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.303 round nose nickel bullets

peashooter

BOCN Supporter
Are there any Mk 5 or 6 .303's with a round nosed nickel bullet, It is just I can only find reference to Mk I, II, III & IV. But I have found some mkV & VI for sale with round nosed nickel bullets


cheers
Richard
 
.303 bullets

ALL British military .303 ball bullets prior to the Mark VII had round nosed cupro nickel (silver coloured) bullets. The Marks III, IV and V were hollow nosed and the remainder solid.

Kynoch produced some gilding metal (copper) Mark VI bullets in the post WW2 period, but these are commercial.

With one or two exceptions for specialist loadings (Buckingham Mark I for example) all British military .303 had cupro-nickel envelopes until about 1940, when gilding metal was introduced for rounds like the incendiary B Mark VI.

Regards
TonyE
 
"The Marks III, IV and V were hollow nosed and the remainder solid" - sorry to be thick but are the hollow nosed with the lead exposed or are they the same as the solid ones visually.

I will have to get your book out again and have a read with my eyes open this time :)

thanks
Richard.
 
.303

The Marks III, IV and V were hollow nosed, i.e. they had a cavity in the nose of the bullet that extended down into the bullet for about 4mm.

The Mark III had a cupro nickel cup placed in the hollow, but the IV and V simply had a hole punched though the nose of the envelope. The Mark IV and V bullets are indistinguishable (apart from the headstamp) as the only difference is that the Mark V had 2% antimony added to the lead of the core to harden it and prevent blow throughs of the core. Don't worry though, you will not find a Mark III as there is only one known example outside of captivity and that was sold a couple of years ago for 3,500.

The only .303 military round with an exposed lead nose is the Mark II* made at the Dum-Dum Arsenal in India and in small trial lots in the UK.

The picture shows a Mark IV (right) alongside a Mark II* made at Dum-Dum (left).

Regards
TonyE
 

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I am sure I have got some dum dum bullets in a job lot I will have to have a look I have some Kynoch rounds with bullets that look very similar.

many thanks
Richard.
 
Dum Dum

Don't confuse ordinary soft point bullets with military Dum Dum rounds, even if they have a military headstamp. Post WWI you will find these loaded commercially on Kynoch, Eley and Kings Norton military headstamps.

To be a genuine Dum-Dum round it needs not only to be the correct bullet with a very small exposed lead tip, but also to be made at one of the Indian arsenals. A typical headstamp is "D" at 9 o'clock and the Indian monogram of broad arrow over "I" at 3 o'clock.

Regards
TonyE
 
Dum Dum

Genuine Dum Dum Mark II* rounds are very hard to find. Ordinary Mark II rounds made at Dum Dum with the normal solid bullet are relatively easy to find though.

The art is recognising one if it is for sale at a militaria fair or cartridge meeting, assuming the seller is not aware of what it actually is.

Regards
TonyE
 
Buying

Without doubt the best place is at the ECRA meetings. Most members have FACs and collect live ammunition, but they will inert it for you if that is required.

If you are not already a member, you should join the ECRA and IAA, if only for the information in the journals.

Regards
TonyE
 
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