Hello I am not a cartridge collector other than a few that have been given to me or something I have a firearm for. My father gave me a shoe box full of old cases and loaded ammo most of it was .30 carbine 30-30 30-06 and so on I found a loaded round that I though to bo 303 brit. I put it on the shelf with my verry small colection next to the 303 brit cartridge that I had, after looking at them side by side they were just a little different, The cartridge has a head stamp that reads, U, a dimond shape, 1943, VII. The OAL is 77.02mm, bullet diameter is 7.92mm, case OAL is 56.04, Rim diameter is 13.32, now what got me was that the primer size it is realy big, diameter is 6.42 it looks to be a copper cup. Thanks for any information that you could give me I would just like to be able to label it and know what I have. Thanks

sounds like an 8x57JRS...rimmed version of the 8x57 mauser

quote:

me was that the primer size it is realy big, diameter is 6.42 it looks to be a copper cup

Could be a Berdan primer.

Look at these metric dimensions for the 303 British:

Case type Rimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter 0.312 in (7.9 mm)
Neck diameter 0.338 in (8.6 mm)
Shoulder diameter 0.401 in (10.2 mm)
Base diameter 0.460 in (11.7 mm)
Rim diameter 0.540 in (13.7 mm)
Rim thickness .064 in (1.6 mm)
Case length 2.222 in (56.4 mm)
Overall length 3.075 in (78.1 mm)
Case capacity 55.7 gr H2O (3.61 cm3)
Rifling twist 1-10 inches (250 mm)
Primer type Large rifle
Maximum pressure 49,000 psi
Maximum CUP 45,000 CUP

Very similar to your measurements except for the bullet diameter.

That one marking on you shell "VII" I recall that more British then German unless it is indeed a rimmed 8x57 but manufactured by the British. Early 303's had the large copper like primer.

Ray:

I have the same round in my collection. It is a .303 SAA (Small Arms Ammunition) Ball Mark 7, i.e., .303 British. The headstamp is one year older than headstamp number 1915B illustrated in Ian Hogg's "The Cartridge Guide" (1982). The 'U' indicates the South African Mint, with the diamond indicating manufacture at a subsidiary factory in Kimberley. FYI, 7.92 mm is the proper bullet diameter for the .303 British; it is the bore that is 7.7 mm. The extra large primer is the standard British military Berdan-type primer.

Cheers, Al

quote:

The OAL is 77.02mm, bullet diameter is 7.92mm, case OAL is 56.04, Rim diameter is 13.32,

Might I suggest you look at the 8x56R Hungarian and the 8x56R Kropatschek rounds?

BTW, every 303 Brit round I've put a caliper on has a bullet in the .310-.312 range (7.87mm)

"

quote:

BTW, every 303 Brit round I've put a caliper on has a bullet in the .310-.312 range (7.87mm)

... and 0.312" = 7.9248 mm.

Cheers, Al

8x56R, .329" bullet, Kropatschek, .322".

I understand ClassicAl's confusion at the .303 Brit's bullet being larger than .303. This is because it is European tradition to measure the bore at the lands of the rifling rather than the grooves. If the round were of American origin, it would have been labled as .312.