.303. What have I been given?

[Barryeye]

Gentlemen. A friend has just given me over 1,000 rounds of assorted .303 ammunition. Most of it is in clean shooting condition but obviously old. A lot of the rounds are loose and I am still sorting through it but the majority are packaged in three different kind of cartons.
There are a number of boxes of Seller & Bellot 20 rounds per box.
Then there two round boxes of CAC. I know that CAC stands for Colonial Ammunition Company and is therefore made here in New Zealand. There is no writing on the boxes other than the worrying single word “Seconds”.
Lastly there are six boxes of 1943 Canadian tracer. 48 rounds per box.
Can anyone tell me more about the above? Is it safe to shoot? Corrosive or none corrosive? The Canadian ammo is obviously 1943 but what age are the others?
Any help will be much appreciated.
Barry

[Tuna]

The S&B is commercial ammo and I would assume it to be non corrosive. I am not sure about the Canadian Dominion made as to corrosive or non corrosive and the same with the New Zealand ammo. If the Dominion is boxer primed then it's a good chance it's non corrosive but the best bet is to consider it all to be corrosive and clean your rifles as such.

[Barryeye]

Thanks Tuna. You are right of course. Better safe than sorry is the way to go. Still puzzled as to why they would pack ammunition in round tubs. Not the most practical shape for storage. I’ve fired the Canadian 1943 tracer before, about 20 years ago and like me it is not getting any younger. Back then there were no misfires but only 2 in 5 lit up. Good plinking ammo but not when the bush is dry. Can’t remember how we cleaned up after shooting it. We didn’t know back then if it was corrosive or not but folklore said that if you put a couple of non corrosive rounds down the barrel after shooting corrosive you reduced the corrosive effect.
The loose rounds my friend gave me are proving interesting with a number of head stamps I don’t recognise. I’ll get one of my cartridge collecting mates to check them out as I don’t want to shoot collectable cartridges.

[dave]

I thought all trace ammo was corrisive from the trace mixture, no?

[Barryeye]

I was under the same impression Dave but would like it confirmed. If an extra good clean after shooting is all that is needed I guess it is still worth using as cheap plinking ammo. What extra cleaning is called for? Just more of the same or a second clean after a while? I have not had much experience with corrosive ammo.

[Tuna]

Shooting tracer doesn't increase the corrosive effect of the ammo. A standard cleaning with a good water based cleaner is all that is needed. And shooting some non corrosive ammo after corrosive doesn't lessen anything. It just covers over the salts left by the corrosive primers but doesn't stop the attraction of moisture to the salts left behind so clean it well and you should be OK.

[Barryeye]

Your depth of knowledge never fails to amaze me Tuna. Thanks for sharing. I only have the two .303s and my preferred one is the Martini Enfield. It has been around for well over 100 years and I’d hate to ruin it now.

[Hecklerusp45]

The S&B is commercial ammo and I would assume it to be non corrosive. I am not sure about the Canadian Dominion made as to corrosive or non corrosive and the same with the New Zealand ammo. If the Dominion is boxer primed then it's a good chance it's non corrosive but the best bet is to consider it all to be corrosive and clean your rifles as such.

Tuna is right, clean as if it is all corrosive. I have seen S&B that was supposed to be non-corrosive end up being corrosive. I use dish detergent in warm water to clean metal parts, dry thoroughly, and then clean normally with your choice of gun oils.

[John Sukey]

Again, use HOT water to clean the barrel. Every barrel has microscopic cracks. HOT water expands those cracks and washes out the salts.

[Jim in Salt Lake]

I use boiling water to rinse out the soap, the barrel and other metal parts will air dry quickly on their own if you do this. I agree with John but just go a little farther beyond hot. I shot up 800 rounds of WWII surplus .30-06 through a M1903 back in the late 80's, early 90's and never had a problem. My rust paranoia also drove me to clean the bolt the same way. I don't think I'd shoot it through a semi auto, but I'd run it through a bolt gun no problem.

[Barryeye]

My good fortune with the .303 ammunition continues. My friend has just given me an ice cream container full of slightly dirty shells. A slightly damp cloth has cleaned up 3 samples that now feel clean to the touch but still have a very slight matt patina. I have enclosed pictures of what appear to be the 3 most common head stamps and some before and after the damp cloth pictures. Questions. Would you shoot this ammo? Is the damp cloth the best method of cleaning? What do I have and who made them? Most projectiles are nickel “plated”?

[Tuna]

It's all WW2 vintage from what I can see and if it cleans up with a damp cloth then keep at it. To me it's all shooting ammo and being WW2 it's all corrosive primed so as before CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN after shooting and enjoy.

[Barryeye]

Many thanks Tuna. That is the answer I wanted. Guess I'll find out at my next trip to the range but is it a safe bet that it is all berdan primed?

[JimF]

Yup . . . Berdan primed it is! . . . . (It's also a larger diameter primer than our normal large rifle primer) Jim

[Jeremy]

The pic of the three headstamps....the round on the left is Iraqi made .303 with a date I think of 1959.

[John R.]

All Canadian. 303" ammo be it ball, tracer or AP is CORROSIVE PRIMED if it has BERDAN primers and has a DA headstamp.

However ALL AMMUNITION MADE BY DEFENCE INDUSTRIES ( D I headstamp ) with BOXER Primers is NON-CORROSIVE be it 9mm Para, .303 ", .30 M2 cal or 7.92/8mm.They did NOT use Berdan primers at all and your's are Boxer primers.The DCRA issued. 303 " Ball ammo for target shooting up until the A$$hole Lieberal Government decided that Service Rifle Shooting was "WARLIKE" or some such libturd BS back in the mid 1990's so we issued out every round of. 303" and 7.62 Ball we had and never voted Lieberal ever since.

The tracer element does NOT ignite until some metres from the muzzle so is NOT a factor.

Cheers,

JR

[emmagee1917]

And what sort of magicial spell twas cast to make these bullets light some meters from the muzzle ????
Nay , tis not a magical spell , but a type of fuse . And what lights the fuse ? Tis the burning powder from the cartrige. And where does this occur ? In the bore . Will the ash from the bullets fuse coat the bore , get into the gas system , and is it corrosive ?
I cannot say , but I treat my guns as if the answers are yes , yes , yes.
Chris