Old CIL/Imperial Ammo

DiMP

DiMP

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My better-half's grandfather passed away over 2 years ago. My sister-in-law moved into his house and is slowly cleaning out the basement. My better-half inherited his Lee Enfield No4Mk1 and a Browning Auto-5 when he passed as she is the only one in her family with an interest in guns (and has her PAL). She says she can't remember in her life (25 years) ever seeing her grandfather go out hunting or shooting, but remarkably the guns were in great condition. Recently her sister came across an old homemade wooden box that Grandpa had made for his ammo. A couple questions about it. First, if the cases seem alright (no physical damage, bullet still tight in place, no box damage) is there any issue with shooting it? Directly after inheriting the guns, my lady had shoulder surgery so she hasn't even shot them yet. I thought it might be a neat memory for her if the first time she shot grandpa's gun using what was left of his ammo. I'm not interested in selling these by any means, just wondering if they are best used up (if safe) or put on a display shelf? Here are a couple pictures if anyone has additional info. I think the wife will enjoy learning some history of the items

Imperial .303 British


Manufacture Date...? 1952?


Ammunition was a lot cheaper back then! $6.25


Assorted 12 Gauge Brands/Types


Clear top you can see the shot through, Wax coated paper shells, Fancy 'New-Fangled' PLASTIC shells, Slugs


I like reading the info on the far-right box on the benefits of the 'new plastic hull' shotgun shells


Thanks for any insight you might have!
 
Ammo has an extremely long shelve life if it is kept dry ; so I would think that the ammo would certainly be safe to shoot . On the other hand , the ammo in question may have sentimental value , so it might be better to buy some new ammo , and keep the old ammo as a memory of days gone by....
 
Gunexpert007 said:
Ammo has an extremely long shelve life if it is kept dry ; so I would think that the ammo would certainly be safe to shoot . On the other hand , the ammo in question may have sentimental value , so it might be better to buy some new ammo , and keep the old ammo as a memory of days gone by....
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That's what I was thinking. It's going to be up to the wife what happens to it. I just wanted to know if she DID want to shoot it if it'd be safe to do so
 
That Imperial KKSP .303 was wonderfull stuff, and yours is in great condition.
I wouldn't worry too much if it is still safe to fire.
The worst that could happen is ~click-boom~, or, ~click .... nothing~.

Were it me, I'd go to CTC for plinkers and keep the old man's ammo with his guns ... for posterities sake.
 
CanAm said:
Imperial is the 80s packaging

The gevelot SK plant was only open for a couple of year. I think it closed in 64
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Not that it really matters but Gevelot Canada was still producing ammo in the early 70's if I recall correctly and we were still buying it
May have closed in 73/74 so the Op can add probally 8-10 years to these from 64
Cheers
 
I still have some of that Imperial ammo left also, Ive taken it moose hunting the past couple seasons and its never failed to fire.
 
saskbooknut said:
Gevelot plant in Saskatoon - October 1961 to 1973 ( from a quick Google search)
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Thanks. I figured since I would be just a little too young ;) in 64 to be buying it alone and was . Those and the green czech stuff was another cheap cool one with the open plastic see in top
Those we would buy at Kmart for $1.44 a box on 1.44 days
Oh the good old days
Cheers
 
As others said if it was kept cool and dry it will go bang and if not then nothing else - Dangerous is going to happen .it would be a nice thing to just display the ammo in a clear cabinet because the boxes are in more than decient shape and they are intresting - from day's gone past.

and Canadian History . nice find .
 
I started buying shot shells in 1963 and preferred CIL Canucks. Sellier and Bellot shells were cheap but left huge amounts of fouling in the bore.
As a teenager I couldn't always afford a whole box of shells, but the local sport shop would sell me ten. The world has changed a lot since then.
 
That's long before the 1980s. IVI was given the CIL brands in the late 60's. Same boxes with 'IVI' where the 'CIL' is. Not much, if any, collector interest now. Even though that stuff is in pristine condition. Suspect the $6.95 price is not 1952. Minimum wage was well under that in 1952.
The Gevelot might have collector value. So does the Western marked Winchester ammo.
 
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