Cordite, Never seen it till today

[becker_atc]

Well the other day my girlfriend calls me and says that there is a 303 british for sale on a local posting. A MK1 NO3 with some factory ammo and some surplus (prolly 75 rounds total). For the grand price of $100. It is in a composite stock but hey for a high power rifle with 75 rounds of ammo ill give a hundred bucks for it if its functional. So I told her what to ask and what i hope the answers should be and to inspect the metal for cracks and have the guy pull the bolt out so she could inspect the bore (she knows what one SHOULD look like). Well she bought it. Finish is a little rough but I was not expecting much. It shoots straight with the factory ammo we shot. Have yet to shoot the surplus.

Reading up on the .303 Brit i learned it used cordite. I have heard of it but never seen any. SOOOOO... Off to the reloading bench I go to dig out the collet bullet puller and a 30-40 krag shell holder (the same I think). Bullet was not easy comin out then looked in side and had a cardboard type wad i guess. Dug it out with a pick the I could see the cordite. Tweezers pulled the first few out and then i was able to pour them out. Any how here are some pics I thought it was neat so i thought i would share.

Looks like pasta! the wad to the top. bullet weighed roughly 175 gr

POF head stamp in '67

 

[becker_atc]

hmmm I rotated it and saved it in my photo bucket.....

 

[Huckelberry75]

Yep, kinda goofy looking stuff, especially by today's standards. Be sure to give that thing a good cleanign after shooting any milsurp rounds. As for the .303 cartridge, it's not too shabby. Have fun.

 

[MoBoost]

Cool!

 

[AKguy1985]

Thats pakistani ammo. POF headstamp

 

[becker_atc]

yeah from what ive read most all the surplus is corrosive. we shot two boxes of privi ammo. Kinda glad to see its reloadable as the guy we got it from called said he found the set of dies he had for it. This $100 rifle keeps getting cheaper.

 

[338Shooter]

What does it do when you light a stick of it?

 

[Perplexed]

What does it do when you light a stick of it?

Might just burn quickly with lots of smoke. This thread reminded me of a college kid whose family lived down the street from mine when I was a little kid; apparently he was in the habit of inserting a sliver of cordite into an unlit cigarette belonging to an unsuspecting smoker I never did see the results, but he got into trouble once or twice for this.

 

[cmhbob]

Now you can honestly say you've smelled "the acrid smell of cordite."

 

[becker_atc]

I did hold one with tweezers and lit one off with a grill lighter. It took to the count of 3 i bet to burn all the way down