Cartridges

[CINDERS]

Like a few members here I have always been interested in collecting cartridges & ordnance now that I have an I-phone 11 upgraded from my I-phone 4 I can get better pics.
Thought I would just run through some random rounds probably start with some Nitro Express rounds of various vintages.
I have always chased the N.E's as it was an era of firearms made for hunting dangerous game and game shooting predominantly in Africa but also Asia.

Users like Corbett, Bell, Keith, Taylor, Rauark, Capstick to name just a few of those that had hair raising experiences.
Corbett stands out as a single minded person who hunted Tiger and Leopard man eaters some of his escapades are bordering on insanity to kill the beast.
One leopard nearly had him this cat had over 400+ victims and another was a Tiger whom his 6th sense told him he was in peril.
And in peril he was as he raised his head over the rear thorn bush he had placed for his back protection, he came face to face at a few feet the Tiger man eater just as she sprung at him.

Corbett fired un-aimed a shot which went through her ear, the tiger knocked him A over T with the rifle falling over the edge of the rock he was perched on.
Thankfully the tiger bolted, she almost got him again but his 6th sense saved him this time and he killed her but boy read his stories they are way out on a limb.

Anyway that's why I try to collect them as I associate them with those long ago hunters who really relied on the knock down power of the N.E's to save the day.
TIA

Cartridge ~ Kynoch N.E .500/.465 3 1/4" case 480 grn projectile MKVII 303 for scale.

Information

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[usabaker]

I've only started to collect cartridges. But here in the Peoples's Republic of California, it can be quite the challenge. It is hard to find people willing to mail you the cartridges even though, as a Type 3 FFL with a COE I am by California law allowed to (still) buy ammunition via mail and person to person.

[mnmkeller]

I picked up a grab bag of ammo in an auction and it came with some oddball stuff. It can be interesting researching some of what you find I will say that.

[CINDERS]

A good source of info if your going down the line of collecting ammunition is the Cartridges Of The World mine is the 14th Ed but it has just about everything you can think of Black powder, old rimfire, wildcats, N.E's, Western & European calibers and obsolete rounds over 1,500 detailed cartridges.

[usabaker]

A good source of info if your going down the line of collecting ammunition is the Cartridges Of The World mine is the 14th Ed

I picked up the 11th Edition someplace a while back. It is a great book.

[RCS]

Back in 1940 L. Kilbourn developed the 224 Kay-Chuk cartridge from the 22 Hornet. he used the S&W Model 17 revolver chambered for the 22 long rifle. The chambers were reamed-out to chamber his 224 cartridge, which had a sharp shoulder that did not cause extraction problems, like Colt single action revolvers with Christy Gun Works 22 Hornet cylinders.

This 224 Kay-Chuk really became popular during the 1950's and considered to be one of the most effective small game cartridges and later on, still was considered superior to the S&W 22 Jet.

The 224 Kay-Chuk fired a 37 gr Sisk bullet at 1903 fps and a 40 gr Sierra at 1650 fps

photo shows the 22 Hornet and 224 Kay-Chuk cartridges

[rcathey]

I have one of the 224 Kay-Chuk S&W 17 revolvers.

Poor thing has some really bad pitting from poor storage.
Slick, slick, slick revolvers though.

Wouldn’t have expected to read about it on this site!

[CINDERS]

Here is the Kynoch 600 Nitro express the epitome in its day for sheer knockdown power 8,400 FPE with the 900grn projectile decent elephant medicine.
It was said even if the brain was not hit the round would knock an elephant out for 20 minutes plenty of time for a follow up shot.
This is where a 20 yard shot is a long one for the animal and you had better get it right as an angry beast will grind you to dust.

The rifles were usually doubles made by Jeffries or H & H and we are not talking chicken monies either for the rifles a few hundred thousand $'s for the top of the line.
Usually they had 2 triggers with the back trigger being the first one let go obviously as if it was the front one a double discharge could occur.
In-fact in one of my books such an event happened to the shooter both brls at once and the recoil consequently sat him flat of his butt bet their ears were ringing.

Holland & Holland stopped making the 600 selling the final one for a good price sometime later a chap wanted them to make another to which they said not possible.
So they with the client put their heads together and came up with the .700 nitro express with a 1000 grn projectile @$100/USD per shot.

Pic of .600 N.E with 900 grn FMJ projectile (303 MKVII for scale)

Bit of trivia for you on the 600 Nitro ~
WWI service
In 1914 and early 1915, German snipers were engaging British Army positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to .303 British ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British War Office purchased sixty-two large-bore sporting rifles from British rifle makers, including four .600 Nitro Express rifles, which were issued to regiments. These large-bore rifles proved very effective against the steel plates used by the Germans. In his book, Sniping in France 1914-18, Major H. Hesketh-Prichard, DSO, MC stated they "pierced them like butter".

Stuart Cloete, sniping officer for the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, stated "We used a heavy sporting rifle - a .600 Express. These had been donated to the army by big game hunters and when we hit a plate we stove it right in. But it had to be fired standing or from a kneeling position to take up the recoil. The first man who fired it from the prone position had his collar bone broken.
It was disliked by the troops in the trench as well because of the muzzle blast raising great clouds of dust giving away your position!

[RCS]

I seem to recall the early Enfield P13 that was tested before the war, being issued to be used against the German steel plates. Additional new production cartridges were also supplied in .276 cal.

my photo shows a .276 cartridge second from left

[RCS]

cartridges in photo: left to right: 7,65x53 Mauser, Enfield 276, 7,62x54r Russian and 303 British

Except for the 276 Enfield, the other cartridges are shown with their original early bullets.