miltary 30-06 rounds?

[Adk Mike]

I acquired 160 rounds in 8 round clips. All the same head stamp . They appear to have been poorly stored maybe even wet at one point.
My intention is to pull the bullets and clean up the cases then reload them with cast.
Am I doing the right thing? I can't believe they are much good like they are.

[BNE]

It's a lot quicker to shoot them....

Others can tell you more, but be careful as some old 30-06 used corrosive primers. They shoot fine, but you MUST thouroughly clean your gun after shooting.

[frkelly74]

Yes , it is more fun to shoot them, how old are the cartridges? Look at the head stamp and if they are military there will be a date and a code for the maker on them. Older than about '54 will probably be corrosive I think. WWII years will definitely be corrosive. Look them over and use your judgement. If they look good , shoot them and clean your rifle.

[Beekeeper]

ADK Mike,
I have about 300 30/06 cases with a headstamp of den(Denver) 43 ( 1943) that I have used for years with reduced CB loads and have yet to have a case failure.
I do suggest you give the gun a good cleaning after shooting them aand the cases a good cleaning before reloading them and they should last for many years if you take care of them.

But then as my tag line says I do not know anything

beekeeper

[Outpost75]

If the cases are just tarnished and not actually corroded with green verdigris on them, go ahead and shoot them, and clean as required after chlorate primers. Save the Garand clips. They are worth about $2 each. I am still using WW2-era cal. .30 and .45 ammunition on a regular basis, and the older reddish color 60/40 bronze (used before 1964, still used by Norma) composition has better life in repeated reloading than today's 70/30 brass.

[Larry Gibson]

Adk Mike

Knowing the headstamp would give us a better idea? Are the cases just tarnished and dirty or is there green verdigris around the bullet/case mouth?

Larry Gibson

[Larry Gibson]

I have about 300 30/06 cases with a headstamp of den(Denver) 43 ( 1943)

Beekeeper

That was about the best of the milsurp U.S. brass '06 cases. I had some also and it is/was excellent. Only '06 I've found that is as good or better is the M72 Match cases. Wish I had several thousand rounds of that DEN 43 as it was the only M2 ammo I've found that actually runs 2700 fps!

Larry Gibson

[Adk Mike]

All the cases are marked T W 5 6
They all see to be the same. With steel wool they clean up pretty good. The clips are rusty but would clean up with a little work. I don't think they were ever submerged in water,some of the clips have rust inside that looks like water between them and the cases.
No sign of the green mold on any of it.

Mike

[Outpost75]

The TW ball is good ammo. There were several lots in 54 and 55 which shot nearly as well as match ammo. When I was doing contract T&E work at Quantico in the early 1980s they were still using some of the old George Van Orden Winchester Model 70 sniper rifles with 8x Unertl Vultures on them as school guns. All that good. 30 cal. ammo in the bunker went south when Col. North had it all linked up for the contras to use in water cooled Brownings we gave them.

[Larry Gibson]

Good ammo, clean 'em up and shoot 'em.

Larry Gibson

[Adk Mike]

OK I'll shoot them.

[gordie]

i've got some old rds. too... think they will be ok to shoot ?

92581

[Larry Gibson]

Those should be just fine. Can't see the headstamp for the year?

Larry Gibson

[Ken in Iowa]

i've got some old rds. too... think they will be ok to shoot ?


You could. That DM ammo is corrosive primed though.

Actually, I'm working with the local museum exhibit for the Des Moines ammo plant. I need more ammo for display.

I'll trade you for non-corrosive Lake City if you like.

Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree it's good ammo and being form 1956 it's probably doesn't use a corrosive primer either. (not that's those primers are so bad) I would shoot it and then use the brass for reloading. (BTW, the clips are worth money, don't throw them away)