help identifying surplus ammo

[Treemagnet]

I was Given a lee enfield mk4 sporterized. A friend of mine was given this and a crate of ammo. in side the crate was another crate of 303 ball still sealed. and a bunch of other rounds loose. the .303 i can identify but not the loose stuff.
the bullet is silver head stamp is 2 o'clock "N" 6 o'clock "56"
and 10 o'clock "F"
bullet seems to be 8mm in dia over all length 80mm including case
the 303 stuff is marked the same only "50" at the 6 o'clock position.
any help would be appreciated.
also I would like to restore the rifle back to original configuration I hate the sporster version, any ideas what parts I would need and where to get them. thanks
Tom

 

[Ryan500]

Post pics of both and you'll have some fast answers from the guys here.

 

[kohr varik]

This site can help you


h ttp://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm

 

[Treemagnet]

photo of two shells

 

[Treemagnet]

Thanks I did look there but wasn't sure what I was looking at

 

[Treemagnet]

this is the head stamp of the steel one

 

[Treemagnet]

this is the head stamp on the copper one

 

[gaff]

looks like 8mm. Fabric National 1956 7.92x57mm

 

[Treemagnet]

The story goes that this old guy came from Germany so I was suspecting that it might be 8mm Mauser ammo.

 

[mikerock]

Copper jacket is a rimmed cartridge - FN made .303 BR (probably!)

 

[Nabs]

"F N" = Fabrique Nationale in Belgium ?

Steel core cartridge looks like an 8mm Mauser.

 

[plinker 777]

both cartridges look like reloads to me (neck re sized)

 

[Donny Fenn1]

both cartridges look like reloads to me (neck re sized)

anealing...

 

[desporterizer]

both cartridges look like reloads to me (neck re sized)

Good luck, that brass is berdan primed.

 

[plinker 777]

Good luck, that brass is berdan primed.

Hmmm, ok but what's with the necks? looks reshaped/sized to me

 

[Donny Fenn1]

Hmmm, ok but what's with the necks? looks reshaped/sized to me

They are annealed, lots of euro and high end brass looks like that

 

[Treemagnet]

Thanks all now I want to restore the enfield back to pre sporterized

 

[smellie]

FN 1950 .303" is the rimmed one. A bunch of this stuff came here in the middle/late 1970s. It was loose packed in brown cardboard boxes of 20 and it was marked prominentl on the boxes "Pour FM Bren seulement - Voor BREN MG": Bren Gun stuf, quite heavy loads. Bulets are boat-tails, priming seems noncorrosive (play it safe anyway) and it is Berdan primed.

You will also run into 1969 which was loose packed in boxes of 100 rounds.

The other round is an 8x57 (8mm Mauser) military load which is very close to the German JsS oading. Hot and heavy. Boat tail bullet.

FN is Fabrique National d'Armes de Guerre in Herstal-lez-Liege, Belgium. It was founded in 1889 to produce the Belgian 1889 Mauser rifle and worked its way from that upward until it now is one of the biggest arms-and-ammunition concerns in the world.

They make very good stuff.

Nice ammo: you have enough there to start your own cartridge collection.... and that can be an interesting and worthwhile hobby all of its own. In the matter of the .303, I collect them personally, although I have only about 200 varieties. The late Peter Labbett was the absolute EXPERT on the .303, had 1800 in his own collection (including 2 I gave him) and borrowed another 1800 with which to write his seminal book, "303 Inch". You can still find most varieties of garden-type .303 for a buck a shot or under, only the scarce ones bringing $10 or $20 a pop and the great rarities are so rare that most of us will never see one, much less have a chance to bid on one: the Canadian-made .303" Ball Mark III (Dum Dum type) is in this category.

Have fun!
.

 

[Treemagnet]

Thanks Smellie lots of good info there I am going to open the crate of 303 this weekend and see whats in there