8mm & .303 ammo new/surplus observations

[lawrence253]

UH OH!! I didn't do it but Stevo is correct. The bullet IS shorter
The one on the right is the POF ammo and the case appears to be the same but the bullet is about a quarter of an inch longer than the nickel one. I suppose that will make it a bit lighter. Good or Bad??

[K31]

Hard to tell without pulling a bullet, but the 174gr. R-P bullet is quite short. The stuff I had was short enough to cause feeding problems with most of my rifles. W-W is the only commercial ammo with a bullet as long as the military bullet. Remember, the military one has that aluminum filler in the nose, that makes it long for the weight. If they are SKS bullets, they must really be screaming from the muzzle! I use the 125gr. bullets in the 7.62x54R with good results, so they probably work okay in the .303

[Stevo]

UH OH!! I didn't do it but Stevo is correct. The bullet IS shorter
The one on the right is the POF ammo and the case appears to be the same but the bullet is about a quarter of an inch longer than the nickel one. I suppose that will make it a bit lighter. Good or Bad??

The M43 bullets should shoot alright through the .303. I'd be concerned that they're someones home reloads and the quality control is an unknown factor.

[K31]

When did R-P start making nickeled .303 brass?

[powwowdancer]

.303 British

1967 Mk7 Ball ( Pakistani Surplus ): ALL Hangfired.

Ye gods! I just bought 64 rounds of Pakistani 1967 surplus! Am I doomed? I don't like the notion of "hang fire" one single bit. Also, how do you clean your .303 after shooting that kind of "dirty" ammo? The standard "Black Powder Rifle
Enema" of hot, soapy water comes highly recommended by a person whom I trust. Some folks swear Hoppe's #9 will do it, but I've my doubts... It takes me forever to run a clean patch on my Mauser after shooting nasty Turk surplus ammo with Hoppe's and the standard wire brush/patch ramming cleaning. Sorry to ask so many questions, but I'm not an expert by anyone's definition, and I'm mostly concerned with safety. Thank you in advance for any consideration you are able to give this matter.

Regards,

powwowdancer.

[K31]

Try to find one of the LEE ENFIELD hot water cleaning funnels, you can usually find them on EBAY. If not, get a funnel that will fit in the breach. Squirt a liberal amount of WINDEX down the bore, breach to muzzle. Let it soak while your kettle of water boils. Pour the water through the bore. Let the bore dry for a few minutes, then clean normally with HOPPES, or whatever you normally use. The HOPPES#9 will flush out the salts, but you have to use LOTS of it, so it is much cheaper (and healthier) to use the boiling water.

[David1974]

Your not doomed. Just don't lose your grip on the rifle untill it fires. Otherwise it'll smack ya. ( My shoulder learned the hard way ). The hang fire at least for mine is a 'click-bang'. And like I said it all fired no miss fires at all. As for cleaning I run hot water down the bore. Then clean like normal.

[K31]

I haven't had any of my Aussie ammo fail to go bang, either. It all hangfires. Bad primers. I pulled the bullets from some, and fired the primers. They all click-bang. The cordite never goes bad, though. Did you see the program about the wrecks at Galipoli? A diver found some long strands of it on the bottom, and it still burned after 90 years under saltwater!

[lawrence253]

The results are in on the short nickel plate rounds. The bullet must be REALLY light and leave at a very high rate!! The first shot at 100yds was way high, never even hit the paper. Tried for the very bottom of the paper on target and just hit the top of the paper. Aimed in the dirt and got a 3 inch group in thebullseyr. They go straight but must be for distance?
The feed was OK until it peeled part of the casing down around the bullit and jammed. 40 rounds with just one minor problem isn't bad

[SGTMAJSTEVE]

Anyone every had the fun of shooting vickers ammo through a MK.V carbine?
wow. did it jump!