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Improved Cartridges and Ellwood Epps

Ellwood died in August, 2002, at the age of 94. He was a character.



Years ago, I used to chat with Ellwood Epps. He liked to reminisce, telling me that in the good old days before I was around, he and his friends would talk about fixing up rifles and improving cartridges. Nothing was made using equipment controlled by computers.

In a nutshell, he said there were three reasons to improve a cartridge: to clean up the chamber, to increase case life and to obtain better velocity. Of the three, cleaning up the chamber was the number one reason to improve. Next was case life. Velocity increases ran third. This may have been Ellwood's practical side. It was likely at odds with Ackley's need for speed.

This was before short and fat were in vogue, and most magnums were bottles of champagne. Brass was harder to come by and there were a lot more surplus rifles – including surplus single shots. As well, civilian industry was less involved in cartridge development.

Ellwood sold, repaired and played with a lot of surplus 303 British rifles here. The condition of the chambers varied greatly. Some chambers were too long and one firing was all you got from a case. Some were poorly made and abused. But while most people saw these as damaged goods, he saw them as an opportunity. There was money to be made!

He consulted with Ackley about improvements. In part, because of the atrocious chambers. He also looked at the 303 cartridge. It had a rimmed case, was designed in the 19th century, and had a droopy, 16 degree shoulder.

Small gun shops and home experimenters did the lion's share of R&D years ago.

Ackley started using a 35-degree shoulder, as did Ellwood. PO changed to a 40-degree shoulder, while Ellwood stayed with the 35.

Ellwood's primary concern, horrible chambers, was virtually eliminated with a finishing reamer. Like other gunsmiths of the time, he removed the barrel, took a thread off the back and reinstalled it. Then he took a finishing reamer and cleaned up or "improved" the chamber. In effect, it was tighter. A better fit for the unfired cartridge.

He could have simply tightened things up by chambering the rifles again in 303 British, but the cases would still distort. It would just take a little longer. He opted to improve the 303 by reducing the taper and sharpening the shoulders. This increased the useful life of the brass. His creation became the 303 Epps. His improved line expanded and became the Epps line of cartridges. Next to the 303 Epps, the 6.5 Epps was probably the most popular offering, and the favourite of his wife, Isabel.

For Ellwood at least, more velocity at the same pressure level was just icing on the cake.

In the good old days, when experimenters were improving almost everything, there were a lot more rimmed cartridges and single shot rifles around. Feeding problems associated with improved cartridges were not as much of a problem. In the early part of the 20th century, rimless cartridges took over. Severe tapers and droopy shoulders were great when black powder was king, but design requirements changed going into the 20th century. Improved cartridges were a logical progression for shooters using smokeless powder and wanting better performance.

Epps was also a large mail order business that published a catalog several hundred pages thick. He sold rifles, accessories, reloading equipment, and converted or improved milsurps. Everything a hunter or shooter needed was contained within it.




Ellwood's influence on Canadian sportsmen was more than that of Parker Ackley. And many (but not all) of Ellwood's improvements concerned military rifles. He realized that there was a market to sell beat up, former military rifles and make a buck. And he was getting them by the truckload. They had to be sporterized – many using Fajen stocks and aftermarket iron sights – to be hunter friendly. Some had mechanical issues that included poor feeding, mismatched bolts and bad chambers. Epps restocked Mausers, Enfields, Krags, Mannlichers, Remingtons and others too.

Ellwood carried a lot of 303 stuff, and listened to his customers...for the most part. Many Canadian shooters were familiar with Lee Enfield rifles because of their time in the military. It was just after WWII and Korea. LEs were our primary small arm from 1916 into the late 1950s, and there was a huge desire to buy a rifle that you were comfortable with. He converted a lot of P14s, No 1 and No 4 LEs before conversions became evil. In fact, it was looked upon favourably by everyone in those days. I have heard that over 7 million Lee Enfield were made.

So where am I going with this? Well, many of the chambers were in need of work. Improving, or rebarreling and rechambering rifles was more common around here in those days. There were fewer cartridges and powders, so you worked making things better with the tools, components and technology available at the time. That is no longer necessary because we have more cartridges, powders, and technology and design have advanced.

Ellwood read about what Ackley and others were doing. They wrote to each other, talked on the phone and swapped ideas. It’s important to remember however that Ackley and Epps were not the first to improve or wildcat cartridges. They were also just two of a number of gunsmiths and experimenters active back then.

I cannot say exactly when Ellwood started his work improving milsurps and rifles in general, but I would guess it was in the 30s or 40s. He opened his first motorcycle shop in 1929, and repaired rifles as well. He went into the firearms biz full time in the 1930s.

By the 1950s, he was converting, sporterizing and repairing all kinds of surplus rifles. If you are lucky enough to have one of his old catalogs, you will see many pages of his work. He marketed his Epps line of improved cartridges and rifles based on the 303 British in a number of ways.

My favourite memory of his old shop, before George Winkel bought the place and changed things around, was a glass top counter with letters and souvenirs sent to him by customers. One of the mementos was a small wooden box with a Plexiglas front that he kept there. It was a 303 Epps cartridge with velocity data handwritten on paper and placed inside.

I cannot recall the exact figure, but he claimed the increase was something in the order of 400 fps over the standard 303 British muzzle velocity of 2440 fps for a 180 grain bullet. I believe he claimed 2900+ fps. That was unlikely though, and I doubt any of his loads were chronoed back then.

In my work with Epps cartridges, I got an average 130 fps increase with 180 gr. bullets. I got more with my P14, but that was because I pushed the pressure up.

Today, I would improve because the cartridge shape might be pleasing to my eye, or I had a rifle lying around unused. Otherwise, it is easier and cheaper to buy another rifle chambered for a cartridge that will get me what I want.

Ellwood's shop couldn't exist today. Government regulations, a wood stove not too far from the reloading powder and a bunch of older men smoking pipes and cigarettes are only seen in the movies nowadays. In some ways, I am envious of the simplicity. No fancy chronographs, illuminated scopes or cellphones loaded with ballistic software. It was just a bunch of guys shooting the breeze, talking about their last hunting trip or range experience. I bet it was easy to pick out the city types and prevaricators.

A different time for sure!



My 200 gr. Mk 9 bullet (right) beside a 180 gr. spitzer

The 200 gr Mk 9 was made in my workshop and is loaded into a 303 Epps case.

I have always felt that most velocity increase figures for the various improved cartridges were (and still are) somewhat exaggerated. Of course, the pressures are seldom the same. With the 303, pressures are dependent upon the rifle action and case life considerations. In a Lee Enfield, if you try to push the pressure envelope, the reward might be higher velocity, but the penalty will be case life which sux.
In a P14, there is no stretch, and you can load the 303 up to some pretty impressive levels with no case life penalty. So it was that I could load my P14 based target rifle, in 303 British, to 2770 fps with the 174 grain Sierra bullet, with no issues at all. This was in a .311 Shilen barrel 26 inches long. Later on, I switched to a 308 barrel, chambered for the 303, and managed 2620 with 190's. My intention was to then re-chamber to the Epps and compare the two, but the rifle shoots so well I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I do have a 30-303 Epps which I built on a Ruger No. One. From its 25 inch Douglas barrel, 150's go 3050, 165's go 2850, 180's do 2740, and 220's 2450 (I could probably boost the 220's a little).
My feeling is that a 303 Epps, loaded to the same pressure in a P14, might gain around 100 fps compared to the standard cartridge. In other words, it should push that 174 to 2870 or so; pretty close to 2900. In comparison to the factory loading at 2440 fps, it's a pretty significant increase, but that is a real apples to potatoes comparison. GD

I think the exaggerations were honest mistakes. The claims were made before affordable chronographs were available.

I sold off my Epps P14 years ago because of feed issues. I could load one or two Epps cartridges before it would fail to feed. It was easier to get my No4s to feed, but even then, they could only take two or three cartridges. It always worked best if you loaded a std 303 British case in the magazine first and then two Epps cartridges on top. I tried playing with the followers, but it was a pain.

This isn't the best picture, but when I was experimenting with loads, many of my rifles shot H4350 the best. I could manage about 190 fps faster than std 303 velocities, but the cases didn't like it, even though they were improved.

The capacity of a fireformed and FL resized 303 Epps (Winchester brass) is just about 2grains less than fireformed and FL resized 30/06 brass (also Winchester). With this being the case, where I typically load 57 grains of IMR4350 in a 30/06, I loaded 56 grains in the Epps. Not surprisingly, velocity is also about the same.
One thing which I have noticed, rimmed cases will handle a lot of pressure before primers loosen. This may well be due to the breeching on rifles chambered for rimmed cartridges.
I did some work with a No.1 MkIII, to see if I could demonstrate reduced bolt thrust due to case shape, as is claimed by AI advocates. I fired some Winchester factory rounds through the old Lee Enfield to establish a baseline velocity/pressure level. The velocity was about 2390 fps (significantly under the advertised 2540). I worked up a load which duplicated these factory loads, then loaded and fired one case, neck sizing only. With each firing, brass lengthened about .004". After four firings, head separation was imminent. I got the impression that one or two more firings would separate the head. The stretching of the case was all at the point of incipient separation.
I rechambered to the Epps version and fireformed some factory loads. Velocity was down to the high 2200's so I worked up a load to get back up to the baseline. Once there, I went through the same load and fire drill to check for case stretch. Now, it was apparent that the grip of the cartridge to the original chamber wall was sufficient to separate the case head, so it would be difficult to demonstrate that the improved chamber was better in that regard. What I didn't expect was evidence that the new chamber actually allowed the cartridge to slip rather than grip. I can only explain this by assuming that I cut the new chamber too smooth. Anyway, the cases no longer stretched at all. Instead, with each firing, the shoulder moved forward about .004" When the shoulder was .016 forward, it was very difficult to close the bolt. In a front locking action, without the ability to stretch, it would have been impossible. In the end, I proved nothing except that the Lee Enfield would stretch (I knew that) and this stretch would allow the rifle to chamber cases which would jam most other rifles (knew that too). I showed that there is more in play than case shape when it comes to the influence on bolt thrust. GD

The year I was born...

Interesting comparisons. I have a custom 98 Mauser in 30-06 Ackley Imp. It will equal 300 H&H factory ballistics.
The improved cases last longer and stretch much less in the AI Mauser chamber-with tight AI chamber. dimensions.
The rifle was made in the early 1960s. The rifle came this way.

With modern powders and bullets, there is probably no need for the 06 Ackley today.
Probably the best results I have obtained with improved cases has been with the Win Model 71 in 348 Ackley.
It DOES produce 200 fps extra velocity in 225-250 gr bullets with reduced stretching in the 348 AI case.
It has worked very well on moose, with 250-270 gr Hawk bullets.

Bill, I noticed a marked difference in performance of with the 303 Epps when chambered in the P14. Because I figured that most conversions would be done with a Lee Enfield, I switched to a No4 Epps rifle for my tests.

They were performed with a number of different powders, but H4350 was the most accurate and produced about 190 fps more with 180 gr bullets. The Epps cases grew, but much slower than the parent in the No 4. A few thou each firing. That wasn't a concern for me. I was trying to match 308 velocities. I should point out that I was using an RCBS FL die set adjusted to just bump the shoulder, so I cannot really say how much the shoulder was moving.

With the 180s in the No 4, I backed off the maximum H4350 load and the MV was about 2580 to 2600 fps. This brought velocities in line with a 308 and that's where I kept my personal loads. Reducing by a grain might have helped stretch a little, but because of the forward locking lugs, there was still more flex. I noticed a difference in the amount of stretch between the three rifles I had. I wrote that off to the reamer and whoever did two of them. I did the third - a No 4.

That flexing is what made the Lee Enfield a good battle rifle. Regardless of what it was fed, it shot pretty much everything

Steve,
I make gauges to measure the head to shoulder distance on the case. I have been able to demonstrate that, regardless of the cartridge, most of the case stretching occurs during the FL sizing operation. There are variables involved which I won't get into right now. I may save this for one of my You Tube videos (Will Henry's Workshop) so I can go into it in more depth.
That stretch is indeed the secret to the Lee Enfield's success as a battle rifle. A little stretch and the powerful camming action of the angled lug seats.
When I was a kid and just starting into reloading (early sixties) I had a copy of Ackley's books. Since my rifle was a No.4 Lee Enfield, I was really fascinated by the Epps cartridges. How I would have liked to have spoken with Elwood Epps. It never occurred to me to write a letter! GD

olgrouser,

He sure had a pile of different rifles, didn't he? I was never a fan of black tipped forends, but you could pretty much order what you wanted. Long before the world got smaller and Toronto got bigger, the farm fields of southern Ontario were full of varmint hunters. Many carried single shot rifles. Not really part of the Lee Enfield post, but a gunsmith from Woodstock Ontario, GB Crandall, was a friend of Lysle Kilbourn, designer of the K-Hornet. There were lots of rifles being used in S. Ontario. Crandall had apparently designed what has become known as the 22 K-Hornet at the same time as Kilbourn. Kilbourn asked Crandall to send him some cases. It's a situation where two gunsmiths worked together to create something that is part of history.

450Fuller,

These days, many of what were developed as improved or wildcat cartridges are obsolete. We see so many new cartridges, most of which fade away because they are either another form of something similar or people just flat out aren't interested. Imagine being around when experimentation was going on in earnest. Some things clicked like the Gebby Varminter (22-250) or the 22 K-Hornet, while other things crawled away and died, like the WSSMs, or the 225 Winchester.

Bill,

Those gauges are a good idea. When you get your video made, please post a link.

Up until a year before he died, I think, Ellwood was running Gramp's Antique Cartridges. His business was conducted almost exclusively by letters. There was an auction of his stuff a few miles down the road from me about 3 years after he died. Among the items for sale were over 100,000 antique cartridges he had collected over his lifetime. He used to advertise in Gunrunner and a few other magazines.

What a story of the wonder years in Ontario!

If you enjoy reading about rifle and cartridge developments from the last century (the 20th century that is), I can recommend Twenty Two Caliber Varmint Rifles by Charles Landis. It is available on Kindle.

People who like history will enjoy Chapter 11. It is dedicated to Canadian gunsmiths who contributed to varminting and wildcattin in the early 1900s to the 1940s. There is an interesting story about the 22 Hornet and a Canadian gunsmith who was asked by Lysle Kilbourn to send cases for a cartridge that the Canadian had developed. It is a story that was almost lost about the development of the 22 K-Hornet. It is appropriately titled, The Crandall K-Hornet

GB Crandall was a gunsmith who lived in Woodstock, Ontario. Like a lot of gunsmiths of the era, they traded notes on cartridge development without regard of ownership.