.303 Ammo & Other Stuff

[bubbagump]

I bought a Lee-Enfield No.4 MK.II and am going to pick it up on the 15th. Excited to get the new shooter out on the range.

Finding .303 ammo has been an adventure. The commercial ammo, as you all know, is pricey. So I went on the for surplus and found two types. I'd like to know what everyones experience has been with these two types of surplus ammo.

I found some .303 POF Pakistani stuff. Heard a lot of bad and some good. The bad being a lot of hangfire's and the good being 2 hangfires out of a 32 round box. Anybody had any similar experiences?

I also found some South African Mint-Pretoria, South Africa ammo today. It was marked Mk7 BDR and came in a wooden case. Year was 1960, but had 1945 stamped on the bottom of the box. Had never heard of it. Came in bandoleers with stripper clips. Bought all of it. Hopefully its good stuff. Better than the POF supposedly is.



I also have a question about a box I bought a while back. It is a Government of the Dominican Republic Box of .30 caliber M/2. Markes 1947-48. Winchester Repeating Arms Company...Division of Olin Industries Inc./New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. Has anyone ever ran into boxes similar to this one? Do they have collector's value?

And final question...Windex or Boiling/Hot Water?

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

.303 POF will go click bang. However, it is still tolerable.

As for cleaning up afterwards, I just use water-soaked patches before I start the regular routine of Breakfree CLP, Gunscrubber, and Hoppes # 9. When I've taken my rifles to the range a few times I use foam barrel cleaner, helps kill everything.

[smle-man]

I bought a Lee-Enfield No.4 MK.II and am going to pick it up on the 15th. Excited to get the new shooter out on the range.

Finding .303 ammo has been an adventure. The commercial ammo, as you all know, is pricey. So I went on the for surplus and found two types. I'd like to know what everyones experience has been with these two types of surplus ammo.

I found some .303 POF Pakistani stuff. Heard a lot of bad and some good. The bad being a lot of hangfire's and the good being 2 hangfires out of a 32 round box. Anybody had any similar experiences?

I also found some South African Mint-Pretoria, South Africa ammo today. It was marked Mk7 BDR and came in a wooden case. Year was 1960, but had 1945 stamped on the bottom of the box. Had never heard of it. Came in bandoleers with stripper clips. Bought all of it. Hopefully its good stuff. Better than the POF supposedly is.



I also have a question about a box I bought a while back. It is a Government of the Dominican Republic Box of .30 caliber M/2. Markes 1947-48. Winchester Repeating Arms Company...Division of Olin Industries Inc./New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. Has anyone ever ran into boxes similar to this one? Do they have collector's value?

And final question...Windex or Boiling/Hot Water?

The SA 60 dated ammo that I have is hangfire but very accurate. The bandoliers and chargers all were recycled earlier dated stuff. Those Springboks were thrifty sorts! My SA ammo all had some sort of clear lacquer coating on the cases. I cleaned some of it off which seemed to improve the hangfire situation somewhat. It could be that the coating doesn't let the cartridge fit the chamber just right and when the firing pin hits the primer it drives the cartridge snug into the chamber and stops a good rap on the firing pin...anyway I tried it and it seemed to help.

Boiling water with a funnel and a piece of plastic tubing into the chamber of the rifle. Position a bucket at the muzzle end, pour the water from a tea kettle into the funnel and catch the water in the bucket. Then use a wet patch on the chamber and bolt face. Dry all and then clean with your favorite solvent. Remember you need water to dissolve the corrosive primer salts. Diluted ammonia removes copper fouling.