.303 British, ROF Radway Green 1955, Shoot It or Save It?

I picked up this box of original .303 British ammo at a gun show recently.
My research shows it was made at ROF Radway Green in 1955.
At first I thought this might have been near the end of production of this round there but it
seems production of the .303 was continued until 1973 so not even close to the end.
My question to you good people is shoot it or save it? Does it have any value?
It cost $20 usd for the box after a bit of negotiating. If he had more I would have taken it all.
The seal on the box was broken before I bought it but it's complete and all matching headstamps.
My next question, is this corrosive ammo? When I bought my first Enfield 40 years ago
I was buying similar but with older dates ammo for $3 usd a box. My how times have changed.
When cleaning at the end of a days shooting back then treating it as corrosive was automatic.
As I remember this ammo shot excellent, never had a misfire and was very accurate. - Bill

It's good ammo as long as it's been stored well and seen minimal temperature extremes. Evidence of this is when it hang fires or the primers are dead altogether. It's loaded with cordite and has corrosive primers. Treat ALL ammo as corrosive and erosive and you'll be OK.

I don't think there's any special value. I'd go through it as needed. I expect it'll all be fine.

I know a guy here that hangs onto ammo like it was his teeth. He'll never get through it all and instead of hoarding he should be shooting some. Eventually it will be all hangfire specials...

Post WWII let her rip and boil the barrel straight away or as soon as possible to stop the salts getting really stuck in WWII - WWI stuff is collectible I am chasing some MW 42 stuff but like the rocking horse has bolted and you cannot find the poop anyway its that hard to get. Then you have your tracer, A.P, Incd on and on it goes then you've got the factories it just never ends.
The only recommendation I will make do not use P.O.F (Possibility of Firing) it is cr*p of the highest order infact if I were the enemy one could feel fairly safe at 400m not really, I shot the stuff for a while 1967 vintage and I thought I was shooting a flintlock click - pause-bang-confetti everywhere-smoke-did I hit the target....................?

As for your RG looks pretty good the annulus is sealed anyway there appears to be no corrosion seen on them, just take it as it comes like BAR says if it has been stored correctly then it should go ok but there may be some hangfires you just do not know.

Pretty much whats been said except I also keep Korean War era ammo made by Allies that were still using the L.E in that conflict. As far As POF I got a bunch cheap and pull the bullets and reload them. Reloaded they do okay but are still plinkers as at any longer range too many will do strange things.

If that were mine it would be used for my longer range shooting and clean accordingly. This is assuming it is still good and is not click bang stuff.

Thank You gentlemen, as stated I have shot similar ammo in the distant past and it always worked well. When I get a chance (hopefully this coming weekend) to get to the range and burn some of this up I'll post a report here. There is no water damage to the box or excessive tarnish on the rounds so I'm hoping for the best. - Bill

I wouldn't use it to go plinking, keep it for those days you want to have a good shoot. If you shoot 303 on a regular basis you could use it a base line to find an alternative that has similar properties to the original spec.

My experience with Uk MkVII ammunition is that the primer mix they use is less shelf-stable than what was used in US WW2-era cal. .30 and .45 ACP ammunition. I have been vastly disappointed with Cordite MkVII ammo made during the WW2 era into the late 1950s, as well as later production POF made into the 1960s, getting high percentages of misfires and hangfires.

I have had similar poor experiences with WW2 era .455 and .380 Mk2z ammunition which was no good at all except for collector examples for photography.

I would not waste my money on buying old British military ammo for the purpose of shooting it, if I did not know the conditions of storage. Recent production RG 7.62mm NATO made in the 1980s ammunition has been accurate and reliable, but I don't trust it for "long term" storage, it being already 30+ years old@!

This has not been the case with DAQ, DAC, WRA and CAC ammunition, which was sure-fire. The most accurate and reliable military .303 ammunition I have is WRA Co. produced under Lend-Lease, which is still good, and the brass is reloadable.

Similarly I am using FA Cal. 30 Ball M1 ammunition made in the 1930s as well as DEN, UT, TW and LC of WW2 dates which is as reliable as it ever was, and .45 ACP Ball ammunition of various WW2 production, both steel and brass cased which has also been sure-fire and accurate.