Oh yes! .303 B Mk IV!

[enfieldspares]

Now thirty plus years ag these used to be merely classed as s1 and if you bought .303" ammunition in job lots (such as the three thousand mixed rounds I bought from a gunshop in Edinburgh once) you'd end up with a fair few as they were to all intents and purposes dead stock as being unsaleable.

Nobody wanted them.

And there were no military ranges, such as the now closed Kibworth range in Leicestershire, where you were allowed to used them. So you shuttled them back to auction to be rid of them. So for that reason here in the UK they were not as "rare" back then as the man says they of course are now.

So I always wondered how they actually performed. I never fired one in my rifles. Nor saw them fired. Now thanks to this man, below, I know!

I am glad though I've not ever shared a long train journey with him. But I thank him for what he has now preserved to film for future shooters and other interested folk.

 

[kenbro]

Now thirty plus years ag these used to be merely classed as s1 and if you bought .303" ammunition in job lots (such as the three thousand mixed rounds I bought from a gunshop in Edinburgh once) you'd end up with a fair few as they were to all intents and purposes dead stock as being unsaleable.

Nobody wanted them.

And there were no military ranges, such as the now closed Kibworth range in Leicestershire, where you were allowed to used them. So you shuttled them back to auction to be rid of them. So for that reason here in the UK they were not as "rare" back then as the man says they of course are now.

So I always wondered how they actually performed. I never fired one in my rifles. Nor saw them fired. Now thanks to this man, below, I know!

I am glad though I've not ever shared a long train journey with him. But I thank him for what he has now preserved to film for future shooters and other interested folk.

Interesting, never heard of those before and did ‘Not being allowed’ really stop you from trying them?
Ken.

 

[enfieldspares]

Interesting, never heard of those before and did ‘Not being allowed’ really stop you from trying them?

No we never did. Accurate shooting SMLE and No4 rifles were highly desired and much coveted. You never wanted to risk knackering the bore by putting any of these "exotic" types of ammunition through them.

It was bad enough that much of the standard Mk VII was corrosive primed and used cordite (as would have been this B Mk IV) that you, yourself, had the self discipline to eschew wanting to try such as B Mk IV or similar.

And of course being a military range when military ranges were all that we had for shooting our rifles for target work you never risked your club being banned through a member failing to follow the range rules. In Leicestershire if you wanted to shoot 200 yards and further it was Kibworth Rifle Range or nothing.

 

[Smellydog]

Designed for Zeppelin I always believed.

Boiling water for the corrosive primers.