Cartridges

My photos show a few of the smaller caliber Sharps cartridges which were also very popular for match shooting. I have read that Sharps used a very high quality paper equal to banknote paper for patching their factory bullets.

Left to right the 40-90 Sharps necked (also a 40 straight too) from around 1876, The only modern case is the RCBS 45 Basic case used to make the 45-120 or 45-140, 45-100 Sharps also from around 1876, used different bullet weight and powder charges. The 45-75 Sharps is a copy of the 45-70 Govt. last is the 40-70 Sharps that was and still is a popular match cartridge.

There wasn't any purpose to showing the headstamps as all the Sharps cartridges are without headstamps, only the RCBS 45 Basic is headstamped.

Years ago I made a nose pour .451 cal paper patch mould that was adjustable for bullet length. At the ranges that I fired on, there wasn't much difference between paper patc and plain lead bullets (all were black powder loads)Attachment 127740Attachment 127741Attachment 127742

Nice selection there RCS.

Here are some rounds of interest the first round is an interim paper cartridge for the Snider rifle in .577 this had a special bullet (Info below) as hollow points were not allowed.
The others are 577/450's for use in the Martini Henry rifle on there are 2 rolled cases and 1 drawn case.

The first rolled one is a Kynoch they had a viewing window so it could be checked that the outer roll covered the inner roll only Kynoch rounds had this feature.
(Can see the window about 15mm above the cartridge base.)

Pic #2 shows the Snider round and how they got around the hollow point bullet read the info below apparently it was a very effective stopper.
Pic #3 shows a good condition Snider cartridge


The 1860s also marked the commencement of the European arms race which was largely initiated by the Prussians, who had introduced their Dreyse breech-loading rifle. Pressed for time in the race to adopt a serviceable breech-loader, the British converted their muzzleloading Enfields into what became known as the Snider rifle. The .577 of an inch calibre remained, but the lead bullet was incorporated into a self-contained brass cartridge. Keen to increase velocity and accuracy, the British set about lightening and balancing this bullet. This was partly achieved by punching a cavity in the nose and spinning the lead over to seal it.

This new bullet had a velocity of 1 250 feet per second (380.8 m/s) and muzzle energy of 1 666 foot pounds. Its effects upon striking flesh and bone were dramatic. Its soft lead flattened, facilitating retention in the body with a deadly transfer of kinetic energy. The chamber in its nose was thus also compressed, causing the trapped air to burst out with explosive force creating a devastating wound which immediately killed or incapacitated its victim.

MkVII 303 for scale

My Kynoch .375 Magnum cartridge a very versatile round, this is a nice example of that early production cartridge.
Whilst technically its not a Nitro Express cartridge I've included it as it has shot and killed all the big game there is on all continents in the world.


.375 Holland & Holland, rimmless, created by Kynoch of London, England made between 1926 and 1930s using (then) new Kynoch Brass cases with "KYNOCH 375 MAGNUM " Head-Stamp and loaded with a CCSFMJ (Copper Coated Steel, Full Metal Jacket) projectile.

MkVII 303 for scale

I have fired rifles in 375 H&H over the years starting with a pre war Winchester M70 rifle and reloading and shooting my friends Ruger No 1 rifle.

But back in 1955, David Lloyd (riflemaker) in Scotland designed the 244 H&H magnum as a long range hunting rifle. He necked down the 375 H&H case to make the 244 H&H magnum cartridge which fired a 100gr bullet at 3500 fps handloading could improve the performance but the 100 gr loading has been around for a long time. Mr Lloyd also manufactured his own custom bolt action rifle for the 244 H&H cartridge.

Influenced by the 244 H&H magnum, Roy Weatherby designed his 240 Weatherby magnum, but the Weatherby 240 could never achieve the same velocity with 100 gr bullets as the 244 H&H cartridgeAttachment 127757Attachment 127758

Bit of cartridge history for those interested on the U.S Army and Roy Weatherby;

The .30-378 was originally designed by Roy Weatherby as an anti-personnel/anti-materiel military cartridge for a government contract. The cartridge was created by necking down the .378 Weatherby Magnum to accept a .308 in diameter bullet. The United States Army’s Redstone Arsenal requested a rifle cartridge that could develop 6,000 ft/s (1,800 m/s) for the effects of light bullets against armor. The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum was able to attain over 5,000 ft/s (1,500 m/s). Using a slower burning and denser propellant, the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum surpassed the US Army’s requirement of 6,000 ft/s (1,800 m/s).

Not often seen and fairly rare my .369 Nitro Express, also known as the .369 Purdey Nitro Express loaded by Kynoch, this is a centerfire, rifle cartridge developed by James Purdey & Sons and introduced in 1922.


The .369 Nitro Express is a rimmed cartridge originally designed for use in Purdey's own double rifles. The cartridge offers almost identical ballistic performance to the .375 H&H Flanged Magnum, firing a projectile of the same .375 in (9.5 mm) caliber.

As is common with cartridges for double rifles, due to the need to regulate the two barrels to the same point of aim, the .369 Nitro Express was offered in one loading, firing a 270 gr projectile at 2,525 ft/s.
In his African Rifles and Cartridges, John "Pondoro" Taylor said of the .369 Nitro Express that you "would need to go a very long way to get a better general purpose weapon"

The MkVII 303 round for scale is a MW (Munitions Welshpool) 1944 what I find interesting on this is it is roll crimped and not stab crimped as so many 303 rounds were is anyone familiar with this type of crimping.
If so how/when did they try it or was it ever going to be accepted as I have not seen much in the way of this crimp method on 303 service ammunition in my collection.

TIA

a very interesting thread gentlemen. thanks to all who posted

My Holland & Holland Super 30 Kynoch Flanged (Rimmed)

The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum proved to be so good that it took until 1925 before Holland & Holland decided that they could neck the cartridge case down to .30 caliber and produce another of the greatest hunting cartridges of all time. When it was first introduced in June 1925 Holland & Holland called it “Holland’s Super .30” and it was to become the father of a whole host of .30 caliber magnums in the succeeding decades.

Holland’s Super .30

When Holland & Holland first introduced their “Super .30” they kept it as a proprietary cartridge, so no-one else could make a rifle or ammunition in that caliber without their permission. The ammunition was loaded for Holland & Holland by British ammunition maker Kynoch. The three loadings were for a 150 grain bullet at 3.000fps, a 180 grain at 2.700fps, and a 200 grain at 2,350 fps. This performance roughly equates with the performance of the 30-06, but the flanged version (Rimmed) of the Super .30 provided flawless function in a double rifle and permitted ejectors to be used.

MkVII 303 for scale.

In the mid 1920's, the well known firm of Griffin & Howe of New York introduced their own cartridge, the 350 Griffin & Howe magnum. They necked down the 375 H7H to 35 cal and had Western manufacture the cartridges, sold their own custom rifles in this caliber for years.

By 1960, the US Army was looking and testing cartridges for long range sniper development and started using a modified Ackley wildcat which was called the 30 AMU. They did not use the 300 Weatherby but their 30 AMU wildcat with special headstamps by Winchester W C C 60 and Remington modified.Attachment 127787Attachment 127788Attachment 127789Attachment 127790Attachment 127791