Lake City ammo ?

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Shanghai McCoy

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I found some old Lake City ammo. It's in the 5 round clips and still in the little cardboard packs inside the cloth pouches. There is a small purple card with it with the Lot#. LC 12794. The brass just has L C 4 stamped on it.
Was this a WW2 or Korea era ammo?

I sort of remember buying it about 20 years ago and shot it some in a Springfield 03 that I used to have. Worked fine as I recall.
 
It sounds like 30 caliber ammo on stripper clips for the '03 Springfield made in 1944. Can you post some photos? It's likely corrosive so clean your barrel after shooting it.
 
Yep, 1944 production and corrosive. In 1943 the cases were stamped "43". For 1944 they simply ground off the "3" instead of making new dies, wartime shortcuts.
 
Interesting info about the stamp. I can so see some govt. employee coming up with that... :)
Now, since I forgot to mention that it's black tip AP rounds :eek:. Why would that type of ammo be loaded into the basic stripper clip for a Springfield ? :confused:
 
That was pretty commonly used in the BAR as well. 5 round strippers loaded with a mag adapter into the BAR mags.
 
Black tip ammo is 174 grain. Accurate but corrosive. Will punch a hole in 1/2" thick A 500 steel plate at 150 yds.
 
Das Capitolin, I don't know where you got your info, but corrosive ammo will definitely ruin a bore. Where do you think that primer residue goes? It is spread all through the bore upon firing! Unless you have a chrome lined bore, you had damn well better clean it . As soon as possible. If corrosive primers didn't ruin bores you wouldn't see so many bad bores on all of those old military rifles.
 
And squirting Windex down the bore as soon as you're off the line will greatly help dissolve and eliminate the corrosive salts. You will still need to clean with hot soapy water to eliminate all the salts. Dry thoroughly, oil well and you're golden.
 
I have no reservations using corrosive ammo in a bolt gun. Just be sure to clean bore and bolt face right after shooting. I have seen bores start to rust overnight after using corrosive ammo. I don't like using corrosive ammo in a semi auto rifle as the corrosive salts can go everywhere gas can go.

There is no magic in Windex. Nothing cleans salts better than water. Windex works because it's mostly water. Hoppes, old GI Bore Cleaner, and other products will work but not as well as water. If I use water I follow up with WD40 to remove any water, then regular bore cleaner (of your choice).
 
The "corrosive salts" referred to is potassium chloride which is what remains of the potassium chlorate (or variant) after it lends its oxygen atoms to the primer compound ignition process.

Potassium chloride is hygroscopic, so using water or something water-based will draw it into solution so that it can be more easily & thoroughly removed.

Potassium chloride, by itself, does not harm steel ... but it attracts moisture from the environment.

So, the damper your environment, the sooner you need to properly clean that firearm.

Keep in mind that it is carried in the discharge gases so any surface touched by same will receive a bit.

I have read about guys who had bayonets attached while firing chlorate-primed ammo who forgot to properly clean them afterward, only to find them rusting days later.

Enjoy!
 
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I don't shoot corrosive in semi autos. Too much touble taking down the gas system to wash it out. Bolt guns are simple to clean out corrosive salts.
 
Horsemen 61 has a very good thought. I wouldn't try to shoot that ammo. I wouldn't trust 72 year old primers to reliably set off 72 year old powder. And I wouldn't trust that old powder to give you consistent velocity readings, either.

Those bullets are another matter. The M-2 AP round was issued almost exclusively in the European Theater. It was just as effective as ball ammo against personnel and infinitely more so against vehicles and most common forms of cover. Like trees and buildings. Those bullets are worth their weight in gold (silver at least) to some people. If you have a lot of them you might consider selling them and making a nice profit.
 
Potassium chlorate based primer generally have a longer shelf life than other primer compounds.

That's why the commies kept using them for so long....
 
tark said:
Horsemen 61 has a very good thought. I wouldn't try to shoot that ammo. I wouldn't trust 72 year old primers to reliably set off 72 year old powder. And I wouldn't trust that old powder to give you consistent velocity readings, either.

Those bullets are another matter. The M-2 AP round was issued almost exclusively in the European Theater. It was just as effective as ball ammo against personnel and infinitely more so against vehicles and most common forms of cover. Like trees and buildings. Those bullets are worth their weight in gold (silver at least) to some people. If you have a lot of them you might consider selling them and making a nice profit.
Click to expand...

There certainly has been a lot of discussion and information presented about this old ammo. As I mentioned, the cartridges shot fine back around 20 years ago. As to the AP bullets being worth something "extra", now that is news and something to consider.
Heck, I thought the little purple card tucked in with the stripper clips was pretty cool...
 
I clean a barrel after shooting withhot soapy water then rubbing alcohol then a coat of lite Vaseline
 
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GRIZ22 said:
I have no reservations using corrosive ammo in a bolt gun. Just be sure to clean bore and bolt face right after shooting. I have seen bores start to rust overnight after using corrosive ammo. I don't like using corrosive ammo in a semi auto rifle as the corrosive salts can go everywhere gas can go.

There is no magic in Windex. Nothing cleans salts better than water. Windex works because it's mostly water. Hoppes, old GI Bore Cleaner, and other products will work but not as well as water. If I use water I follow up with WD40 to remove any water, then regular bore cleaner (of your choice).
Click to expand...
Agreed re: no magical ingredient in Windex that neutralizes/cleans salts...the water does that.

I've been thinking the "magic ingredient" in Windex that aids in cleaning barrels etc is it's drying agents and stuff like ammonia, which gets the liquid to evaporate off of the surfaces faster than just water (negating WD40 or the like to displace the water - WD40 can leave residues, so I've heard).

I've heard Windex can hurt bluing or stock finishes - anyone have experience with that? I sometimes wonder if that's a rumor, as word would spread fast when Windex-ruined firearms started appearing :)
 
stonecutter2 said:
... I've heard Windex can hurt bluing or stock finishes - anyone have experience with that? ...
Click to expand...
Ammonia, given time, will remove bluing ... so, if Windex (w/ Ammonia-D) actually contains any ammonia I suppose that it could be harmful to bluing in some situations.

I have neither experienced nor heard/read anecdotal evidence of such occurring, though.
 
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