Corrosive .303 ammo?

[TCS-5]

Picked up this bandoleer today with ammo for $15. Pouch on left with lettering was opened some time ago and it's missing 1 stripper clip and 5 rnds. All other pouches looked to be unopened so there's 9 full stripper clips. Not real old stuff but I figured it was worth $15 anyway.

I opened the other pouches to see condition of cartridges. Mostly clean with a few spots of tarnish.

Bullets look copper clad but attract magnet. Radway Green Mk7 right?

Were they still using cordite in '49? I suspect the primers are corrosive at the least.

Information

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[Maxwell Smart]

Looks like Radway Green Mk 7 Ball, 1949 to me.

Loaded with cordite (no "Z" marked after the "7")

Berdan primed and regarded as corrosive.

[TCS-5]

"Z" means nitro cellulose?

[CINDERS]

Hmmm seems strange if it was just plain ball ammo that it would attract to a magnet I fished around as the colour on the annulus got my attention, but if you are using a flash then this may come out different.
If the projectile is attracted by a magnet then it may have a steel core or tungsten if it was an A.P round then it would have more markings on the base of the cartridge case.
Others may chime in with better resources than I have but intriguing it is that the magnet attracts the projie.

[TCS-5]

Yep, it attracts a magnet to the bullet.
Like I said, it looks copper clad. I'm pretty sure it's copper on the outside and must have steel core. Thought I read somewhere they made copper clad steel core bullets for the .303. Remember, this is early post war mfg'd and supplies were scarce. England was rationing into the '50s.

OK, just found this on a site called "British Military Small Arms Ammo" by Tony Edwards.

From 1911 until about 1943 the bullet envelope was cupro-nickel but from that date gilding metal clad steel became increasingly used. Post WW2 the envelope was generally gilding metal.

See third paragraph under Drawing RL15572 G.
.303 inch Ball Mark VI to VIIIz L1A1 - British Military Small Arms Ammo

So yes, it's copper clad steel core.

[waco16]

The purple ring around the primer is a sealing compound - still applied to military ball ammunition today

[Maxwell Smart]

Attachment 59548Attachment 59549

"Z" means nitro cellulose?

Yes


The two headstamps seen here show the 'Z" marking, the one on the 1960 Australian MF blank might be hard to make out,

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The big copper primer is a dead giveaway of mercuric priming. Probably the "standard brew" and therefore loaded with Chlorate salts and thus, "corrosive".

Made and STORED properly, this recipe is good for a century. Unless also marked "Z", it will be Cordite for propellant.

The "magnetic" bullet probably has the conventional two-piece (lead / aluminium) core that is the hallmark of Mk. 7 ammo, but has a mild-steel jacket with a thin coating of "gilding metal".

The gilding metal is essential for two reasons:

It protects the steel from corrosion.

It is essentially "self-lubricating" as it is driven through the rifling

The US and Germany made extensive use of steel for bullet jackets and cartridge cases, particularly during WW2.

[mike1967]

With Bruce, GMCS - Guilding Metal Clad Steel projectile.

[Peter Laidler]

TCS5, the best advice to date is this. treat ALL ammunition as both CORROSIVE, EROSIVE and EXPLOSIVE, in any order you like. That rule of thumb was drummed into every real Armourer from day one.