.303Br Mk VI Help

L

lawn gnome

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I found over a hundred odd rounds of ammo and need a bit of help making sure what I have.

Ten rounds per pack, .303 British.
Paper wrapped, tied in string.
Outside of paper is marked in red ink with
CARTRIDGES
SA BALL
.303 Inch
CORDITE

Under that is a horizontal rectangular box with three parts.
The first part has various number, 15-25, the middle section all say 2, and the third part all say 09.
EG 19-02-09

At the bottom there is the marking Mark VI followed by the letters DC with the war department arrow on top of them.

Lastly there is a small horizontal rectangular box with a horizontal stripe across the middle.

I apologize that there are no pictures.

Headstamps are;
D war department arrow C
2
09
VI


I am assuming Mk VI ammo, 215gr RN.
Are we talking 1909???
Is it ok to shoot from a MK1 or a No4?
Is it worth anything?
 
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This indicates that the ammo was made by Dominion Cartridge Factory in February, 1909 and is Mark VI ammunition made in Canada, and the first number is the day it was made. Cartridges, Small Arms, Ball, Cordite propellant, 215 Grain round nosed bullet. It is probably worth more as a Collector's item than it is to shoot, especially so as it is in original paper wrapping. Most of this stuff was shot off at Camp Valcartier during WWI to train the Canadian soldiers so it is not that easily found.

It would be kind of a shame to shoot it, and if you want shooting ammo, then consider trading it for a hundred rounds of modern ammo, which would benefit both you and the person who would get and appreciate it. Take it to a Gun Show or a Gun Club where Members shoot military rifles and you could probably trade it off or sell it. It is worth at least $1 per round, and more because of the intact packaging.

You could shoot it in a Number 1 or Number 4 rifle, but these rifles were intended to shoot the 174 grain Mark VII ammo, so accuracy could not be up to your expectations. In any case, it is certainly corrosive, and you will have to clean the rifle immediately by running two pints of boiling water down the barrel, and lightly oil the bore, then check the bore for the next couple of days. Depending upon how it has been stored, you might have missfires from deteriorated primers or powder, and case cracks when fired because of brittle or inside corroded brass cases. It is, after all, well over 100 years old.

Date edited - typing error -------- Information corrected - pleading lack of sleep on that one and would not want incorrect information.
 
Last edited:
"...worth more as a Collector's item..." Yep. Pre-W.W. I ammo is collector stuff. .303british.com is your friend. Add the W's.
Accepted 1904
Smokeless powder load. Berdan primed. 215 gr RN bullet.
Muzzle Velocity - 2050fps
 
Manufacturer is Dominion Cartridge Factory, later Dominion Arsenals, Quebec City a crown corporation not Dominion Cartridge Co which was private company later merged into CIL.
19 02 09 19th Feb 1909
2 09 on hs Feb 1909
 
Many years ago, I had 5 packets of this stuff, put it away carefully because I knew they were not making any more. I moved to BC to work; that left my guns and ammo here with my folks..... along with my youngest brother.... who could do no wrong. Came back to visit a year or so later, discovered that my .22 had been run over by a tractor, my P-'14 (s/n W-305) was rusty inside and that I now had ZERO antique .303 ammo. My brother then had the nerve to b*tch to me that the old ammunition "doesn't shoot straight" and that it was MY fault that HE had to waste $6 on a box of sporting loads so he could shoot HIS deer. He ignored the fact that it was illegal, even then, to hunt with FMJ ammo.

I had "almost ruined" HIS hunting season! What an absolute TURD I must be!

To add insult to injury, he ripped up all the paper wraps and threw the brass away!

That's like robbing somebody and then suing them because you couldn't steal enough from them!

So take it from my darling little brother: that old stuff "doesn't shoot straight". I had never fired any because I valued it too highly.

But it WILL be a wonderful start on a collection.

MOST of this was shot off, training the Army in 1914 and 1915. Very little survives today.

You are a Very Lucky Guy.
 
Thanks everyone.
Absolutely wonderful to have stumbled into this.
I expect that I'll sell it to folks who can better appreciate it than me.
Definitely cool, but I don't have all that interest in being the curator of an ammo museum in the basement.
 
Just an update for everyone now that pics are available.





Again, a thank you for the help figuring out what I have. Now, off to the EE Monday.
 
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