What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Sniping ammo

Andysarmoury

Andysarmoury

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Hi could anybody tell me what rounds were use in WW1 for sniping other then 303.
Thanks in advance
Andy
 
Sniping

I presume you mean on the British side.

There was limited use of a wide range of different calibres, many of which were originally inspired by use of private rifles by officers like Hesketh-Pritchard.

The military purchased a number of sporting rifles, and I have recently located two 6.5mm Mannlichers, one by Fraser and another by Jeffery, both with British military proof marks.

They also purchased a number of big game rifles to counter German sniper shields which were impervious to the .303 rounds available in 1915. A picture of the rounds used is attached.

Subsequent to this there was a plan to re-barrel a number of Pattern 13 rifles in .470 Nitro Express, but this did not come to fruition. There was also limited use of P.13 rifles in their original calibre of .276 and there were plans to develop armour piercing bullets in this calibre.

The introduction of the .303 Mark VIIW AP round solved the problem as this could penetrate German armoured shields at the ranges likely to be encountered, and so there was no further development of special calibres.

Regards
TonyE
 

Attachments

  • Expressctgs1.jpg
    Expressctgs1.jpg
    71.1 KB · Views: 94
Last edited:
Hi Tony, many thanks, i have know started to read sniping in France by major H Hesketh-Prichard's book and is very good i can see i will have to start collecting them.
Many thanks
Andy
 
Last edited:
Sniping

It is an excellent book and is as valuable today as when it was written. If you want more details of the express cartridges etc I covered them in Part 3 of my Secondary Small Arms series.

Regards
TonyE
 
Yes very good book and when i get round to it i will get in touch as i would like to get your books.
Cheers
Andy
 
TonyE said:
It is an excellent book and is as valuable today as when it was written. If you want more details of the express cartridges etc I covered them in Part 3 of my Secondary Small Arms series.

Regards
TonyE
Click to expand...

Tony, are you going to include the express cartridges on your website.
Cheers
Andy
 
Hi Tony, could you please tell me if all the express rounds used were made by Kynoch and is there a way of telling the originals rounds from the modern ones?
Cheers
Andy
 
Last edited:
Most were made by Kynoch, Andy, but some were from Eley.

It is possible to identify rounds that are correct for the period, but obviously original rounds supplied to the military are unidentifiable because they were simply commercial rounds.

The three clues are that the bullets should be solid, not soft nosed, they should be cupro-nickel jacketed not gilding metal (copper) and the headstamp font should be quite fine with seriphs on the letters. Later Kynoch headstamps used quite a "solid" font.

Apart from that it isi not possible to tell.

Cheers
TonyE
 
Many thanks tony, it will give me something to look out for as would like to get all the rounds that were used for sniping.
Cheers
Andy
 
interesting thread, read Sniping in France years ago, got it from the library the last time it was out before me was in 1939!!! there was an article on the subject in Guns Review magazine that prompted my borrowing. Andy if you are after comercial big game rounds of the period then maybe ECRA is the place to look.
 
Thanks 2pounder. will give it a try, i wonder if anybody has still got a copy of the article that was in guns review.
cheers
Andy
 
TonyE said:
Most were made by Kynoch, Andy, but some were from Eley.

It is possible to identify rounds that are correct for the period, but obviously original rounds supplied to the military are unidentifiable because they were simply commercial rounds.

The three clues are that the bullets should be solid, not soft nosed, they should be cupro-nickel jacketed not gilding metal (copper) and the headstamp font should be quite fine with seriphs on the letters. Later Kynoch headstamps used quite a "solid" font.

Apart from that it isi not possible to tell.

Cheers
TonyE
Click to expand...

Tony i forgot to ask do you know what year they changed from cupro-nickel to gliding metal
cheers
Andy
 
Hi Tony, would it be possible to show an early Kynoch headstamp compered to a later one as i have nothing to compare?
Cheers
Andy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top