Hi, I was going through my late grand fathers belongings, who served during WWII, and came across what i believe to be a magazine of .303 calibre rifle ammunition. Looking at it there are 5 bullets in a sort of metal clip thing (you can tell i'm a military expert :p) looking like this. http://www.helstongunsmiths.com/shop/images/Picture-075.jpg (These are not them, it's just an example of what they look like.) They have the red lines down the side, does this mean they are "drill rounds"? Does this mean they are blanks and do not fire a projectile? When would these be used? I thought the British army used live ammunition in its training. Thanks for any help. -Engelsman
Yes, that is a .303 British clip, called a charger. Remove a cartridge and describe the head, or base, and what is stamped there, or better take a photo of it. Someone here may be able to help, but they looks like dummy rounds. Here's how it should look, bottom view. JT
Thanks Jacob, I dont have a camera but the attachment is what the base looks like. Along the top it has "R", then a symbol i've never seen before, then "L" Along the bottom it has what looks like "D VI" Sorry i couldn't be anymore help. -Engelsman
RL is Royal Laboratories, Woolwich, the manufacturer. The mark between is the British and Commonwealth Nations' "Broad Arrow," which is either an ordnance acceptance mark or government property stamp (I've seen it called both). On .38-200 pistol rounds, 'D' means Drill, but I can't speak to rifle cartridges. The VI is the Mark. If a drill round, I assume there is no primer in the primer pocket? JT
Thanks again! Theres like a hole 3-4mm deep where i'd expect a primer to be. So i dont think it can be fired.
That's the primer pocket. I can't offer definitive answers here, since my library is oriented more to handguns than rifles. Stick around, and someone else may help. If not, try gunboards. I'll post the URL in a moment. http://www.gunboards.com/forums/ Scroll down to either the Lee Enfield Forum or the British Gun Pub. That's where the experts live. JT
Hi, the D is drill: Have a look atthis site for a description of the .303 codes: http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html Also I've attached a picture of the different types (your's should look like the bottom right except that yours is a mark 6 and manufactured by a diferent company)
