Military cases contaminated?

[xs11jack]

I have been given a thousand or so military 30-06 cases that all have head stamp dated 51,52,53, and 54. I have heard a story telling how because these cases were fired with corrosive primers, the cases are weakened and unsafe. Is this true and do I have to sell all these cases for scrap brass? I believe that they are once fired range pickups as they still have the crimped in primers.
Jack

[afish4570]

From what I remember and was taught, mercuric primers caused the case weakening not the WW2 chlorate primers. I always washed chlorated empties to remove any salts to eliminate contaminating a barrel or reloading tools (prevent rust) etc. I still shoot a box or two of TW 40's headstamped 3006 brass loaded with 170+ gr. cast boolits with 16 gr. 2400.....brass has been shot at least 20 times. afish4570

[Wayne Smith]

I'd dunk them in a citric acid mix, swish them around a little, and call it good. You will end up with clean, passified brass.

[Char-Gar]

No USGI ammo was loaded with corrosive priming from 1950 onward. 30 cal carbine ammo, not matter what vintage never had corrosive priming.

Jack..Bottom line is your cases are good to go, having never been fired with corrosive primers.

[BruceB]

World War II and Korea were mostly fought with CORROSIVE primers in small-arms ammo, except for the .30 US Carbine ammunition as noted.

In 1949 it was decided to switch to NON_corrosive priming, but the changeover took several years, and some corrosive primers were used until the mid-Fifties.

It was the MERCURIC primers that attacked the brass cases, and these were out of use long before the switch to non-corrosive types.

The brass in the original post should be OK, at least as far as primer effects are concerned.

[TNsailorman]

I have a 1960-s vintage NRA Illustrade Reloading Handbook that has a very extensive article on corrosive primers and they list the starting dates for military ammo in noncorrosive persuasion. This is a small part of that article:

If only the case with the date stamp on it is available, you must assume the following year of production as noncorrsive since most of the corrosive production ended in mid-year or later. Here are the starting date and lots for non corrosive ammunition:

FRANKFORD ARESENAL--Headstamp "FA" and last 2 digits of the year. ( some had a single digit as follows--4 mean 1944, 5 means 1955, ect.).
30-06 ball--Lot 4149, October 1951
30-06 AP-Lot 887, October 1951
.45 M1911 ball--Lot 1542, July 1954
(Exceptions: 1. 30-06 ball with zinc plated primer and headstamp "FA 47" or later isnoncorrosive. 2. FA 30-06 special Match, headstamped "FA 53, "FA 54, or "FA 56" and with red, purple, or green waterproofing around primer, is corrosive.

FEDERAL CARTRIDGE CO.--Headstamp "FCC" and last 2 digits of the year.
.45 M1911 ball--Lot 1801, November 1953

LAKE CITY ARSENAL--Headstamp "LC" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 13700, June 1951
30-06 AP--Lot 13158, April 1952

REMINGTON ARMS CO.--Headstamp "RA" and last 2 digits of the yeaqr.
30-06 ball--Lot 33853, November 1951
.45 M1911 ball--Lot 5544, September 1952

ST. LOUIS ORDNANCE PLANT--Headstamp "SL" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 9420, May 1952
30-06 AP--Lot 9467, July 1952

TWIN CITIES AREENAL--Headstamp "TW" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 19362, December 1950
30-06 AP--Lot 19776, February 1952
.45 M1911 ball--Lot 18000, August 1953

WESTERN CARTRIDGE CO.--Headstamp "WCC" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 6428, June 1951
.45 M1911 ball--Lot 6375, November 1952

WINCHESTER REAPEATING ARMS CO.--Headstamp "WRA" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 23201, August 1951
30-06 AP--Lot 22007, June 1954
.45 M1911 ball--Lot 22198, November 1951
Steel-case Lots 22000-22007 only, June 1954

DOMINION ARSENAL, CANADA--Headstamp "DAQ" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 44000, August 1944 (All by this maker was noncorrosive)

VERDUN ARSENAL, CANADA--Headstamp "VC" and last 2 digits of the year.
30-06 ball--Lot 42000, April 1945 (All by this maker was noncorrosive)

M1 Carbine--All M1 Carbine ammunition made is the U.S. is noncorrosive.

7.62 NATO--All 7.62 NATO ammunition made in the U.S. is noncorrosive, EXCEPT 1956 International Match ammmunition made at Frankford Arsenal, which is corrosive.

All 30-06 International Match ammunition made in 1956 at Frankford Arsenal is corrosive.

The following ammunition made in World War II only is corrosive:

EAU CLAIRE ORDNANCE PLANT--Headstamp "EW" and last 2 digits of the year.

DENVER ORDNANCE PLANT--Headstamp "DEN" and last 2 digits of the year.

DES MOINES ORDNANCE PLANT--Headstamp "DM" and last 2 digits of the year.

UTAH ORDNANCE PLANT--Headstamp "U" or "UT" and lasst 2 digits of the year.

Some ammunition was repacked after initial production and may have lost the lot number and thereafter tracking was only reliable by headstamp.

I hope this helps those who may have old vintage ammo and/or are worriedabout the corrosive dates. Personally I have fired and still do fire much of this old brass and have never had a problem with it. I suggest that if you are worried about its use--don't. There are plenty of people who would be wiling to take it off your hands. james

[flounderman]

look at the color of the lacquer around the primer. red was corrosive, black or blue was non corrosive. no matter what the date is.

[Hip's Ax]

xs11jack, you did not say if it was USGI brass or not. A year by itself does not tell the tale, we need the letters too.

Here is the list I have been using for 15 years or so, I never found it to be wrong. Looks very similar to TNsailorman's list.

http://www.odcmp.org/1101/USGI.pdf

flounderman, not sure where you heard the lacquer color story but I have a lot of once fired brass and ammo that is no doubt noncorrosive and all of it has red primer sealant.

[felix]

I betcha' I have/had all those different "brands" in my dad's basement at one time. He obtained lots of surplus ammo while working for Peters as a sales district manager after the war. Very few folks were interested at the time because the ammo was "surplus" and of "questionable" value. I remember shooting tons of DEN and SL, and most if not all of it had RED primer glue. My dad gave me his 760 pump after my 8th grade graduation. And, that barrel was never cleaned because it got weekly use by some bother (5 of them) until the gun was eventually sold by my dad after my brothers were gone from the house. ... felix

[xs11jack]

Wow an encyclopedia of information.
Hip's Ax, all the brass is usa A lot of SL, WCC, FC, TW, and LC. I found about 4 cases that the date was "33".
The biggest batch was dated 53, then 52. You guys really helped out a lot. I got some citric acid, by the way, I couldn't find it in the local grocery stores as canning season is few months away, but we have a Rual King store outside of town that keeps thier canning section stocked all year round, and will clean these cases with that as they are pretty grunged up. Thanks again fellows.
Jack

[TNsailorman]

I still have a bunch of the old military ammo in 30-06. Nearly all of it is World War II and the Korean War ammo. I have been shooting this stuff since the 50's and never had any problems with it. I always keep a squeaky clean barrel anyway. Up until the late 80's the old WW II GI corrosive bore cleaner was available and dirt cheap. I used to pay .05 a can for it. I stil have several cans of it left but it will soon be gone. I have used hot soapy water also and it works. I still remember the days that you could order 30-06 ammo from DCM for $4.00 a hundred rounds and shipping would set you back another .25 or so. Hodgden sold surplus 4895 pounder for .75 a pound. The best part was that ammo, powder, rifle, pistol, or shotguns shipped directly to your door. The only real problem was that I was dirt poor back then and even at those prices, I had to save up awhile to be able to buy anything. Aw, the good old days. Just the ramblins of an old man, james

[Larry Gibson]

I'd dunk them in a citric acid mix, swish them around a little, and call it good. You will end up with clean, passified brass.

As mentioned by afish4570 the mercuric primed cartrdges of a much earlier time caused the problem. Simply follow Wayne's adise to remove any remaining "salts" from the corrosive perchlorate primers used in the '06 cases you have. The cases will be fine. Might need to re-anneal the case necks to keep them from splitting as they are getting on in age.

Larry Gibson

[Whiterabbit]

The term is actually "passivation". As in, passivated brass, not pacified.