Found A 303 Proof Round In Some Odds And Ends At The Show Yesterday Pictures Are Up

albayo

albayo

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I found a 303 Proof Round in some odds and ends at the gun sow yesterday.
It was marked DA 1944 Proof.
The box was almost empty and it was at the end of the day so how many more were in the box and would they be too powerful for the old Lee-Enfield's?
 
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The headstamp said PROOF, or the box label? If the headstamp, it's a very good collector cartridge. The box capacity should be on the label, or the empty spaces should be evident. If your rifle was not a factory reject, or marked DP, it was built to withstand the % over-pressure of a proof round, BUT I would not shoot any in an old rifle that has been around the block once or twice..........or more.
 
What an interesting find! Any clue what the specs are for the round? How much powder? How heavy is the projectile?
 
Engineered Proof rounds have been around since at least WWI, or before. They are usually marked in a significant way, and are not usually allowed to leave the weapons testing facility.
 
saskgunowner101 said:
I thought they just oiled up a standard cartridge way back when to increase bolt thrust and pressure? In any event, that's a keeper.
Click to expand...
How does oiling up a case cause an increase in pressure? Bolt thrust, yes of course, you lose all the friction of the brass to the chamber but I don't see how pressure would increase. I can't see enough oil staying in the chamber to decrease volume appreciably.
 
DA stands for Dominion Arsenal, an ammunition manufacturer that was in Montreal and made munitions for the war. 1944 is the year it was produced. There is quite a bit of it still around, I had around 200 rounds of it and it fires no problem through the Lee Enfield. Every now and then you see a few boxes of it laying around. Aside from its historical "value", its not worth much more than any other surplus ammunition. It was sold by the box quite frequently in Canadian Tire up until the 80's apparently.

http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html for info on .303 British Head stamps.

Here are some photos of the stuff I have, stamped DI 1944 which is marked D| Z 1944. This was made by a company in India for WWII. 205 Grain FMJ.

dq42lj.jpg


2vmj7za.jpg
 
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Sapper, your ammo was made in Canada, at Defense Industries. And the OP's question was about "Proof" ammo, not ball.
 
Dominion Arsenal , a crown corporation,was located in Quebec City from 1884- c1960.
The DI hs ammo in post #8 was made by Defence Industries a Canadian crown corporation operated by Dominion Ammunition division of CIL in WW2. It is standard MkVIIZ ammo loaded with a 174 gr bt.
The Indian DI hs is a D at 9oclock and the Indian I with broad arrow property mark at 3 oclock. Use of this hs ceased c1910. Indian .303" ammo was loaded with the large, .250", copper primer.
WW2 era .303" proof ctgs developed a pressure of 23-25 tons per square inch versus 19.5 for service ball MkVII. Proof rounds were usually copper washed for ID purposes.
 
I thought that proof cartridges had a distinct blue marking on them as a warning
that they were proof loads and not just regular ammo.
Is that not where therm " blue pill " comes from ??
 
LUTNIT said:
How does oiling up a case cause an increase in pressure? Bolt thrust, yes of course, you lose all the friction of the brass to the chamber but I don't see how pressure would increase. I can't see enough oil staying in the chamber to decrease volume appreciably.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm mistaken, thought I read that somewhere on the net. Did they not oil cartridges to increase bolt thrust? Even if it only increases bolt thrust, and not cartridge pressure (by oiling a standard cartridge, rather than more powder), wouldn't they be simulating a high pressure cartridge without actually having one?
 
saskgunowner101 said:
Maybe I'm mistaken, thought I read that somewhere on the net. Did they not oil cartridges to increase bolt thrust? Even if it only increases bolt thrust, and not cartridge pressure (by oiling a standard cartridge, rather than more powder), wouldn't they be simulating a high pressure cartridge without actually having one?
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It might simulate the bolt thrust but not the chamber pressure. If a barrel or chamber was going to burst from pressure, oiling up a cartridge wouldn't do it.

I've read various explanations of oiled cartridges for testing purposes online but I've never seen anything confirmed. I've read various reports that oiling bullets (but leaving the cases dry) can reduce pressure but it can be dangerous as the oil could find its way into the chamber.
 
colinjw said:
I thought that proof cartridges had a distinct blue marking on them as a warning
that they were proof loads and not just regular ammo.
Is that not where therm " blue pill " comes from ??
Click to expand...

Cdn service proof ctgs are copper washed to the present day including the present 5.56 proof ctg. A wide variety of proof ID has been used world wide including stannic stain, knurled cases and rims, coloured dies, head stamps and others.
 
Very cool! If you weren't careful you could mistake that for normal ammo..... Any clue what the performance specs are for them?
 
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