No4 mk1 complete sock replacement

[Simon]

One things for certain, it'll more than likely be corrosive primed so get the funnel and boiling water ready

Cheers,

Simon.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[mgarrno4]

One things for certain, it'll more than likely be corrosive primed so get the funnel and boiling water ready

Cheers,

Simon.

I wondered about that, after reading some posts on the forum. but they are free from my sister. 238 rounds 200 reloading bullets and a set of 303 dies for birthday. Is the brass any good to reload.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Is the brass any good to reload.

The metallic mercury released from the primer on ignition will corrupt the integrity of the brass and cause embrittlement. As the shampoo ad goes," It won't happen overnight, but it will happen." Regarding cracking: This ammo is getting old. That doesn't mean it won't go bang or be inaccurate. I have seen sixty year-old "fresh" .303 ammo come out of sealed cans with cracks starting in the brass around the neck. This usually indicates sub-standard annealing. In the "normal" course of ordnance cycles, ammo is turned over at MUCH shorter intervals than fifty or more years. Then again, when I was in a RAAF Air Cadets shooting team in the in the mid-70s, we got issued with some 1918 vintage Brit Mk7 that was superbly consistent and, from memory, suffered almost NO splits, as opposed to the "interesting" 1950s "KF" headstamped stuff that cracked AND displayed erratic grouping.

In military use, split necks would be considered "rare" because the stuff was normally shot away long before the crystalization process developed that far.

Yes, the cases can be reloaded if you can find a supply of RWS 6000, or equivalent, .250" dia. Berdan primers. These use a LEAD based priming mix. Removing the old ones can be done hydraulically or with an RCBS Lachmiller Berdan tool. You may only get one or two reloads per case as the mercury contamination from the initial firing of the brass will ensure that the cases WILL start cracking.

Another option is to use a collet tool to remove the Mk7 projectiles and reload them into some nice new and much-more-reloadable commercial brass with a suitable propellant. Seat 175gn or so softpoints in the mil cases for hunting ammo. If you lose a case bagging a nice swag of venison, that's a fair trade.

How is anybody going with sourcing Mk7 bullets?

Finally: FREE ammo is good ammo, even if you just recover the projectiles and sell the cases for scrap.