I've had a lot of milsurp ammo with those cupro-nickel jackets, from 8mm, 7mm, even 7.62x51. Not necessarily a euro-thing, but not an American thing. That's very cool about the cordite! I've never seen it before either.Thank you kindly! Pughead has already googled your answer, done the legwork, and filled me in! I assume it was a euro-thing? (All my American old mil-surp has been copper jacketed!)That's what most of this is. (Probably explains why it shows the copper in photos!)
That I didn't know! Very cool additional chunk of history! Thanks! I think sharing on INGO makes us all a little smarter! Collectively, we're a pretty bright bunch!And Even the 1st atom bomb used Cordite to get its start
Your SMLE doesn't shoot these!?...Hmm...
Gonna give it a try? Report back with your findings.... I might have to repeat the experiment if result seem promising. For purely scientific reasons, of course!I read that people actually chewed cordite back in the day! Said it tasted sweet, and gave similar effects to alcohol! I don't know about you, but I smoke when I drink! That could end badly!
Lol! That would be one desperate Sunday!Gonna give it a try? Report back with your findings.... I might have to repeat the experiment if result seem promising. For purely scientific reasons, of course!
Yup! I believe in it's original format, it was over 60% nitroglycerine!As I remember Cordite is about half nitroglycerin, maybe chewing it was dropping their blood pressure.
Lol! Gunpowder makes my dogs mean, but cordite gets me drunk!So, I've been reading. Some say it intoxicates you, some say it makes you sick. I think it either comes down to what formulation you have, how much you chew, or if you swallow it or not. I need to take the bullet puller to some 1960s Paki I've got and try it. I'm quite curious now. Hopefully it turns out as a mild intoxicant so I can tell people I don't drink or smoke, I chew on explosives.
The things I do to sound like a badass.
It just depends. The cordite should be fine. If the cases aren't corroded like in OP that is a good sign. Your biggest issue will be primers. Primer degradation is the main cause of surplus malfunctions in .303 British. That is why Pakistani surplus is so unreliable. The cordite is just fine, but the primers are degraded. I'd try a few rounds and be very, very, very cautious about hang fires.This thread got me wondering about some mil-surp .303 I had in the ammo closet, so yesterday I pulled out a stripper clip of it and the inertia bullet puller.
Much to my surprise, I found Cordite!
Is this stuff still safe to shoot?
Mine is not all corroded, and my SMLE is a 1945 model in pristine condition.
Just another fun Cordite fact, they load the cordite in the shell then form the neck afterwards.
If it helps, all the cordite that I broke down was internally clean. No signs of corrosion. I'll probably keep it, just because it's kinda cool to have! Unfortunately, all I'm seeing on the receiver is an engraved date of 6/47, and a 4 digit serial number. Pretty shallow and hand engraved. I'm assuming it's an arsenal rebuild date. Seen a "47" stamped in a couple places, but also seeing "12" here and there. Removed the forend, and still nothing obvious. I took pics. I'll get a thread up tonight after the kids are in bed. If you are a SMLE guy, please keep an eye out for it! I do see a couple of crown stamps, so I kinda assume it's a SMLE, not an Ishapore.