K18 & K-18 .303 whats the difference

[peashooter]

Why do I have 2 K18 head stamps both K 18 VII Z but one has -

K 18 VII Z
K-18 VII-Z

both have 3 small line neck crimps but one has the crimps a little higher on the neck than the other, I know these are only slight differences but they are clearly different in there small ways any idea's

thanks
Richard.

 

[TonyE]

K 18

The usual reasons for these differences in headstamp are to differentiate between different production lines. Although both headstamps are obviously Kynoch, there were different "factories" within the Witton complex. In order to be able to trace which round came from which production line these slight changes were made to the headstamp.

Another example is Royal Laboratory, Woolwich. "R^L" is the main production line, "R^L '17' " with strikes either side of the date is Cartridge Factory 3 and "R (date)L" is Cartridge Factory 5.

Regards
TonyE

 

[peashooter]

cheers I thought it would be simple, Do you know which factory had the "-" dash and which did not. I suppose that will be the same with the differences in the 3 crimp positioning as well.

Richard.

 

[TonyE]

Kynoch

I have never seen any identification for different Kynoch lines so cannot amswer the question.

I suspect the difference in the exact positioning of the neck indents is down to machine set up rather than an identifying feature. The position is supposed to secure the case to the cannelure of the bullet.

Regards
TonyE

 

[peashooter]

many thanks
Richard.