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I would like to no how maney of us collect pratice and or dummy ordanace.

vinnyw

Well-Known Member
How do you guys fill about practice ordance in your collection.
I have always had it in mine .Some times the real stuff takes awhile to locate.
vinny:angel:
 
I prefer to collect Practice/ Drill and dummy rounds as there is not an issue with them being inert or not.

Hangarman
 
I have a 'soft spot' for drill/inspectors/dummy rounds and always try to get examples of them within a group/calibre

Tony
 
I pick up the dummy stuff sparingly as examples of inert versions of the real thing, but I don't go out of my way to look for it. I do have a rubber duck Russian 240mm Mortar round, just because I haven't been able to get a real one.
 
Thats a good point.Also if you buy from overseas in my case you can have it fast by airmail.Though it still might be smarter to ship by a slow boat.
vinny
 
i have loads of practice grenades. i think it completes a nice set if you have an inert live, drill and practice version of each model of grenade. (when available)
 
I prefer to collect Practice/ Drill and dummy rounds as there is not an issue with them being inert or not.

Hangarman

Sorry to post this AGAIN since I mentioned it very recently. Hangarman, you are making a potentially serious mistake by (1) equating "practice" with Drill, and (2) with assuming that the practice ammo or ordnance is inert. Many practice items have propellent, low explosives, and/or spotting charges which certainly can cause personal injury. Please try to learn the characteristics of any Practice ammo per tech data so that you don't consider it INERT when it may not be. Now, as far as I know, by definition, "Drill" ammo/ordnance is INERT.
thanks,
Taber
 
Sorry to post this AGAIN since I mentioned it very recently. Hangarman, you are making a potentially serious mistake by (1) equating "practice" with Drill, and (2) with assuming that the practice ammo or ordnance is inert. Many practice items have propellent, low explosives, and/or spotting charges which certainly can cause personal injury. Please try to learn the characteristics of any Practice ammo per tech data so that you don't consider it INERT when it may not be. Now, as far as I know, by definition, "Drill" ammo/ordnance is INERT.
thanks,
Taber
An excellent post - thank you
For GB members please also remember that "practice" rounds that have not been rendered inert may still be liable to possession on a Firearms Certificate.
 
I will give a good home to practice or drill rounds, But you do have to make sure that is what you have and it is truly inert. You can't be too carefull as projectiles get replaced magically out there. Something is inert when YOU see hollow cavities and empty crevices.
 
Practice, Dummy, Drill, Inert are all real and legitimate collectables. You can build an entire collection around them, whether small arms ammunition or the big stuff. Fakes or repros on the other hand . . .
Ray
 
Practice, Dummy, Drill, Inert are all real and legitimate collectables. You can build an entire collection around them, whether small arms ammunition or the big stuff. Fakes or repros on the other hand . . .
Ray

Absolutely correct. Practice and drill are part of the big picture, part of the history, and are just as important for the study of ordnance as the other rounds. Much of the development and progression can best be shown through the progress of the practice pieces. Fail to study them and you may miss some important details. Fakes and repros are never worth the money or effort (even if for free) and only serve to muddy the history.
 
They are part of the series of any ordnance item so you are not complete with out them. Saying that, does any one have a British 1 Pr drill they can do without ?
 
Re,Drill rounds,I have a 30mm ADEN drill round,solid alloy,exept for a small plug (3mm dia.)of what looks like steel in the nose of the round,base stamp is 60,round the belt is stamped,,,DRILL 1,in the extracter goove is stamped 30mm RG 56,I got the round about 30 years ago and was told at the time it was a BALLAST round fitted at the lead end of the belt (in a Hawker Hunter,)for the purpose of ensuring the gun would not fire should the sytem be accidently armed while the aircraft was flying with full ammunition load while on training flights,could anyone verify this or is it just a bog standard DRILL round used in armourer training,
Thanks,
Don,
 
Hi Don,
As far as i know the ballast rounds aren't meant for gun functioning and as such do not have extraction grooves.They are fitted into belts but not fed though the gun.
They are merely for 'ballast' ,to keep the centre of gravity/ balance/trim of the aircraft as it would be for live loaded.

Your round sounds like a drill,as marked and with a groove,used for gun functioning and also in the way described to you, as an inert leader or trailer in a live belt.

As for collecting practice /drill/dummies, its all good to me,for as long as they are real... Though i still pick up the occasional 'what the f...' oddities,just for fun!

cheers,
Bob

QUOTE=beihan62;213605]Re,Drill rounds,I have a 30mm ADEN drill round,solid alloy,exept for a small plug (3mm dia.)of what looks like steel in the nose of the round,base stamp is 60,round the belt is stamped,,,DRILL 1,in the extracter goove is stamped 30mm RG 56,I got the round about 30 years ago and was told at the time it was a BALLAST round fitted at the lead end of the belt (in a Hawker Hunter,)for the purpose of ensuring the gun would not fire should the sytem be accidently armed while the aircraft was flying with full ammunition load while on training flights,could anyone verify this or is it just a bog standard DRILL round used in armourer training,
Thanks,
Don,[/QUOTE]
 
Absolutely correct. Practice and drill are part of the big picture, part of the history, and are just as important for the study of ordnance as the other rounds. Much of the development and progression can best be shown through the progress of the practice pieces. Fail to study them and you may miss some important details. Fakes and repros are never worth the money or effort (even if for free) and only serve to muddy the history.


Wise words!
Second that!
 
Hi Bob,Thanks for the explanation,I now have a better understanding of how it was used,I forgot to mention the ring of blue paint in the extractor groove,Iwas not aware there was a difference between ballast and drill,I think the one I have is a fairly early one (56)as they only started using them in 53,
Many thanks,
Regards,
Don,
 
And just to muddy the waters, i think drill rounds are often used these days in the same way as ballast. Probably cheaper just to have one item in inventory that can achieve both roles.

cheers
Bob
 
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