Found some .303 POF ammo today

[american lockpicker]

I was at a gun show and found a 32 round box of .303 ammo. Now I have an excuse to get a SMLE.

 

[John Sukey]

Well, if you are buying a drill rifle I suppose so. POF has a BAAAD reputation for click-bang or just click!

I have a load of it given to me by a gun shop after a customer returned it. What decided him was when one round went off AFTER he ejected it and before it hit the ground. And going by the headstamp it's just shy of being 50 years old.

 

[Pblatzz]

Remember to count to ten and keep your muzzle on target.

Dashes = seconds

Click- - bang
Click - - - - -bang
Bang
Bang
Click - bang
Click - - - - - - - - - - Zip= remove bullet & cordite.....
Bang
Click bang
Click- - bang
Click, re-#### -bang
Click - bang

This stuff is a PITA to shoot, couldn't tell you if it shot well the click - - bang got me concerned after ten shots I stopped shooting it.

I pop'ed the bullets, tossed the brass in the scrap brass bucket and kept the cordite in a bag for later, and reloaded the bullets.

 

[american lockpicker]

I've had it before but never had issues like that.

 

[ArtyMan]

Ive fired that stuff before. Really poor in terms of reliability, my results shadow what was said above. Pretty dirty stuff to with fairly poor accuracy compared to Cdn surplus.

 

[John Sukey]

I would assume it was good ammo when made, BUT it has been improperly stored over the years. Nothing wrong with the bullets or the cordite, just the primers

 

[revilo]

Especially if it's cold outside! I had to pull back the striker and pull the trigger a second time to get it to go out of an SMLE. The amount of filth in the barrel afterwards was something to behold. John Sukey is right, pull it down and reload the components.

 

[ratherbefishin]

while the 303 and ammunition is very common in CANADA,how is it south of the border?Do stores stock it ?
I've never had a problem with this ammunition-but an old guy I knew had similar problems with 30/30 ammunition, but that also could be old 30/30 ammunition issued during the war to the coastal reserves[the ''gumboot navy'']

 

[HeadDamage]

That POF stuff is bad... some very long hang fires and some no fires.

 

[John Sukey]

Well, stores do stock .303 south lf the border, but hunting ammo. Milsurp is hard to find. However there is NO shortage of new unprimed brass or bullets.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

Just imagine being a member of 2PPCLI on 677 in Korea with strippers and Bren mags full of POF ammo! very's

 

[LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1]

I actually heard that the bullets in the POF stuff are pretty good. i would imagine if you reloaded Berden, the 700rnd Crates would be a good deal, pull the bullets, dump the cordite and pop the primer, reload with new powder and primers and your golden.

 

[bearhunter]

I had a bunch of that old POF stuff. It had about 10 hang fires per box. I just pulled all of the bullets and threw the brass etc into a fire barrel and burned out the combustibles. It was loaded with some sort of yellowish poweder and I wasn't interested in playing with it. Good bullets though, very consistent when loaded into commercial brass.

 

[american lockpicker]

while the 303 and ammunition is very common in CANADA,how is it south of the border?Do stores stock it ?
I've never had a problem with this ammunition-but an old guy I knew had similar problems with 30/30 ammunition, but that also could be old 30/30 ammunition issued during the war to the coastal reserves[the ''gumboot navy'']

Winchester hunting ammo is quite common Walmart/ASDA stocks it but milsurp is scarce.