Help Identifying Military 30-06 Ammo

[firewalkerd1]

I acquired some military 30-06 ammo that I need help identifying. I guess the main question if this is corrosive? One lot is marked Govlot, 7.62 mod 49. This ammo has a black ring around the bullet at the case mouth. Next lot is marked 4-54 SF I 7.62 and also has the black ring around the bullet. I have no ideal if this corrosive and if a tracer.

[Bullshop Junior]

Black is usually armor piercing if it is on the tip...do you have pics? It may just be a sealant.

Most of the time if it is older then 1960 I assume it has corrosive primers. Are the primers rounded?

[Frank46]

Think your ammo is french and in all likelyhood is corrosive as well. Frank

[firewalkerd1]

The 4-54 SF I 7.62 are flat primers appears to be sealed or berden. The black is around the bullet at the case mouth not the tips.

The govlot group appears to be boxer primers and has the black ring at the same place around the case mouth.
I also thought that this could be a sealer but wasn't sure.

[mac60]

Could that Govlot be Gevelot? Mod 49 was what the French called the M2 .30-06 ball cartridge of French manufacture. I sure wouldn't fire any of it personally. As far as the 4-54 SF I 7.62 - SF = Societe Francaise des munitions, (Gevelot S.A.) Place Jules Gevelot, 92310 Issy-Les-moulineaux, France. So it looks like you have 2 .30-06 ball rounds of French manufacture. Corrosive as Hell. Bullshop Junior is right about the black band around the bullet at the case mouth - that's sealant.

[flounderman]

The American government corrosive 30- 06 had a red sealant around the primer. I don't think the us nato round was ever corrosive. I believe 1953 and newer US 30-06 was non corrosive. Can't say about foreign manufacture.

[Bullshop Junior]

Almost any any mil-surp with berdan primers is gonna be corrosive, and i have seen some french stuff up as late 1967 with corrosive primers in boxers. I would probably pull it all depending on how much you have. i recently was given a box of Factory Remington 270win shells that were probably in the area of 20 years old, that even though they were stored on a shelf, has corroded inside the case and the cases were coming apart in my gun first shot. Kinda turned me off on shooting old unknown ammo.

The sealer around the case mouth is just to help keep water out since mil-surp ammo could see a lot of weather. They probably have a sealer on the primer as well.

[Dutchman]

Almost any any mil-surp with berdan primers is gonna be corrosive,

Misconception. There are many foreign military ammo post-war that is non-corrosive. Portuguese FNM dated 1950s, 1960s, 1970s 8x57mm is all clean non-corrosive. Swedish 6.5x55. All non-corrosive. Chilean 7x57mm loaded by FN in Belgium dated 1970s = clean non-corrosive. FN 1950 M2 Ball .30-06 non-corrosive. All are Berdan primed. I could go on but a blanket statement can't be made about this subject.

On top of that there is nothing inherently wrong with corrosive primed ammo. You simply clean with a water based solution like Windex, automotive engine coolant, soluble oil used as machine shop coolant, USGI bore cleaner. Hot water mixed with a little dish detergent. Myself I use USGI bore cleaner for corrosive primed ammo and blackpowder cleaning.

Dutch