2019 GAF Grand Muster-Defending the Empire (1874-1899)

[Pitspitr]

As long as it stays dry, I'll be fine. If not....

[Dusty Tagalon]

A couple of weeks out now, see some improvement on road closures affecting Eastern Nebraska, Western Iowa, so as you plan, keep these 2 websites in mind.

https://hb.511.nebraska.gov/#roadReports?timeFrame=TODAY&layers=roadReports%2CwinterDriving%2CotherStates

https://www.511ia.org/

Dusty

[Pitspitr]

Thank You Dusty!

[smoke]

As long as it stays dry, I'll be fine. If not....

It will never stop raining.  There is so much water in my backyard right now, I could do a river crossing  stage.

[Pitspitr]

2 Reminders:

1. If you have a 4-wheeler or UTV you don't mind dragging along please bring it. With the amount of rain we've received this spring and the forecast, we may be using UTV's to ferry equipment to the top of the hill and into the shooting canyons.

2. If you have gifts you can provide for the door prize drawings, please don't forget to bring them.

[Whiskey Double]

I'm bringing my rhino that can haul 4 . not sure if I can get my 4 wheeler in back of pick up, won't fit in trailer with rhino.
I will be there Wednesday afternoon unless you want me Tuesday.

[ira scott]

General Jerry, I have contacted my former employer, and have received permission to borrow a big 6 passenger Mule Pro FXT like I brought in the past. Lt. Colonel Quickfire and I will be arriving Monday afternoon. Please do not kill yourself trying to get everything done before help arrives!

[RattlesnakeJack]

As things are currently shaping up, I will arrive sometime on Thursday afternoon.  Will be bunking at the Comstock Lodge, where Guns Garrett and I are sharing a room. 

As things look now, General, will the trail up to the top be passable for "reasonable" vehicles?  I believe I will be bringing my venerable 4WD Trail Blazer.

[Pitspitr]

As things are currently shaping up, I will arrive sometime on Thursday afternoon.  Will be bunking at the Comstock Lodge, where Guns Garrett and I are sharing a room. 

As things look now, General, will the trail up to the top be passable for "reasonable" vehicles?  I believe I will be bringing my venerable 4WD Trail Blazer.

It should be.  The forecast I saw yesterday was saying rain through the early part of next week then hot after that, so should be dry by the time activities commence

[Dusty Tagalon]

Loaded 90 rounds 50/70 today, have another 100 brass on the way.
Bringing 2 guns, an 1866 cadet rifle (Not a cadet rifle, Bannerman shortened, bbl 29.5? vs 33?, & 13.25? from center of butt stock to center of trigger guard vs 12?). & a converted Sharps carbine.
Dusty

[Whiskey Double]

General Sir
I'll be bringing both my ATV and my UTV arriving Wednesday early afternoon.  If there is anything else you need let me know.

[RattlesnakeJack]

I got started with the "downloaded" Martini-Henry cartridges I need for the main match skirmishes, by casting a bunch of 405 grain ".45-70 bullets" the other day.



However, I hit a snag in loading the actual cartridges - started chamber-checking cases in my "new" Royal Canadian Artillery-marked Mark III Martini-Henry rifle that I want to use for this Muster (since I am doing an Artillery impression) and find that it apparently has a "tighter" chamber than any of my other M-H rifles (including the other Mk III rifle I have previously used and would have along this time as backup.)  At any rate, many of my cases were a bit difficule to chamber ... at least half of them to such an extent they wouldn't go in far enough to permit me to close the breechblock! 



So, I've had to divert into a round of annealing all of them, then full-length resizing the lot!  Even after doing that, I still have a small number of cases which don't chamber properly .... but I can leave those aside for later since I do have enough to load what i need for Muster.   I'll be hopefully get that done today, finally! Gotta ensure that all rounds chamber properly in both rifles I'll have along, since I'll be over a thousand miles from home ...



... and it seems highly unlikely anyone else there will be able to lend me a rifle that will take my ammo ... 

[smoke]

RSJ...what is this downloaded load you speak of?  I just bought dies, and mold for my MH.  I would love to find a downloaded...AKA cheap...load for it.

[Delmonico]

I am still planning on arriving on Monday afternoon noon.

I will figure out something for a meal for Monday night supper, so if anyone needs such let me know by Sunday evening, but as always there should be plenty if someone didn't get their name in the pot.

Due to being retired and not having to deal with work bull crap this year I started a sourdough starter and plan on making my famous sourdough sinner-mon rolls that have never been made at the Muster.

Tongue in cheek, any kale eaters out there?  I have a way to make it edible and will have some but it may not last more than a day or two, but will be fun to offer samples of since this ain't yer Yuppie neighbors kale.

Also Jerry sent me a picture of his large turnip patch and any meal with turnip greens will have other side dishes for those who don't appreciate the finer things in life.  Vinegar and hot sauce will be available for those who do.  Quest for smoked hog jewels will happen tomorrow.

[RattlesnakeJack]

RSJ...what is this downloaded load you speak of?  I just bought dies, and mold for my MH.  I would love to find a downloaded...AKA cheap...load for it.

Essentially, I am trying to approximate the Martini-Henry "carbine load" introduced in 1877 ... it having been found that the M-H carbines were virtually unusable with the full rifle load of 480 grain bullet and 85 grains powder (... ask Guns Garrett and his poor shoulder about that!)  This called for a shorter 410 grain bullet, so the 405gr bullet is darned close (... although they are a bit too small in diameter, so I cast them quite soft so they "bump up" better in the rifling, and shoot them unsized as well) and 70 grains of powder.  Essentially the same load as the ultimate .45-70 loading, you'll note. 

The difficulty is that although the original full 85 grain rifle charge came all the way up to the bottom of the cartridge neck, the level of 70 grains of powder falls below the shoulder of the Martini-Henry case. They originally used a quantity of carded wool below the "glazed disk" in the carbine load, to take up the space, then later the carbine load cases were instead lined with a coil of heavy paper/light cardboard below the shoulder. 

Unfortunately, "modern" commonly employed fillers (like cornmeal, seminola, grits or whatever) may be problematic because they can reportedly "slug up" in the bottleneck, resulting in erratic pressures and potential loss of accuracy (if not dangerous overpressure.) The solution is to use an "active filler" (a 50/50 mix of black powder and the cornmeal or other filler) over a reduced powder charge.  The BP within the filler theoretically burns as soon as the powder charge goes off and prevents "slugging" of the filler in the neck.  Technically, you have to include the BP within the filler as part of your powder charge, so I use about 55 grains of 2F topped by 30 grain equivalent (by volume) of the 50/50 "active" filler - this pretty much duplicates the volume of an 85 grain charge, while yielding an "actual" charge of 70 grains BP (i.e. 55 + 15).

I also use a "grease cookie" (a disk of good soft BP lube, such as SPG or homemade equivalent, sandwiched between disks punched out of coated milk carton material) directly under the bullet, in place of the beeswax wad and glazed cardboard disks of the original loads, to help keep fouling soft through a course of firing without cleaning, such as we do in GAF skirmishes ... 

Here is a graphic, based on the period cross-section of a full rifle load in a drawn brass case, on the right, to illustrate my adaptation ...



I use similar construction for my .577 Snider-Enfield cartridges although, since they have a straight-walled case, a plain filler can be used in lieu of the "active" filler. Although it may increase competition for me in the British military firearms field (... not that I am terribly good to start with, mind you ...) I have no problem sharing my experiences and methods ... I will turn 70 this fall, so gotta pass on the lore before it is too late!

[1961MJS]

Hi

Loaded 300 rounds of .45 Schofield brass, it holds the ejector better than the .45 Long Colt does.  I'm also reloading more .30-40 Krag.  I figure we get 60 rounds of Rilfe and 20 of pistol per run (Right?) and there's one Friday, four Saturday for 300 rounds of Rifle if I miss a lot plus 20 for long range. 

I'll have to segregate brass, the chambers on the carbine and rifle aren't much alike.

Later

[smoke]

Essentially, I am trying to approximate the Martini-Henry "carbine load" introduced in 1877 ... it having been found that the M-H carbines were virtually unusable with the full rifle load of 480 grain bullet and 85 grains powder (... ask Guns Garrett and his poor shoulder about that!)  This called for a shorter 410 grain bullet, so the 405gr bullet is darned close (... although they are a bit too small in diameter, so I cast them quite soft so they "bump up" better in the rifling, and shoot them unsized as well) and 70 grains of powder.  Essentially the same load as the ultimate .45-70 loading, you'll note. 

The difficulty is that although the original full 85 grain rifle charge came all the way up to the bottom of the cartridge neck, the level of 70 grains of powder falls below the shoulder of the Martini-Henry case. They originally used a quantity of carded wool below the "glazed disk" in the carbine load, to take up the space, then later the carbine load cases were instead lined with a coil of heavy paper/light cardboard below the shoulder. 

Unfortunately, "modern" commonly employed fillers (like cornmeal, seminola, grits or whatever) may be problematic because they can reportedly "slug up" in the bottleneck, resulting in erratic pressures and potential loss of accuracy (if not dangerous overpressure.) The solution is to use an "active filler" (a 50/50 mix of black powder and the cornmeal or other filler) over a reduced powder charge.  The BP within the filler theoretically burns as soon as the powder charge goes off and prevents "slugging" of the filler in the neck.  Technically, you have to include the BP within the filler as part of your powder charge, so I use about 55 grains of 2F topped by 30 grain equivalent (by volume) of the 50/50 "active" filler - this pretty much duplicates the volume of an 85 grain charge, while yielding an "actual" charge of 70 grains BP (i.e. 55 + 15).

I also use a "grease cookie" (a disk of good soft BP lube, such as SPG or homemade equivalent, sandwiched between disks punched out of coated milk carton material) directly under the bullet, in place of the beeswax wad and glazed cardboard disks of the original loads, to help keep fouling soft through a course of firing without cleaning, such as we do in GAF skirmishes ... 

Here is a graphic, based on the period cross-section of a full rifle load in a drawn brass case, on the right, to illustrate my adaptation ...



I use similar construction for my .577 Snider-Enfield cartridges although, since they have a straight-walled case, a plain filler can be used in lieu of the "active" filler. Although it may increase competition for me in the British military firearms field (... not that I am terribly good to start with, mind you ...) I have no problem sharing my experiences and methods ... I will turn 70 this fall, so gotta pass on the lore before it is too late!

RSJ....sorry that I did not respond right away.  I've been traveling for family issues.   

Great explanation and pics.  I'll honest...I want this to shoot in my full length rifle.  No carbine in my arsenal.  I need one.   

[RattlesnakeJack]

I don't have a Martini-Henry carbine, either ... but this is an approximation of the downloaded carbine cartridge, which is much more pleasant to shoot in the rifle than the full rifle load ...and also happens to comply with the GAF bullet weight and velocity limits for rifles of .50 caliber or less ... 

If you will be at the GAF Muster, by any chance, look me up and I can let you compare shooting this "carbine load" with the full-spec rifle load, as i will have a number of the latter along for the long-range rifle event.

(As you may be aware, the original U.S. .45-70 military cartridges were produced in both a "rifle load" with a 500 grain bullet and a "carbine load" with the 405 grain bullet, but the heavier bullet load was not pleasnt to shoot even in the rifles, and the load was fairly soon standardized with the lighter bullet ...)

[Silver Creek Slim]

Heading out for NE in a little bit. Will go at least to Dubuque, tonight.

Slim

[Dusty Tagalon]

My 50/70 are lite, 48 grains APP, 385 grain bullet.
Brian