Col. E.H. Harrison's 'Cast Bullets' Book

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Last Post 30 November 2021
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Rum River posted this 08 April 2021

Some months back did a trade at one of the gunshops I'm addicted to. A gentleman had passed who was into black powder cartridge shooting. The main item is a C. Sharps .50-140 complete with an MVA 6 power scope. Other than the rifle, none of the associated collection had reached the sales floor. As I'm standing amongst various piles and size boxes in the kinda dingy back room I see a couple of home made completely full desktop bookshelves. Turns out they contain all his load data, all his notes from the range complete with weather info, chrono readings, etc. Those shelves are now on my desk and I am going through all the priceless contents.

.....and found a first edition of the book in the title of this thread.

This book will never leave my possession, but I had to see what dollar value it has. Wow!! Going by a bunch of google hits it appears it's in the neighborhood of $200!! (There was an Amazon hit that claimed nearly $2000 - but I don't think I'll go by that.)

Haven't felt well the last couple months so have spent that time doing inventory, there have been a few revelations.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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ten-mile posted this 30 November 2021

For you guys not fortunate to have it, this should help.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiYq4_k_L_0AhUqAp0JHStsBIYQFnoECAYQAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nzha.co.nz%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F08%2FCastBullets-s.pdf&usg=AOvVaw19m6x54REv7XVXBOkHEH2o

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Samari46 posted this 28 November 2021

Another "old fart" here and at 75 I guess I qualify. Can't do pics but have three 3'x6' book shelves full of firearm related books, Precision Shooting magazines, Rifle and Handloader magazines, Gun Digest and loads more. Some of the shelves are stacked two deep with books. Just this year I added 5 more books. Three on schuetzen shooting by Randolph Schreiter Wright, one on 22 rimfires by Bill Calfee and The Essential M1 Garand by Jim Thompson. My main interest is cast bullets and have a Finn M27 that I swapped for and at present has about 3000 rounds of Lyman's 314299 down the tube. Have a sporterized 1903A3 and a semi sporterized 1898 Krag. Those will be the next in line to try cast bullets in. Frank

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RicinYakima posted this 28 November 2021

Glad it is working for you Dale. Personally I hate reading anything on a screen of any kind. When the kids left, I converted their bedrooms into libraries.

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Dale53 posted this 28 November 2021

I, TOO, am a certified “Old Fart” and also an Inveterate Reader! I have a large collection of gun books. Including most of what is discussed here. I also read a lot of fiction.

A couple of things I might do different:

My first iPad was bought to store and read my magazine subscriptions (including the Fouling Shot). In the past I traveled a good bit and it was nice to be able to carry my gun mags with me. I have come to really enjoy having all my mags with me plus gaining the TONS of storage space in my book shelves.

The second thing I do is read most of my fiction on my Kindle. I have been a steady patron of the local libraries for longer than most of you have lived. I now use my Kindle to read my library books. I can easily borrow even best sellers from my local library as well as the Ohio Library Consortium. It is nice to always have proper lighting built in to the Kindle, it is MUCH lighter than a large book, and also I can instantly change the text size if I need to. As I get older (and older) that is a valuable asset!

FWIW

Dale53

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RicinYakima posted this 27 November 2021

If you read the section on single heat treat Model 1903 rifles, it will give you a different perspective.

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Eutectic posted this 27 November 2021

Every time I drive down the road past a used bookstore the car automatically turns in and parks itself.

Inside I quickly check out the sections which interest me. Last week there was a new addition in the guns section.

Hatcher's Notebook!!!!! an almost new copy for 8$. The book shelf has a new addition.

Steve

“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” -- Attributed to Harry Truman

Outside of a dog, a book is your best friend. Inside of a dog it is too dark to read.

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M3 Mitch posted this 26 November 2021

Interesting that I bought both Col. Harrison's book and the Lyman 45th when they were relatively new. Another book I bought back in the day that is now out of print and valuable is Paco Kelly's "Leverguns".

Thanks for the heads-up on some loads in the Lyman 45th being overly hot. For calibers like the .348WCF, that old 45th has some data particularly for IMR powders that unfortunately not many of the newer books have.

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Rum River posted this 25 November 2021

Two or three years ago one of Terry Wieland's columns addressed older reference works - among them he mentioned the Lyman 45th edition. I have numbers 46 on up so naturally as soon as Wieland mentioned 45 I had to have that too. Samples in excellent condition were going for as much as $200! I found a very good used one at a gun show for $10. (Clod Hopper, I see what you mean about the Krag data.) Looking on Amazon just now there are used ones under $30.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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Clod Hopper posted this 25 November 2021

There is a supplement to Harrison's "Cast Bullets" that is maybe 20 pages. These books are interesting, but be careful, many things asserted as fact in these books are no longer thought to be true. The other book I have to watch our for is the Old 45th edition Lyman. Loads in the Lyman book are downright dangerous, particularly the .30-40 Krag data. Even some of the starting loads are too high. Ed Harris writings appear in both Cast Bullets and the supplement. His writings have held up well IMO. Some of these publications used to be available as computer files on Castpics, but I cannot get the site to open.

Dale M. Lock

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marktwo posted this 25 November 2021

I've got two book shelves, 8' by 8'.

I never get reading it.

Mark

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Tim Stapp posted this 16 April 2021

I just today received in the mail a "Legacy Reprint" of a Horace Kephart book that I first purchased when I was 14. That was fifty years ago. The original was dog eared and the pages were falling out. I'm not sure whatever happened to the original.

All of my Uncle's reloading notes for the match rifle that I purchased from him were chewed up by my son's dog while we were watching the dog one weekend. I had to work up "the load" on my own. Later, when talking with him, the load that I worked up exactly matched his! As a new shooter and reloader, I was elated.

My grandmother taught me to read at the age of three. She told me that if you can read, you can do anything that you set your mind to. Wise woman.

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Antietamgw posted this 15 April 2021

As one with chronic CRS, it doesn't quite work that way. You only forget the stuff that isn't really that important. All my Fouling Shot are thin and dog eared from re-reading. My Frank Marshall CD is wore out. Just started on a stored box of Precision Shooting and Accurate Rifle magazines that were supposed to be duplicates. Nothing new there either.

Keep your plowshare and your sword. Know how and when to use them.

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mashburn posted this 13 April 2021

Hello to all of you book readers,

I started to say hello to all of you old book readers, but decided that it would be hard to distinguish if I was calling you readers old or the books you read old.

With that said, if any of you people who like OLD BOOKS decide to rid your self of those problems, I would be glad to take those problems from you. You could at least put me down as an heir.

Just making a joke but aren't old gun and reloading books great reading.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Rum River posted this 13 April 2021

Rum, it is a Savage Model 23 in 22 Hornet, a very early one before Winchester started making Model 54's. It has a unique shape bolt handle that looks like a M-S but has a small round knob on the end. I think that is just the lighting.

Okay, got it. One of my many firearms addictions are Mannlicher-Schoenauers, so I'm always alert to those butter knife bolt handles.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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JeffinNZ posted this 12 April 2021

Ric; you're my new hero!

Cheers from New Zealand

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RicinYakima posted this 12 April 2021

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Rum River posted this 12 April 2021

Yakima, is that a butter knife bolt handle on that rifle behind glass?

It's only I lately I found the ambition to herd these into a single room.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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GWarden posted this 12 April 2021

Nothing like sitting down with a good book in hand, reading till it slips out of my hands as I fall asleep. Have lots of books as many of you do. Tried to tell my boys that some day they will have them; neither of them are readers or shooters. Tried to tell them not to put them on a garage sale for $.50 apiece. I have started selling a few off, what brings me real enjoyment is passing them onto friends that have enjoyed them and shared them with their friends. There is just something about the feel of a good book in hand. Have tried the ebook thing once, that was enough.

bob

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RicinYakima posted this 11 April 2021

Rum River,

Here is my ready reference, not counting books in boxes in storage.

Sorry

Sorry I can't get pictures to flip over.

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Rum River posted this 11 April 2021

A long time ago (first number of my age was a two) I attended a gunsmithing school in east central Minnesota. Some of the books I acquired for those classes are on a bookshelf in my office where I type this. Since then nearly two hundred others have joined them. Ackley, Sharpe, Nonte, McGivern, Skelton, Brophy, Keith, O'Connor and a whole bunch of others are keeping Colonel Harrison company. Finally decided I should get everything recorded so these items do not turn into someone's sidewalk sale.

Very glad to hear others feel the same as to the printed word.

"Well hell boys. I'd damn sight rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch'a damn strangers."

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