Another .303 ammo question

[Merc]

I recently acquired two interesting 48 round boxes of .303 British military ammo. One box has the label written in English and the other is in Greek. The English box has the following written on the label: 48 RDS .303 INCH BALL L1A1 HXP 7-83-8. The writing on the Greek box is beyond my comprehension but probably says the same thing plus HXP-77. The numbers 83 and 77 refer to the year of manufacture. The heads on the cartridges are stamped HXP 83 and HXP 77. There are three stake crimps around each primer.

I googled ".303 L1A1" and found the following description: Round .303" ball L1A1, boxer primed with three stake primer crimps, flat based 174gr (bullet), propellant is 40 gr of nitrocellulose ball powder.

That pretty much describes everything. I'd like to know more before I consider firing them. Are the primers or main propellant corrosive? Since there are three stake crimps around the primer, are the cases reloadable? What does HXP stand for? What type of modern commercial powder uses nitrocellulose ball powder?

[Tuna]

Non corrosive and excellent ammo. Boxer primed and as such reloadable. HXP is for the Greek company that made the ammo.
Just about any powder will have some form of nitrocellulose in it. You are not bound to ball powders for reloading a .303. Ball powders are used because it meters so quickly in the machinery used to make the factory ammunition. The stake marks are easy to remove with a tool made to do so. Just about any reloader worth his salt will have one. It uniforms the primer pocket on a case and allows a new primer to sit in the pocket properly.

[p246]

HXP was my go to surplus for years but it's getting harder to find. Tuna hit everything. Shoot it up and enjoy.

[Merc]

Thanks guys. This ammo came from a gunsmith who was going out of business and getting rid of his stock. Another one of Obama's disasters. I have a primer pocket reamer and only neck size the case.

The two aforementioned boxes of HXP rounds were factory sealed, however I found cartridges in another opened box that's part of the HXP group with the head stamped "RG" and "7 50." The numbers are the date July, 1950. RG stands for Radway Green in the UK. Most US ammo manufacturers went non-corrosive in the early 50s. Should I assume these rounds are corrosive? Pulling the bullets and replacing the powder and primers is always an option.

[John Sukey]

Why bother? After firing, stick a funnel in the chamber end and pour a kettle of hot water down the barrel to wash out any primer salts, then clean with the usual patches and solvent. Thats what they did in service.

[Merc]

John,

Thanks for the tip.

Here's the question of the day: Which end of the barrel was affected most by the corrosive salts? The muzzle or the breech?

[Tuna]

In it's day it was more the powder then the primers through they didn't help. Cordite for powder in stick form like toothpicks is very erosive on the whole barrel. If cleaned from the chamber I would hazard a guess that the throat would be more worn then the muzzle but from the powder. A 1950 date I think will still be corrosive primed and still could be cordite. Only way for sure would be to pull a round and look. It will be Berdan primed too.

[p246]

Although John makes a good point. My issue with what I find anymore is old corrosive primed ammo that has been stored in humid basement or sheds. Many in poorly sealed zip lock bags. The primers tend to hang fire or are just dead. This has been the case with the last two batches of ammo I've bought from guys who stopped shooting 10 or 15 years ago. In those cases I pulled the bullets used once fired HXP or Privi cases, Varget, and federal 210 primers. If I ever find some ammo thats been sealed correctly again I'd shoot it up and clean accordingly. Those days are getting short though. Oh the days when you could buy HXP whenever you wanted.

[Sunray]

HXP = Greek Powder & Cartridge Company, Athens, Greece.
RG = Royal Ordnance Factory Radway Green, Radway Green, UK.
Cordite looks more like uncooked, whole wheat, spaghetti than toothpicks. It's the salts in the priming compound that causes all the hysteria.
Corrosively primed ammo isn't going to destroy your rifle in seconds. And it's easily dealt with by flushing the barrel(and the gas system on a semi-auto) with plain, very hot, tap water. Boiling is a bit better, but the important part is the water. No soap or ammonia or anything else is necessary.

[Merc]

HXP = Greek Powder & Cartridge Company, Athens, Greece.
RG = Royal Ordnance Factory Radway Green, Radway Green, UK.
Cordite looks more like uncooked, whole wheat, spaghetti than toothpicks. It's the salts in the priming compound that causes all the hysteria.
Corrosively primed ammo isn't going to destroy your rifle in seconds. And it's easily dealt with by flushing the barrel(and the gas system on a semi-auto) with plain, very hot, tap water. Boiling is a bit better, but the important part is the water. No soap or ammonia or anything else is necessary.

Thanks for the info.

[PhillipM]

"The smell of cordite wafted across the battlefield..."

What does cordite smell like?

[Merc]

"The smell of cordite wafted across the battlefield..."

What does cordite smell like?

Phil,

I'll never know. I've pretty much decided those RGs from 1950 will go into my antique bullet collection. I have a decent supply of .303s that I've personally reloaded plus the HXP ammo.

[JB White]

"The smell of cordite wafted across the battlefield..."

What does cordite smell like?

It has a slight smell of burnt hair to it.