Stripper Clips and Reloading

[Quantrill]

Good day.

I successfully reloaded my first batch of 10 cartridges (.303 British) and I have a question regarding the stripper clips -

The stripper clips I have are very old and look like rust has accumulated. I noticed that after shooting brand new rounds, the cases have a couple scratch marks from getting into and out of the stripper clips. If necessary I can provide pics. Does this damage the cases and should I refrain from reloading because of this? The brass I used today I purchased from someone else so it does not have those scratches.

Also, I don't know if this means I should purchase new stripper clips. Would getting newer clips or maybe thoroughly cleaning the old ones prevent this from happening?

Thanks for any replies.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[browningautorifle]

Remember the clips were only meant to be used once. Casings too. The military doesn't consider this a problem. If you want to remove any roughness you'll have to paper them on the inside. That MAY work. I never had any casing blow up because of scratches...

[jimb16]

The edges of many stripper clips are rough. Mosin clips are as bad as enfield clips. If you really want to clean them up, use a little fine emery cloth then hit them with a buffing wheel. The scratches are pretty much on the surface and don't effect reloadability. In the case of the .303, you will probably reach the point of case head separation long before the scratches are of any real consequense.

[Quantrill]

Thank you both for the replies.

[Sawfish]

This reply is a bit late, but I recently bought a mixed batch of Garand and British Enfield clips. The Enfield clips had some gunk and light rust on them. I soaked them overnight in ATF to loosen the rust and brushed the interior of the clips with a cheapie stainless steel brush that I got from Harbor Freight. They cleaned up very nice.

[NuJudge]

For rust removal, fine sandpaper and maybe phosphoric acid.

Generally, militaries expect the chargers ("stripper clips") to be used once and discarded, but not always. I bought 4 small cases of 1937 Greenwood & Batley .303 some years ago, and the only one of them I have been into has a mixture of Enfield chargers: Type I, II & III. Clearly, the lean times of the 1930's caused the British to reuse them.

A great deal has been written about the British soldier and his training to load his Enfield. They frequently polished the inside of their chargers. They also arranged the rims. Most of what is written about this says that they have 3 cartridges down, and two up, as shown here:

Even so, the Greenwood & Batley ammo mentioned above was not assembled into the chargers in the 3 down, two up, instead it is stacked /////.

[browningautorifle]

was not assembled into the chargers in the 3 down, two up, instead it is stacked /////

And if you're practiced at the reload, you'll find this works fine.