Page 1 of 2

.300 Ammo

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:04 pm
by TariqPathan
Hi,
I have been offered an Army and Navy under lever action .300 rifle for Rs 40,000/- (sparingly used). I was also told that the ammo for the same is not that easily available. Is it true ? and if the ammo is easily available, is this a good buy?? Please advise...

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:37 pm
by Vikram
Which .300 is this? .300 H&H?

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:31 pm
by Grumpy
Army & Navy, underlever and .300 calibre ...... Now there are three terms that sit together uncomfortably !
Is the rifle a falling block or Martini ? Is the .300 Calibre, .300 Sherwood or .300 Rook ?
Can`t help much without pictures but if the calibre is .300 Sherwood or .300 Rook than ammunition hasn`t been made for many years. The rook and rabbit calibres are low powered centre-fire alternatives to the .22 LR and were effectively superceded by the .22 LR. The .300 Sherwood was somewhat more powerful and was occasionally used to take small deer like Roe but still makes less energy than a .22 Hornet. If the rifle is in .300 H&H then ammunition is available but it will take some finding as it is a decidely uncommon calibre. Sounds like a rifle to avoid.

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:54 pm
by Kittu
TariqPathan wrote:Hi,
I have been offered an Army and Navy under lever action .300 rifle for Rs 40,000/- (sparingly used). I was also told that the ammo for the same is not that easily available. Is it true ? and if the ammo is easily available, is this a good buy?? Please advise...
do not buy it
it will be just a blockage on licence.agrees with mr.grumpy even 300 h&h are not available in indian market thanks

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 12:14 am
by Grumpy
Incidentally, many of those rook and rabbit calibre rifles are very collectible in the UK and USA - some are very pretty. Brass is available for most of the R&R calibres from the Australian company Bertram ..... but you`ld still have to get hold of a loading press, bullets, primers and suitable powders.

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:03 am
by TwoRivers
The description of ".300 underlever action" could also be a M99 Savage in .300 Savage. If it were a .300 H&H in a falling block, it would no doubt be .300 H&H Magnum Flanged (drool). But most likely one of the rook calibers and rifle. Wouldn't it be nice if the questions asked could actually be answered.

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:20 am
by Grumpy
So frustrating when mention is made of something that could be interesting but we never get to see it.
It isn`t a Savage because it`s an Army & Navy ( ;) )..... and therefore any `lever action` involved is either a falling block/Martini opening/ejector lever or a snap forward underlever opening lever .... or Jones type rotary underlever.
I don`t remember ever having see an Army & Navy Farquharson but have seen plenty of Martinis. The thing about the Army & Navy however is that they were not gunmakers and would supply just about anything in the way of firearms.

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:08 am
by Grumpy
????? The .300 Savage was introduced in 1920.......which preceded Indian independence by 27 years !

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:11 am
by Grumpy
What the dickens is going on here ? People making comments and then deleting them so that the responses look peculiar.

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:47 pm
by TariqPathan
Oh My God :shock: !!!!!!!!!thanks a million for the response guys... HALF OF WHICH I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND :lol: .. BUT GOT THE MESSAGE... WILL STEER FAR FAR AWAY FROM IT THOUGH!!!!!!!!! IF U GUYS WANNA SEE IT THEN I WOULD CLICK SOME PICS AND POST THEM :D

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:20 pm
by Vikram
Do post a few photos of the gun,please. BTW, please switch off the caps lock while posting.

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:08 pm
by Grumpy
Yes, pictures really would be appreciated. We can only offer limited opinion on a gun which we can`t see !

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 1:01 pm
by TariqPathan
Hi,
Attached are the pics as promised.... Sorry could not get better pics, as the owner had bad light in his house and was refusing to let it out of the house. Please Adjust!!!!

On the right hand side its reads "Made for the Army and Navy C.S.LB 43654".
On the Left it Read "Westley Richards and Co"
On the top just where the barrel begins it reads " Sherwood .300 Cartridge"

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:49 pm
by timmy
You may have quite a bit of trouble in getting a good supply of ammunition for that rifle, Tariq, even though it looks like a lovely piece. Here are three articles you might find interesting:

http://www.rifleman.org.uk/MINIATURE_RIFLES.htm

http://huntforever.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... ok-rifles/

http://home.comcast.net/~rds615/300S/300S.html

Re: .300 Ammo

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 6:23 pm
by Grumpy
It`s a .300 Sherwood Rook and Rabbit rifle built by Westley Richards on a Martini action. I can`t remember off-hand which action W-R used - BSA or Francotte - but it`s of little consequence.
The .300 Sherwood was the most powerful of the Rook and Rabbit calibres and was also used for foxes and roe deer as I said. Depending on where you look, the Muzzle Energy of the .300 Sherwood is quoted as 600 to 650 ft lbs - or somewhat less than the .22 Hornet. As I also said, no Rook and Rabbit ammunition is made anywhere and hasn`t been for many years.
A nice little rifle which, if cleaned--up somewhat, would make quite decent money from a collector in the UK and USA.