Did old cases have dates?

[gonoles_1980]

I figured old reloaders would best know the answer to this one. My wife watches all those real murder shows like on dateline. They had a case where they found the cases. The case had WCC on one side and 1987 on the other. I couldn't tell the caliber by looking, just that it was a small caliber.

It just seemed odd, I've never seen a date on a case, only the caliber.

Did they make this up for the show, or did old cases have the date?

 

[GBExpat]

Many military cases are date-stamped.

Your mention of WCC immediately brought to mind .45acp as I started out reloading those in the '70s.

I have one here stamped W C C 6 6 ... 1966.

IIRC, my Turkish 7,92x57 milsurp ammo cases sport the entire year; e.g.,1937.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I only know of military cases being dated. I have 38spcl, 9x19, 45acp, 5.56x45, 7.62x51, and 7.62x63 cases that are all dated.
And WCC was a military supplier.

 

[gonoles_1980]

I was searching through my scrap 9mm brass and found a WCC 1987.

 

[joustin]

I have Lake City match 308 dated 1966 to 2014 that I have picked up from gun shows. I've only seen military brass date stamped

 

[ants]

I have 45acp ammo with dates back to 1918. Some have FA headstamp from the US Army plant: Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia.

 

[AZAndy]

I have a piece of .45ACP brass dated '42. I set that one aside.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Military brass/ammunition is normally date stamped, but so is some civilian. Almost all cases that have the date in four numerals is civilian (1987). Military headstamps are normally just two digits, i.e. "42", for 1942, along with the arsenal or company that made it. Sometimes you'll find commercial ammunition that is military contract overruns, so it will also have a date stamp on it.

I've got military cases dating back to before World War I.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[27hand]

Here are a few I had,

 

[hdwhit]

Here's the label of a box of 45 ACP that I inherited from my grandfather which is dated to 1945 along with a cartridge and headstamp.

 

[mdi]

As noted above most if not all dated cases are military origin. But I woulsn't believe anything I saw on TV pertaining to firearms or ammo, not even if Abby says so (she can tell from bullet fragments the gun, ammo used, time of day fired, the color of the shooter's hair and tell Gibbs the color of the shooter's underwear)...

 

[GooseGestapo]

I have a .45acp stamped RA 18. Remington Arms 1918.

 

[Reloadron]

Military brass is headstamped with manufacturer and year, for example here are a few WCC 94 cases:

The WCC is Western Cartridge Company (Winchester) and the 94 was the year of manufacture. The oldest I have laying around that I am aware of and noticed was some Black Tip 30-06 Springfield made in 1942.

Ron

 

[ReloaderFred]

Here's the label of a box of 45 ACP that I inherited from my grandfather which is dated to 1945 along with a cartridge and headstamp.

View attachment 236067

Remington/Union Metallic Cartridge ammunition. By the end of the war they were using anything they had to win with, which proved to be a pretty successful strategy. Remington and the Union Metallic Cartridge Company merged in 1912.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Swampman]

Here are a few different headstamps that I found amongst my reloading junk.

The descriptions I've given are from memory, if I've made any errors please feel free to post corrections.

From left to right they are:

1918 Western Cartridge Company, U.S.A. 30-06 (I'm not sure if it's military or civilian production)

1939 Kingdom of Bulgaria, 8x56R

1942 Twin Cities Arsenal, U.S.A. 30-06

1943 Turkish 7.9x57 (8mm Mauser)

1944 Remington Arms, U.S.A. 30-06

1950 People's Republic of Bulgaria 7.62x54R

No headstamp, .303 British believed to be manufactured in Pakistan for a U.S. CIA contract intended to supply Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989)

1962 .30 U.S. Carbine, Dominican Republic (interesting Berdan primer with a single flash hole)

1985 Chinese 5.56x45 (Is it just me, or does that primer look a little flat? IIRC those rounds did over 3300 fps from a 20 inch barrel)