03A3 Springfield Floorplate/Trigger Guard?
Q. I am finishing two 03A3 Springfields that are tackdrivers, and I am looking for a company that makes hinged floorplates/trigger guards for the Springfields. Can the experts help me?
Keith Sage
Swartzcreek, MI

A. Unfortunately there are no current manufacturers of aftermarket trigger guards with hinged floorplates for the 1903 or 1903A3 Springfields. In the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s these were readily available from several sources; however, due to diminishing demand as fewer Springfields were converted to sporters and more were left original as collectables, this item was gradually dropped from production. At this point I am afraid that you basically have only two realistic options. The first is to find an older sporter that may not have been very well done with a hinged floorplate/trigger guard. You could then remove and reuse the commercial trigger guard on your rifle. The other option is to take a milled military trigger guard and convert it to a hinged floorplate. The last option is probably the most realistic and practical.
Reid Coffield
Gunsmithing Editor

Holster For Taurus Judge?
Q. I just purchased a Taurus Judge .45 Colt, and I would like to buy a western-style leather holster for it. I don’t have a computer, so that limits my search. Does any company make such a holster for the Judge?
Norman Fischer
Sginaw, MI

A. You didn’t specify which barrel length your Judge has, but Hunter Company recently announced a leather holster for both the 3-inch and 6-inch Judges. The listed price is $75.50. You can contact Hunter by phone at 800-676-4868. Galco also offers leather Dual Action Outdoorsman and Wheelgunner holsters for 3-inch-barreled Judges. Prices range from $55 to $89.
Joel J. Hutchcroft
Editor

Seating Depth For .308?
Q. I read the article by Layne Simpson in the June issue of Shooting Times, and I have some questions regarding how deep to seat my bullets for better accuracy. Any help he can give me would be appreciated.
Darren Rowe
Via e-mail

A. Optimum bulletseating depth for best accuracy will vary not only from rifle to rifle, but from bullet to bullet as well. One rifle might shoot a particular bullet most accurately when it is seated out close to the rifling (and sometimes lightly touching it), while another rifle may prefer for that same bullet to be a few thousandths off the rifling. For this reason finding the correct depth for a particular rifle/bullet combination boils down to a trial-and-error procedure.

When developing a load for a new rifle/bullet combination, I begin by seating .030 to .050 inch off the rifling and shoot a few groups with a starting load of the powder I have decided to use. Staying at that same seating depth, I shoot groups while increasing the powder charge in half-grain increments until a maximum load for that particular rifle is reached. If at that point I think that the rifle is capable of better accuracy than I am getting, I drop back to my starting load of powder and continue the same program by seating the bullet closer to the rifling in .010-inch increments. Regardless of how the rifle is shooting at that point, I prefer to seat the bullet no closer than .010 inch off the rifling. I know some folks who seat bullets against the rifling, but they are asking for trouble in the field because doing so can leave a bullet hung in the chamber throat when a cartridge is extracted from the chamber.
Layne Simpson
Executive Field Editor