Just as a point of intrest, I have 2 .303 Savage Lubricated Wire Patched cartridges.
From what I can determine,they were made at about the turn of the 20th century.I do
not know the weight of the bullet, but it is a round nose that has about a 1/4" of it's
wire wrap exposed and about 5/16" of exposed lead. The copper wire appears to be
maybe 18ga.. The case is what appears to be a standard Savage .303 . The cartridge
has some corrosion and natural ageing. ( What else would one expect of something
100+ years old ? ) I WILL NOT break these rounds down to see what it's made of,
as I think they're way to unusual and what the heck, they made it this long, who am
I to destroy their continuity? $$? I have never heard of anyone talking about such
a bullet, let alone rolling thier own. Has anyone else seen or know anything further
about "The Lubricated Wire Patched Boolit"? I think that these are really neat! But,
I can see where they would be VERY labor intensive. I also believe that a special
mould would be needed, as the area that the copper wire occupies is recessed for
half of the diameter of the wire at the length of the wrap. ( I am assuming the length
part as I have NOT pulled the bullet ). Maybe it was just an early atempt at metal
jackets.
DUST