more details needed??

[r3dw0lf]

Ive been given this old stripper clip, the only thing written on it is 'PS 1920' i searched it up and they appear to be 7mm rounds until i noticed that all the pictures of the the bullets are made of copper and have sharp tips, where as mine are all blunt and appear to be made of brass, are they a different type or where they just made a little different?
(in case you cant tell im not a real natural with guns and stuff, considering we cant get them here in England (which *****))

[danno81]

Hi,

Ammo comes in many forms, and you have choices of armor piercing, tracer, ball (regular bullet usually encased in copper without anything else other than a lead core), and an assortment of all types of specialty ammo. On the back of the casing if you remove the round from the stripper clip, you may see a date, arsenal or manufacturing stamp, a primer, and the caliber of round. One thing to be cautious of, old military ammo such as tracer or incendiary can start some really nasty fires. Your rounds if you would post a photo would be easily identified. Most stripper clips are tied to a military bolt action rifle such as a Springfield or Mauser. Depending on the specific need of a round, you get the type of bullet. Typical military ball ammo is used more as a general purpose while the armor piercing has a carbide core or "slot" encased in copper and usually will have a small dab of lead at the point. You mentioned 7mm… I know the Japanese Type 99 Rifle used 7mm, while the Arisaka was 6.5mm. Do you know the type of weapon this ammo was for or anything about it? Since you are in England I would assume it is deactivated? Most ammo when properly handled it safe, minus the older tracer and incendiary types if they are live. If you are unsure I would be cautious with the primers on the casings. Hope this answers a little bit about what you ask.

[TonyE]

If the rounds in question are original to the charger (not clip) then they probably are 7x57mm Mauser made by either Pirotecnia Militar de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain or Povázské Strojárne, Povázská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). Without looking at them it is difficult to tell. Both used the "PS" code. If you can tell us the actual headstamp of the rounds that would help.

The fact that they are the older round nosed type means they have a cupronickel (silver coloured) envelope (or jacket) to the bullet and a lead core. As these tarnish with age they do tend to look like discoloured brass. The later pointed (spitzer) type which was staring to be used by 1920 usually had a copper coloured envelope of gilding metal or gilding metal clad steel (GMCS). Gilding metal is an alloy of copper and other metals.

Can I also make a couple of corrections to Danno81's post. The Type 99 Arisaka was chambered in 7.7mmm Rimless, not 7mm, and the vast majority of armour piercing rounds have hardened steel cores. Very few have tungsten carbide cores and these are usually HMG or cannon rounds.
Also, a small plea. Can we call the cartridge case exactly tha and not "casing" please?

R3dwolf - you are the second of my fellow countrymen in the last week to erroneously whinge that we cannot hold firearms and ammunition in the UK. There is absolutely nothing to stop you joining a shooting association and obtaining a Firearms Certificate and owning rifles and ammunition. I own and shoot a number of different rifles and have a very large ammunition collection, all live and perfectly legal.

As I said to the other poster, instead of moaning about what you think you cannot do, find out what you can do.

Regards
TonyE