While MkVIIIz is a popular topic...

[Bruce_in_Oz]

There has been a prodigious quantity of Jugo/Serbian "NNY" (PPU) Mk8 ball sprayed downrange here in Queensland alone over the last decade or so.

Reasons for its popularity?

No Mk7, Z or otherwise, to be found ANYWHERE in commercial quantities.

Reliable ignition.

Acceptable grouping from existing barrels.

That said, a Lee Enfield barrel already eroded by seventy-plus years of Mk7, will potentially have "issues" if fed a steady diet of Mk8. The gas-bleed around the boat-tail at ignition will just keep chewing out the already generous throat/ leade region.

As has also been mentioned before, swapping out an "under-performing" barrel on a Bren or Vickers is child's play compared to re-barreling a SMLE or No4.

In my mind, the obvious choice would be Mk7Z; the "magic" (flat-based) bullet driven by much cooler burning NC propellant. Most of the world's production of 7Z apparently got sprayed out of Browning aircraft guns, (less muzzle flash), or "carelessly" dropped into deep water post WW2.

Mk8 was ONLY introduced to extend the useful range of said Bren and Vickers guns, (extra distance is GOOD on the two-way rifle range), NOT to supply "match-grade" ammo to the basic foot-sloggers.

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[Sentryduty]

Mk8 was ONLY introduced to extend the useful range of said Bren and Vickers guns, (extra distance is GOOD on the two-way rifle range), NOT to supply "match-grade" ammo to the basic foot-sloggers.

Exactly the case and it falls exactly in line with my experience and expertise in the theory of machine gun fire, it appears that ballistic experimentation nearing the later part of the First World War discovered that a BT bullet was more stable in the far ranges of direct and indirect MG fire. This is still practiced today with a variety of guns, mounts and sighting systems to ranges of 1,300 (approx tracer burnout) to +1,800m, the summary was that the FB bullet would deliver a beaten zone that was somewhat unpredictable, lacking density and the cone of fire was less than useful at extreme ranges. Whereas the BT bullet is more stable in flight at extreme ranges, not so much way to increase absolute range, but as a way to increase effectiveness of the weapons system at the beyond shoulder fired, direct fire distances.

At those ranges the MG would be used as an area weapon, usually in a grouping of several guns to deny ground and restrict movement, long bursts were used to saturate the ground with incoming projectiles.

In the most basic of terms a BT bullet at extreme ranges would deliver a smaller extreme spread of the "grouping" and deliver a more consistent beaten zone.