This is an inert Cartridge S.A. Ball Magazine Rifle Mark II (Black Powder). It was approved for service on 19 July 1890 and shown in LoC Paragraph 6160. The case has no indents and has a small boxer primer. The bullet has no cannelure. Unlike the Mark I, the Powder Mark II cartridge was not dated, nor were the subsequent Marks until dating the headstamp was re-introduced in 1907. The service life of the .303 inch blackpowder cartridges was short, as they had only been introduced as an interim measure whilst the new smokeless propellant Cordite was developed, and in late 1891 the “Cartridge S.A. Ball Magazine Rifle Cordite Mark I” was introduced. H/s R ^ L II.

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