Q .303 Grenade Launcher Loading - Repost.
John Powell
I am looking for suggestions on loads for a No1 Mk 3 Wire Wrapped
Enfield with "Cup" style discharger. Tennis balls seem to fit this
nicely, not too loose or snug.
Any reason a tennis ball should not be fired from this setup, other than
the obvious "that's not what it was designed for!"
The cup has a sliding port to control bypass and ultimately distance of
projectile. Plan to try it wide open for safety reasons at first, then
maybe close it incrementally (sp) &%^)
If we can come to concensus, I will give it a try and post my findings
for those interested.
BTW this gun/launcher scores an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 as a
conversation piece. It is by far the most intreaging wall hanger I
have.
Thanks in advance.
Webmaster
John Powell wrote:
#
Dear John and Everyone,
I must risk flame by the experts but this a serious one:
The wire wrapped SMLE's ARE NOT, REPEAT NOT granade rifles.
A brief look into John Walter's book "Rifles of the World" will tell you that
during the wartime emergency, some SUBSTANDARD rifles, made so by over-wear and the lack
of time/material/willpower to reburbish them into FTR (Factory rebuilt Enfields)
were wrapped in wire with the hope to reduce splintering and shrapnell in case of
catastrophic barrel failure, that was actually expected to happen.
These rifles are UNSAFE to fire and should be kept as wallhangers only.
Sure it will fire, until it blows up!, and it will!!!
The "granade-launching rifle" terminology is a dangerous marketing ruse to sell old,
otherwise usellable rifles.
Shooter Beware.
My two pennies (shillings in this case)
Dan.
in Boston
# I am looking for suggestions on loads for a No1 Mk 3 Wire Wrapped
# Enfield with "Cup" style discharger. Tennis balls seem to fit this
# nicely, not too loose or snug.
#
#
#
# BTW this gun/launcher scores an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 as a
# conversation piece. It is by far the most intreaging wall hanger I
# have.
#
# Thanks in advance.
#
# pow...@net.bluemoon.net
Jeff
John Powell <pow...@net.bluemoon.net> wrote:
#I am looking for suggestions on loads for a No1 Mk 3 Wire Wrapped
#Enfield with "Cup" style discharger. Tennis balls seem to fit this
#nicely, not too loose or snug.
#Any reason a tennis ball should not be fired from this setup, other than
#the obvious "that's not what it was designed for!"
#The cup has a sliding port to control bypass and ultimately distance of
#projectile. Plan to try it wide open for safety reasons at first, then
#maybe close it incrementally (sp) &%^)
#If we can come to concensus, I will give it a try and post my findings
#for those interested.
#BTW this gun/launcher scores an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 as a
#conversation piece. It is by far the most intreaging wall hanger I
#have.
I've heard a beer can filled with cement suggested, but I haven't
tried it. The standard aluminum drink can seems to fit.
Jeff/addesign
Buy my T-shirts!!!! I need the money for more guns!!!!
http://homepage.interaccess.com/~addesign/t_other.htm
Roger Pattee
On 1 Oct 1996 13:17:18 -0400, John Powell <pow...@net.bluemoon.net>
wrote:
#I am looking for suggestions on loads for a No1 Mk 3 Wire Wrapped
#Enfield with "Cup" style discharger. Tennis balls seem to fit this
#nicely, not too loose or snug.
#
#Any reason a tennis ball should not be fired from this setup, other than
#the obvious "that's not what it was designed for!"
#
#The cup has a sliding port to control bypass and ultimately distance of
#projectile. Plan to try it wide open for safety reasons at first, then
#maybe close it incrementally (sp) &%^)
#
#If we can come to concensus, I will give it a try and post my findings
#for those interested.
#
#BTW this gun/launcher scores an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 as a
#conversation piece. It is by far the most intreaging wall hanger I
#have.
#
#Thanks in advance.
#
#pow...@net.bluemoon.net
#
==================================================
I just HAVE to comment on this one.
Shoot that thang John, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
(By the way, there are alot of good .303 Blanks abounding..check the
Shotgun News, or online should be quite cheap from recall)
Scene: Texas at a Machine Gun Shoot
Firearms Present include;
Stoner 63,
Maxim,
RPD,
Lewis Gun,
Barrett(s),
1919A6,
1917,
USAS-Full Auto,
Stens,
MP5,
HK 33,
Thompsons,
I can go on and on...but..the one that brought the most
attention....No.1, Mk 3 wired wrapped, tennis ball
launcher...sigh...damn kids! Stole the show!!!!!!! :-)
Everyone wanted to shoot a tennis ball down range..it was funny as
hell...heh!
Tip, use the vent set at about half way...and put some duct tape on
the bottom of the errr..."grenall" (grenade tennis ball), makes them
last a tad bit longer..for fun's sake. And believe me, you are going
to have fun.
Roger A. Pattee
<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
While the people have property, arms in their hands,
and only a spark of nobilie spirit, the most corrupt
Congress must be mad to form any project of tyranny.
Rev. Nicholas Collin
Fayetteville NC Gazette 10-12-1789
<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>
Gary Beyer
Webmaster wrote:
#
# John Powell wrote:
# #
#
# I must risk flame by the experts but this a serious one:
#
# The wire wrapped SMLE's ARE NOT, REPEAT NOT granade rifles.
#
# A brief look into John Walter's book "Rifles of the World" will tell you that
# during the wartime emergency, some SUBSTANDARD rifles, made so by over-wear and the lack
# of time/material/willpower to reburbish them into FTR (Factory rebuilt Enfields)
# were wrapped in wire with the hope to reduce splintering and shrapnell in case of
# catastrophic barrel failure, that was actually expected to happen.
#
# These rifles are UNSAFE to fire and should be kept as wallhangers only.
#
# Sure it will fire, until it blows up!, and it will!!!
# The "granade-launching rifle" terminology is a dangerous marketing ruse to sell old,
# otherwise usellable rifles.
#
# Shooter Beware.
#
# My two pennies (shillings in this case)
# Dan.
# in Boston
# # I am looking for suggestions on loads for a No1 Mk 3 Wire Wrapped
# # Enfield with "Cup" style discharger. Tennis balls seem to fit this
# # nicely, not too loose or snug.
# #
I recently read in an engineering text entitled "Elasticity" that
wrapping a tube, a gun tube in particular, with a wire under tension, or
pressing a sleeve over the existing tube, would yield a stronger tube
than one made out of the equivelent thickness of a solid piece of steel.
The sleeve or wrapping pre-strains the inner tube to the point that it
can handle more pressure. This technique has been used in weapons, and
may have been used in this grenade launcher.
As to firing "cement filled cans", DON'T DO IT!!!
You have no idea what kind of pressure this may produce. You may have
the equivelent of a non-launched grenade!
Joe R.
You're right about SOME Enfields being converted to grenade launching rifles after
they were worn out. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that all grenade launching rifles were
worn out before they were converted. India, for example, continued to make Enfields up
until 1966 or so. Long after they had adopted the FAL. Many of the Enfields were used
for grenade launching rifles, even when they were new. Many wear never used for
anything else. I was told by an ex-South African soldier that they also used many
Enfields exclusily for grenade launching. I own one of the Indian grenade launching
Enfields and it has been checked over by at least three competent gunsmiths. All of them
agree that it is in excellant condition and is completely safe to fire. These rifles
should be checked over by a good gunsmith before firing. The same applies to all used
guns! Read your first sentence again. It says "during the war years". I don't believe
that any of these sub-standard rifles were sold to the public. Furthermore, if you read
more about the Enfields you'll find that any gun that was considered un-safe was not
converted to a grenade launcher, they were converted to drill or training rifles by
drilling out the chamber and welding the firing pin hole closed and the barrels were
plugged. There is a big difference between a worn gun that was converted to grenade
launching and an unsafe one that was converted to a drill rifle. The practice of
wrapping the stock with wire WAS NOT to prevent the barrel from "splintering". A wire
wrap would only add to the shrapnel if the barrel did explode. The wire wrapping was
used to prevent the stocks from splitting when firing grenades.
Firing grenades puts a much greater strain on the gun than firing regular ammo. No rifle
that was unsafe to shoot would be converted to fire grenades! At least by any military
or government. Importers -- anything they do wouldn't surprise me. But I wouldn't be
afraid of shooting any MILITARY grenade launcher conversion.
Joe R.
Webmaster
Joe R. wrote:
Dear Joe,
I knew I would risk a flame, but better look like a jerk once than lettting a fellow
shooter blow his face off because I did not talk and warned them of a possible danger.
I would hope that anyone who owns one of those would have them checked before firing,
that's all.
I am glad to stand corrected, but checking the rifles is cheap insurance.
Dan
#
# You're right about SOME Enfields being converted to grenade launching rifles after
# they were worn out. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that all grenade launching rifles were
# worn out before they were converted. India, for example, continued to make Enfields up
# until 1966 or so. Long after they had adopted the FAL. Many of the Enfields were used
# for grenade launching rifles, even when they were new. Many wear never used for
# anything else. I was told by an ex-South African soldier that they also used many
# Enfields exclusily for grenade launching. I own one of the Indian grenade launching
# Enfields and it has been checked over by at least three competent gunsmiths. All of them
# agree that it is in excellant condition and is completely safe to fire. These rifles
# should be checked over by a good gunsmith before firing. The same applies to all used
# guns! Read your first sentence again. It says "during the war years". I don't believe
# that any of these sub-standard rifles were sold to the public. Furthermore, if you read
# more about the Enfields you'll find that any gun that was considered un-safe was not
# converted to a grenade launcher, they were converted to drill or training rifles by
# drilling out the chamber and welding the firing pin hole closed and the barrels were
# plugged. There is a big difference between a worn gun that was converted to grenade
# launching and an unsafe one that was converted to a drill rifle. The practice of
# wrapping the stock with wire WAS NOT to prevent the barrel from "splintering". A wire
# wrap would only add to the shrapnel if the barrel did explode. The wire wrapping was
# used to prevent the stocks from splitting when firing grenades.
# Firing grenades puts a much greater strain on the gun than firing regular ammo. No rifle
# that was unsafe to shoot would be converted to fire grenades! At least by any military
# or government. Importers -- anything they do wouldn't surprise me. But I wouldn't be
# afraid of shooting any MILITARY grenade launcher conversion.
#
# Joe R.
Doug Bowser
I had a box of grenade blanks marked Energia. They really belted the
tenny ball!!!! It was a great dela hotter than the regular blanks.
Doug Bowser
Ronald Bloom ii
I received an Indian grenade launching rifle, it had a yellow line
painted around the entire action, I would guess that they did not want
these guns fired. I shot it though, and it shot great.
Ron
Jonathan M. Spencer
In article <52sf4e$n...@xring.cs.umd.edu>, Roger Pattee
<rpa...@ix.netcom.com> writes
#Shoot that thang John, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
#(By the way, there are alot of good .303 Blanks abounding..check the
#Shotgun News, or online should be quite cheap from recall)
Be aware that the standard infantry training blanks are very different
to the grenade launching blanks. The two are not interchangeable. I'm
not able to say how one can identify which is which although there was
recently an article in _Guns Review_ about this. There are also .303
British blanks used in artillery pieces but they are shaped a bit
different - at the shoulder I think - and won't normally chamber in a
.303 rifle. Be careful.
--Jonathan
============================================================
Jonathan Spencer -- forensic firearms examiner
Mountjoy Research Centre, Durham, England, DH1 3UR
tel: +44 191 386 6107 fax: +44 191 383 0686
============================================================
Shotist
Hello,
That statement is very true, I have used the Grenade
Launcher both using the rod ( screwed into the base ) and the Launching
Cup to fire No 36 grenades
( Mills Bombs ) with the 7 sec fuse set. The cartridge was always known
as a 'ballistite' (spelling) cartridge.
The butt of the rifle was slammed into the ground and held 'trigger
upwards' with the right knee pressing the butt into the ground and held at
45 deg, the range was marked on the venting slide on the base of the Cup,
as far as I can remember ( 60 yrs ago ) the max range was about 200yds.
Bye,
Bob.
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Doug Bowser
Ron,
The condition of the bore of the British and Indian No 1 MkIII rifles
are indicated by markings on the Knox flat of the barrel shank. If there
is one asterik (*) on the barrel, the armourer inspecting the barrel has
found either rust or wear on the bore surface and the barrel is still
considered serviceable. If there are 2 asteriks (**) the barrel is to
be fired with ball ammunition only in time of emergency.
Hope this helps,
Doug Bowser