Passed down ammunition

[G'dale Mike]

I know how everyone enjoys their firearms that were passed down from previous generations, but how many of ya'll have ammo that was passed down from your Dad or Grandad? I have several old boxes of 308 and 30-06 from my grandfather. I'm thinking of zero-ing with several rounds and then harvest game with that ammo. Just thought it'd be cool to have a mount and incorporate the brass from the round that took it with. Also have some 12 ga slugs. And some old paper 12 ga shells.

 

[Midwest]

If anyone has pictures, please post them

 

[utbrowningman]

I have a bunch of old paper shells that belonged to my grandfather. Took a few out last fall for doves and used his old JC Higgins Sears and Roebuck 102.25 (Stevens 520A) shotgun from the late 1930s.

 

[km101]

I have old pistol ammo that I got from my dad.

.45acp that is headstamped ECS '43 the box shows that it was repacked in '44. It appears to be a steel case.

Remington .44mag in the old green and red box. It's factory ammo. 240gr lead, gas checked bullet.

Military ball .38spl ammo. Manufactured by Federal. Headstamp is FC 53. The box say that it "has no law enforcement or civilian use. This ammo is manufactured for military use."

This is the oldest ammo I have.

 

[PJSprog]

Many years ago, I had some old Winchester 12ga paper shells passed down from my father. Unfortunately, as a young and ignorant pup, I discarded them on someone else's advice that they might not be safe. Doh!

 

[utbrowningman]

I also have a full box of .25-20 and .44 Game Getter but sadly, no gun for each.

 

[HighExpert]

I have some .38 sp hardball that was loaded by the AMU in the 50's. Shoots well at about 740fps. Also have some full WC loaded about the same time.

 

[SFreed]

Not really "passed down", but here's some of the ammo I recently got from the drawer of my Dad's gun cabinet. 82 years old, WW II veteran. Alzheimer's is a horrible thing to watch.

 

[bainter1212]

My grandfather passed down a bunch of military '06 to me.....the earliest headstamp is 1942.....mixed manufacture.

 

[Midwest]

I found some older threads on old ammo here on THR...with pictures

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=700781

 

[Al Thompson]

Quick note, especially about older military ammo. Treat it as if it were loaded with corrosive primers. A good spritz with Windex can keep you from unhappily finding rust and pitting in the bore of your firearm.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Dad passed on six years ago, but his .270 Rem. and .300 Win Mag reloads will be killing elk for years. I don't know how he did it, but his 270 loads will outshoot factory ammo. His "loading manual" was a card he got in the 1950s, hanging on a peg over his workbench. A Herter's turret press, a max load of 4831, and a Hornady 130 grain bullet was all he ever used.

I also brought home his stash of shotgun shells and added it to mine. I probably have enough 6 and 4 loads to kill every pheasant in Kansas, a couple of times each. He also bought lead goose loads every time they were on sale, before the lead ban. No. 4 buckshot works great on coyotes.

 

[mbopp]

Someplace, somewhere I've got a few 32 rimfire (yes 32 rimfire) cartridges from dad's old lever gun.

 

[cuervo]

I had some really good (unintentionally) 9mm training ammo that I inherited from my father. It was WWII German ammo with a cupro-nickel bullet--I don't remember the head stamp.

Pull the trigger--click. Wait anywhere from .25-1 second--bang. A good way to make sure you follow through on your shots since the shot would actually take place during your follow-through.

 

[Palehorseman]

Quick note, especially about older military ammo. Treat it as if it were loaded with corrosive primers. A good spritz with Windex can keep you from unhappily finding rust and pitting in the bore of your firearm.

Nothing beats plain water as an universal solvent for cleaning corrosive primer salts.

I don't clean for corrosive when shooting Swiss 7.5x55 milsurp ammo, for they never used corrosive(perchlorate) primers.

 

[WestKentucky]

These are my first two turkeys (easy on comments about size, and there were no spurs) that were standing 6 ft apart at 30 yards. The little one must have caught a flier...got the mossberg 600 from my grandfather it was paid off with blood sweat and tears in his yard that summer. I got the gun in spring when the deal was struck, just in time for turkey season and it did it's job. The shells were a surprise when I picked the gun up. Apparently dad told him what my plans were for it. That same year I mowed yards and saved up 465 dollars which bought my Remington 700 270win in the hunting classic bass pros first year in Nashville. That money also bought scope, sling, ammo, and some other stuff. A lot of that money was "tip money" from my grandma for sweeping the sidewalk and taking out the trash when I was there to mow for granddaddy.

 

[slumlord44]

Got some paper shotgun shells that were dads. Also got his A5 12 gauge and A5 Light 20. Should break it all out and shoot some clay birds with it for old times sake.

 

[Salmoneye]

Lots.

 

[Ranger Roberts]

It's funny that this subject came up. A few months ago I saw my father and he handed me a couple boxes of 12 ga shells that he found in a box in his basement. I didn't open them until I got home. When I did, I was surprised to see that they were paper shells. I called him to ask how old they were and he said he thinks he bought them sometime in the 60's but he couldn't remember, they may have actually been older and from our family hardware store. I'm not at home right now but I'm pretty sure they were Federal.

 

[mnrivrat]

Like old firearms, I have a fond warm and fuzzy fealing for old ammo. When I went out of the gun business I gave all the old ammo I had collected to my brother who now has a fair collection.
They included pinfire, cupfire, rimfire, seldom seen old cartridges of various calibers, boxes from prestine to ragged, and a 50-95 cartridge that came from a friend in Wyoming who recovered it from a settlers cabin that had been burned down by the Indians as the story goes.

(found many years ago when he was a kid) He found it under a partial wall under a window cell area along with 4 others. I can imagine them lined up on the window cell during the heat of battle. Even tho the dates of the 50-95 cartridge seem a little late for use in Indian raids.

Now I find myself a little jealous of my brothers collection but can see it again when I go to AZ for visit. (and soon to move there myself)

Just an old sentimental guy that thinks those hand me down shells might be worth keeping as a reminder of good times long ago. I wouldn't be too quick to shoot them up.

 

[Salmoneye]

After I read and posted to this thread, I went out and looked at some of the old ammo I had inherited...

This is what I found in one box...Thread link below the pic...



http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=542632

 

[Sav .250]

Your ammo, do what you like. If it`s really old, may be worth more in the collector sense. Maybe.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Not to go too far afield, but when thinking of perhaps un-expectedly passing guns/ammo due to untimely death I have adopted the following practices:

1) I tag weapons that are not safe to shoot for whatever reason and provide details (ie. 'broken firing pin', ect.).

2) I place ammo that is not safe to shoot or at all questionable in a plastic box labeled 'DO NOT SHOOT' until/if I get rid of or otherwise deal with it.

This being said I've had plenty of ammo passed down to me--I shot up a box of military .45 ACP headstamped '43 with my SA 1911a1 BEFORE I understood the nature of old corrosive primers! Luckily I actually cleaned my gear back then so the damage was minimal.

Old ammo is fun (and free!) to shoot.

 

[jamesb]

When my grandfather passed his guns down to me they came with the shells he had at the time. My most prized possession, his 16 ga 53 Belgium browning A-5, came with several boxes of old purple federal paper and plastic shotshells. Those are what I learned to shotgun with and so they always represented shotgunning with my grandfather. The smell of the old paper hulls after firing can always bring me back to that time. When I see purple federal or paper 16ga ammo I always buy it for that reason. I always go on one squirrel hunt a season with the A5 and old shells to do it how my grandfather did it. I do not have any pictures of those but here are some from my ammunition collection, because ammo pron is just as good as gun pron.