Rapidrob

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About Rapidrob

  • Rank
    Enthusiast
  • Birthday 08/10/1951

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Albuquerque
  • Interests
    ...if it goes bang.

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  1. We've talked in the past about your Dad's great cartridge, the 5.7MMJ.

    One of my favorite cartridges for a carbine.

    Not a lot of info on the web about it use,if ant.

    As far as you know, was the carbine ever used by a police department or in a " Banana War"?

    Thank you for any info.

    Rob
     

  2. Was the Johnson 5.7 Carbine ever used by a police force or in a "Banana War" in South America? Was it ever used by the CIA or any other Gov'mt agency?
  3. I was trying out a new load for my 5.7 carbine and found I had a quantity of 40 grain FMJ bullets. No idea who made them or for what original cartridge. It was very windy at the range and I only set up out to 300 meters as the 40 MPH constant wind was going to play havoc with the bullet flight. As it turned out the wind was a "Range Wind" and the little 40 grain bullet was able to hit the 24x24" AR550 target most of the time. It still had enough oomph to leave a nice dent on the surface of the target. I was going to move over to the 500 meter target but the wind was getting worse as the day progressed.
  4. Thanks for getting the site back up. Since my last post I've found some loads that work very well out of my carbine's 1:16 twist that are not safe out of my 1:14 twist carbine. I'm very happy with the accuracy,it is so much better than the other carbine. So far I've only shot it out to 280 yards. I plan on using the 45 grain bullets out to 500 yards just for a test as I know this is beyond the design. Tens 40 shots are in the center,the 4 o'clock group are 45 grain bullets 200 yard 45 grain bullets in a slight breeze.
  5. How do you post more than one photo?
  6. The barrel I bought was 1:12 twist, no good for this cartridge as the pressures go too high,too fast and you have to keep the velocities down below design specifications. As to the history of the 5.7MMJ that I just got,and was told that it was an original Johnson Arms,I'm now not to sure about that. The Carbine is built on Winchester parts,except for the bolt and barrel. I was told that the scope was a Redfield,it is not. It is a 1947 Weaver J2.5. It has been professionally mounted at the rear sight base and over the barrel. The Carbine was converted in the early 50's. There is a Crescent Moon stamped on the right hand side of the barrel,close to the gas block. The bore is .223 and has a 1:16" twist. The muzzle has a rebated crown. The barrel is of military contour with the exception that there is not front sight key-way. There are two machined "flats" under the barrel at 6" centers. One is under the wood. A black painted rectangle in under the "ejection port",perhaps to cut down reflected light for high speed photography? The wood under the paint is 100% OK. Who knows why it was done? I loaded up 100 rounds this past weekend using some 40 grain FMJ's and softpoints made in the 60's for the .218 Bee cartridge. All are flat base. My load of IMR-4227 was able to push the little bullets to just over 3,000 FPS at 8,000 FASL where the range is. At 100 yards the carbine will shoot 1" groups all day long. At 300 yards in a 15 mph wind I was able to keep all shots on a steel-man upper torso. I took the optics out of the scope tube and cleaned them and the single post/wire is clearly seen. The scope holds zero very well and the adjustment screws are still very tight. Fired brass shows no problems with pressures or cycling. The original owner of this carbine has passed away and I bought this from a fellow who knew I like the 5.7MMJ cartridge. What the real history of this little carbine is is anyone's guess. I sure would like to know it.
  7. Many years ago I built a 5.7MMJ on a Winchester receiver using the Fulton Armory barrel. It shoots well but the rifling twist is wrong, so loads are a little on the light side. I had been looking for an original carbine since then. My question is,is that a fellow just sold me an original Johnson Spitfire carbine as made by the Johnson company. You can clearly see the feed ramp that was needed and the 1:16 twist barrel. The carbine has a very old Redfield scope mounted to it. The rear mount replaces the dove-tailed open sight. The front mount is just forward of the chamber. The top wood has been professionally milled to allow the mount to protrude. The two mounts are extremely sturdy. The workmanship is 1st rate,not a hobby weekend gunsmith job. I would guess this mounting is as strong as the infrared scope mount from Korea war era. Did Melvin Johnson or his company do a trial on a scoped Spitfire carbine? The scope is a fixed 4 power. The fellow who sold it to me bought it from an estate sale of a retired Army ordnance officer who passed away. His family said the officer had had the carbine since the late 50's. I can post photos later on when I return home from out of town work. Many alterations have been done to the stock and it shows that other sights or devices had been mounted at one time and then removed and the stock cuts filled in with plastic or Bakelite. Once again,done by those who knew what they were doing. What do you think or know about this?