Guess what these are

[Bavarianbrit]

My neighbour runs the local recycling centre on his farm ground for the local council and he gave me these jobbies.
We are 15kms from the USAs Hohenfels training ground so these must be Nato ammo. Top one must be a 5.56 blank the second one I assume is a fired .308 blank. the third one was still loaded with powder and had this long round head FMJ bullet, I took it apart with an inertia hammer.
The last one at the bottom the bullet as such? was a sheet metal split skin with those lead bits inside, this skin will not separate from the neck of the cartridge and I can hear the powder moving when I shake it.
Funny what turns up.

 

[C h r i s]

Any photos of the headstamps?

 

[enfieldspares]

I think the round nose is maybe one of those transitional metal jacketed rounds in use, but briefly, until the Europeans were developing pointed "spitzer" bulleted service cartridges). So we, the Brits, went from .303 MK II to .303 Mk VII in 1907, the Germans from M1888 to the 1903 S-Patrone and etc.. Some European powers stuck with round nose bullets for longer.

The milled case head of the blank may indicate that this isn't a standard blank as we that use bolt action rifles might know but a standard blank for operating self-loading weapons with a muzzle restrictor fitted? The multi projectile cartridge is perhaps a "guard" cartridge issued to sentries and with multiple (but short range) projectiles? Or you may be very very lucky and have a .30-06 Project Salvo multi projectile cartridge...especially referencing the extra long neck? The headstamp will perhaps tell us?

 

[Pedro]

Just put it on some random "found in a field" site on t'internet and ask what they are. You'll probably get about 50 random answers saying they are all .303.

Job solved!

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I ran the delabbed unfired cases through the wet pin tumbler. then I could measure them. The bullet? measures 2 thou more than a .264 (6.5mm) bullet, here is a .264 shown sitting in the delabbed case neck. The case length is 2.050" Shoulder diameter .408", web diameter just forward of the extractor groove is .425"
Followed by the bullets? not showing any split lines and a sad looking berdan primer of the same diameter as a LR boxer primer.
then the unusual flash hole build method with two upward pointy flanges and an elongated flash hole.
The unfired corroded round shows three designed in splits for the frangible content?

 

[C h r i s]

How long are the cases?

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Ran in the edit just.

 

[Smellydog]

They wouldn't be of French origin maybe??
The groove around the case head is what 8mm label had to prevent a spitzer resting on a primer in the mag tube.

 

[C h r i s]

6.5mm Carcano (6.5 x 52)

Bullet is 6.8 mm, 0.268"

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Yes that checks out on Google with a youtube video backing that up. The cartridge that did for JFK.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I did a check on the powder charges over the 15 rounds I have that averaged out at 33.4 grains, the bullets are 160 grain lead core with steel jackets copper plated for rust protection.