OK, here's the deal. I picked up a mixed lot of Dominion, Imperial, and Cdn. military ball from a fellow CGN'er. There was a little corrosion on some of the rounds, but overall they were just a little oxidized. Since they were a mixed bag, I started to sort them out. Here's how they break down: 33 rnds. of Imperial 180gr.RN, 33 rnds. of Dominion 180gr. RN., 12 rnds. Dominion 150gr. spire point, and here's the oddball....23 rnds. of Imperial 215gr. RN. I knew about 200gr. factory loads, and I'd heard of 220gr., but 215 gr? Anyone else know about this load? There was even 1 old sabre tip (with the yellow plastic tip) in the lot. The military ball was mostly DIZ stuff, but there were 2 ball rounds with a smaller primer with 3 crimps (Boxer primed perhaps?) and the headstamp MK2. In total, there were 100 rounds of commercial soft point, and about 76 rounds of cdn. milsurp ball. Any thoughts on value of the lot?
Old .303 British civilian hunting ammo.
- Thread starter LawrenceN
- Start date
"...but 215 gr?..." Yep. Original .303 ball ammo used a 215 RN. DA loaded 'em. Nobody makes a 215 any more.
"...headstamp MK2..." Accepted 1893. Smokeless powder load(cordite). Berdan primed. 215 gr RN bullet. Muzzle Velocity - 1970fps. Collector ammo. Primers were crimped for use in MG's.
"...headstamp MK2..." Accepted 1893. Smokeless powder load(cordite). Berdan primed. 215 gr RN bullet. Muzzle Velocity - 1970fps. Collector ammo. Primers were crimped for use in MG's.
.303 headstamps (pics up)
Well, here;s some of the headstamps in this mixed bag of ammo. Some of them are more legible than others, but I'll give a brief description.
Top left: K51 (low "7") Top right: K (crossed arrow) F - 12-58 (low "7")
Bottom left: RC -30 -7, bottom mid: WRA1941 (low ".303") bottom right: GB- 50 -7. All are Berdan primed except the WRA (Winchester Repeating Arms?) which looks like a 4 crimp Boxer primed. Any of this stuff scarce or collectible. I'd hate to bang off a rare round whilst just plinking.
Well, here;s some of the headstamps in this mixed bag of ammo. Some of them are more legible than others, but I'll give a brief description.
Top left: K51 (low "7") Top right: K (crossed arrow) F - 12-58 (low "7")
Bottom left: RC -30 -7, bottom mid: WRA1941 (low ".303") bottom right: GB- 50 -7. All are Berdan primed except the WRA (Winchester Repeating Arms?) which looks like a 4 crimp Boxer primed. Any of this stuff scarce or collectible. I'd hate to bang off a rare round whilst just plinking.
Hi-Standard
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Newfoundland
If you decide to shoot the stuff, treat it as corrosive. Especially the berdan primed cases. Although berdan primed cases aren't guarenteed corrosive, most of the ones I've seen are. I'd bet most pre and post war ammo was corrosive anyway.
I've banged off a lot of the DIZ stuff in the old days, and since most of the milsurp ammo I have is Canadian, I'm not too worried about it. I always give the rifles a good clean after a shoot anyway. I have had issues in the past with foreign ammo and corrosion, espescially that filthy 8mm yugo stuff, but it's just a matter of elbow grease and time to have a nice shiney bore again. As I'd mentioned, my primary concern is not blowing off some rare or scarce ammo that would be better in someone's collection.
The lower left one is Radway-Green 1950 (UK). The lower right, Greenwood & Batley 1950, also UK. The two top rounds are Indian ones.
edit: I better double check! The K51 round might be Kynoch. I'll try to find the book.
edit: I better double check! The K51 round might be Kynoch. I'll try to find the book.
