Old once fired LC brass?

[SamT1]

I’m loading up some 308’s. The headstamps on the brass are from 1971 to 2015 that I’ve noticed so far. All of it looks once fired. Is there anyway the military is firing this old of ammo still.

 

[CLP]

how'd you get it? range scrap?
old ammo is pulled and the components are- or at least were at one time- sold at auction...

but no- to answer your question- the military isn't firing 43 yr old ammo

here's some LC '54 30-06 brass (the photo on the right had a ringer- bottom of the primer popped out when depriming, leaving the sidewall of the primer still in the primer pocket.

 

[SamT1]

I got it in a trade. So I have no idea of the source. It has been fired for sure but looks like once as far as I can tell. It’s mixed. All the 70’s has dents. 80’s is a tad brittle, 2000+ stuff is very nice.
It’s just interesting wondering what the stuff has been through.

 

[hdwhit]

Sam T1 wrote:
It has been fired for sure but looks like once as far as I can tell.

The case in the photograph in Post #1 shows a primed case. I assume this was after you had processed it to remove the primer pocket crimp and re-primed it.

With military brass if the primer is still crimped in place then it has truly been fired only once since the primer pocket crimp has to be removed to re-prime the case. If you pop the primer out of a case with a military headstamp and don't have to either swage or ream the primer pocket on order to install a new primer then you can be sure it has been fired more than once - perhaps many more times.

 

[Nature Boy]

Is there anyway the military is firing this old of ammo still.

I wouldn't be surprised. I've seen some old munitions during my time wearing the salad suit.

When I was a scout platoon leader (late 80s) I was running a demo range and we were setting off some Bangalore torpedo's that had a 1944 date on the crate

 

[Ironicaintit]

I have some unfired 7.62 LC from the 60s that functions normally, as well as some brass of the same vintage that I've reloaded with no issues.

 

[CJ8281]

I recently acquired some 30'06 brass that has the LC53 headstamp, primers still crimped in place, should I expect the brass to be brittle with age?? Should it be annealed before it is processed or loaded?

 

[Z1B]

"I recently acquired some 30'06 brass that has the LC53 headstamp, primers still crimped in place, should I expect the brass to be brittle with age?? Should it be annealed before it is processed or loaded?"

Some years ago I was given some primed SL42. I de-primed and swaged the pockets. It reloaded like normal and I even got several firings on the brass.

CJ8281, 50 minutes ago Report

 

[SamT1]

I recently acquired some 30'06 brass that has the LC53 headstamp, primers still crimped in place, should I expect the brass to be brittle with age?? Should it be annealed before it is processed or loaded?

Maybe. I’ve got 100 rounds of 40’s LC 30-06 that is loaded ammo. I’m not sure how many times they have been fired. They were loaded in the 80’s and half the necks have cracked in the box. If you want max life from something that old it probably needs annealed.

 

[kwg020]

Anneal it first and then try resizing it. If it does not crack the necks it should be good to go. I picked up some old brass a few years ago and I did not anneal it first. I cracked the necks on resizing it. With age brass apparently does get brittle.
kwg

 

[CJ8281]

Thanks for replies, sorry to hijack your thread Sam. Awaiting the rest of the parts for the home built annealer.

 

[SamT1]

I had what I needed. Happy to kill 2 birds with one stone.

 

[bbqreloader]

I just got some military crimped 30-06 that ranges from 68 to 76, no clue what warehouse it came from.

 

[jaysouth]

Many years ago I was given some FA 36 National Match ammo. Several hundreds because it had corrosive primers and no one wanted to deal with that. I shot up all the very accurate ammo and reloaded the brass for 30 years.

The shelf life on commercial or military ammo from the 50s on, is infinity.

 

[SamT1]

I’ve got some 40’s and 50’s 45 acp brass that has so many loading I’ve been having to cull some because it won’t go into the shell holder anymore. All the little extractor dings piling up on each other.

 

[FROGO207]

If it has been stored in a good place and shot before the propellant started to gas off it should be like any other fired brass. The crimp will key you to it being once fired. No crimp then check it well. Some of the older national match 30-06 brass I have (57-68) is very consistent in weight and I have reloaded them a bunch, annealing every third time. Usually loose them to loose primer pockets. YMMV

 

[someguy2800]

I have a bunch of LC 5.56 brass marked 1966 that I've loaded several times. The flash holes are offset on all of them but other than that no issues.

 

[PPGMD]

I remember a report a few years back that they were just then running out of WWII era 50BMG ammo for the M2.

 

[Dudedog]

The shelf life on commercial or military ammo from the 50s on, is infinity.

Sort of off thread but...
The military does not seem to think so. That's why they check stock piles of ammo and send ammo that does not meet spec to be broken down or destroy it.
Powder goes bad sooner or later, the hotter it is the faster it goes bad.
(I know there are some posts here about it will need to dig up the links, with tests done by the military)
Maybe some of our military/ex-military guys chime in and confirm this (or say I am out lunch)

 

[Walkalong]

Surplus .308 - 1982. By 2014 it was corroded, maybe sooner, but that is when I discovered it. I had an 8 pounder of N-130 go bad in less than 10 years. Yes, some powder and ammo lasts much much longer, but some doesn't. It happens.