[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

DON’T try this at home, although interesting it was not the brightest of ideas.

I bought at auction 2 boxes of Kynoch .295 or .300 Rook “Non-Rusting”. The part filled box had original contents and empties. The then full box pictured above had a variety of rounds from different sources some solid and some hollow point, a cartridge collector’s dream.

The block of 25 on the right with brass primers (some stamped ICI) are almost certainly non-corrosive with No. 69 .177 primers.

The 2 head stamped ELEY are at least 100 years old Kynoch taking over Eley centerfire rifle production in about 1924.

The rest with no head stamps, copper Boxer primers are even older, and were probably made over 123 years ago in the reign of Queen Victoria.

Last Sunday was the HBSA spring rifle competition at Bisley. I had loaded up nitro ammunition for the “Greener” for smokeless ammunition but none for the “Holland” for black powder only.

It occurred to me that the really old stuff was probably black powder loads and I could use them up in the Holland’s IF they worked.

Course of fire is 13 rounds sitting at 50 yards, and 13 standing at 25. To save time putting up sighting targets and shoot more details we use the muzzle loader rule of best 10 shots to count for score.

Having shot the smokeless event, I explained to the Range Officer what I was intending so he could watch to see that I was using black powder (they were).

At 50 yards I got off 13 rounds (a couple required re-cocking the hammer for a second strike and there was one slight hangfire as well as a total mis-fire).

My score of 53 ex 70 was not much worse than my admittedly indifferent nitro 50 yard score and bettered the 50 yard score of the only other black powder competitor in the Holland’s.

Half of my scoring shots hit the black (7 and 6 rings) which is about the size of a Rook’s chest, the rest being above and below the black.

I did not have a dead Rook handy, but I believe all 13 shotholes could have been covered by the carcass with the wings folded.

So far so good, but at 25 yards I had misfires followed but a squib that left the bullet stuck in the bore and I had to retire with no score at 25.

The stuck bullet pushed out easily, and I have boiled out the corrosive fouling with no damage to the rifling,

The cases had clearly become embrittled with age as can be seen with the stuck bullet under the box.

I won’t do it again and will try to find the time to load at least 26 black powder rounds before the next competition, but I find it interesting that ammunition perhaps over 125 years old would still largely function and still if well aimed kill a Rook.