Grenade Launching 303s
- Thread starter Dosing
- Start date
grenade launching
Have used mine for launching tennis balls using ordinary blank ammo. You get about 100 yards or so in a high arcing trajectory. Its a lot of fun. The grease is not necessary but unless you use some sort of gas check (top from a Campbells soup can), you will blow a hole in the tennis ball. It will last for 2-3 launchings before coming apart.
Have used mine for launching tennis balls using ordinary blank ammo. You get about 100 yards or so in a high arcing trajectory. Its a lot of fun. The grease is not necessary but unless you use some sort of gas check (top from a Campbells soup can), you will blow a hole in the tennis ball. It will last for 2-3 launchings before coming apart.
Dosing said:
Yes........
For fun only, ~Angel~ and I spent hours last summer up at the Milcun Training Facility, firing tennis balls out of these rifles using regular .303 blanks. I have some great video complete with "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" music playing in the background that I'll see if I can put up for download, assuming anyone is interested.
1917 No.1 Mk III Lithgow "wire wrapped" (All matching serial numbers)
2 1/2" Grenade Discharger and Mk36 (1917 PT Co.) Grenade with discharger base plug.
Instructions for use
Note: Discharger actually has a sliding window like opening with a threaded lock knob (see pic), that allows gas to escape out the side in a controlled fashion. In that manner, the firer can control the amount of gas he permits to escape, so he can vary the distance grenade gets tossed. According to period grenade manual, a fully closed port will launch about 200 yards.
Special .303 Grenade Cartridges (10 per sardine can styled tin)
Note: color coding to distinguish from regular blanks.
Regards,
Badger
Dosing said:
No, but some crazy Americans I've chatted with claim that unopened Bud Light cans fit nicely and simulate the real thing.........
I prefer to drink the beer and use the tennis balls instead ......
Regards,
Badger
- Location
- Edmonton, AB
Looks like fun!
Dosing said:
Makes me wonder why I started thinkning about it
A cat will fit in that little cup?
Seriously, I know you want to give your astronaut helmeted kitty some authentic training, but that may not be the right way to do it...
grenade launching
we also launched a dummy rifle grenade from a spigot type launcher on a No 4 Mk 1 and from a yugo SKS. Again we used ordinary blanks and were getting just over 100 yards.
The rifle grenade was a bit beat up to start with so it was not a problem receiving further abuse. It was a lot of fun but given the BC wilderness type range that we use there is a tendency for the projectile to get damaged and lost in the bushes!
we also launched a dummy rifle grenade from a spigot type launcher on a No 4 Mk 1 and from a yugo SKS. Again we used ordinary blanks and were getting just over 100 yards.
The rifle grenade was a bit beat up to start with so it was not a problem receiving further abuse. It was a lot of fun but given the BC wilderness type range that we use there is a tendency for the projectile to get damaged and lost in the bushes!
Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to launch something like a gas checked Mills bomb with a pyrotechnic blank! The grenade launching blanks illustrated by BadgerDog are charged with an approprite propellant, and are colour coded for easy identification. Noisemakers use blank powder, which is entirely different. Grenade launching was not limited to only the wire wrapped rifles. Until there was a change in tactics, and grenade launching fell from favour, any rifle could be used as circumstances permitted. The wire wrapping was applied to dedicated grenade launching rifles to contain fragments in the event of a barrel failure - with correct launching blanks. Incidentally, there was always the concern that the grenade might not launch correctly - it would start foreward far enough for the lever to detach, but not leave the launcher. The drill was to throw the rifle foreward, and get down. The delay in a standard igniter set for rifle launching provided enough of a margin to pitch the rifle.
So, in reading this old post, I can fire tennis balls out of my regular SMLE (non-wire wrapped) with standard blank cartridges? I picked up a grenade discharge cup recently on eBay and am super excited to try this. Now just to find the blanks.
You'll find pics of a couple of different blanks tins with their labels in this MKL article..
Enfield Wire Wrapped Grenade Rifles and Dischargers (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=105
Hope this helps ...
Regards,
Doug
Enfield Wire Wrapped Grenade Rifles and Dischargers (click here)http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=105
Hope this helps ...
Regards,
Doug
No, but some crazy Americans I've chatted with claim that unopened Bud Light cans fit nicely and simulate the real thing.........
I prefer to drink the beer and use the tennis balls instead ......
Regards,
Badger
Sounds like fun, but always wondered why a guy would want to needlessly stress his nice rifle that way.
there's a reason you're not supposed to fire them off the shoulder. Grizz
Somewhat lesser known- in WW2 there was a shaped charge anti-tank grenade designed to be shot from the 2.5 inch "cup". It was called the No. 68 and has fins for stabilization. I have never seen a picture of one being fired but I would assume it was to be fired from the shoulder given the purpose (ie hitting a fairly small target dead on)?
milsurpo
milsurpo
