Reloading for the m-1889 - Straight-Pull Rifles - Swiss Rifles - The Swiss Rifles Message Board - Message Board - Yuku

0 Kudo

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Reloading for the m-1889

Author	Comment
montanamauserlady	Reloading for the m-1889	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1 (08/23/08 12:27:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None We have 2 m-1889 Schmidt-Rubins with real nice bores in real nice shape and we would like to shoot them. I understand the bore diameter is.304 . Where do you get bullet heads for this in the U.S.A. I have also read some people are using GP-90 ammo. they have but do not see any of this for sale. Help!!
eglib		#1	[-]
Posts: 713 (08/23/08 12:45:31) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Welcome! Please jump down to Reloading Tips and scroll through to see the 1889 topics. It's probably better to say you are looking for ammo for the 1889, or GP(18)90, to avoid confusion with the newer Swiss GP-90 (1990) in 5.6mm. You will also see that there are two different cartridges for the 1889 rifles - GP(18)90 original paper patched and GP(19)23 with no paper patch. Bruce
montanamauserlady		#2	[-]
Posts: 2 (08/23/08 12:57:43) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thank you Bruce. I will check over there and see what I can find. I am new to this forum and was not sure where to post this question. I entered the subject under search topic but did not find what I was looking for.
Parashooter		#3	[-]
Posts: 1660 (08/23/08 16:39:16) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	You are mistaken about the bore diameter. That is normally about 7.5mm+ (.296"+). The grooves are about .005"+ deep, giving a groove diameter of .306"+. Typical 1889 barrel cross-section. The fat chamber neck and long, wide throat are the main problems with loading for the 1889. The original load was a heeled lead bullet with a steel cap and paper patch. The lead went about .315" forward of the heel and the patch brought it up to about .321" (double lap of .003" paper). Stuffing all this into a 7.5+mm bore with groove diameter reported running from .304" to .310+" was the apparent reason for the elongated funnel-throat. I've tried cast bullets from .308" to .316" in mine and results were marginally acceptable at best. Be sure to wear glasses when shooting since the wide neck often leads to incomplete case expansion and breech seal with progressive powders. The solution adopted for the 1889 by the Swiss in 1923 (correctly known as "GP90/23"), using a fully-jacketed bullet about .307", is much easier to emulate with decent results. Most of us who shoot these start off with a .308" round/flat nosed jacketed bullet about 170-180 grains and powder charges recommended for the US .30/40 Krag cartridge. GP9/03 detail. Photo by Guisan.

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Quick Reply