I have no idea what this is.

Gonna need a better pic of the bullet and whats the head stamp? Looks like a soild though.

Any difference in material on the red part?  Is it tapered like that, or is that an artifact of the photo?

The round on the left looks like a dummy .308 with crimps as a practice round and a hole drilled to be sure.


If found together, probably both practice rounds. Can you hear any powder in it when you shake it?

They were not found together. I have eight of the rounds in question. They are all loaded with powder when you shake them.

I think I found it at big ordnance. Looks like high pressure test. Thanks all.

Got a link? I know its a 44 year headstamp but would like to know more on the round

They are commercially produced high pressure test rounds.



Pictures identical to yours can be seen here

http://www.big-ordnance.com/50cal/50browning.htm

Any info though? Pressure. bullet wieght. Fps. ?

As mentioned, this is a High Pressure Test (aka "Proof") round, intended *ONLY* for testing the integrity of a .50 BMG caliber rifle action.  It develops approx 125% of the maximum chamber pressure of a cartridge to ensure the action will stay together.  It is utilized by placing an HPT round in the chamber of the gun and remotely firing it from inside an armored test chamber.  Afterwards, if the rifle is still intact, 5 regular rounds are remotely fired to see if it still holds together and something hadn't cracked with the HPT only to fail on a subsequent round.

Never, ever, shoot this round.

It's intended for rifle manufacturers, ordnance specialists, gunsmiths, etc.  The sole purpose of this round is to drive up pressures in the rifle, so ballistic performance, muzzle velocity, accuracy, etc. isn't even considered.

The example illustrated was loaded by ThunderBird Cartridge Co, Inc. (TCCI).  They are one of the few companies commercially producing HPT rounds in .50 caliber.  The other main source is Lake City Army Ordnance Plant, which produces it for the US Government.  The TCCI variant uses a 1000 grain, solid brass projectile, with a driving band.  For safety ID, the projectile and case head are painted red as a warning.  The LC M1 HPT .50 round looks like an ordinary Ball round, except that the brass case is nickeled for safety ID.  That load uses a 1000 gr "ball" type projectile.  It is different from regular ball projectiles in that it is a lead core and flat base, rather that mild steel core with a boattail.  So if in doubt, take a magnet to the projectile, once assuring yourself that the round in question is factory and not someone's reload.

Headstamp is irrelevant in the TCCI HPT as once-fired brass is used.  LC uses new brass, but, due to such a limited demand for such a model, only produces the round periodically.  So a lot they produce may sit in storage for years before use or another lot is produced.  Headstamp relates to the approximate time it was produced, like most other LC production.

So do they use the same powder and powder charge just with the heaver bullet?