303 Brit ammo ?

[Bushmaster]

A guy at coffee this morning said he found an old clip for a .303 Brit, that had belonged to his wife's dad. All of the shells had red tips, except one ...it was white. Any chance that shell could be a tracer or phosphorus shell ?

[303 Epps]

The red tips are usually tracer, and the white tips should be tracer. Reason being is that the ammo was manufactured not just in the Commonwealth, but others as well, and for a variety of platforms (Vickers MG on the ground or in a Spitfire) Best way to identify is to look up the headstamp to be sure about the white tipped one. This is a good site to figure it out:
http ://enfieldking.tripod.com/enfieldking

[claykuch]

Its called a magazine, not a "clip".

[Dewey Cox]

Originally Posted by claykuch

Its called a magazine, not a "clip".

Yet somehow you still knew what he was talking about.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by claykuch

Its called a magazine, not a "clip".

Not necessarily, they could actually be in a charging clip!
I still use them for my service rifle.
Cat

[260 Rem]

Many use the terms “clip” and “magazine” interchangebly, no big deal and possibly no more of a faux pas than interchangeably using the terms “crosshair’’ and “reticle”.

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by 260 Rem

Many use the terms “clip” and “magazine” interchangebly, no big deal and possibly no more of a faux pas than interchangeably using the terms “crosshair’’ and “reticle”.

Or "saw and seen". We know what's being discussed...

[Little red riding hood]

He read the post, had nothing to add, so decided to be a first grade school teacher instead!

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by claykuch

Its called a magazine, not a "clip".

Its called "Get a Life"!!!!

As to the Ops question, the earlier info is a good way to tell for sure what the ammo TYPE is. Second thing, I would seriously think about using them for display only. Some of that really old tracer ammo is pretty unstable. I have shot a ton of the 308 tracer ammo, but it was a lot newer vintage. I wouldn't be shooting tracer ammo that is 70 years old.

You will also find that a lot of the ammo in 303 and 308 that was loaded for machine gun use is a whole bunch hotter loaded than standard rifle ammo. Don't know if it was intentional or just poor quality control but some of the older MG ammo will definitely lock up a bolt gun.