IVI soft point loads

[big bear]

Bought some IVI 303 soft point loaded ammo at gun show, looks new(not reloads). Does anyone know bullet weight, use of such rounds?

Information

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[browningautorifle]

If they're the big bullets, they're likely 174gr. Only way to be sure is pull one and weigh it. I wouldn't be too sure about them being factory because I knew a man who used to pull the ball and seat soft point for the Innuit to shoot game with.

[big bear]

Some are shiny , like new, others are quite old.Primers are original.I'm going to shoot em up no matter what but really curious if there's more to it than someone replacing fmj with soft points.

[browningautorifle]

They could be more. I have used live primed cases and put fresh powder and a different bullet in. Buyer beware!

[big bear]

I'll just break em down and salvage brass and projectiles.

[outdoors]

Canadian Ranagers were being issues IVI soft point ammunition in the mid '90s for a few years at least. I was in Labrador at the time and have observed more than a few boxes being fired off. I prefer the more traditional military bullets for target shooting with the .303.

[big bear]

Canadian Ranagers were being issues IVI soft point ammunition in the mid '90s for a few years at least. I was in Labrador at the time and have observed more than a few boxes being fired off. I prefer the more traditional military bullets for target shooting with the .303.

Would you have any idea of the bullet weight, make?The batch I have had to duds, I'll break them down and weigh the bullets when I get some time.

[browningautorifle]

Would you have any idea of the bullet weight - Refer to post #2.

[smellie]

Standard IVI commercial .303 ammo was loaded with 150 and 180 softpoints.

Milspec ammo should have 174-grain composite bullets: aluminum filler tip under the jacket, flat base. I don't know if IVI ever loaded any of this.

In the late '70s and early '80s there were some VERY real issues with IVI sporting ammo. Some time I will write the whole horrid tale down as I saw it at the time. There were newspaper articles (which I wrote) and terrible threats of lawsuits (which they wrote) and nice letters (which my boss and I wrote) and then a silence, followed by massive advertising campaign to tell everybody that I was full of sh*t and that their ammo was the best. No more talks of lawsuits, though, and they DID clamp down on the awful stuff they were making, so that was one benefit.

Gauge your RIM THICKNESSES carefully: should be right at, or very close to .063", minimum is .058". Anything thinner is trouble. I have actually seen stuff as thin as .037", but not for a long time, thankfully. These headspace on the rim, as any other rimmed cartridge.

Hope this helps.