Mystery.303 British Ammo

[allisd17]

I have a box of .303 that I must have picked up years ago at a gun show. The rounds have a visible cannelure and no headstamp. They appear to be boxer primed. There are no sealants or markings of any kind. Any ideas on these?

 

[Roverguy]

A bit scary, that. No headstamp and 303 Brit has been made in a lot of places where commitment to QC and a strict adherence to pressure standards are dubious indeed. Me, I’m too old for that. At best, I would pull bullets and reload, but I’m not you and, when I can avoid it, I prefer not to tell other people what to do.

 

[Driftertank]

+1

I would AT LEAST pull a couple down to see what they're loaded with...cordite, extruded, ball powder; consistent charges?

Even then, I'd be leary of touching one off in a rifle with any significant intrinsic or emotional value, particularly in the vicinity of my face...

 

[Archie]

That does look like a .303 round. I assume you've checked it for chamber and all that.
Checked with International Ammunition Association. Nothing on the ".303" discussion tags. Some ammunition was made intentionally with no head stamp to give provide anonymity for 'quiet' missions. I have three entire rounds of 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP in U. S. parlance) with blank head stamps.
Depending on how many rounds are available, I'd pull the bullet and determine the bullet weight. If that matches up (within tolerances) then weigh the powder charge to see if it matches any loading information. (Keep in mind 'slow' powders are fairly 'new' - many since WW2.)
One might contact the seller and see if any information is available. If all else fails, or one cannot dismiss the question, pull them and use the case, bullet and existent primer. I'd keep a couple for my 'cartridge collection'. You can always tell people it came from James Bond's stash.

 

[22250Rem]

Pull a bullet for sure.... Then you would have confirmation on what primer style ( boxer or berdan ) and what type of propellant. They could possibly be charged with cordite instead of powder. I still have some old berdan primed, cordite, 303 rounds around here but they all have headstamps. That's an interesting old round. Never saw one without a headstamp.

 

[Remington1911]

Personally I really don't bother with surplus of any kind anymore. Just not worth the hassle.

Last weekend I smashed the hell out of the middle finger on my left hand, the guns I shot last weekend are still sitting on my table. I can only imagine the shape they would be in if I had shot corrosive in any of those.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I'd be curious whether they are loaded with cordite (stuff looks like angel-hair spaghetti/pasta)?



After determining this, my second question would be whether the cases are Boxer primed or Berdan.

If the former, my practice is to fire or kill the primers and deprime, clean the cases, reprime with new non-corrosive primers and reload the original bullet over a new powder charge. All this assumes the cases are in good condition with no signs of age cracking.

I did a search on '303 no headstamp' and the leading rumor I encountered was that this may have been sterile supply for the mujahidin in Afghanistan during their war against the Soviets.

 

[rust collector]

Even Radway Green and other reputable manufacturer's rounds were loaded with cordite, which was erosive as well as corrosive. I would not fire any surplus ammo in an Enfield that was in good condition, let alone unattested mystery rounds. These would be relegated to collection or conversation purposes in my possession, but some would say I'm no fun.

 

[Remington1911]

I'd be curious whether they are loaded with cordite (stuff looks like angel-hair spaghetti/pasta)?

View attachment 1089837

After determining this, my second question would be whether the cases are Boxer primed or Berdan.

If the former, my practice is to fire or kill the primers and deprime, clean the cases, reprime with new non-corrosive primers and reload the original bullet over a new powder charge. All this assumes the cases are in good condition with no signs of age cracking.

I did a search on '303 no headstamp' and the leading rumor I encountered was that this may have been sterile supply for the mujahidin in Afghanistan during their war against the Soviets.

The one thing it had going for it was the different smell.

It has been a while, but as I remember is smelled differently after being fired.

 

[allisd17]

I did a search on '303 no headstamp' and the leading rumor I encountered was that this may have been sterile supply for the mujahidin in Afghanistan during their war against the Soviets.

That's my best guess. It's beautiful ammo in mint condition. Definitely nitrocellulose (you can hear the powder shaking). The primers are boxer-sized, but I have heard of manufacturers using smaller than normal Berdan primers on occasion. I don't care to pull a bullet and don't intend to shoot any of it; I just thought that someone on the forum might have encountered this stuff before....

 

[db_tanker]

another vote for sterile ammo...personally I'd keep it for collector value personally

 

[tark]

The Japanese copied the Lewis machine gun and also loaded an identical copy of the British .303 round. These guns were primarily used on aircraft as a rearward facing defense gun for the back seat man. It is possible that these rounds could be 7.7X56mm Japanese rounds. The only thing that is off is the lack of headstamps. The Japanese did headstamp their rounds.

 

[Bwana John]

B Mark VIz rounds?
https://forum.cartridgecollectors.org/t/303-brit-without-headstamp/1653

 

[Bcwitt]

303s were manufactured all over the world, often not exactly ISO 9001. Way sketchy for shooting.

 

[Bwana John]

OK, now I'm a little worried, I bought unknown "303 British" projectiles advertised as AP. It looked like tracer to me. I was going to cut it in halve with a Dremil tool, or put it in a vice and subject it to a torch, but now I see there was .303 incendiary using WP, incendiary using thermite, and even bullets containing RDX!

According to the cartridgecollector.org there was quite a bit of different type 303 ammo made without head stamp during WW2.