There are other reasons why many of the shooting fraternity prefer to reload their ammunition; it is a piece of economy not to be despised, and being located in an inaccessible place, away from towns or cities where cartridges can be purchased, compels some individuals to make their own ammunition.
The marksman, in attempting to reload ammunition, will be beset with many obstacles, and is not likely to produce so good cartridges at the first trials as he can purchase in stores where they have been received fresh from the factories; but to those who desire to prepare their own ammunition, the following mode, practised by different pistol and revolver experts, will doubtless prove a guide to many.
If the finest work is to be attempted, the use of new shells is recommended. If old shells are to be reloaded, the exploded primer should first be removed, the shells then washed and thoroughly rinsed in water, warm if convenient, and, if desirable to remove the stains from the shells, a little acid may be dropped into the water. After washing thoroughly, dry perfectly, but do not heat enough to draw the temper. Special care should be taken to have the water dried out of the pockets or primer-holes. The next process, if the shell was previously crimped, is to expand it at the mouth.
The Ideal Reloading Tool, for Pistol and Revolver Cartridges.
The reloading tools supplied by manufacturers are advertised to expand as well as decap the shell, but do so very ineffectually, and a tool is recommended specially for this purpose. Unless the shell is sufficiently expanded, the bullet cannot be properly seated in the shell, and this is one of the first difficulties the beginner is likely to encounter. After expanding the shell, the next operation is to reprime the shells. It will be found necessary to use the copper primer for most of the American shells. Considerable care should be used in seating the primer, as most of the shells are not solid head, and a heavy pressure on the capper will seat the primer too deep, and often force it through the pocket and spoil the shell. If the full charge of powder is to be used in the cartridge, the shells should then receive it; but if a reduced charge is to be used in a large calibre, with the object of making cartridges for in-door shooting, many experts use a wad of pasteboard of the exact size of the inside diameter of the shell, with a hole about one-half the diameter of the wad in its centre. The wad is seated in the base of the shell, and the light charge of powder poured in. The object of this wad is to have the powder ignite quicker than it is supposed it would if spread over the base of a large shell. By the hole in the centre of the wad, much of the small charge of fine powder is directly in front of the primer, and the theory of experts is that the full force of the charge of powder is more quickly secured than if spread over the base of a large shell.
The question of powder is a very important one, and has provoked an endless amount of discussion and experimenting among manufacturers and shooters. The most desirable point is cleanliness, as much fouling means inaccurate shooting; and as that is a very marked defect in nearly all black powders at the present time, many believe that the effectiveness and accuracy of the revolver will be increased when improvements in powder are made.
In the smaller calibres and in short-barrelled pistols a finer grain of powder should be used; the fine-grain powder is also better for light charges.
A request to the leading American powder manufacturers to state the brands of powder they recommended for pistol and revolver shooting brought the following responses:—