Can anyone tell me anything about this .303 ammo?

sailorjosh

sailorjosh

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I don't know anything about military surplus ammo, so here are some pics

-1.jpg

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Is it corrosive? Should I save the cases (I don't reload now and I know next to nothing about it but I plan on learning down the road) for reloading? There's no reason not to fire this ammo, right? I'm hoping to use it up when the no.1 mk III that cantom sold me gets here.


Thanks!

Josh
 
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Hello,

Its Canadian made post war. I can't really make out the date stamp. It looks like 68 or 89. This ammo was probably made as stock or for the rangers.

Anyways I would treat it as being corrosive. It will probably be some nce ammo to shoot.

Cam
 
I see two holes in the primer base inside of the spent cartridges I have so I'd assume berdan primer... corrosive.

Easy fix...hot water down the barrel...no big deal.

BTW yes that ammo shoots nice. :)
 
In the pic with the round sitting beside the box: Is the case mouth dinged up or is that just the lighting?
 
IVI production in 1990, with cases marked 1989. Genuine Ranger issue. I think the Mark 8Z means noncorrosive priming compound. Quite distinct from anything the British specified.
 
It is my understanding that while the current IVI 8Z is loaded with the boat tailed bullet, but is not ballistically the same as standard 8Z Vickers gun ammunition. Boxer primed, non-corrosive. The cases are excellent for reloading. Ranger issue.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
IVI production in 1990, with cases marked 1989. Genuine Ranger issue. I think the Mark 8Z means noncorrosive priming compound. Quite distinct from anything the British specified.
Click to expand...

The box tells us that the box was packaged in 1990.

IVI = Industies Valcartier Industries (Plant/Company where mfg)
8 = Mk 8 ball (boat-tailed 174 grain)
Z = Nitrocellulose powder (as opposed to cordite)
89 = year of production of the cartridge case

Now the "legends":

According to legend all Canadian mfg .303 is non-corrosive. This is not the case, especially with the Berdan primed cases (which were loaded well into the 1950s).

ALL Milsurp ammo should be treated as corrosive. The well-known case of the Communist Chinese produced British coded (RG?) 7.62x51 NATO being a prime example.

8Z was NOT loaded to higher velocities. ALL MkVII & MkVIII ball was loaded to 2440+-40 fps.

MkVIII WAS intended for MG use, where the boat-tail helped in the extreme range aimed & indirect fire roles.
 
As mentioned before, Candian Ranger ammo, made in April 1990 by IVI, boxer primed, non-corrosive and a 174gr FMJ bullet. Later issue substitutes the FMJ bullet with a commercial PSP bullet so the Rangers can hunt their seals, etc. with a better hunting round using their issued Longbranch No4 Mk1's :D

These are as good as any commercial 303BR ammo IMHO. AFAIK, there should not be any on the civilian market, so these must have fallen off the truck somewhere :rolleyes:
 
RifleDude said:
These are as good as any commercial 303BR ammo IMHO. AFAIK, there should not be any on the civilian market, so these must have fallen off the truck somewhere :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


My dad got them from a friend of his who died..and he says that that the friend who died got them from another friend who happened to be inuit and lived up north, so that would explain alot...I just found it on a shelf downstairs the other day, it had been sitting there forgotten for a while.
 
The Ranger issue softpoint ammunition is headstamped IVI 303 BRIT. No date. Primer is not crimped.
 
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Garand said:
IVI 8Z ammunition is boxer primed, not berdan primed and NON corrosive.
Click to expand...


Yet I'm pretty sure I've got stuff with the same markings that has two flash holes...beridan primed. :confused:

Also since when did the Ranger stuff go up for sale in the surplus market?
 
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