303 Brit PPU Mk8z?

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Fox

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I ended up with about 20 rounds of 303 Brit that is 1970s PPU with a boxer primer. The stuff is marked Mk8z.

Is this stuff safe for a rifle or is this all vickers stuff like the earlier Mk8 ammo?

Also, I did a little reading on surplus here and someone mentioned FN ammo being hot, I have a bunch of this stuff, boxer primed from 69, should I be concerned shooting this in any rifles? I have a No1, No4 and No5 that I could shoot it in.

Thanks
 
Yes, they are fine. The MkVIIIz has a boat tail.

"The Ball Mark VIIIz bullet weighed 175 grains and had a lead/antimony core with either a cupro-nickel or gilding metal envelope, although the former was little used. The bullet was boattailed with one cannelure. Originally the boattail was "stepped" down from the diamete of the body but after 1942 the design was changed to one where the boattail was smoothly continued from the main diameter.

The propellant charge was between 37 and 41 grains of nitrocellulose to give a muzzle velocity of about 2,550 feet per second at a pressure of 20-21 tsi.

The headstamp included the numeral "VIIIZ", after 1945 changing to "8Z", and a purple primer annulus.

Although the .303 inch Ball Mark VIIIz was designed for long range fire in Vickers guns, it could also be used in rifles and Bren guns in emergencies or special circumstances, contrary to what is often claimed about it being "hot" machine gun ammunition.

Although producing a slightly higher pressure, 20-21 tsi compared with the 19.5 tsi of the Mark VII, rifles and Bren guns were proofed at 25 tsi and so were well within the pressure limits.

"Pamphlet 11, Small Arms Ammunition" states that Ball Mark VIIIz may be used in rifles and Bren guns when less flash is required, e.g. at night."
 
The Lee action isn't as weak as Americans think it is, the ammo will be fine. Incidentally, the ammo isn't as weak as Americans think it is either, it's ballistically very similar to M118LR, I've seen it compared to 30-40 Krag, not sure how.
 
enefgee said:
The Lee action isn't as weak as Americans think it is, the ammo will be fine. Incidentally, the ammo isn't as weak as Americans think it is either, it's ballistically very similar to M118LR, I've seen it compared to 30-40 Krag, not sure how.
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I had read that they should not be used in the No 1 but the No 4 would be fine, do not want to stretch out anything.
 
The current IVI ammo made for the rangers by General Dynamics is MkVIIIz.

ht tps://www.gd-otscanada.com/product/cartridge-303/

MkVIIIz produces a slightly higher pressure, 20-21 tsi compared with the 19.5 tsi with Mark VII ammo. Rifles and Bren guns were proofed at 25 tsi.
 
There is nothing wrong with that ammunition. Your rifle will shoot it fine. If the ammo has been poorly stored be cautious of hang fires, squibs and failures. If the Brass is badly tarnished or has signs of corrosion either do not shoot it or use with caution. That stands for any ammo.
 
Riflechair said:
There is nothing wrong with that ammunition. Your rifle will shoot it fine. If the ammo has been poorly stored be cautious of hang fires, squibs and failures. If the Brass is badly tarnished or has signs of corrosion either do not shoot it or use with caution. That stands for any ammo.
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Ya, I am aware of bad ammo, I actually have a box for ammo meant to be broken down. I will make some minimum H4895 loads and bring them out when someone wants to come shoot just to make the gun go boom.

This is 70s vintage, brass is beautiful and there is a red sealant on the primer. I just wanted to make sure this was not known to be a problem in these rifles. I may break one of them down and weigh out things.

Next weekend looks like it will not be stupid cold so planning a milsurp day and I have a pile of vintage ammo to get through, ha ha.
 
I had quite a stash of PPU73 headstamped MK8Z 303 ammo that I bought from International Firearms.Very good quality I thought,unfortunately for me the rounds I had were Berdan primed,couldn't find thr proper primers to reload them with.With yours being Boxer primed you have some very good quality brass to work with.
 
bjmurata said:
I had quite a stash of PPU73 headstamped MK8Z 303 ammo that I bought from International Firearms.Very good quality I thought,unfortunately for me the rounds I had were Berdan primed,couldn't find thr proper primers to reload them with.With yours being Boxer primed you have some very good quality brass to work with.
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I am going to pull one apart I think, sure as heck looks like Boxer from the outside but could just be a very similar sized berdan primed case.

I thought I would shoot one, size and then compare the weight to the PPU I have kicking around, if they are close then they will end up in the PPU pile for making up some VII spec rounds. Too bad we cannot find flat base 174gr FMJ, 180gr flat base spire point soft point seem to be the closest.
 
Good idea to open one up and check things. I had some exactly the same, beautiful ammo, but all berdan primed unfortunately.
 
This ammo has a reputation as a high pressure load. Just because it says 8z does not necessarily mean that it was made to Brit specs especially when made in a none Commonwealth country.
 
My notes from some I pulled down a LONG time ago list the Yugo-made"Mk8z" as a having 192gr FMJBT lead core bullet with gilding metal jacket, in a brass case with a 5.5mm Berdan primer. ISTR that they looked like the producer had duplicated the profile of the Mk8 bullet but with a full lead core without the lightweight nose filler of the original design, and that they felt like a fairly stout load.
 
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