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Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with Kynoch .303 7Z ball ammunition from the 60s? A friend has 100 rounds he wants to pass on to me, and I would like a little background information before I go blasting :)
Edit - the reason I am mainly asking is that I do not know whether I should sell the ammo (any takers and how much for 100 rounds?) or should I just blast away at the range. I do have projects to fund, and every penny helps lol.
I can't talk specifically about 1960's kynoch ammunition but I can about 1950's Kynoch ammunition. I laid in a large stock of K52 headstamped ammunition when it was 14 cents a round. It has proven to be reliable and accurate. It has the standard full metal jacket, flat based bullet and cordite loading.
Thanks for that. I was thinking of selling both 50 round boxes for $70 (got to feed that Enforcer habit lol), but I might just keep one and sell the other.
The only diffrence is 7z was loaded with Nitrocellulose instead of cordite powder and both had flat base bullets, and the 8z had a boat tail bullet.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Img094b-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Img023B-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Img0011-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Img023a-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...46_lapua-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...boattail-1.jpg
Thanks, Ed. Informative as ever :) Your reply also panders to my love of old documents (you should see me during the Hay-on-Wye Book Festival in Wales - I give no quarter, and expect none in return lol)
I think I may have died and gone to heaven. I think I can get hold of up to 6000 rounds of 1960's Kynoch .303 surplus - somebody pinch me!
If youv'e got the cash - go for it !!!Quote:
Originally Posted by spinecracker
Well, it might take me all year to shoot that lot....
I will be going to the range on Friday (I hope) so I'll let you know how it shoots. If it shoots well, then I'll get a bunch, and see if anyone else on the forum wants some. Typical of this to happen when I am in the process of streamlining in favour of 7.62 NATO-chambered Lee Enfields lol.
Some of the best .303 surplus I've shot is 1960's MkVIIz. It is also non-corrosive. I'd be interested in some.
Sorry, Nigel, but the rounds are in the US, otherwise you'd be getting a PM right now :(
spinecracker
Have you ever thought about reloading for the .303 instead of shooting old surplus corrosive ammunition.
Or do you enjoy putting on a pot of tea and poring boiling water down the bore.
If it involves putting a kettle on so I can have a cuppa, then I'm happy :)
To be serious, I am selling off surplus .303 to help pay for restorations and, eventually, reloading gear. I've even put a listing on here and at the gunboards forum. I did enjoy shooting 1944 DAC .303 rounds through my 1944 Long Branch, though :) For old corrosive ammo, I was still getting 2 MOA at 100 yards with open sights (I REALLY need new glasses), which was as good as I could shoot with that rifle anyway lol.
I might be interested in some of that ammo
I'm in Northern Indiana
Farmritch
Are you aware that the z means that this ammo is designed for machine gun use and not smle use. It is loaded about 300Fps hotter and was at one time banned by brittish for use in smle due to the damage it can do to barrels - i wouldnt use it in my favourite gun
Baya, could you please state the sorce of your information, as I was under the impression that the "z" suffix only indicates that the round is filled with nitrocellulose, not cordite. If Mk.VIIz is only for machine gun use, then I would have to find a reason as to why I have seen it on stripper clips in the original boxes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Baya727111
The "z" is a british/commonwealth designation for the use of nitro-cellulose powder. See following link:
http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
Skennerton (The lee enfield story) makes specific reference to the mk7z being for machine gun use on about page 68. Ill confirm the page number when i get home tonight
page 222 (Skennerton, The lee enfield story) has reference to mk7z ball being high velocity machine gun ammunition. The passage goes on to say that tests showed that barrels wore twice as fast with z ammo than with standard mk7 ball - 12000 rounds to 6000 rounds
Does anyone have ballistic data on the Mk7z ammo? I am wondering how much the extra 300fps mentioned by Baya changes the point of impact. I just rebedded my No.4 Mk.1 (cork and paper shims only in the right places, as discussed on this forum in the past), and the rounds were striking about 6 1/2 inches high of point of aim at 100 yards (using micrometer sight set to 200 yards - I know the rounds, in a perfect world, should strike about 3 inches high at 100 yards using military .303 MK.7 rounds). On the plus side, the grouping shrank from 3 inches to 1 3/8 inches, and I think that I can shrink that down further after I get new glasses (things are getting pretty blurry beyond 75 yards now - yikes!). I will be trying the rifle out with Prvi .303 in the very near future to see what kind of difference this will make, and will then replace my front sight for the correct height as necessary.
7z is not MG ammunition, nor is it high velocity, unless the printed passage contains a typo and was referring to 8z.
If you use NC and cordite loads in the same barrel you will get accelerated wear.
I'm glad you mentioned that Mk7 because there was a lot of .303" Mk7z ammo issued in 30 round belts during the 80's/90's for Cadet Forces. There was no restriction on its use in rifles and I used loads while range testing and zeroing. It just shot like normal .303" Mk7 ball to me although I have to admit that I'm not an ammo conniseur, just a prolific waster of it!
yes, I remember that stuff, packed in stripless belts cut up into about thirty-round sections.