| COLLECTING INTERESTS | COMMON ABBREVIATIONS | FAKE CARTRIDGES | FAKE BOXES | CLEANING CARTRIDGES | CLEANING BOXES | BOOK LIST 2009 |
Members of ACCA have interests that are diverse and the various collections cover a wide spectrum of cartridges and related materials. Main areas of collecting interest within Australia include: shotshells, sporting, military, pistol and revolver, rimfire and related materials.
Australian Shotshells
Foreign Shotshells
Shotshell Packets
Transitional (and muzzleloading)
Australian Sporting
British Sporting
European Sporting
United States Sporting
Metallic Packets
Australian Military
British Military
Foreign Military
.303 British
.50 Calibre and above
Military Packets
Pistol and Revolver <Return to top>
Pistol and Revolver
Pistol and Revolver Packets
Rimfire
Rimfire Packets
Related Materials <Return to top>
Books
Advertising
Air rifle packets
Powder tins
Primer and percussion tins
Cartridge Boards
Reloading Tools
Cleaning Rods
Clips and Links
Fuses, Grenades and Mortars
Abbreviations are frequently used to describe cartridges. Such abbreviations may be found in catalogue listings and publications but they are also useful in record keeping. The most frequently used abbreviations are listed.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M |
| N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
|
Al - Aluminium AP - Armour piercing API - Armour piercing incendiary APIT - Armour piercing incendiary tracer APIT - Armour piercing incendiary tracer Ax - Axite
|
Blt - Bullet Br - Brass BT - Boat tail bullet Bz - Bronze |
C - Cordite Cal - Caliber
CkNk - Cracked neck CT - Copper tube |
|
Dy - Dummy
|
Exper - Experimental
|
F
<Return>
|
| G
<Return>
GM - Gilding metal GMCS - Gilding metal-clad steel |
HiBr - High brass shotshell
|
IP - Inside primed
|
| J <Return> | K <Return> |
L - Lead LPP - Lead (paper patched)
|
|
Mag - Magnum MB - Metal based
|
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NE - Nitro Express
|
O
<Return>
OA - Overall length OR - Oblique rachet bullet |
|
Pat - Patent Peg - Pegged bullet PF - Pinfire Pt - Pointed bullet
|
Q <Return> |
RB - Round Ball RF - Rimfire
|
|
S (or ST) - Steel Sab - Sabot SoT - Solder Tip SP - Soft point bullet Split - Vertical splits on bullet
SR - Semi-rimmedSpt - Sporting
|
Tn - Tin or Tinned Tr - Tracer
|
Unk - Unknown
|
|
WC - Wadcutter bullet Wd - Wood WF - Wax filled WP - Wood peg
|
X/Y <Return> |
Zn - Zinc
|
Fake Cartridges <Return to top>
From time to time, fake cartridges and boxes do appear in collections and at auctions and these pose problems for collectors. While some unscrupulous collectors deliberately manufacture fakes and pass them off as original, some fakes are unwittingly bought and then traded or sold to other collectors. Some of the fakes that have been identified in Australian collections are listed below.
12 mm Raphael Revolver, rimless with flat lead bullet identified by no headstamp, no powder, can be identified by internal case inspection - discovered in 1983.
8mm Bergmann, rimless-grooveless identified by copper Nambu projectile, no headstamp, no powder, can be identified by internal case inspection- discovered in 1983.
6.5mm Bergmann, rimless-grooveless identified by turned copper projectile, no headstamp, no powder, can be identified by internal case inspection.
.30 M1 Experimetal Flared identified by gold-aluminium 5.56 NATO Dummy, cut off at shoulder then cut off section reversed and pushed into remaining case, Hs F A 71.
.400 31/4" Boxer identified by between one and three shiny new lead balls and marked in black felt pen 'Single Ball', 'Duplex' a or 'Triplex'. There are also two variations of shot loadings, one with a coned mouth and one with a six petal crimp.
New primed 11/2" Naval Flare, buff paper, copper head and snapped primer identified by stamped "ELLEY & KYNOCH MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" & "MADE FOR SIR RALPH CALLWEY THIRKLEBY PARK THIRK" (NB spelling of Eley). Some with live shotshell primer - discovered in 1990's.
4 Gauge Shotgun Cartridge with roundnose lead bullet identified by Hs KYNOCH * 4 * Four rows of four dots impressed in case towards the mouth. Case filled with sand.
Fake Shotshell Boxes <Return to top>
Nobel's Corio Cartridges - one of the more well-known fake Shotshell boxes in Australia.
This is a genuine Nobel's Reliance box - top and side view. There are two known copies of this box.
Some of these Setter boxes are appearing in the USA as original boxes but, in fact, are original labels glued to old boxes. This is Canadian although labels did appear in South Australia some time ago.
Some of these Straightline green and red boxes are appearing in the USA as original boxes but, in fact, are original labels glued to old boxes. These are from Hoffhungs in Sydney, Australia.
Fake Eley Nitro.
Fake Derwent Amberite-Smokeless.
Cleaning Cartridges <Return to top>
Any accumulated grim or dust can be carefully cleaned from old brass or copper rounds with a brass-bristle suede brush. If carefully used, the brush will not mark the cartridge and a soft lustre will be restored to the metal. The round should then be rubbed with a clean, soft cloth. Brass wool and copper wool have recently become commercially available in USA. Both of these products will clean brass without leaving unsightly marks.
The white powder from an oxidised lead projectile may be easily removed by the gentle use of the suede brush. Any marks left by the bristles may be removed by gently rubbing the lead onto clean, dry hessian bagging.
Really old cartridges that are subject to repeated attacks of corrosion may need to be given strong protection to prevent the complete loss of a valuable round. Kingsley Field of New Zealand recommends that such cartridges be thoroughly cleaned with a suede brush and then coated with a solution made from hard clear nail polish thinned with 50% acetone.
Kingsley also recommends that lead bullet oxidation may be prevented by dipping the cleaned bullet into a brew of hexane (petroleum ether) into which has been dissolved as much paraffin wax as the mixture will take.
In extreme cases, particularly with old black powder cartridges, it may be necessary to pull the bullet and remove the powder. After thoroughly washing and drying the inside of the case, the bullet can be reseated. Careful measurements of the overall length of the cartridge before pulling the bullet will maintain the integrity of the reassembled round. In such cases, the cartridge should be marked with a label such as "deactivated" and it is quite acceptable to have deactivated rounds in collections.
Cleaning Boxes <Return to top>
Minor tears to cartridge boxes can be repaired with adhesive applied to the torn area with a sanded-down toothpick. Generally, the "Gluestick" types of adhesive are best to use as they are easy to apply, dry quickly and dry clear. Great care should be taken to only apply sufficient to glue the hold the torn section in place as too much glue will tend to form a ridge which may form lumps or ripples under the paper.
Soft brushes can be used to clean dust and accumulated grime from boxes. The dulled appearance of old boxes may be greatly improved by the judicial use of neutral shoe polish applied with a soft cloth. The polish should be left for about a quarter of an hour and then polished very lightly. Subsequent coats may be needed over several days to restore those wonderful old elaborately coloured boxes to their former glory. Great care should be taken with the polish as some of the newer brands appear to contain a strong solvent which dissolves the ink on the boxes. Before subjecting a rare box or cartridge to any form of restoration, it should be common practice to conduct a test-run on a common and inexpensive box or cartridge of a similar type. After all, dissolved ink on a cheap modern box will not upset you as much as a bare label on your favourite old "Lister" box of 12 gauge shells.
Once the boxes have been cleaned, they should be carefully wrapped in plastic or cellophane and taped down with Librarians' tape (often called "magic tape" as it becomes virtually invisible after it has been applied).
Book List 2007 <Return to top>
The club sells books to members at greatly reduced prices (contact John Artherton). Books available in 2007 are:
1 George Hoyem History & Development of Small Arms Ammunition
Volume 1 Revised Martial Long Arms - Flintlock through Rimfire $75
Volume 2 Centrefire Primitive & Martial Long Arms $75
Volume 3 British Sporting $75
Volume 4 American Sporting & Addendum to Vol 1 $75
2 Josef Motz Austrian Military Cartridges Vol 1 & 2 on CD $45
3 Dan Shuey WRACO Volume 2 Headstamp Cartridges & Variations above 38 Cal $45
4 Chris Punnet 30-06 $40
5 Errol Tucker Shotshells of Australia Addendum 2000 $20
6 John Munnery Bulgarian Military Cartridge Review 1876-1998 $15
7 Ken Rutterford British Shotshells Set of 11 booklets $260
Cartridges of the British Isles $70
8 WRACO Factory Cards Volume 1 $45
WRACO Factory Cards Volume 2 $45
9 Bill Fleming British Sporting Cartridges & Update $75
Update only $5
10 Rick Landers Grenade British & Commonwealth Hand & Rifle Grenades $60
Identification Handbook of British Grenades 1900-1960 $10
Saddle Up Australian load carrying equipment $35
11 Textbook of Small Arms 1929 $40
12 Darryle Lynn The Grenade Recognition Manual Volume 2 $40
British & Commonwealth grenades & accessories
13 DWM Case Drawings Volume 1(2nd Edition) $45
DWM Case Drawings Volume 2 $60
14 Small Caliber Ammunition Identification Guide
Volume 1 Cartridges up to 15mm $30
Volume 2 Cartridges 20 to 40mm $30
15 Danial Kent German 7.9mm Military Ammunition 1888-1945 $55
16 J Brandt Handbook of Pistol & Revolver Ammunition $90
17 Anthony Williams Flying Guns World War 1 $70
World War 2 $90
The Modern Era $65
Rapid Fire The Development of cannon, heavy MG's & their ammunition $45
18 Hackley, Woodin & Scranton History of Modern US Military Ammunition Volume 1 1880-1935 $50
19 John Barber The Rimfire Cartridge in the US & Canada $50
20 The Pitman Notes on US Martial Small Arms & Ammunition 1776-1933
Volume 2 Breech Loading Carbines of the US Civil War $30
Volume 4 US Magazine Rifles & Carbines Cal .30 $30
Volume 5 Miscellaneous Notes Calibres .58, .50, .30 Confederate & Foreign $30
21 Ian Hogg Allied Artillery of World War 1 $40
Allied Artillery of World War 2 $40
22 John Walter Allied Small Arms of World War 1 $40
Calendar of Flare Pistols $20
23 John Pople-Crump A History of British Small Arms Ammunition Part 1 $20