Thread: NZFS ammo

Had a wee dig through a drawer today and found these, CAC NZFS .270 ammo.





Probably quite popular back in the day, i know i certainly used a lot of CAC .303 ammo.

Has anyone used NZFS ammo before or found some brass in out of the way places ?

That stuff made me think the 270 was rubbish. Had a school mate who got into the forest service and became a culler, got a sako forester thru him too, came with 200 rounds of that. Accurate but the bullets either blew up on impact or didnt expand at all. Sold it and got a bruno fox in 222 and was very happy.
The ammo is quite collectable now especially in packets in good condition.

I shot 5 rounds of NZFS ammo over a chrony years ago in a tikka .270

The 130 grainers were doing 2610fps

I picked up one of those NZFS CAC 270 cases on the Urchin ridge about 20 or so years ago. I gave it to my mate Cooch who collects old stuff.

When I was meat hunting I sometimes picked up old CAC 303 cases in the Ruahines. It seems that hunters gravitate to the same lookouts and shooting spots.

There is a broadleaf tree by the lookout over the big slip up the Pari that over the years I have hammered several fired cases into after I have shot (or missed) deer. The last one was a .243 about 8 years ago - its pushed onto a little branch end.

Now I grovel around picking up every one of my fired cases to bring home to reload. Last week Wellington airport security picked up an empty case in my jacket pocket packed in my bag. They didn't seem to mind, but it was confiscated.



Memories, eh.

The NZFS .270 ammo by CAC was loaded with both 130 and 150 grain bullets. The North Island got the 150 grainers because of the higher amount of bush shooting, and the 130 grain loads were for the South Island high country. Single rounds are interesting but full packets in good nick are highly collectable. I see that the rounds in the photos are reloads.

I seems recall CAC 308 brass not being too bad to reload? I've still got a bit of it.

I have about 50x CAC .308 brass here as well

NZ company from memory

I wonder where all their manufacturing machinery is ?

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

I have about 50x CAC .308 brass here as well

NZ company from memory

I wonder where all their manufacturing machinery is ?

I did some summer work at Industrial Research(the old DSIR) 15 + years ago and they had heaps of CAC shot in stamped hessian bags and other bits and bobs downstairs in the test hall

That's interesting, I wonder where the rest of their gear went when they shut down

I picked up three very old 303 cases from a handy look out point up behind Tussock Hut two years ago.

This point looks over and down a grassy slip face and a clearing near the bottom

All three cases were within a foot of each other.

Often wondered if these were from a NZFS culler.

Also wondered if he was a good shot and got three deer or a bum shot and used three rounds before the deer all buggered off.

My Dads Uncle was a NZFS Employee for his entire career beginning just before WW2.

Cheers
Pete

I could be wrong but I thought CAC turned into Belmont Ammo. I have a heap of the 308 brass all prepped ready to reload that a kind forum member gave me.

I think that arms dealer chap in Hawera has got the CAC trademark now.

For the unfamiliar, CAC stands for Colonial Ammunition Company.

Import restrictions meant it was pretty much the only ammo we could get. 303, and then 270, 243 and 308 as I recall. The first imported ammo I remember was circa 1965, Norma 308 and Hertenburg .222 (spelling?). I thought I was untouchable using that imported .222 ammo.

Around about 1968 I used Norma 308 (having discovered that Hertenburg .222 ammo was not magic, and each lost deer was worth a weeks wages). The projectiles were silver (some sort of gliding metal) and they had yellow plastic tips which looked like they may have been actually round with the front half exposed. We thought they were the bee's-knees. Worked ok anyway. My 308 had one of the first Tasco 'scopes on it...they were Japanese and were ok...its on CraigC's .22 now...its well over 40 years old. It was born before he was.

I burned, my way threw a bit of that CAC NZFS ammo, when I first got a .270, prior to moving down south, the old man got several hundred, of one of his Ex forest service cullers for me, Seamed to work ok, but going from a vixen .222 to a .270, I wouldn't have know any better if it was a bit lack luster,

Used to come across piles of .303 brass when doing venison in South Westland. Nearly all the major basins from Paringa to Milford would have a wee pile somewhere.
Never disturbed them. Some of the piles were almost 50+
I know of one that has over 100 pieces in it.

I enjoyed looking over that country in a quiet moment and imagine huge mobs of Otago deer with several stags looking for supremacy.

Some of the game trails out of a lot of those catchments are over 100 yrs old and still well formed and used.

I have seen a mob of 40+ deer once thru that country but I would say it was once an everyday event for some cullers in the early days.


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Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

I could be wrong but I thought CAC turned into Belmont Ammo. I have a heap of the 308 brass all prepped ready to reload that a kind forum member gave me.

No, CAC didnt turn into Belmont but interestingly I think Bruce McMillan may have also run off ammo for the Forest Service when he was operating at Belmont, Lower Hutt. Maybe at the point when CAC had folded.
CAC 308 brass in its time (even once other brands became available in NZ) was acknowledged as quality stuff. Apparently they used brass that was a good as any worldwide to make their cases. @Tahr Re Hirtenberger - I used their primers to load my first 308 ammo, and Norma Re brass. That was at the time when the goverment protected CAC and no other commercial 308 ammo was able to be imported. Cannot remember where I sourced the Norma Re from but it was quite rare.
I also managed to buy 60 rounds of Hirtenberger 222Rem from a gun shop in Marton (long, long gone). Never ever saw the brand again.