upon a few premises, or first principles. Goes like this -

What does all this mean?

Simple. Parts made that way warp too much when they heat up in operation. Most people have totally the wrong idea about how firearms should be made. Glass hard parts under firing pressure or assisted by the odd silly overcharge will eventually shatter. Traditional processes combined with the usual complex cross sections of stressed parts of conventional firearms - combined with effects noticed after recent discoveries about the degradation of metals over extended time - just about guarantee that at some time that old rifle you are pointing downrange - will someday suddenly convert into a grenade.

These days alloy steels are available in a hardened/machinable state. These materials provide excellent strength and durability in their supplied state and offer the additional benefit that they surface work harden in service. Various choices and combinations of these materials ensure that sliding and rotating parts do not gall under the pressure of operation.

These characteristics preclude additional heat treatment. Componentry may be machined precisely, surface finished, and then accurately assembled without any concern about additional processes detrimental to final tolerancing and alignment.

Various other minor parts (the word minor has nothing to do with their importance, certainly nothing to do with the attention applied to their manufacture) do receive a variety of heat treatment processes. Most would not believe the subtle attention springs receive.

Extractors, sears and bents, cocking pieces, firing pins, etc. have to suffer a duty out of all proportion to their physical size. I make them and place them into service and continue to wonder about our metallurgist’s amazing skills, their ability to supply reliable raw materials. Some of these parts are case hardened, some flash hardened, some more traditionally through hardened, then tempered.

The result? Well, as we’ve been hinting ! Unprecedented accuracy and serviceability.

How do we surface finish our rifles?

Most defence tenders we see include something like - “products offered - shall be free from burrs, sharp edges, swarf, etc. - surface finish shall be - (whatever material - to be efficiently protected, whether blued, parkerised, anodised, painted, or whatever combination is necessary to do the job) - and shall be in compliance with MilStandard X-------.etc..

None of this is a joke and when you are competing for a defence tender the organisation provides you with the relevant standards that spell out precisely what they demand, what you have to provide in the way of finish standards, then insists upon a precise description of how you intend to go about it. These standards are not impossibly rigid - certainly not always difficult to achieve and are very much based on reliable information gathered over time from commercial practice. Put simply - for the defence and commercial customer - compliance with specification is the order of the day.

Our standard finishing procedures follow - Steel parts are bead blasted, then either phosphated/parkerised or hot dip blued depending on customer preference. Parts are then primed and painted or coated with the appropriate corrosion inhibitor/lubricant. Aluminium alloy parts are bead blasted, primed then painted with oven cured epoxy enamels.

For the defence customer camouflage finish may be applied over this substrate. A rapid drying hard wearing lacquer scheme is applied using appropriate stencils. This camouflage scheme may be removed with solvents compatible with, and which will not effect, substrate finishes. Camouflage finish may therefore be easily removed, repaired, modified, or totally changed to suit conditions and operational scenario.

More traditional firearms require a traditional approach. Most rarities, collectors items, have become so, simply because their opposite numbers have been destroyed in battle or, more usually, through neglect and mistreatment.

Many of the restoration methods used by collectors of old firearms have been gleaned from magazine articles and word of mouth. Sometimes I think that some of these have been put about by less scrupulous elements of the retail firearms industry so they might sell more new rifles. Cold blue and modern paints and lacquers do not cut the mustard when restoring old, fine guns.

We have researched and established traditional procedures for firearms restoration. Where this is impossible we’ve developed processes that replicate as closely as possible the materials and finishes of past times.

Are we able to give the customer an assurance of accuracy?

Let’s go back to talk about Vernon, the fellow mentioned earlier in these FAQ’s. Chronologically, he’s now in his mid sixties. He is the gent who first involved me in this adventure and holds the award of being the civilian individual highest volume purchaser of my match rifles. Vern is into shooting fullbore and match rifle, usually these days shoots our PRS rifles, and depending on event, one chambered to the 7.62 NATO cartridge, occasionally 5.56 NATO, sometimes wildcats, .30x57 Improved, 22/250 Improved, etc..

Okay. Let’s look at his fullbore competition history to see if we can draw some conclusions.

Vern began shooting fullbore in 1952. Between 1969, when he managed his first top score, and 1994 he estimates achieving about ten double possible scores - whereas between October 1994 and now (mid-June 2003) he has shot over fifty double possibles. A 'possible' is a full house, perfect score at any range out to 1000 yards range. Incidentally, some of those wins before ‘94 were with my rifles which he has been using since about 1990.

I will not get into number crunching too much. My estimation is that this demonstrates an actual performance increase of well over 800 percent with the change to PRS. products. Obviously there have been rule changes allowing for better designed rifles, access to much better ammunition and other factors at play. The point though is that these advantages are available to all other competitors so these gains have been achieved within ‘the level playing field’ of target competition.

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Left- Test Group 100 metres.

Right - Orange target markers - results - 300 yards - No centre left in the target.

                               

Left - Test Group 100 metres.                                     Right - 7.62 match rifle - the culprit.

What accuracy is required - and available from different calibres?

Some might say that precise accuracy is not really necessary for fullbore, that just under one M.O.A. will do. Under perfect shooting conditions that may be true - if absolutely sublime aiming/trigger control is achieved. Many marksmen unfamiliar with long ranges cannot believe it even possible to hit the target at 1000 yards.

This long range shooting is about attitude (some would say “Zen” and would not be entirely wrong), experience, confidence, total understanding of conditions - light, shadow, mirage, atmospheric pressure/density (some say fullbore shooters invented weather control) - and the most reliably accurate rifle available.

We exported a 7.62 Sniping Equipment a while ago. The first three shot group that rifle fired during testing was measured at one fifth of an inch at 200 yards. That is less than one tenth of M.O.A. - and about usual for our MilSpec rifles in this calibre. This performance requires acceptable ammo suited to chamber and rifling twist. In this case the customer wanted Lapua. So, with their ammo, we could produce this result

Once that particular rifle was run in a little we could offer the target rapid, aimed fire and empty the seven shot mag into a group of about one quarter inch between centres - remember, at 200 yards. As with fullbore, the sniping role demands minimal change of zero with progressive fouling and barrel heating.
The 300 Win Mag and 338 Lapua rifles we tested that day fared not quite so well and by the time the 50 BMG was run out the horrors had set in. About point 35 M.O.A. for the respective magnums and about point 52 M.O.A. for the big 50. Test firing and proofing firearms can sometimes be stressful. ‘Flinchitis’ can be experienced and can possibly be compared to and equated with the stress of target competition.
I have mentioned this episode here since this testing regime was necessary to satisfy the full requirement for a certain export customer. Perhaps he’ll enjoy reading this next time he visits (G’day Bob) the ‘page’.

So, if there is a problem with my rifle?

We build rifles to a standard and fit match barrels as a matter of course. Barrel makers generally (as a species I mean) are not keen to give overall guarantees of accuracy since obviously they have no control over how a barrel is treated by the new owner, how the running in process is performed, how through life maintenance is achieved, or (most importantly) what ammunition natures, whether factory, or reloaded, compliant, or (shall we say) overproof, are being used by the owner/operator.

No! We are not hedging the question. We are most certainly not talking about selling you yet another rifle that cannot perform - and if you are a novice marksman we shall take pride to assist with any REAL problem that may arise with operation of the equipment.

How may I, the customer, help minimise costs and assist an efficient service?

Let us be forthright about this aspect. Recently I spent a fair time building a rifle based on a Remington action. The customer gave me a bullet weight spec and asked me to order a suitable match barrel. The action required extensive modification and serious repairs after, among other things, his attempts to remove the original barrel by grinding a hexagonal on the muzzle then attacking with a rattle gun resulting in the instant removal of the trigger assembly along with it’s mounting lug. He said “I was only holding it in my hand when that happened”.

Now, this customer was not helpful with the condition and history of the rifle. As it turned out the trigger/boltstop assembly he supplied was not original to the rifle. That alone took hours of additional reworking including a total redesign of the sear/bent relationship, the fabrication of a new safety catch and the installation of limit stops in order to achieve acceptably precise trigger operation.

He told me “that trigger used to set off like a glass rod breaking”. Impossible. What I was given set off like a gravel barge running aground.

Nor does it help for the customer to ‘live at my shop’ when I’m doing a job. Jokes like “How many Irishmen do you need to change a lightbulb” are no longer funny.

So what DO we do if the customer insists there is still a problem?

Denis Tobler, Australia’s senior barrel maker, visited us here one day a few years ago. In the course of conversation he stated something like, “One day you’ll have a lemon. We’ve had the odd problem rifle/barrel mix that will not shoot quite accurately with CERTAIN bullets/loads!”

This may not be a problem for the reloader with extensive resources who can research a load/projectile to suit. Others who require specific ammunition for a task may find this inconvenient. If the customer has insisted upon being supplied a barrel that will not stabilise some nature of ammunition he has later chosen - finds the combination will not group to satisfaction - then unfortunately that is mostly his problem.

We can, and if asked, will assist him to arrive at a load and projectile type that will perform - also ascertain whether other factors are contributing to the problem. This work requires careful appraisal and diagnosis. The customer works directly against his own interest if he cannot remain scrupulously truthful with himself throughout this process. Marksmanship requires patience and discipline and top scorers are well aware that this also applies to preparation and maintenance of equipment.

When all else fails - yes - back to the workshop for diagnosis and remedy followed by firing trials. It strikes me that this process is often as painful as a visit to the physician - and in like manner the patient must always be honest and detailed about the symptoms in order to achieve a satisfactory cure.

Many gun owners are experimenters - like to take ‘em apart and see how they work. Most guns are simple devices and can be assembled/disassembled repeatedly. They will continue to function reliably when subjected to this treatment. Most guns, especially precision rifles, however will FAIL to shoot tight groups when subject to this treatment. Firearms are dynamic systems and are readily prone to accuracy disruption that might result from any of 1001 factors. (Try for instance simply touching the barrel with a fingertip while firing one shot out of a group. That shot will usually be a ‘flyer’).

What is the first, most important factor in choosing an precision arm?

The bullet. Simple as that - all factors must address efficient flight of the bullet. Other considerations like shooting event or application, of course, determine the cartridge choice and final physical configuration of the firearm. It is certainly no use turning up at the 1000 yard match with a sporter chambered to 22LR.

There are no magic cartridges. The cartridge case is a variously proportioned recepticle containing (hopefully) just the right amount of chemical energy to propel the bullet accurately and speedily to the target. Too much energy and the case may fail, too little and sillier things may happen. Some cartridges are nothing more than monuments to men’s egos, totally inefficient, and a waste of expensive resources.

The ideal situation is exactly the right amount of exactly the right burning rate propellant housed in exactly the right sized cartridge case, all fired with exactly the right brissance primer, firing exactly the right proportioned bullet down the perfect barrel - to the exact centre of the target. Opinions vary hugely about how this may be achieved - but a very good starting point to determining all the features and characteristics and specifications of the complete hardware is with the particular choice of projectile.

Within practical limits the heavier the bullet in relation to it’s length - the better it flies to the target. What stabilises the bullet in flight is the rifling twist rate which may be reasonably accurately calculated though often needs experiment to finally establish. What sends the bullet on it’s way is the chemical energy contained within the cartridge case. We must choose a cartridge case properly proportioned and just capacious enough to do the job.

Let’s take a look again at fullbore. Chambering choices here in Australia are 7.62 NATO (308 WIN.) or 5.56 NATO (.223 REM.). Ammunition reloading is permitted though projectile nature/type is stipulated in rules. Many shooters have become interested in other events under the envelope of NRAA competition and therefore have the choice to experiment a little with calibres, bullets and loads. The present rules permit most available chamberings suiting bore diameters 8 mm. down.

How does a person make a cost effective chambering choice (as a guide)?

Here, I am not so much praising and promoting a certain cartridge; rather praising the ATTRIBUTES of the cartridge - why a cartridge with certain attributes, characteristics and popularity will be a bargain choice.

Our opinion is that the 7.62x51 chambering, and 30 cal bore would provide most shooters with most flexibility - for most events - out to but not quite including 1000 yards. The 5.56 is quite a capable cartridge though loses out at long range under adverse conditions while other chamberings are restricted to fewer events

The 7.62 NATO cartridge is extremely accuracy capable and is manufactured in the millions just about everywhere around the world. The projectile choice in 30 cal is likewise huge. The well justified popularity is there, the demand there, the production there, the variety there, reference material freely available, and continued R&D. of new projectile natures - to provide a lifetime of load research options and successful shooting.

Other calibres, other cartridges are certainly efficient and are capable, in the hands of a champion, of blowing the 7.62 to the weeds - trouble is those same champions would most probably do as well with the 7.62.

Cartridge cases are designed to provide the firearm with a launch platform; to afford accuracy through many and devious means. They also have to be capable of being loaded into various styles of firearms without damage - and after being subjected to the strenuous duty of being fired - must be able to be extracted from the chamber with minimal fuss.

There is nothing more counterproductive than loading cartridges to the maximum in the hope of gaining flatter trajectory and better velocity. Cartridge cases are wrecked in short order, accuracy inevitably suffers, and if you think about what causes this loss of accuracy you’ll realise that projectile instability (helped along by erratic pressure spikes) is the cause. This can be exacerbated by barrel or muzzle crown wear/damage, projectile deformation/failure, engraving/driving section stripping, rocket effect, etc.. Since projectile instability dramatically increases aerodynamic drag it stands to reason that unstable bullets decelerate rapidly and therefore behave badly ballistically.

Yes indeed - takes one round in a full circle - overloading is wasteful, damaging, and, leaving accuracy out of the picture, can actually reduce ballistic performance as much as underloading.

Money is no object. I enjoy experimenting and reloading, have the skills and experience to go for the ultimate. Now tell me what are the best types of cartridges for me, a selection, say, in order of preference?

Let’s first go for 50 BMG. Fifteen and a half kilos of rifle; one and a half kilos of scope clamped on top. Each shot will cost somewhere between five to eight Australian dollars depending on reloading components used.

I do not enjoy relating firearms usage in macho machismo terms; however in defence tenders I have described the 50BMG Anti-Materiel rifle as the “Surgeon of the Battlefield” in that it offers the capability to address an amazing variety of targets quite precisely over quite a long range. Defence would call the role “interdiction, materiel targets”. This actually means placing thumping great holes in weapons, radios, radars, lasers, optics, vehicles, stores, and just about anything the opposition might drag around, push around, or carry around within about a radius of a mile from the marksman. This same accuracy may be utilised by skilled reloaders to enjoy long range target shooting if suitable facilities are available.

Though obviously not a ‘Main Battle’ weapon, the Big Fifty, properly used, is capable of achieving much more than those other small arms more usually dedicated towards harming soldiers. Very capable of deflating egos along with tyres, permanently pinning pistons in cylinder blocks, draining fuel tanks, sumps, and radiators, plinking periscopes in AFV’s - that sort of thing - this is it’s frustrating forte’.
It is most difficult to describe firing the Big Fifty. The device most assuredly must be mastered, not learned. Shooting position and exactly repeatable correct hold are profoundly important for shooter comfort as well as accuracy. Recoil is definitely not painful or punishing though muzzle blast makes efficient hearing protection mandatory.

The Big Fifty does not slam your shoulder - it moves the rifle rearwards and annexes the space that part of your body previously occupied. Firing the rifle seems to be a series of events. Quite a deal of energy is being unleashed. As well as accelerating the bullet down range much of this energy is harnessed by the muzzle brake, diverted sideways and rearwards and thereby reducing much recoil effect. All this takes some noticeable time.

I shall provide another opinion here from a bloke with some experience of firing the odd piece of ordnance. My son holds the crossed rifles badge of an ADF marksman, and once scored among the Top Fifty in Australia at OzArmy Skills at Arms. His observations, here - “Somewhat daunting - definitely know you’ve fired a fifty, when you’ve fired a fifty - not much recoil - - the signature (report), just like a hugely oversized twelvebore, when your ears are plugged - underscored and momentarily followed by a banshee wail as the muzzlebrake diverts gas. If you are footling about at the firing line about 12 to 15 feet away, with your back turned to the blast - if you stand in the right spot - the shock wave hits you in the middle of your back like someone swinging a hefty pillow”.

You burn around 200 grains of powder and throw away between 650 to 850 grains of useful metal every time you fire the bundook. For an afternoon’s enjoyment every weekend this means less expense than getting into scuba diving, flying gliders/light aircraft, serious photography, or amateur motorsports; along with the advantage that you are not going to go missing at sea, get eaten by a shark, crash and burn, or cause other types of similar inconvenience to others. I hate throwing away precious resources though the other aspects seem to indicate good value with shooting sports - even with the BIG FIFTY.

338 Lapua Magnum - A true gentleman of a rifle cartridge. There is something special about this one. You can take up an empty you’ve just fired. Hot or cold it will generally just chamber back in the rifle, then extract, without fuss. Many others will not perform this trick. They’ll stick or bind upon closing the bolt, or generally resist the treatment - and once chambered, will refuse to extract easily.

To our way of thinking this gives a real indication of a cartridge case that requires absolutely minimal resizing effort between reloads - in other words, a long lasting case - one designed superbly well to manage firing pressures without unnecessary distortion.

Arms chambered to this cartridge, militarily, are almost as capable as the 50 BMG. Published effective range is 1.4 KM. which permits addressing targets at all practical, optically acquired, small arms ranges. Usual projectiles used are admittedly less than half the mass of the 50 BMG though ballistic efficiency is generally superior; and anyway, both for target and military work, accuracy is paramount - not destructive power.

This cartridge deserves a rifle tailored to it’s capability. Actions need to be longer than usual and nothing much is lost by making them slightly more massive - to contain the wide bodied cartridge and a double row magazine - also to provide sufficient mass to guarantee a stable firing platform. This offers an infinitely more compact equipment than the 50 cal rifles - more man portable - and for the serious civilian long range target shooter - the whole thing manages to fit sideways into the average auto trunk.

Factory ammunition may cost about AUD 5 a shot and hand crafted reloads roundabout $ 2 - and although operating the 338 Lapua Magnum may not be quite as prepossessing as setting off the 50 cal - the ballistic performance is impressive - in a class of it’s own - leaving first time firers quite unable to believe that such a mild mannered cartridge can be so capable.

300 Win. Mag. - We’ll mention this one since it is probably the easiest and most economical to purchase in Australia. Also it is more or less a middle of the road adaptation of the parent case, the 300 Holland and Holland. Some of these magnums are longer, some shorter in overall length. Most, even many shortarses, suffer from having too short a neck - which goes far to negate the purpose of wrapping the belt around the blunt end.

One of quite a few belted magnum cases that offer extra powder capacity along with a slightly larger diameter combustion chamber than the ‘Mauser’ style cases. This provides the ability to shoot the heavier 30 cal projectiles over all practical ranges. The 300 Win. Mag. displays two identifying features - that belt around the cartridge base - and a ridiculously short neck.

Contrary to popular fiction the belt does absolutely nothing to make the case stronger. The original intention of the belt was to prevent the case from being forced too far into the chamber and out of reach of the firing pin upon those big game hunting ‘load in a hurry’ situations. The popular Mauser 98 has a beautiful controlled feed feature that places the rim of a loading round behind the claw of a massive extractor just as the round leaves the magazine. This feature makes for extremely reliable loading - however if a round is just placed in the breech, not clipped into the magazine - the extractor often complains about clipping over the cartridge rim. With certain case configurations the extractor just pushes (as mentioned above) the cartridge too far away from the firing pin. Of course, when this happens, the round cannot be extracted either. Such situations can be stressmaking when pugnacious large animals decide they don’t like the cut of your jib.

This belted feature has also been adopted for various automatic weapons. The slight disadvantage it creates with magazine configuration or the added complexity of feed mechanism with belt/link feed systems seems offset by the assurance of reliable firing and extraction with guns belting out several thousand rounds a minute.
An American gun scribe some years ago called the 300 W.M. “The Neckless Wonder” - and a short neck does sometimes cause concern. Drop a round on firm ground and you can loosen the bullet or bend the round. Worse things happen if the rifle is not properly adjusted to ‘soft feed’ the round. Once again, bent rounds and the real no-no, bullets pushed back into the case. The opposite happens in the magazine if attention is not applied to cartridge containment. Bullets are ‘left behind’ under recoil if not properly ‘fenced in’ by guide ribs and other trickery.

Short necks may also contribute to more rapid throat erosion. That angled shoulder is NOT there to stop the case falling out the muzzle (though it often doubles up as the actual headspace register) - nor is it there to provide cartridge collectors with comparison and conversation topics - that angled bit is a venturi which has to efficiently channel and accelerate propellant combustion gases along after the projectile. What comes out of the cartridge case directly behind the bullet could be described in engineering terms as a white hot fluid. This fluid contains a suspension of yet uncombusted propellent particles, primer compounds (like glass dust), brass particles, various corrosive combustion compounds, and any impurities that have crept into the loading process. All this is momentarily trapped behind the projectile and at the logjam of the shoulder profile - then as the projectile accelerates up the bore this fluid impinges upon and along the bore walls in a complex manner determined by the dynamics of the individual system. In short, damage happens every time you fire.

Yes. The leade to the rifling is literally washed away by the action of this superheated fluid so it stands to reason that a longer cartridge neck would act as a continually replaced heat sink and a barrier to at least some of this erosion.

Having said all that this cartridge IS capable of sending the heaviest .30 cal. bullets accurately down range, accurately, and with ease.

The 308 Norma Magnum - does this too, has the advantage of a correctly proportioned neck and superbly well manufactured brass. The cases can be easily manufactured from 300 W.M. brass, which it’ll probably have to be since the Norma stuff is usually either too rare or too expensive here in Oz.

This cartridge, like the 338 Lapua, performs impeccably without fuss. I had not thought about this subject from any particular angle before writing these pages, however it would appear that with our rifles the experience has been that European designed ammunition and cartridge brass make for good investment.

The Mauser chamberings - These are the guys whose development team most often got it right first time. A range of small arms cartridges that in standard form provide just about the right choice for just about every application. The Mauser Gewehr-T fired a cartridge that was copied to become the 12.7x99, also known as the 50 BMG.. The 30-06 is also borrowed from the Mauser line up but in this case someone got it slightly wrong (for military application anyway) meaning that scores of thousands of soldiers had to lug around masses of unnecessary brass containing a fair portion of air. That case was too long for the bullets the U.S. military wanted to shoot. About fifty years ago they worked this out, shortened off the case to two inches long and finally got it right with the 7.62 x51 - 308 Winchester.

The standard 57 millimetre rimless Mauser cartridge has been utilised for all sorts of calibres, most usefully between 6 mm. and 9.3 mm. not to mention being occasionally stretched or shortened for different applications. Mauser has never been afraid to put a rim on their case designs either - in those applications where extraction rather than magazine feed is the priority.

The best, the most efficient, is probably the 7x57 - though a 7.65x54 might very well gain the 1000 yard edge over a 308 Win. on the match range.

Other types - I have already mentioned the 7.62. You would be aware that I am fond of the cartridge. If you do not mind spending a little more for projectiles and case preparation - neck it down to 7mm, or maybe 6.5 mm, sharpen the shoulder angle slightly for case longevity and win matches.

6.5x55 - will do all the above for you in a standard package. The case is a little thicker at the base than Mauser standard and costs a little more to purchase. Though the M96 Mauser rifle made for this cartridge is possibly the finest workmanship available in a military rifle it does not do the cartridge justice these days.

7.62x54R - Let’s go up in calibre again. Most marksmen in Oz. frown on this cartridge in it’s commonly available form - steel cases and corrosive primers pushing along flat based, steel cored bullets. Trouble is, even in this format, I’ve seen this cartridge shoot a full magazine into considerably less than two inches at 300 yards out of an ancient Finnish Nagant, and with iron sights.

The cartridges do also come in brass, also with single flash hole. They, yes, are rimmed, but by golly the round is eminently capable, remains popular with the knowledgeable - though, unfortunately, difficult to find in Oz..

7.7 British - The old .303. There you go laughing again. Use some skullduggery, rebarrel, neck down to suit 144 grain 308 bullets and even the SMLE holds it’s bedding together enough to send reasonably accurate fire down range for years on end. Another rimmed round, unfashionable and out of shape. Australians love it.

I would ask you though - what magic permits this ancient round to closely replicate the ballistic performance of the 308 Winchester out to about 1000 yards, then EXCEED it beyond that range? How could this be? The cartridge IS all the wrong shape - and also rimmed..

There are several lifetimes of experimentation available here for the wildcatter and handloader. I have mentioned some very unfashionable cartridges - because they work well. The object is not to convince you to rush out and purchase a rifle chambered to some expensive and almost obsolete cartridge - rather to give some consideration towards thinking laterally about what actually works when making a choice.

‘Improved’ cartridges - Or - “How to burn lots more propellant with not much gain”.

Improving cartridge form by modifying the standard chamber to a similar form but with a more parallel, less tapered body and with a sharper shoulder angle is a great way to prevent case stretching. If the job is properly performed cases last much longer and case trimming is proportionately reduced. Cartridge cases though require a careful fireforming preparation and some such modifications to shape may disrupt feed characteristics with some magazine rifles.

The projectile, in operation, is actually a piston. Combustion pressure has to reach the bullet base in order to do work. Making barrel bores too small in relation to chamber volume is counterproductive. Slim bullets create less air drag, are more efficient ballistically, however provide less ‘piston area’ for propellant gases to act upon. Main battle tanks have been going to bigger bore guns firing discarding sabot projectiles to gain enough velocity to defeat armour. Though technically feasible and sometimes used - small arms do not ‘need’ this complication.

Sabots, or squeezebore, or progressive burning rate loads, or multiple firing chambers are various ways of getting velocity applied to the target. All these methods work well with cannon and reasonably massive projectiles. High pressures and overlarge chambers in rifle calibres just eat up barrels.

A more sensible approach with rifle calibres, one that saves much money and frustration is to get fifty feet closer to the target. I joke not. Get out your ballistics chart and check out how much velocity is shed in those first few feet of bullet flight, especially with lighter bullets of the general purpose hunting type.

‘Improving’ a chamber, that is reaming out a standard chamber to a similar form but with a less tapered body and a sharper shoulder angle WILL NOT noticeably improve ballistic performance over the standard cartridge with the same projectile. You’ll have gained a little volume and may therefore be able to change to a slower burning rate propellant. THAT may manage to propel a heavier projectile to the right velocity and If rifling twist and all the other factors are correct some ballistic gains may sometimes be achieved.

The answer for down range performance is the heaviest bullet for the given bore size - propelled by the correct volume of the slowest burning powder that can be efficiently consumed within the particular chamber/bore combination being used.