Interesting old ammo - WRA Co. .44WCF

Borderboss

Borderboss

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I've had this round for probably 45 years, sitting in the back of a drawer and just found it. I got it from a guy that gave it to me because I found it interesting. Fast forward to today and here it is.

This .44 WCF (.44-40) round is headstamped WRA Co. for Winchester Repeating Arms Company. It has what seems to be an aluminum jacket, or at least that's why it appears to be because of the silver color. The primer has a "W" stamped in it as well. They must give the newbie that job. :)

Any idea what era this round comes from? Any other info would be appreciated. Thanks for the help!



 
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That's likely a 19-teen's or 20's round. The jacket is cupro-nickel. That color is typical of WWI era ammo from 45's to 30-06 and in commercial ammo. The cupro-nickel metal fouled bores badly- but it was the best they had available at the time. Gilding metal (copper-zinc) alloys hadn't been invented for use in bullet jackets yet.
Hatcher's Notebook may have some good information on cupro-nickel fouling back in the pre-WWII era.
 
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Thanks for the info guys. I'll check to see if there's a "W" stamped on the jacket when I get home.

You might have noticed that there's what looks like a crack in the rim. That is actually a crack that runs from the primer pocket, through the rim, and actually runs up the case about 1/2-inch. I don't know how that could happen, but I'm thinking this is a round for a collector and not for shooting at this point.

If someone collects these and wants this round, send me a PM and I'll send it to you. No cost, just pay it forward.
 
Borderboss said:
Thanks for the info guys. I'll check to see if there's a "W" stamped on the jacket when I get home.

You might have noticed that there's what looks like a crack in the rim. That is actually a crack that runs from the primer pocket, through the rim, and actually runs up the case about 1/2-inch. I don't know how that could happen, but I'm thinking this is a round for a collector and not for shooting at this point.

If someone collects these and wants this round, send me a PM and I'll send it to you. No cost, just pay it forward.
Click to expand...

A crack in the case head would certainly render it unsafe to shoot. I have seen the results of a case head failure during firing and it can be bad. As to the cause it could be a flaw in the metal used to make the case or possibly brittle brass. Might have been there since made and was missed during inspection.
 
30-30remchester said:
The bullet itself may have a small W stamped into the jacket near the case mouth. Winchester did this for a few years as well.
Click to expand...

Wow, sure enough, it's there. It's right above the cannelure. Too small for me to photograph with the equipment I have. Very cool!
 
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