TOPIC:

Funny how information received can be so wrong.

I grew up under the belief dum dum bullets were made using wood from the Indian Dum Dum tree which would splinter on impact. The many splinters would be difficult to extract and cause serious infection.

If only I had internet 50 years ago.

IanP
As probably mentioned earlier, .303" "Dum Dum" rounds (more accurately Mk.II Special) were named after Dum Dum arsenal in India. I suppose it is perfectly feasible that the arsenal was named after the tree or where the tree grew!
Regards
IL.

Hi, I'm hoping experts on this thread might be able to assist me with identifying this cartridge. I picked this up between Newcastle (KZN) and Memel next to the Ncandu River (not too far from Botha's Pass a few years ago. I think this is a .303 round ... not sure though and always wondered if this could be ABW related? If it did have markings on it's completely faded away/not visible, but the back appears to be blank.

There is of course a chance this might be after (or before?) the war...
Any insights will be greatly appreciated.

Your Photo..... I think non-war time...….

Pretorious76
British military .303" ammunition commonly bore a headstamp showing the maker and the Mark type (apart from the very, very occasional exception). Hence, your photo does not show a British cartridge case. Moreover, the method used to secure the primer is three "stakes"; a Continental technique from a later period than the ABW. If you could show a profile of the fired case, the type of case mouth crimp might tell us more.
Another thing, the rifle which fired that round was/is seriously "Out of whack"!! The firing pin imprint is seriously off-centre.
Regards
IL.

I would suggest that notwithstanding the lack of head stamps, the actual presence of the primer would indicate that the case is not related to the Anglo Boer War.

Pretorius76 wrote: Hi, I'm hoping experts on this thread might be able to assist me with identifying this cartridge. I picked this up between Newcastle (KZN) and Memel next to the Ncandu River (not too far from Botha's Pass a few years ago. I think this is a .303 round ... not sure though and always wondered if this could be ABW related? If it did have markings on it's completely faded away/not visible, but the back appears to be blank.

There is of course a chance this might be after (or before?) the war...
Any insights will be greatly appreciated.