University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 3-5-2014 A Recreation and Ballistic Evaluation of Otto Schneeloch's Firearm Curiosity - The .307 Triangular Amber Nicole Shukitis University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Mechanical Engineering Commons Scholar Commons Citation Shukitis, Amber Nicole, "A Recreation and Ballistic Evaluation of Otto Schneeloch's Firearm Curiosity - The .307 rT iangular" (2014). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5125 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Recreation and Ballistic Evaluation of Otto Schneeloch’s Firearm Curiosity – The .307 Triangular by Amber Shukitis A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering University of South Florida Major Professor: Stuart Wilkinson, Ph.D. Nathan Gallant, Ph.D. Rasim Guldiken, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 5, 2014 Keywords: Triangular Cross Sectioned Bullets, Uniquely Shaped Projectiles, Twisted Triangular Bore, Triangular Direct Metal Laser Sintering Barrel, Triangular Bored Revolver Copyright © 2014, Amber Shukitis TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: FIREARMS HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ............................................................ 2 2.1 Firearms with Uniquely Shaped Ammunition ............................................................. 2 2.1.1 Puckle Gun ................................................................................................. 2 2.1.2 Whitworth Rifle ............................................................................................ 3 2.1.3 Pyramid Shotgun Pellets ............................................................................. 5 2.1.4 Devel Bullets ............................................................................................... 6 2.2 Personal Protection Arms of the Late 1800’s ............................................................. 7 2.2.1 Smith and Wesson Model 1 ........................................................................ 8 2.2.2 Smith and Wesson Model 2 ........................................................................ 9 2.2.3 Smith and Wesson Model 1 ½ .................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 3: OTTO SCHNEELOCH THE INVENTOR ............................................................. 11 3.1 History of Otto Schneeloch ...................................................................................... 11 3.2 Otto Schneeloch .307 Triangular Revolver .............................................................. 12 3.3 Otto Schneeloch .307 Triangular Cartridge .............................................................. 18 3.3.1 Smith and Wesson Model 1 Cartridge ....................................................... 18 3.3.2 Smith and Wesson Model 2 and 1 ½ Cartridges ....................................... 19 3.3.3 Primers of the mid to late 1800’s ............................................................... 19 3.3.4 Otto Schneeloch Triangular Cartridge ....................................................... 20 CHAPTER 4: DETERMINING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE .307 TRIANGULAR CARTRIDGE ................................................................................................................. 24 4.1 Bullet Dimensions and Shape .................................................................................. 24 4.1.1 Bullet Measurements and Calculated Dimensions..................................... 24 4.1.2 SolidWorks™ Bullet Model ........................................................................ 29 4.2 Cartridge Case Dimensions and Shape ................................................................... 30 4.2.1 Cartridge Case Measured and Calculated Dimensions ............................. 30 4.2.2 SolidWorks™ Cartridge Model .................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 5: DETERMINING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE SCHNEELOCH’S PROTOTYPE FIREARM ............................................................................................... 36 5.1 Barrel Dimensions ................................................................................................... 36 5.1.1 Triangular Firearm Determinations ............................................................ 36 i CHAPTER 6: PRODUCTION PROCESS .................................................................................. 38 6.1 SolidWorks™ Barrel Design .................................................................................... 38 6.2 Triangular Barrel Manufacturing .............................................................................. 39 6.2.1 Broaching .................................................................................................. 39 6.2.2 Button Rifling ............................................................................................. 40 6.2.3 Hammer Forging ....................................................................................... 40 6.2.4 CNC Machining ......................................................................................... 41 6.2.5 Direct Metal Laser Sintering ...................................................................... 42 6.3 Modified Barrel Design ............................................................................................ 43 6.3.1 Attachment Features ................................................................................. 43 6.3.2 Forcing Cone ............................................................................................ 44 6.3.3 Muzzle Crown ........................................................................................... 45 6.3.4 Material ..................................................................................................... 47 6.4 Firing Mechanism Manufacturing ............................................................................. 49 6.5 Barrel Shooting Rest ............................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER 7: CARTRIDGE PRODUCTION PROCESS ............................................................ 58 7.1 Bullet Production Process ........................................................................................ 58 7.1.1 Production of Bullet Mold .......................................................................... 59 7.1.2 Bullet Production ....................................................................................... 64 7.2 Cartridge Casing Production Process ...................................................................... 66 7.2.1 Production of Cartridge Mandrel ................................................................ 66 7.2.2 Production of Cartridge Bases................................................................... 67 7.2.3 Cartridge Casing Assembly Process ......................................................... 69 7.2.4 Cartridge Loading Process ........................................................................ 72 CHAPTER 8: BALLISTICS ........................................................................................................ 76 8.1 Interior Ballistics ...................................................................................................... 76 8.2 Exterior Ballistics ..................................................................................................... 76 8.2.1 Ballistics Coefficient .................................................................................. 77 8.2.2 Gyroscopic Stability ................................................................................... 77 8.3 Terminal Ballistics .................................................................................................... 78 8.3.1 Sectional Density ...................................................................................... 78 8.3.2 Ballistics Gelatin Options........................................................................... 79 CHAPTER 9: EXPERIMENTAL TESTING PROGRAM ............................................................. 82 9.1 Apparatus ................................................................................................................ 82 9.1.1 Ballistics Gelatin ........................................................................................ 82 9.1.2 Chronograph ............................................................................................. 82 9.1.3 Paper Targets ........................................................................................... 83 9.2 Procedures 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