Question about Bullet casing found,PI Z 1943.

Jem · Jun 3, 2015

Hello ,

I live in Québec , Canada in Eastern Townships and I found a bullet casing at the top of a small mountain in town here ,with something written at the end of it. I dont know anything about bullets , guns etc.. Does any of you know what the 1943 refers to ? is it the year or anything else ?

SueK · Jun 3, 2015

I would guess that's the year, but I sure can't find anything to help identify the manufacturer (kind of looks like DLZ in the picture). Sorry not to be of more help, but hopefully the guys that are more knowledgeable will chime in. Nice find!!

Steve77 · Jun 3, 2015

Yes the 1943 is the date. It is probably a 303 British casing.

The "DI" is the maker Defence Industries Ltd. Here is what Wikipedia says about them:

DI Defence Industries Ltd. (1940-1946) - Park Avenue, Brownsburg, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A division of Canadian Industries Ltd. formed in late 1939 to produce munitions for the projected war effort. In 1941 they began to make high-quality boxer-primed .303 "Red Label"-type ammunition for use in aircraft machineguns. In 1942 they made the first Canadian government-manufactured 9mm Parabellum cartridges for Commonwealth forces. They also made 7.92mm Mauser rifle ammunition for issue to the European Resistance groups and the Nationalist and Communist Chinese.

According to this site:http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
The 'Z' suffix Refers to graphite glazed nitro-cellulose propellant

SueK · Jun 3, 2015

Steve77 said:
Yes the 1943 is the date. It is probably a 303 British casing.

The "DI" is the maker Defence Industries Ltd. Here is what Wikipedia says about them:

DI Defence Industries Ltd. (1940-1946) - Park Avenue, Brownsburg, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A division of Canadian Industries Ltd. formed in late 1939 to produce munitions for the projected war effort. In 1941 they began to make high-quality boxer-primed .303 "Red Label"-type ammunition for use in aircraft machineguns. In 1942 they made the first Canadian government-manufactured 9mm Parabellum cartridges for Commonwealth forces. They also made 7.92mm Mauser rifle ammunition for issue to the European Resistance groups and the Nationalist and Communist Chinese.

According to this site:http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
The 'Z' suffix Refers to graphite glazed nitro-cellulose propellant

Great research and ID!

TheMaddMan · Jun 4, 2015

Looks like Defense Industries, Montreal. Z may be a stamp for a specific armory.

http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes

Lerenfort · Jun 4, 2015

TheMaddMan said:
Looks like Defense Industries, Montreal. Z may be a stamp for a specific armory.

No the Z refers to the type of propellant used in the cartridge, in this case Nitrocellulose.

Steve77 · Jun 4, 2015

TheMaddMan said:
Looks like Defense Industries, Montreal. Z may be a stamp for a specific armory.

http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes

In some ammo that is correct. This particular casing has a rim. The rim is a less common feature on rifle cartridges. Very few rimmed cartridges were in use around 1943 in Canada. 303 British was one of those, and the rest of the headstamp points to a company that produced 303 during this time period.

I would conclude that the most likely explanation is that this is a Defence Industries casing with the "Z" referring to the powder type.

Jem · Jun 4, 2015

You guys rock , thanks a lot !

Question about Bullet casing found,PI Z 1943.

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