Need .303 Ammo Help

J

Jeff White

New member
I bought a Longbranch No.4 Mk 1 Lee Enfield at the gunshow today. I also bought some .303 ammo. It is in a sealed can in cloth belts for the Vickers machine gun. After I got home I noticed some small red lettering on the side of the can that says "For Machine Gun Use Only". Is it safe to shoot this in my Enfield? The dealer I bought the ammo from took great pains to demonstrate how easy it would be to remove from the belts to fire in my rifle.

Should I take the ammo back tomorrow?

TIA

Jeff
 
I am not sure of that marking, but I think I would take it at face value. In addition, .303 in the belts is scarce and desireable for both ammo collectors and the few Vickers gun owners.

The ammo would also be corrosive, requiring big time cleaning for the rifle. There is non-corrosive .303 available, Greek surplus and Sellier & Bellot, that would be better.

But unless finances dictate, I probably would not take the belted ammo back. I would keep it and see where the price goes on the stuff.

Jim
 
Jim,
Thanks for the reply. The belted stuff was much cheaper then the other .303 (Greek in stripper clips @ almost .50 per round).

Jeff
 
I've never shot any of this stuff so I can't help you out.
Check here:

w3.one.net/~melchar/303brit/
www3.sympatico.ca/shooters/303Page.htm

You can also ask over at the Lee Enfield site at www.gunandknife.com
They have some pretty knowledgable people over there. Have fun with your new rifle. Enfields are some of my favorites.
 
I would also recommend you go over to the L-E site at Gun & Knife. Good (if strange) people over there who know what they are talking about. (A bit different that some boards I could mention.)

I fool with Lee-Enfields to some extent but do not claim great expertise. However it is my impression that MG ammo differs only in that it was made to a higher standard than ball ammo. I doubt that it will be a problem.

Corrosive ammo is always a possibility in .303 and I would always assume that .303 ammo is corrosive unless proven otherwise. Not that it's a really big problem--use hot soapy water on the bore and be thorough, then oil the bore. I have a 1917 L-E with a pristine bore and corrosive ammo was all they had for another 40 years after that. The only ruined bores were neglected bores. (Of course, it only took one fool to neglect it!)

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I had some Yugoslavia (it was Yugoslavia when I bought the ammo) 8Z ammunition with a red ring around the primer. The bullet was a boat tail and weighted 190 gr. The velocity was 2300 FPS. I have not seen this type of ammunition since.

What does the headstamp say, it might be 8Z ammunition? The original Mk 8z loading was designed to extend the range of .303 in machine guns (Vickers in particular). A boat tail bullet was used but velocity is suppose to be the similar or the same. The Z ment it used a powder instead of cordite. The primer might still be corrosive. 8Z was favored for military rifle competitions due to the higher velocity.

Some .303 ammunition have label that say not to use in Sychronized machineguns after a certain date.

Will
 
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