POF mk7 to the same standards as British made?

[Fruler]

I have a bunch of POF mk7 1968 ammo and a few hundred rounds of royal laboratories 1939 mk7 ball... 303 British. I'm wondering if the bullet itself, of the POF ammo is constructed in the same manner as British made mk 7 ball? Such as a lead slug in the rear and a aluminum or wood pulp core to fill the tip... If not, how would the POF bullet be made? I assume if the PoF says mk7 on the box, it should be close to the British standard, right? Thanks. Glad to be here on this forum.

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[Brian Dick]

I don't know about the actual internal construction of the projectiles but I'll tell you that I tested Mk.7 cordite ammo from England, Canada, Iraq, and Pakistan many years ago and it was amazingly consistent in accuracy and point of impact. The only drawback is that the primers may be damaged from age and poor storage causing some duds or hangfires. I'm guessing the projectiles of all the producing countries would have been manufactured to the same specifications. At any rate, the quality control and consistency was impressive in my opinion. I just wish a bullet maker here in the USA would endeavor to make a proper 174 grain flat base Mk.7 projectile for handloaders. I think they're missing the boat because there is a demand for them that continues to grow. In the meantime, I stick to the 180 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter.

[vintage hunter]

Yes,the POF mk7 bullets are made to the same specs as Brit, Canadian, South African ect mk7 bullets. Somewhere around here I have a sectioned pof mk7 bullet showing what appears to be some sort of fiber nose filler. IF I can locate it I'll post a photo but don't hold your breath as it's been a while since I last had eyes on it.

[Fruler]

Yes,the POF mk7 bullets are made to the same specs as Brit, Canadian, South African ect mk7 bullets. Somewhere around here I have a sectioned pof mk7 bullet showing what appears to be some sort of fiber nose filler. IF I can locate it I'll post a photo but don't hold your breath as it's been a while since I last had eyes on it.

I pulled one POF and one Royal Lab bullet and compared them. Both are same diameter and same length.... Both are 7.92mm or 0.312 English diameter and 32.83mm/1.293 English inch. Thanks for the reply, it's nice to know it's true Mk7 standards. I would certainly love to see the pic you posted, I'll do some hunting here myself for it. ( I've never pulled a .303 Enfield bullet before and was surprised how long they were, definitely high BC bullets I believe, even without a boat tail.)

[Fruler]

I actually took a file to the POF 68 dated ammo and cut the tip off... Wood pulp i believe. I can post pictures if anyone is interested.

[CINDERS]

P.O.F (Possibility Of Firing) used some 1967 vintage stuff for a while and it was crud would have done better with a handful of wheat...…...

[vintage hunter]

InI had several hundred rounds of paki 303 years ago. Mostly click bangs with the occasional dud for variety. After the first box I salvaged the bullets/cordite and loaded it into cases with modern primers. Shot it in a tired old ex-indian T. Accuracy was quite good now that it would go off
Instantaneously rather than minutes later or not at all like before.
Hmm. Pakistani ammo in an Indian rifle....wonder how close that came to causing an international incident?

[old tanker]

My experience with .303 military surplus ammunition has been that once the stuff is 20 years old or so, hangfires are not uncommon, regardless of which British Commonwealth country made it. On the other hand, American and German ammunition from as far back as World War all seems to function fine. I do not know if it is a difference in the primers, methods of sealing, storage conditions or phase of the moon that is the reason. As far as the bullets go, the Radway Green 47 and the POF 66 Mk VII had point fillers. The Greek HXP 75 headstamp did not. I have a couple thousand rounds of Iraqi surplus. The quality is indifferent and it is loaded with bullets having cupro-nickel jackets long after most everyone was using gilding metal.

I sure do miss the Winchester and Greek ammo that was around 30 some years ago. Privi Partizan and S&B make some nice, albeit pricey, FMJ ammo, but NOT with flat base bullet.

[Fruler]

I have fired 198 to be exact of the royal lab 303 mk7 39 dated ammo, cupron jacket... Had 2 complete duds and a hand full of rounds required a second strike. I'm happy with those numbers. I had absolutely ZERO hang fires or duds with this POF ammo, I got an excellent batch, which hasn't been my experience in the past from previous purchasing of it (it used to be pennies a round).. To be fair I only shot 31 rounds... Hopefully this batch of 416 rounds left all do the same. I don't feel bad for shooting the 1939 Royal Lab ammo, I've had it a longtime and im not getting any younger and neither is the ammo. It feels good to shoot history... But im sure that will make someone cringe while reading this. I only buy ammo that i will shoot, thats my thoughts on it. Im just glad i can enjoy it i suppose... I have 100 rounds of the RL 1939 left that will be shot when the time is right... A perfectly sunny spring day in the future. Thanks for your comment, i do appreciate it.

---------- Post added at 06:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:30 PM ----------

I've had the same experience in the past when the stuff was like 10 pence a shot... But this newer batch I've had a while has had ZERO issues. I guess it's luck of the draw.

---------- Post added at 06:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:33 PM ----------

I like what you did there. My original plans were to pull the bullets and cordite then reload into a new primed cases.... But I'm lazy. Hasnt happened yet. This has been a good batch for me so far. ZERO click bangs or duds.

[Brian Dick]

It really must be storage/temperature extremes that kills the primers. There is good and bad of all Mk.7 as old tanker says. Incidentally, the tightest groups in my little Mk.7 accuracy/consistency test was from Iraqi dated 1962.