Thread: 303 bullets tumbling

Originally Posted by Jhon

Quote "Your right about re-using the projectiles, they are supposed to be really good, some of this CAC stuff ive got is soft point and the rest is all FMJ.
Any reason you throw out the brass? I thought it was some of the best brass for reloading?" EndQuote

The Military CAC is Berdan primed. Two primer flash holes not the single Boxer hole. Boxer primed is not corrosive to my knowledge - someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Yes you can reload Berdan primed brass or even convert to Boxer. Google is your friend if you want to follow that path.

I've always assumed Berdan primed CAC FMJ cartridges have corrosive primers and Boxer primed CAC sporting ammunition does not. Beware of Berdan primed Military cartridges that have had the original FMJ projectile pulled and replaced with a soft point one and even the cordite replaced with smokeless powder. Will still likely be corrosive. They are corrosive because THE PRIMER is the corrosive element.

Rebuilding the round with a new projectile and smokeless powder was a common practice. Unfortunately, in my experience, a good percentage of them fail to fire because of the old primer.

If you do elect to remake Berdan primed brass, or reload circa1950s era Boxer primed brass, be sure to anneal it first. I learned the hard way that you can seat a projectile and 2-3 days later the neck will split.

Old CAC Boxer primed brass is fine if annealed.

OK, thats helpful to know when I come to reloading.

Now ive got to try and find another barrel, is it going to be better to cut my losses and find another gun or is there someone out there with a supply of new barrels?
Where did all these surplus lithgow barrels end up? I believe that there were a number of guns assembled from the surplus stock that was sold off and all have serial numbers that dont match.