Live rounds found marked R^L 40, .380 II

[Stuntman]

Hi all, I'm a noob

my stepfather dug up a couple dozen bullets today, the end is silver coloured and the casing is gold coloured. About 2 to 2.5cm long with a fairly rounded end. Around the base of the casing is inscribed R^L (r then an arrow pointing up, then l), 40, then .380 followed by II (roman numeral 2). Have tried searching but little luck. What, when and from where are these little fellers?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[exat808]

They would probably be .380 revolver rounds. If they are complete ( with the round nosed bullet inserted into the gold coloured cartridge case) you may have live rounds - the possession of which may be unlawful. If they were dug up then there is a high probability they are live. If you suspect this please surrender them to your local police.

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Caution !

Sadly at the end of the war a lot of army units were instructed to scrap/destroy large amounts of Small Arms Ammunition and the best method is usually to burn small stuff but in those days it was far more expedient to just dig a shallow hole and chuck the stuff in.

The result is that very large amounts of SAA are being uncovered all the time-just remember thay are just as lethal now as they were the day they were buried, perhaps even more so in some instances.
Play it safe and do as "exat 808" suggests.

 

[TonyE]

.380 Mark II

Whilst agreeing with the foregoing posts, let me answer the questions you asked.

These are British .380 Ball Mark II cartridges for the Webley, Enfield and Smith & Wesson service revolvers. Your examples were manufactured in 1940 (40) at Royal Laboratory Woolwich (R^L) and were loaded with cordite. The silver bullet envelope is made of cupro-nickel and the "gold" cartridge case is of course brass.

These were the standard revolver cartridge of WW2 and in 1940 RL Woolwich made 5.1 million rounds.

Picture shows various British .380 cartridges.

Regards
TonyE

 

[christhurston]

If I was in Stuntman's position I would either get my stepfather to dig a deeper hole,and put these rounds back where he found them,or considering his location,throw them into Tor Bay!!!
I somehow feel that walking into his local police station with a bag of live ammunition might not be the best course of action.
I read,quite recently,about a chap that found a sawnoff shotgun and a couple of cartridges in a black bin liner,at the bottom of his garden.He reported his find,by phone,to his local police station,and told them he would bring them in.Upon his arrival at the police station,he was promptly arrested,and charged with being in posession of a Section 1 firearm and ammunition.
Apparently under British law there is no defence to such a charge,irrespective of how the firearm came into ones posession,I assume that live ammunition is viewed in the same manner.
Fortunately,the chap concerned was found not guilty by the jury that he appeared in front of,but I have no doubt that whilst awaiting these proceedings,he would have often wished that he had dug a deep hole and buried the offending items!!!
Regards Chris.

 

[exat808]

A couple of quotes from the Home Office Guide to the Police-
25.2 No obstacle should be placed in the way
of a person who wants to surrender firearms
or ammunition to the police. Surrender might
suggest illegal possession. Persons anxious to
dispose of firearms and ammunition should be
allowed to hand them in at a police station,
although disposal through a dealer might also
be considered. Disposal might suggest
unwanted/unusable firearms held on
certificate.

25.5 Anyone surrendering an illegally held
firearm should be questioned discreetly with
a view to establishing its history but, unless
circumstances exist to give serious cause for
concern as to its provenance (for example,
if it appears to have been stolen), the
person handing it in should not be pressed.
The emphasis should be on creating an
environment in which people hand in illegally
held firearms.

 

[LCplCombat]

If I was in Stuntman's position I would either get my stepfather to dig a deeper hole,and put these rounds back where he found them,or considering his location,throw them into Tor Bay!!!
I somehow feel that walking into his local police station with a bag of live ammunition might not be the best course of action.
I read,quite recently,about a chap that found a sawnoff shotgun and a couple of cartridges in a black bin liner,at the bottom of his garden.He reported his find,by phone,to his local police station,and told them he would bring them in.Upon his arrival at the police station,he was promptly arrested,and charged with being in posession of a Section 1 firearm and ammunition.
Apparently under British law there is no defence to such a charge,irrespective of how the firearm came into ones posession,I assume that live ammunition is viewed in the same manner.
Fortunately,the chap concerned was found not guilty by the jury that he appeared in front of,but I have no doubt that whilst awaiting these proceedings,he would have often wished that he had dug a deep hole and buried the offending items!!!
Regards Chris.

The reason he was charged was it took him 3 days to surrender the weapon. It still sounds a bit harsh to be charged in these circumstances but he was know to the police at the time.