30gov03 said

Bert H. said
 I believe that the "No. 2" stamped on the base of the shell indicates the Winchester No. 2 primer.
Bert
  

Take a closer look. The shell is marked "No. 12", identifying the shell as 12 gauge. This was fairly standard across the major ammunition manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th century.
FWIW, Winchester's all-brass shotshells were primed with their No.2 (for black powder) or No.2-1/2 W (for smokeless powder), identical in size to our modern "Large Rifle" primer.
Jim
  

Cool! I feel these should not be reloaded but they make great eye candy. If they were ever fired with Holy Black or corrosive primers and not properly cleaned their integrity will be compromised. There are modern versions that are safe to load and fire even if they don't have the historic appeal of the ones in the OP. 

Mike

30gov03 said

Bert H. said
 I believe that the "No. 2" stamped on the base of the shell indicates the Winchester No. 2 primer.
Bert
  

Take a closer look. The shell is marked "No. 12", identifying the shell as 12 gauge. This was fairly standard across the major ammunition manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th century.
FWIW, Winchester's all-brass shotshells were primed with their No.2 (for black powder) or No.2-1/2 W (for smokeless powder), identical in size to our modern "Large Rifle" primer.
Jim
  

Good catch, and thanks for the added information.

Bert

Bert H. said

 I believe that the "No. 2" stamped on the base of the shell indicates the Winchester No. 2 primer.
Bert
  

Take a closer look. The shell is marked "No. 12", identifying the shell as 12 gauge. This was fairly standard across the major ammunition manufacturers in the late 19th and early 20th century.

FWIW, Winchester's all-brass shotshells were primed with their No.2 (for black powder) or No.2-1/2 W (for smokeless powder), identical in size to our modern "Large Rifle" primer.

Jim

First comment... I would not try to reload those old shell cases. 

I believe that the "No. 2" stamped on the base of the shell indicates the Winchester No. 2 primer.

Bert

Maverick said
It all depends on how vintage they are / when they were made. If there very old they used the Winchester #2 Primer.
Pictures would be most helpful?
  

True, but I suspect that they are WWII or later vintage, and if that is a good assumption, a 209 primer would be appropriate.

Bert

Pictures would be most helpful?

Spud said
That's a real nice buck Mark & taken with a nice rifle/cartridge combo. A great shot too with open sights!! I still use my Win 95 carbine (also in .303 Brit) when chasing deer here in Oz.
Spud
 
  

Spud,

That's a fantastic picture!  Thanks for posting it. The part of the state where I hunt is known locally as the Oregon Outback because much of it is looks very similar to your Australian Outback.

After being an avid hunter in my youth, I have to admit that hunting had become kind of mundane over the years and had become more of an annual routine simply to put venison in the freezer.  Several years ago, I started hunting with older firearms and open sights and it has rekindled my interest and enthusiasm for hunting.  It's much more of a challenge and far more rewarding than just harvesting venison.  Thanks for watching the video.  Mark

Spud

While I am not 100% sure, I believe that the No. 209 primer is what you want.

Bert

Congratulations, and thanks for sharing!

Tony

steve004 said

Mark Douglas said

steve004 said
Mark -
Great buck and great rifle.  I really enjoyed the photo of both the buck and the rifle.  And I REALLY enjoyed seeing the Cody letter!  A deluxe special order '95 sure catches my attention.
  

Thanks a bunch Steve.  A video of the hunt is scheduled to post on our YouTube channel tomorrow morning.  Keep an eye out for it if you'd like to see that beautiful 1895 in action.  Mark
  

I'm looking forward to it!
  

I'm in agreement with Steve.

Can't wait to see it!

Tony