ICI .22lr ammunition, dated 1945

[Shootist]

First post here, and the reason is, I have just picked up a box of 100 (I think) ICI .22lr ammunition. It's date samped 1945. Several rounds appear to have been tried, with firing pin indents, but still intact, so I presume they were tried recently.

Are they worth anything?

 

[TonyE]

.22 lr

Are you talking about the normal 100 round box of military .22LR, probably still Mark I in 1945? Square box with white label and green printing. (Mark II would have red printing)

These are not particularly scarce, but it would be better to keep them than to shoot them. It is getting harder to find WW2 boxes.

If you have something different, please post details.

Regards and welcome to the Forum.
TonyE

 

[Fuzeman]

That was the ammunition we used at our rifle club in the late 80,s i sold the empty box on ebay for 8.50 , a full box was 1.50p

 

[navyman]

Would these be the copper cased rounds? Used to find them on ex MOD land as a child. I imagine they had been used for 'rabbiting' during the war as the area was woodland and not a range?
Cheeres,
navyman.

 

[TonyE]

.22 lr

Yes, the Mark I rounds are copper cased and the Mark II are brass cased. Before that there were several Marks of .22, including powder loaded and the .22 long (not Long Rifle).

The really nice ones are those with the dished base and British military headstamps, RL, KN and I even have a Kirkee from India.

Regards
TonyE

 

[navyman]

Thanks Tony,
Wish I had kept the .22 collection I had when younger, it included the .22 long which you refer to, and some .22 tracer, I still had the empty box (Military), untill a couple of marriage's ago! Also some fairground short rounds which as I remember were very fragile and powdered on impact with the falling ducks, seem to remember trying to remove the projectile from one, (picked up from the ground at Billy Mannings Fairground), with a pair of pliers and it just disintegrated. Am I getting too old and imagining these amusement arcade rounds?
Cheers,
navyman.

 

[TonyE]

.22 Short

No, you are not imagining them!. They went under names like "Spatterpruf" and millions of rounds were used at fairgrounds. The bullets were a compostion of lead dust and something like bakelite and as you say, shattered to dust on impact so that there was no possibility of any ricochets.

Most of them (at least in the south) were supplied by Tom Collins at the London Armoury in the New Kent Road who also made a lot of the target frames and cut -out ducks for the fairground industry.

Regards
TonyE

 

[navyman]

Thanks Tony,
Glad my memory is still mainly intact so they wont have to put me in a home yet.
Do you happen to know anything about 37mm Gruson projectiles, not the solid shot ones? Also who are/were, U.M.C.Co.?
Cheers,
navyman.

 

[TonyE]

U.M.C.Co

U.M.C.Co. were the Union Metallic Cartridge Company and were one of the foremost manufacturers in the US, having been founded in 1867. The holding company of UMC purchased the Remington Arms Co. in 1888 and in 1912 the companies were merged to form Remington UMC, which still exists today.

Their headstamp of "REM-UMC" is one of the best known in the world.

All I know about Gruson revolving cannons is that they were basically the Hotchkiss gun built in Germany under licence.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Andysarmoury]

22rf

Hi Just thought i would show my boxes of 22RF the one on the right is still sealed
Andy

 

[glevum]

Here is a picture of the tin box originally holding 6 of the above boxes

 

[303Gunner]

Is 10,000 too many?

I have some boxes of green label Mk1 and red label Mk2. The Mk2 are '77 dated and packed 100 packets of 100 cartridges to the case, a total of 10,000 cartridges, but light enough to tuck under your arm!

 

[Andysarmoury]

Nice one mate i know where to come if i run out lol
Cheers
Andy

 

[Dutch]

A more modern box.