smoothshooter
Member
With knowledge and the right equipment the FMJ bullets can be pulled and replaced with softpoints of equal weight or slightly less. And re-crimped, of course.
An old box of Remington UMC .303 British that was given to me years ago.
I am guessing that the box is from around 1900+/- since it says for Remington Lee, Winchester Model 1895 and Lee Enfield rifles.
It was filled with questionable quality Berdan primed FMJ reloads - not UMC cases. So I pulled the bullets and reloaded them in Boxer primed cases. Probably 30 or so years ago.
Yep, it's cordite.
No, it's not old movie film but an extrusion like very fine angel-hair pasta.
The smell of burnt cordite might well be my favourite burnt powder smell.
I've been tempted to reuse the cordite from the dud rounds, though getting it back into a case would be challenging as it's packed in there pretty tightly
As Remington and UMC merged in 1911, the box would have been from around that time if not later.
Ah, that makes sense.Cordite was usually loaded into cases before the neck was formed, so loading a full charge of Cordite into a necked case (assuming you had some) would be a challenge. Just as is the situation with modern smokelesss powder, there were many varieties and sizes of Cordite made for different applications.
As Remington and UMC merged in 1911, the box would have been from around that time if not later.
For corrosive or suspected corrosive ammunition: Soap and hot water! Bore Tech Eliminator is good and is great for copper fouling. Ballistol and water solution works. Then, there's the old GI bore cleaner, which can still be found; lots of kerosene (?) and lots of "scent". Dry the bore and follow up with your favorite bore cleaner and preservative. It all worked for me.
A little more info on the Rem-UMC .303 British Mk VII ammo box.
The Mk VII cartridge wasn’t approved until Nov 1910.
Yep, it's cordite.
No, it's not old movie film but an extrusion like very fine angel-hair pasta.
The smell of burnt cordite might well be my favourite burnt powder smell.
I've been tempted to reuse the cordite from the dud rounds, though getting it back into a case would be challenging as it's packed in there pretty tightly
For corrosive or suspected corrosive ammunition: Soap and hot water! Bore Tech Eliminator is good and is great for copper fouling. Ballistol and water solution works. Then, there's the old GI bore cleaner, which can still be found; lots of kerosene (?) and lots of "scent". Dry the bore and follow up with your favorite bore cleaner and preservative. It all worked for me.
Indeed, the early double-base cordite was very hard on barrels, the later (much of WWII) double-base was much kinder but still a bit harsh, and the later triple-base I think is about on-par with regular propellant. Most or all ammo made after WWII was triple-base.Corrosive primers,,,,
Then add Cordite Powder which is Erosive to gun barrels,,
At least it's much more erosive than later smokeless powders are because of less heat buildup (as I understand it).
There are several formulas of Cordite as well. The orig formula (CMkI) is the most erosive I believe.
I think the old specs used to site betw 5k to 6k rounds of Cordite 303 would make a 303 Lee bbl ready for scrap.
Love those Enfields!