Old 303 round

O

Odinson

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
10   0   0
I ran across an old 303 round that I have never seen before. The head stamp says .303 and there is KYNOCH on it as well. The crimp is unusual because it has 3 dimples rather than a crimp like the rest of the rounds. I am guessing that it was made in England (KYNOCH) but it looks like a military round but it is a soft point.
Thanks for any info that you have.

Mods, if this isn't in the correct form, please relocate.
 
If you have ever seen picture of the drawers of 303 rounds that Ganderite has in his collection - might want to send PM to him with picture - he likely has a box of them in his stash!!!
 
That collection is not mine. It belongs to the fellow who I give my odds n ends to,

It was common practice for military ammo to get the bullets pulled and soft points installed for cheap commercial hunting ammo.

I recall buying it for hunting in the 50s.
 
Its a commercial soft point loading of the .303. Kynoch was a major sporting ammo producer up to the mid-60's. If the bullet had been pulled and replaced the 3-point base crimp wouldn't be present. If its a round-nose, its likely 215 gr, pointed probably 174 gr or 150 gr. I can't recall offhand how many bullet weights were offered.
 
If the headstamp is "KYNOCH" it will be a commercial round.

Military ammo by Kynoch generally was marked K or, if they were running several plants, K with a plant number: K5.

Military specs included the wide 3-bar stab crimp. Reasoning for this was that military ammo had to have a 60-pound "pull" before the bullet would loosen. This was occasioned by the fact that the Maxim and Vickers belt-fed machine-guns CAMMED the bullet backwards in the case in order to align them properly for the Gib to pick up during the recoil stroke of the action; loose or not-fully secured bullets could telescope into the case, thus causing a stoppage. Stoppages were NOT wanted when facing thousands of angry Fuzzy-Wuzzies or goose-stepping Germans out for an Iron Cross!

The pin-prick type crimp was peculiar to commercial ammunition.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom