Would appreciate any information on the 303 Fraser rimless "Velox". Would anyone have one in their collection?

Best I can do for you is that Dan'l Fraser of Edinburgh, Scotland , ordered rimless .303 Brit cases from probably Eley Brothers , and loaded them with his oblique ratchet bullet. The cases were headstamped " FRASER EDINBURGH ".

Powder charge was 31.0 grains of Cordite , bullet weight was 207 grains. date of introduction pre 1916.

Any help?

Thank you for that info.

I have read that the .303 Fraser is the 7,65x53mm Belgium/Argentine.
Martin

that cartridge is the .303 Mauser , which is the 7.65mm Belgian/Turkish case loaded with Frasers oblique ratchet bullet.

The rimless .303 is an entirely different case type.

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
that cartridge is the .303 Mauser , which is the 7.65mm Belgian/Turkish case loaded with Frasers oblique ratchet bullet.

The rimless .303 is an entirely different case type.

Thanks Muzz, I just knew you'd have the goods on this, I sorta knew but couldn't remember the details & I thought, bu99er all point looking it up, Muzza'll sort it.
Cheers
Steve

PS also known as the 7.65 argentinian wasn't it?

trust the old guy to look in a book for ya --- yeah yeah yeah.

I have either the rimless or the 7.65 case variant with the Fraser bullet - just too lazy to go see which . I also have a library with information on both , which is much closer.....

muzza: I just purchased a Frazer bolt rifle built in 1884 and stamped "303" on the barrel. The bolt face is machined to accept a case rim dia. of .476. I'm hoping this is the very rare chambering of 303 Fraser rimless. If you could send any scans of your ref. info on this round it would be appreciated. email in profile. Regards, Don

No problems Dons - its a very wet Saturday here in New zealand so a spot of book-bashing will fit well this morning. I shall see what I can dig out for you .

Just ignore that Shinzo guy - he is a displaced Pom that we have allowed to settle here as a refugee and allowed to breed - so whot would he know ?????

Dons

I am not sure that my email went to you - havent used the scan-to-email function on my printer much and not too sure if it worked...

Here is the page of information as well ...

The above is from Flemings " Sporting Rifle Cartridges ".

I would suggest that you take a chamber cast to positively identify the cartridge your rifle is chambered in. The bolt-face measurement given fits either case-type if you factor in say .005-6" clearance , and as the chart shows - the case rim measurements are pretty much the same for either case.

I am guessing that your rifle is a mil-surp that Danl Fraser has converted at some time ( likely 1912-14 ) , cos the likelyhood of a proprietory 303-based cartridge in 1884 is about zilch , and the early mauser actions of the time ( 1884 ) were unlikely to have been used as a first-choice action by a Scottish gunsmith.

Hope that helps .

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
No problems Dons - its a very wet Saturday here in New zealand so a spot of book-bashing will fit well this morning. I shall see what I can dig out for you .

Just ignore that Shinzo guy - he is a displaced Pom that we have allowed to settle here as a refugee and allowed to breed - so whot would he know ?????

You coming done here in July are you? I challenge you to COTW at twenty paces, dawn on the Sunday.
Pom yourself you inbred Tanaraki twit.
Steve.

muzza: Thank you for posting that info. BTW, your email did not complete it's journey. The action on this rifle has been positively identified as a Spanish Model 1893, and the serial # also puts it in the 1893-1894 time frame. If it ends up being the proprietory 303 cartridge, I've got gold on my hands. With your info, a Cerrosafe chamber casting will determine this. Being from the US, I will not comment on the Kiwi humor.

COTW ???

A beginners book filled with errors and inaccuracies....

If you wish a serious duel ( no banjos , please ) you will have to come up with a better weapon selection than that ....

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
COTW ???

A beginners book filled with errors and inaccuracies....

You,re starting to sound like someone who takes this seriously
Better limit the duel to a pint of something you like at elbows bend distance.
Steve

I dont take much seriously Steve - apart from mauser rifles ( in non-standard calibers )and the fact that COTW is a piss-poor referance for anyone considering becoming a cartridge collector.

Apart from that I think I am a pretty well balanced , likeable sort of a guy .....'course you may disagree - but thats not my problem

Thanks for the correction muzza, you are right.
Sorry, I was to lazy to search for my books.
dons,
Spanish Mausers were initially chambered for the 7,65mm. Let us know if you make a chamber cast.
Im very intereted in any info or rare chamberings. Do you have pictures of hte rifle.
Thanks
Martin

Martin: If you pop over to NitroExpress.com, their are lots of photos in the Mauser Photo Archive. All of my Mauser rifles are posted in that forum. I use the same name and welcome all comments.

Dons,
Thanks I visit NE every day and post some also.
Beautyfull rifle!!!!

Thanks
Martin

I checked my Fraser specimen today - I have the 7.65 variant , with a large soft-point gm bullet as opposed to the Fraser ratchet bullet . Shame , I know ...

But - my cartridge has the headstamp " FRASER EDINBURGH" so I'm pretty happy with that ...

Martin: Did a Cerrosafe chamber casting and determined that the rifle is chambered for the 303 Fraser rimless cartridge. Chamber dim's.=

base dia. .458
shoulder dia. .405
neck dia. .340
bore dia. .311
base to shoulder length 1.820
base to neck length 1.892
case length OA 2.250

Very similar to the 303 British rimmed.

Congratulations (again.LOL)!!!!
This would be a very interesting proyect (reloading I mean).
Thanks
Martin