I found these three complete rounds and a box (falling apart) of spent brass. This is too cool, and here is what they are http://www.fav-club.com/mauser.htm

Very interesting what you find - it would seem these were loaded thru mid century, but I wonder how old these really are?

Anyway, I thought I would share.

Thanks for the direction Jack!

May also find it listed as the 11.15x60R or the .43 Mauser. Two basic rifles at first, the bolt action 1871 single shot and the later 71/84 repeater (tubular magazine running in the stock)....believe it got chambered in several others as well, mostly sporting rifles. Evidently it had some popularity.

U.S. Companies made the ammo way back when...as did CIL of Canada...were some smokeless loads made as well as the original black powder loadings.

Has that odd antique looking rim common to the European rounds of the time.

You noticed the "not flat" rim. Although the box is falling apart - these cartridges were in it, so, assuming they are for what is labeled, I would guess they are the .43 cal - they are certainly big enough to compare to the 45/70!

First paper-patched rounds I have handled, these and a box of misc. junk, came from the estate of an avid shooter, his widow (I believe) had the firearms sold "professionally" but all the reloading pieces/parts and brass and bullets and "stuff" were given to the club. I got the last gasp of what no one else wanted/needed, though I did get .357 mag dies I can use. In the box are some old Lyman 6.5x55 dies a three die set for .38 spl. that are marked .357 on the die itself. There is a bunch of assorted old brass, like the 6.5 some very green, some may be no good, there is some FMJ very pointy 8mm Mauser cartridges and a Lyman two die set for 30-40 Krag. There is also about 60 or so pieces of .30 Military brass, some marked WRACO and some marked USA(?).

All in all, it's some nostalgia, and some usefull items. Question: there is some surface rust, very fine, in some of the dies - can these be cleaned, then used? They are all chrome plated dies that have seen some use, but not abuse.

They sure look like .43 Mausers ( 11.15x60R). Apparently that rim bevel made it easier for the extractor to slide over it. C-I-L loaded it into the 1970's.

Bye
Jack

Dies can look as nasty as they want to on the outside, so long as the insides are clean and scratch free....but letting the outside come to that genearlly makes on suspious of the inside. Good news may be that the inside tends to get some lube if steel dies (which often keeps them from rusting)...if the pistol dies are carbide, then carbide sizing ring won't rust.

Clean them up and give a few cases a try.

They sure look like .43 Mausers ( 11.15x60R). Apparently that rim bevel made it easier for the extractor to slide over it. C-I-L loaded it into the 1970's.

Bye
Jack

Did they load them with the paper into the 70s?

Dies can look as nasty as they want to on the outside, so long as the insides are clean and scratch free....but letting the outside come to that genearlly makes on suspious of the inside. Good news may be that the inside tends to get some lube if steel dies (which often keeps them from rusting)...if the pistol dies are carbide, then carbide sizing ring won't rust.

Clean them up and give a few cases a try.

Maybe the condition the dies are in is why they were left last? The outsides look pretty good, actually the insides just look like they weren't protected with lube for an awful long time.

Ok, well, when I have a slow couple of hours, I will pull them apart and go after the corrosion.

Thanks for all the shared knowledge, ALWAYS LEARNIN"!!

The two I've got in my cartridge collection are both post WW II production, with a "Dominion" over "43 M" headstamp. They aren't paper patched, but the bullet nose is stepped down from .444" to .431" at the point where a paper patch ends on your cartridges. Call it .190" ahead of the case mouth. The meplat is about .275". C-I-L ballistics were a 385 lead flat-nosed bullet at 1360 fps M.V. The Ballistic Coefficient works out to .224. The chart shows a 24" drop at 200 yards when zeroed at 100 yards.

An old neighbour had the rifle back in the 1930's. He was well aware of the ballistics, but his description was too far-fetched even for this forum. :D

Bye
Jack

I will have to take a stiff bristle to the bottom and try to figure out what the headstamp says. It's not all that bad, but the corosion there is seems to be around what few marks are there.

What is a "Dominion"?

I will have to take a stiff bristle to the bottom and try to figure out what the headstamp says. It's not all that bad, but the corosion there is seems to be around what few marks are there.

What is a "Dominion"?

CIL (Canadain Indurtries Limited?) brand name. Were good about keeping some of the old numbers in production longer than the US companies did.

I'm pretty hazy on these dates. Canadian Industries Limited used the D.C.Co. (Dominon Cartridge Company) headstamp from about 1900 to WW II, then used the DOMINION headstamp until the 1960's, then used the IMPERIAL headstamp until they were bought out by IVI (Industré Valcarter Industry) (sp?) in the 1980's. Early IVI production used the IMPERIAL headstamp, later the IVI headstamp.

Bye
Jack