.303 Bullet ID

J

Jim567

New member
Got this single bullet in a bag of other caliber my neighbor gave me.
The color of the brass, the triple crimp, the markings and the blue sealer around the primer all look exactly like so much military .303 surplus I have purchased over the years.
But - it looks like a 150 grain bullet, soft nose.
Markings are:

11A

1942

D1

Z

It contains powder not cordite. Primer is crimped.

Ah - grooves for crimping are showing just above neck - maybe it is a reload?
 
It's not a bullet. It's a cartridge. Very likely a reloaded cartridge at that with the SP. What colour's the primer?
Not seeing 11A, but there are several places that used 11. However, given the 1942 date, I'd say "Not a manufacturer's code, but rather a load identification code used by Pretoria Metal Pressing Ltd Pretoria, RSA on brass cases."
The others are Prvi and Chinese.
http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes
 
"It's not a bullet. It's a cartridge"

It's been a long day at the computer - sorry I was cross eyed.

.303 Lee Enfield uses both clip and magazine :cool: lol would have had that terminology covered.

I assumed it might not have been a reload at first blush because of the blue sealer around the primer. The primer however is gold. Also the whole cartridge has the same patina.


What I though was blue sealer may be just grunge. .
 
Thanks for the link, it got me started.

DI marking is -

Defence Industries, Verdun, Canada. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in... Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z (Canadian Pattern)

the other markings, V11 and Z, indicate nitro cellulose and the bullet I believe.

Certainly a reload
 
I had a box of almost identical ammo. Mine was headstamped DI Z 1943. (Defence Industries Ltd., Canadian Industries Ltd, Park Avenue Plant, Montreal, Canada)
Was it a reload? well, yeah kind of sorta, a Factory rebullet to be exact.

DSCF0785_zpsk5623odn.jpg


Supposedly they pulled standard .303 174 Gr & seated a commercial SP bullet of a lower weight so they knew it would be safe. The blue sealer round the primer indicates these were originally loaded with incendiary bullets. Mk VII ball would have been a purple sealer.

All non cordite (string spaghetti) powder powered .303 British was "Z" marked so its quite likely the original charge. Even though all British made MkVII was cordite a lot of the Canadian stuff wasn't they used essentially IMR 3031 a long grain stick powder.
I doubt its South African because they referred to .303 British as "7.7 X 56R", or later "R1 M3Z" & Pretoria Metal Pressings headstamp was "PMP".
(image (c) wogpotter 2013)
 
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Amazing!
Something was telling me this wasn't just a garage hand load!
Back when I hand loaded .303 I used IMR3031 and a Speer 150 grain sp for an accuracy load. It was!
 
The case is Canadian, as the other Jim says. The markings are the Roman number VII (Mk VII) not 11A. The round is not a reload as it was never fired. In the late 1940's and 1950's it was common for companies to use a collet setup to pull the FMJ bullets from military ammo and replace them with a soft point hunting bullet. The powder charge and primer were not changed, so those rounds are corrosive primed.

WWII South African ammo was marked basically the same as British; as was the ammo of all commonwealth nations. SA metric markings are from years later.

Jim
 
I never would have suspected companies doing this with surplus ammo.
VERY interesting.
When I looked over the round there were no marks or scratches indicating it had been fired previously.
The patina on bullet and case were exactly the same.
My first thought was that maybe some hunting rounds were loaded during WW2 for "survival".
Very cool info. Thanks!
 
Back then "in the day" MilSurp was so cheap & available it was worth the effort of pulling the military bullet & inserting a SP hunting round for sale.It cost less as surplus than making new would have.
 
"....303 Lee Enfield uses both clip and magazine..." Both variations were loaded with chargers. No extras mags.
That's a standard issue .303 Ball round. Not a reload.
Cartridge, Mk VII
Accepted 1910
Smokeless powder load. Boxer or Berdan primed. 174 gr pointed bullet.
Muzzle Velocity - 2440fps

'DI' is Defence Industries Montreal, Quebec.
Verdun, Quebec is 'DIV'.
http://www.303british.com/index.html
 
The Lee Enfields have a detachable magazine.
It was charged with a charger or "clip".
I was being lighthearted after I got called on discribing a round as a "bullet".
The round is indeed a factory "rework" from an unfired military surplus round to a 150 grain hunting round.
If you look closely you can see the lead tip.
Cheers
Read Wogpotters post.
 
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No extras mags.
Click to expand...
While agreeing the magazine wasn't considered in the same way as today's disposable mags are, I'm afraid your statement is wrong.
Question for you.
What is the original purpose of the "loop" in front of the magazine on the bottom metal?
To retain the issued primary magazine on a short 3 link chain, when the second "spare" was inserted. So yes they did come with more than one magazine, at least some of them did.
 
99.9 percent of the time from one magazine.
But still a magazine.
Usually only removed for cleaning.
But still.
 
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