The other day I saw a post asking what Cordite was. It might have been on another forum.

Here is a photo of Cordite, which we got out of a 303 British cartridge.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

Saeed,

Please check the address for the photos above. They do not display.

regards,

redleg

P.S. Will report on the 460 G&A CZ550 when it is completed, still a few months off though.

Gang,

Hornady 4th Edition Volume 1, pg 29 also has a rendition. It is described within as "...long, thin spaghetti-like pieces of powder. It is no longer in use today."

Cheerio!

I have a bandoleer of British .303 loaded with cordite, and was thinking of breaking down a few rounds and loading the appropriate weight of this cordite in a big bore cartridge or two, just for the heck of it. Would this be unwise, anyone?

Bill/Oregon

I can't remember if it was the cordite or the mercuric primers that were in use at the time of cordite but one of these is very corrosive if left in the barrel after firing.

The accepted way of cleaning was to pass boiling water throught the barrel.

In Ireland if your Dad came back from patrol and asked your Mum to boil the kettle for his .303 you knew there'd be a funeral the next day!

Cordite itself isn't corrosive. It does burn hotter than a lot of the modern powders though. The primers were the culprits for the corrosive effect.
The salts deposited aong the barrel and elsewhere would eat into the metal if not cleaned.
The mercury fulminate in the primers loved to destroy cases. They would become brittle and crack, split etc.
Iwouldn't bother with trying out the cordite measure for measure. If you want to shoot some of this, I'd just use it as it comes, in its original packaging.

Safe Shooting!
Steve Redgwell
303british.com