Thread: Greek 303 Ammo

The HXP factory (Hellenic Xartridge Pompany, or to that effect) was set up in Greece (Hellas) by a Winchester subsidiary. They produced among others .45 ACP, .30/06 and .303 for the greek armed forces which adopted both the No 4 rifle and the Garand. The former two they supplied to the US Army, the latter to the UK cadet forces which used the LE No 4 up until the early 1980s. The HXP rounds are non-corrosive boxer primed (reloadable). The military ball powder is basically W76 / H414, as has been said above the projectile is lead with copper/brass jacket so remains legit. I anneal cases before reloading them for the first time as the ammo is relatively old, not quite as old as me though.

Don't cut the noses off to make cheap hunting ammo as the lead will be too hard for good expansion. (Who is that poor anyway?) Military spitzers primarily make a mess by tumbling, not by expansion or deformation. Also there is the increased risk of leaving a bullet jacket in the bore, especially if you have filed the jacket too far back, and no one knows exactly where that limit is.

Had one misfire with hundreds of HXP rounds fired, no hangfires (they are part of the fun of shooting the old Mk VII rounds from war and postwar periods). IMHO HXP is best used for unsupported target shooting as it will then shoot as good as, or even better than you.