WCC mfg. .303

[me2]

Sorting thru some of my .303 brass and found some stamped WCC 81. Just wondering why Winchester/Olin might have been making .303 ammo at such a late date. A contract to some third world place still using Enfields??

Information

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[Baal]

I seem to recall that Winchester made some 303 for Canadian Rangers about that time.

[Mk VII]

They made it for the Irish Army, I believe.

[jona]

Winchester also ran of a batch for Indonesia. Put it out in white boxes, 20 rounds per.

[jmoore]

They also made a bunch a little later for shipment to Afganistan. '86, '87?

[kenny-billy]

I have just last week bought a wood crate of WCC 81 303 ammo. It is in 50 cal cans marked 303 british 20 round boxes, etc. etc. It is white boxed with black writing, 2 cans to the crate with 400 rnds in each can. A shipping label shows that it was intended for a Camp in Ireland, can't remember which one. ammo is in a cold garage right now. I too thought it alittle unusual, too nice to shoot up.

[mack]

Winchester may have shipped the ammo to Ireland, but chances are it never left the box on its way to the Muhjadeen in Afghanistan. This stuff was all handled by the spooks out of Langley and got transhipped all over the place.

In Germany, they used to scrap the US markings off the stuff like explosives to be shipped to Afghanistan and repack for shipment through the Suez. That way, if anyone caught up with the stuff and screamed that we were aiding the enemy in that embattled nation (we did create the Muhjadeen, after all), we could simply say, "Where's any identifying marks? Manufacturer? Origin point?"

Maybe some Irish constables did fire off a few rounds of the stuff but I would bet the majority of it was fired at Russians. That stuff packed in fifty cal cans in a wooden crate was probably repacked in Germany and slated for a pack saddle through the Kyber Pass into Afghanistan. Some sales to Canada or Ireland may have even lent an air of authenticity to the story. That way, no one could trace where the stuff came from even though everyone knew. Go watch "Charlie Wilson's War" to understand the mentality and the procedure. This is truly the stuff legends are made of and this ammo was simply the most visible part of a gigantic secret war (we're talking billions of dollars per year) that we fought with the Russians to keep them out of Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. Hell, Russia thought they had hit the sure ticket to getting a warm water seaport, a national defense goal of the Russians since the time of Catherine the Great in the late 1700s.

Of course, I could be wrong and the folks at Winchester were making it for Scout troops in British Columbia.

[browningautorifle]

I tend to agree with Mack for the most part. And it's not the Boy Scouts but in fact the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers that we speak of using the 303s. I know for a fact the ball ammo that I have seen them use was all exclusively IVI produced with VERY recent headstamps. We have several members who have dealings with them and they could tell us for sure.

[me2]

WOW!! How little I knew! Yes on Charlie Wilson's War. I watched it some time ago and I got the drift>>No Holds Barred. As for Winchester making a run of .303 one would think they wouldnt do it for some "short order". A good quantity must have been requested just to get an outfit like W-W interested. I suppose if the United Nations-New World Order can get their fingers on what may remain in Afghanistan it will be destroyed.
As to WCC-81 dimensions it's typical of current US made .303. Rim thickness is undersize. I go for HXP every chance I get.

[csmarcher]

I'm sitting on a few thousand rounds of the Winchester stuff. Works fine in the Enfields and the Brens.