The .375 SOCOM is a fairly new cartridge, designed by Tromix Lead Delivery Systems in 2013. Taking a .458 SOCOM cartridge case and sizing the neck down to .375 caliber, resulted in a hard hitting AR-15 compatible cartridge, that has a considerable velocity and range...

The following is an extract from IAA Journal 459:48-49 (Jan/Feb 2008) by the late Bill Woodin. H. F. Kohlbacker of Buffalo, New York, was a co-worker and contemporary of Charles Newton and was engaged in research and development for the Newton Arms Company, and later...

- info to follow -   

Minerva Tactical .375 Chey Tac This is a necked down version of the 408 Chey Tac. It is based on the 505 GIBBS case that was strengthened to handle the pressures of these specialised rifles. The 375 Chey Tac is capable of extreme accuracy. On the 22nd of November...

                This was an experimental automatic rifle cartridge that was based on the 30-40 Krag base. The case length was the same as the .33 WCF case and utilised the shoulder angle of the .35 WCF case. Also discussed on p. 163 of WRACO Vol. 1. The specimen on...

Accuracy International AXMC338 Rifle THE STORY OF .338 LAPUA MAGNUM – FROM AN AMERICAN DREAM TO A FINNISH SUCCESS STORY. (From www.lapua.com) - This story enlightens the history of the .338 Lapua Magnum from a Finnish point of view. The purpose is not to...

This was an internal project by Winchester during the 1st World War period. It is basically a rimless version of the 351 WSL cartridge. It was designed for aircraft use, but there was also an alternate barrel with bayonet attachment for ground use. The rifle was the...

In 1985 Jim Shultz wrote a "Big Brass Busters" article in "Gung Ho Weapons Handbook" describing the Research Armament Industries Inc. new sniping rifles. One was a .50 Browning, the other chambered in the new .416 /.338 cartridge developed by RAI. The white cardboard...

The rimmed version of the 32-70 was known as the “Type A” as part of the US Navy search to replace the .45-70.         This is a replica by OPM in South Africa made for cartridge collectors.

This was the rimless version of the 32-70 WCF and was known as the “Type B”. This was part of the US Navy Contract but was not adopted in favour of the 236 cal USN.   

This was a development by Western Cartridge Company during the latter part of the 1950’s. It was called the 308 Winchester Magnum and developed with military applications in mind. It was based on the commercial 308 Win case with case diameter increased for improved...

With the introduction of the 55 Boys, it also became necessary to consider the development of suitable training ammunition. There were fears that firing the Boys on normal ranges exceeded safety standards and could penetrate the backstops and increase the danger area...

British military experimental cartridge as described in a Royal Labs drawing #RL29339A that was tested between 1920 and 1927. According to Hoyem Vol. 3 p. 165 about 5 000 were manufactured.       This specimen has a neck crimp.

In 1918 there was a demand for a more powerful .303 inch cartridge from both the Army and the newly formed Royal Air Force. The Army's primary interest was for an armour piercing round to defeat German loop holes and sniper shields, whilst the Air Force wanted a more...

CZECHOSLOVAKIA / CZECH REPUBLIC With the fall of communism, the country of Czechoslovakia split in two, with the Slovak Republic adopting their own flag, whereas the Czech Republic retained the original flag adopted in 1920.         ...

2023-01 - testing formats on this page, setup will change over time. Sources: Edwards A.O., (2011) Headstamp Guide: .303 inch British Service Ammunition. Solo Publications. ISBN 978-0-9568528-0-9 MacDonald C.R., (1995) Canada and the .303 British, 1892 – 1992....

HISTORY In J.R.R Tolkien’s book The Lord of the Rings, there is a chapter where the Hobbits meet Treebeard. Pippin, one of the Hobbits mentions a hill and Treebeard responds by saying that it is a hasty word for something that has stood there for such a long time....

This was a plate test cartridge dating from around 1932 when the UK Design Department utilised a .450 Nitro case that was necked to .303in. the bullets were standard 174gr. .303 Mk. 1 W (Armor Piercing) although lighter bullets as well as aluminium were also used....

The AAC 83 headstamp in 5.56x45 and 7.62x51 was a made by Igman of Yugoslavia for Nordac Manufacturing Corp. (NMC) in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the initials stand for "American Armaments Corporation". This was a deceiving contract intended for El Salvador. D B on...

The History of the 300 Lapua Magnum (from www.lapua.com) Since its introduction, the .338 Lapua Magnum has been used as the parent case for a series of cartridges, in a number of different bore sizes. Some of these are similar to other existing wildcats, which are...

Development of what was to become officially known as the Flame-Thrower, Portable, No. 2 Mk I, began during 1941. lt appears to have been influenced by the German Flammenwerfer 40, but the basic design of any portable flamethrower is fixed by physical constraints....

These loads might have been used by the military at some stage. Further info to follow. 300 WEATHERBY CASE       300 HOLLAND & HOLLAND CASE    300 H&H case, but necked to 300 Weatherby. Bullet has a non-magnestic insert that was...

This was a long range target cartridge (AMU = Army Marksmanship Unit). According to available information, the staff and facilities at AMU were utilised to help develop and improve sniper weapons, systems and tactics, but as far as could be ascertained no AMU...

This is a .50 cal. Browning case necked to .30 cal. For ballistic tests. It resembles the specimen 829(b) on page 553 of HWS 3, but has a shorter case. Apparently, these were done by Aberdeen Proving Ground.    

The development of smokeless powders during the late 1880’s and the subsequent move by the major European powers to smaller bore cartridges led the US Army Ordnance Office to start the search for a cartridge that can shoot a lighter weight bullet more accurately over...

This was an experimental cartridge from 1893 on the 30-40 Krag case with the belt added for alignment and positioning in clips. It is unsure if a gun was ever manufactured for this. It was granted patent #503,117 on 15 August 1893. This is also discussed on p. 162 of...

This is a prototype supposedly next generation self contained rocket projectile designed for Military (primarily Naval) weapons usage. It is a blend of the MBAssociates 13mm “GYROJET” and the Russian “Shkval” torpedo designs combined with some “Coanda Effect” physics....

This cartridge was adopted in July 1903 for service use in the M1903 Springfield rifle. The rim thickness was changed in September 1903 from 0.060” to 0.045” and remaining cartridges with thick rim were broken up and reloaded as blank and dummy rounds. The manufacture...

Since before 1900 the U.S. Military had been searching for a high velocity 30 cal round, but with the existing powders available, it was not possible yet. Tests were done on 30 Krag cases loader to higher velocities but these were unsuccessful. There were experiments...

The .30 Waite was a piston operated semi-automatic rifle. The cartridge had a 0.315 inch diameter piston in the base holding the primer. functioning probably similar to the primer-actuated rifles of Pederson and Garand in the '30s.      

Frankford Arsenal conducted tests at Aberdeen Proving ground in 1932 with Gerlich rifles and ammunition. These were tapered-bore rifles and the bullets had flanges or “skirts” that provided a larger initial surface area to provide a more effective seal in order to...

During late 1979, there were concerns that standard 30 Carbine ammo could be chambered in the VIPER trainer and cause malfunctions or extend the range of the trainer. This led to the chamber being shortened so that normal 30 M1 ammunition could not be used and the...

Developed during 1976 as a lower cost sub caliber training device for the VIPER shoulder-fired assault weapon. The first tests were done at the Pomona Division at General Dynamics and utilised commercial 22 Hornet cases loaded with 5.56 M196 tracer. Various other...

Col. Stoll was very interested in the new 5,56 NATO round and wanted to conduct further experiments but during the early 1960’s, no 5.56 barrels were available at the Felixdorf Proving Grounds, so he used regular .30 M1 cases with a white plastic sabot loaded with...

The 7,62 NATO rifle M58 was adopted by Austria in 1958, but there was a lot of criticism from various parts of the armed forces. They were more impressed by the German M44 assault rifle (7.92x33 KURZ) as well as the Soviet Kalashnikov, which was an “improved” sort of...

Officially designated the "Automatic Pistol, Caliber .30, Model of 1918- Mark I", the Pedersen Device consisted of a semi-automatic bolt detachable magazine designed to replace the standard bolt in a modified Model 1903 Rifle and convert it into a semi-automatic...

30 M1 Carbine (early version) Development of the 30M1 started in September 1940 in the search for a light weight shoulder weapon with an effective range of up to 300 yards with a .30cal. bullet based on the SLR (Self Loading Rifle) principle. The development of the...

This was the final case design in the 30 Light Rifle with the neck lengthened to 1.56” (51mm), together with some minor cosmetic changes. Olin Industries was granted permission by the Office of the Chief of Ordnance to use this case design in April 1952 and this...

Testing of the FAT-1 was done at Springfield Armory in 1948 and it was noted that there was a high incidence of rim shear in the T25 rifle. The FAT-1 case was modified by Frankford Arsenal and the rim thickness was increased from 0.049inch. to 0.054 inch. This...

There were two major concerns about the T65 cartridge. Firstly Frankford Arsenal was concerned about the neck length being too short which might result in the bullet not being held firmly enough with rough handling. The US also introduced the T25 rifle and Springfield...

During 1944 the US Ordnance Department were looking at a short 30 cal. cartridge for use in a proposed light rifle. At the time there was continuous development in powder which led to standard charges for the Cal. 30 Service case (30-06 Springfield) not filling the...