Cartridge power - reduced loads

[Stu]

There's been a lot of talk about the Luger needing a stouter load than some other weapons. It seems this is particularly true of the 30 Luger with reference to modern loadings.

I was browsing and came acroos the following statements from the Swiss tests of 1899:

"For both pistols, the following tests were executed:

* Fire test with reduced loading (10%), 15 shots, followed by 47 shots with 20% load reduction, where both pistols worked correctly.
* 32 shots with no grease in the breechblok: both pistols ok.
* Tests with cut cases and limited in length, side-wise, and obliquely. The Borchardt-Luger worked correctly, while for the Mannlicher, two shots out of six where the breechblok does not open at all, one case split.
* Tests with sand and water: 16 shots are fired with heavy dust on the weapons, and 16 other shots are fired after the pistols have both been soaked with water. Both weapons function correctly."

I just thought it interesting that back then the gun worked fine with a 20% load reduction, how does that reflect on our modern ammo ?

The actual web site makes interesting reading for those of us without a decent library

http://www.regnier.ch/pages/BorchardtLugerHistory.htm