Remington-made P17 Enfield (.303 British)

[James K]

I never saw any Brit steel case; I don't think they ever developed the technology. We used steel for .30 carbine and .45 but attempts to make a steel .30-'06 failed.
Not all Brit ammo is cordite (I mentioned the "Z" marking for Nitrocellulose powder),
and cordite is bad only when enough shots are fired rapidly for erosion to become a factor. ALL Brit ammo has Berdan corrosive primers and most has cupro-nickel jackets, though I have seen a few rounds with gilding metal jackets, maybe bullets from the US.

"Point blank" is the range at which no barrel elevation is needed to hit the target. The old artillerymen thought that a shot from a gun went in a straight line for a distance, then dropped in a curve. When they elevated the barrel of a cannon using a gunners quadrant, the zero degree spot on the quadrant (with the barrel horizontal) was unmarked (blank) and was called "point blank" (it works better in French, I think). In theory, there is no "point blank" as the bullet starts dropping the instant it leaves the bore; in practice, the old gunners were right. Shooting at a target at a range of, say, ten feet, will not show any significant bullet drop, so that may be called a "point blank" range.

 

[cornered rat]

What's the significance of jacket composition?

Also, should I remove the action from the stock for cleaning corrosive residue? I am concerend about hot water trapped under the barrel, on the wooden forestock.

Where does the action need oil or CLP?

On accuracy: if a man stood up at 300m, wearing all-black and stood still, grinning at me, I would have a 90% chance of hitting him. If the guy moved, took cover, wore camos, shot back, I'd probably never even see him long enough to take aim...one casualty per 20,000 rounds, anyone? Seems that I got more rifle than skill now.

CR

------------------
Cornered "but cheery" Rat
http://ddb.com/RKBA Updated March 20

 

[James K]

If cleaning with water after using corrosive primers, remove the barrelled action from the stock. Don't get the stock wet and use water hot enough to dry the metal parts quickly.

The significance of the jacket material is that most British ammo (and U.S. ammo up into the 1930s) used a jacket material called cupro-nickel, an alloy of copper and nickel. (The same material a "nickel" coin is made out of.) It had many benefits, but one big drawback. It tended to rub off in the barrel, leaving deposits of itself. This is referred to as "fouling." The modern gilding metal jackets leave a little fouling, but it is not significant. Serious fouling can cause inaccuracy and even raise pressures. There are solvents which will remove cupro-nickel fouling; the best known is Hoppe's #9. Don't use it on a nickel plated gun, though. (It cleans fouling by attacking the copper in the bore. But nickel plated guns have a layer of copper undercladding and if it can get through the nickel, it will attack the copper and the finish will begin to peel.)