What would you do with WWI .30-06?

[Tomecek]

If you all have followed my posts, I continue to find amazing things coming out of a reloading collection that has a 60+ year history. One find tonight was a cigar box (yes, John Ruskin cigars. I don't know if they still make those?) full of WWI surplus (headstamped USC Co. 1918) 30-06 ball ammo still on the strippers. Most of this stuff is totally free of any corrosion ( a few had begun to, sadly.).

What would you all do with them? My inclination is to pull the bullets, clean out the old corrosive powder and reuse the cases (and perhaps bullets). Ideas? Anyone have any experience with this vintage?

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[rondog]

JMHO, but I think they should remain intact and in the charging clips, and either be kept or sold as collectables. I'd love to have some of them!

Ammo that old shouldn't be fired, IMO. That's like finding a Model T and hacking it up to make a hot rod out of. Sure, it was OK to do that in the 50's & 60's, they were plentiful and cheap. Just like shooting old ammo, lots of it back then. But that stuff's almost 100 years old now, and much cooler to have as a collectable than to waste on a BANG and a hole in a target. I have WWII ammo that will never see the inside of a chamber.

 

[Tomecek]

I agree about the collectible value for sure. Plenty of LC brass out there to reload and neck down.

The other cigar box I didn't mention was full of clean, shiny garand enbloc clips with AP ammo in them, still in the cardboard. This collection is a time capsule if I've ever seen one.

If you want to have them and are willing to pay for the hazmat shipping, make me an offer. There are about 60 or so rounds.

 

[ants]

Honorable choice, Tom. That collection came from an old dog, and some other old dog deserves to enjoy it.

Loaded ammo is not classified and HazMat and does not require HazMat handling. Mark the package ORM and it will meet federal requirements for truck shipments. Common carriers (like UPS) will ship it, but I would avoid USPS.

 

[Ifishsum]

I personally agree with keeping them as-is, but would like to point out that it's not the powder that would be corrosive, it is in fact the primer.

 

[Tim the student]

What else can you tell me about the Garand ammo? What headstamp is on it? Pics? How many clips? Was there a bandolier? Are there any marks on the clips?

 

[DammitBoy]

If I were you, I'd check on the value of the old cigar boxes themselves.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I would save some and shoot the rest.

 

[Jim Watson]

I would not shoot 1918 ammunition.
The greatest single factor in blown-up "low number" Springfields was ammunition produced in wartime with low quality control. A soft casehead will ruin your day even in a stronger gun.

 

[NCsmitty]

My inclination is to pull the bullets, clean out the old corrosive powder

You'll find that the powder itself is not corrosive, it's the mercuric priming mix that's the culprit. And corrosive primer use still continues even today, because they hold up well in long term storage.

I have my own very small collection of old ammo, and shooting any of them never crosses my mind. They are a window to the past.



NCsmitty

 

[jonnyc]

Save one clip and shoot or pull-down the rest. These have no real collector value, as any collector WWI .30-06 already has all they will ever need...very common stuff.
Ditto on the "it's not Haz-Mat".

 

[Jim Watson]

Primers are corrosive but non-mercuric.
The Army got out of mercuric primers about 1898 when the Krag was still GI.

 

[Slamfire]

Well if the case necks have not cracked yet, it is only a matter of time.

Old powder outgasses nitric acid gas and that will crack the case neck brass.

I was given a handful of 30-40 Krag loaded ammo, headstamp 1898, all had cracked case necks. I pulled a bullet by hand and the powder is light red.

If you want to have a neat looking WW1 cartridge, pull the bullet, dump the powder, and reset the bullet.

 

[Tomecek]

Thanks to you all for the nice comments, and I am very glad to know about the hazmat issue!

So, on the question about the garand ammo: It is stamped LC 53. No bandolier (cigar boxes, remember), black-tip AP. Clips marked "SA" and cardboard cover still on them marked "8 RNDS"

Good point on the cigar boxes! Anybody a collector?

Yes, slamfire, I agree on the splitting case problem. I have seen that happen.

Is anybody interested in these?

 

[DammitBoy]

Cigar box article at ebay

http://reviews.ebay.com/Collecting-Cigar-Boxes-and-Cigar-Label-Art_W0QQugidZ10000000000775008