FEBRUARY 3, 2020
100 YEAR OLD 1917 BRITISH .303 SHELL CASING FOUND METAL DETECTING IN BACK YARD


Made in 1917
Part of a shell casing for a British .303
Manufactured in Dominion Arsenal, Quebec, Canada
Most commonly used in the Lee-Enfield used by the British Army from 1895-1957.
Dug up from my back yard.


In 1910, the British took the opportunity to replace their Mk VI cartridge with a more modern design. The Mark VII loading used a 174 gr (11.28 g) pointed bullet with a flat-base. The .303 British Mark VII cartridge was loaded with 37 gr and a maximum range of approximately 3,000 yd. The Mk VII was different from earlier .303 bullet designs or spitzer projectiles in general. Although it appears to be a conventional spitzer-shape full metal jacket bullet, this appearance is deceptive: its designers made the front third of the interior of the Mk 7 bullets out of aluminium (from Canada) or tenite (cellulosic plastic), wood pulp or compressed paper, instead of lead and they were autoclaved to prevent wound infection. This lighter nose shifted the centre of gravity of the bullet towards the rear, making it tail heavy. Although the bullet was stable in flight due to the gyroscopic forces imposed on it by the rifling of the barrel, it behaved very differently upon hitting the target. As soon as the bullet hit the target and decelerated, its heavier lead base caused it to pitch violently and deform, thereby inflicting more severe gunshot wounds than a standard single-core spitzer design. In spite of this, the Mk VII bullet was legal due to the full metal jacket used according to the terms of the Hague Convention.