there are two types of Korean ammo on the market right now. one type is in boxes and mfg by PMC in the 70s and the other is on Garand clips and mfg by someone else (head stamped "KA") in the 80s or 90s. the 90s stuff is advertised as corrosive and the 70s stuff is advertised as non-corrosive.

i'm comfortable with the non-corr advertising of the PMC, but i find it hard to believe that something mfg in the 80s or 90s is corrosive. however, it is hard to imagine that it is non-corr if it is advertised as corrosive.

what's the real story here..???

I don't know about the corrosive versus non-corrosive issue, but I have not heard a single good thing about the Korean Garand ammo. I would either load my own M2 ball or buy some from the CMP.

As long as you clean your guns, corrosive ammo is safe to shoot.
People run away and hide from it like its the plague or something.
Shoot away and clean your guns afterwards.

-Spencer

cleaning is not my problem right now. i have shot many corrosive rounds and cleaning is the answer. but my question here is whether the stuff is corrosive or not.

JSC: i'm not a varmint shooter or competition target shooter so my comment may be out of contrext for you. but i have been pleased with the Korean stuff i have shot in my Garand. match grade accuracy.....not gonna happen. but again, my interest is purely on larger targets. the stuff i shot in the past has shown something like 3 inch groups, which is okay for military ammunition. no misfires, no hangfires, none of that kind of thing. everyone's experiences are a little different though. good to hear from another Okie...

Bill, the KA is the Pusan Government Arsenal, Pusan, Republic of Korea. All KA .30-06 is corrosive.

I'm pretty sure the KA arsenal stopped producing .30-06 in the 70's.

Here's a site that Garand shooters might find interesting. I found the flash presentations on the operation of the Garand pretty cool.

Garand Site

DaMan

The Korean M2 ball has 2 different headstamps. The Korean M2 on clips stamped KA is corrosive and the Korean M2 in boxes of 20 stamped PS isn't.
The Lake City M2 ball sold by the CMP is the best ammo for a Garand, but all of it will shoot. I "think" the Lake City is reloadable.
Jim

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
I "think" the Lake City is reloadable.

---

It is, just need to remove the primer crimp before doing so. Have heard too many negatives about the Korean stuff from reputable sources for me to use it; inconsistent pressures, gas volumes, etc. Better off to stick with M2 Ball and equivalents than to roll the dice.

The Korean is M2 ball.
I thought I had heard that the Lake City was boxer primed.
Jim

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
The Korean is M2 ball.
I thought I had heard that the Lake City was boxer primed.
Jim

---

Boxer priming is reloadable. Perhaps you are confusing this with Berdan priming.

The Korean ammo might be sold under the guise of being M2 Ball, but it is clearly not the same specification as M2 Ball as was produced by LC and others.

Nevermind, it is berdan primed. I was confusing a source for milsurp once fired brass for reloading I had read about.
The Korean is M2 ball U.S. milspec. It isn't as accurate as the Lake City M2 and is basically best for plinking, etc.
The Korean I buy at CTD runs about $4.50 per box of 20 with my discount, which makes it pure fun plinking fodder. If I need more accuracy I use handloads.
Jim

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
Nevermind, it is berdan primed. I was confusing a source for milsurp once fired brass for reloading I had read about.

---

Huh? LC brass is Boxer primed and completely reloadable.

You mean I was right, and didn't notice it?
Jim

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
You mean I was right, and didn't notice it?
Jim

---

Hardly.

I have read a little about a lot of different rifles I have been collecting. There is a lot of information on subtle things, like ammo headstamps that I can either remember wrong, confuse with other ammo, etc.
I don't use milsurp brass for reloading. I use commercial brass, either new or once fired and so I don't keep up with which milsurp ammo has which primer. I just discard all milsurp brass.
I have been wrong before, and will be again. No need to get snotty about it. This is a friendly site with friendly helpful people. I help when I can, learn from every person here and try to keep my posts on a friendly level.

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
I have read a little about a lot of different rifles I have been collecting. There is a lot of information on subtle things, like ammo headstamps that I can either remember wrong, confuse with other ammo, etc.
I don't use milsurp brass for reloading. I use commercial brass, either new or once fired and so I don't keep up with which milsurp ammo has which primer. I just discard all milsurp brass.
I have been wrong before, and will be again. No need to get snotty about it. This is a friendly site with friendly helpful people. I help when I can, learn from every person here and try to keep my posts on a friendly level.

---

And when was the last time Berdan priming was used in the U.S.? Lake City brass is hardly of the throwaway variety. If you're chunking that, along with your Korean crap and miscellaneous Third World junk, it just means you have more money than brains. That's not "snotty," just a statement of fact.

FYI, CMP is selling LC M2 Ball for $230 per case of 960 rounds with shipping. Comes out to about $4.79 per box of 20. I can't understand why anyone would shoot the Korean crap when GENUINE M2 Ball can be had for roughly the same price. Homesick for Team Spirit?

CLICK D LINK FOR GENUINE M2 BALL

I can go buy 1 box, or a few boxes at a time at CTD. I can't spend $230.00 on ammo all at once, and noone local has Lake City. I haven't shot any LC so I haven't thrown any away.
I don't know when the last berdan primes ammo was made in the U.S. Was all U.S. ammo boxer primed including wartime production?
What do you mean by "Homesick for Team Spirit?"?
Jim

I have not heard anything good about Korean 30-06

YMMV, but I am steering clear.

Everyone I know considers Korean to be plinking ammo. If we shoot a match, or hunt with the Garand we handload or buy the Lake City or commercial ammo.
Jim

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
I can go buy 1 box, or a few boxes at a time at CTD. I can't spend $230.00 on ammo all at once

---

Ever thought of splitting it with someone; co-workers, neighbors, friends, family, etc.?

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
I don't know when the last berdan primes ammo was made in the U.S. Was all U.S. ammo boxer primed including wartime production?

---

Now Jim, I've seen you post on other boards, so I know you're smarter than that. When centerfire metallic cartridges were being developed, there were two priming systems developed: Hiram Berdan's (an American) where there are two flash holes in the case head and the anvil is part of the case and Boxer's (an Englishman), where there is a single flash hole and the priming anvil is part of the primer. The U.S. manufacturers chose the Boxer system (the Englishman's) and the British, as well as numerous other overseas countries, chose the Berdan system (the American-invented system). This all occurred not too long after the Civil War (around 1866 or so). U.S.-- manufactured brass and ammunition, with few exceptions, has been manufactured with boxer primers ever since (CCI Blazer is berdan primed since the aluminum cases aren't considered reloadable). Berdan cases can technically be reloaded, but it's generally an excercise in futility (unless there is absolutely no other source of brass for your particular firearm).

quote:

---

Originally posted by pepperbelly:
What do you mean by "Homesick for Team Spirit?"?
Jim

---

A joke, in reference to the Team Spirit war games/excercises that the U.S. had/has with South Korea. I got a little key chain somewhere in my attic that I received for participating one year.

You know I managed to completely forget that the boxer priming system was American. I guess I was thinking of corrosive ammo vs non-corrosive. Either that or all the foreign makers of milsurp ammo, like Korea, made me forget something that simple. (My 3 year old has been ill lately and we don't sleep much around here. I really should think before posting).
I wish I did have someone around me to split an order with. Apparently I am the only person here with a Garand, or that shoots 30-06. All my friends at work shoot .270s, 7mm mags, etc. You should see their faces when I start talking metric ammo like 6.5x55 and 7.5x55. They won't shoot against me anymore though. Bummer! I shot my iron sighted Swiss K31 against a friends scoped Remington at 100 yards. I had a 2" 5 shot group and he had a 1 3/4" group. I can't wait to scope that one.
Jim

I've shot some Korean 1970- ammo in my 03A3 and it shoots as good as any ammo i've shot in it. It is boxer primed and reloadable. This is in the 20 round boxes. Good ammo.
Glenn

I have shot both the KA and PS headstamp Korean 30-06 Ammo. I shoot the non corrosive PS thru my Garands and the KA thru my 03's, 03a3's amd Model of 1917's, simply for convience I try and avoid corrosive in my semi's.
It is all boxer primed and reloadable, but just like the LC you have to remove the primer crimp.
CMP was selling the Korean for a while.
Now CMP has the Greek HXP 30-06. If the Greek HXP 30-06 is half as good as the Greek HXP .303Brit then it will be a winner, but I haven't shot any of it yet.

The LC and all other GI ammo is NOT reloadable!!!! Now that I have your attention, allow me to explain what I have just said. To the best of my knowldge, all 30-06 GI ammo was loaded with crimped-in primers. If you deprime you can't readily reprime the brass UNTIL you have swaged the primer pockets to remove the crimp. RCBS and maybe others make a tool to do this - must be that some or all of the 5.56mm ammo was crimped also as the kit comes with both large and small primer adapters.
Hope this helps to clear up some of the confuasion.

There are several styles of military crimps used on ammo from different countries. The Greek HXP crimp is about the easiest to remove, but Lake City military crimp is no biggy.
I use a RCBS chamfer/deburring tool and just ream the edge of the primer pocket a little bit( if I am doing a large anount of brass I chuck the reamer in a hand drill).
I also reload Berdan primed surplus ammo if it is brass and the brass is in good shape. You can even reload the steel type cases if you want The Steel used in cartridge cases is almost as soft as brass), but it is best to have a seperate set of dies for steel and brass, and honestly, while I have friends that do reload the steel cases and it works just fine, I have never bothered.
On Berdan you can easily flick the primers out with a dulled ice pick ( drill a block of wood with a hole that will support the shell case, and maybe use a plastic mallet to pierce the primer with the ice pick at about a 45 degree angle), Graf's & Sons has the .217 Berdan large rifle primers and they are, in general, cheaper than Boxer primers ( even cheaper if you have a C&R 03FFL and have sent it to Graf's and have an account set up ) ( Midway and Wideners also has a simliar deal for C&R holders btw). I use a Lee auto prime with the berdan primers just like they are boxer Large rifle primers, Boxers are .210 Berdans are .217 so you "might" have to shave a little off the feed cute in the tray. I don't have any Berdan Primed 30-06 as I an up to my ears in LC , PS, and KA brass in 30-06, but I do use the Albanian 7.62x54r, Swiss 7.5mm, SA 303Brit Yugo 303Brit and some of the various 8x57 Mauser surplus brass for reloading. Only real difference in the procedure is I manually decap as described above, Loosen the decaping pin on my Lee Dies( either the FL or Collet NS depending) so it floats or is held up out of the way to resize, and instead of using the Lee trim gear I use an old Pacific( now Hornady) hand crank case trimmer.
Never had any problem, takes just a little more work, but like I said the PMC Berdan Large Rifle Primers at Grafs are even cheaper than many brands of Boxer Primers, and you can find no end of totally acceptable brass at the range for free. The GP11 Swiss 7.5mm brass is RUAG brand and darn good brass if you didn't know.

Korean 30-06 milsurp IS M2 spec.

The PS lots I have used have all provided reliability and accuracy fully on par with US LC surplus.

Anyone here who is scared of their Korean M2 can send it to me. I'll dispose of it properly.

I just had my hands on some Korean ammo yesterday -it was the M-2 alternate load with copper washed mild steel bullets. It had boxer primed cases and asphalt sealer just like the LC ammo, and it appears to be charged with IMR 4895 -49.7 grains of it. How it will shoot has yet to be determined...

I don't know if this stuff is Korean or not, but it IS Asian origin...perhaps one of you can identify it for me. I had about 10 cases of it and have been shooting it as "fun" ammo at targets for about 20 years from my Garands.

It is headstamped "60A" at the top of the head, "30" at 7 o'clock on the head, and "62" at 4 o'clock on the head. It is brass cased & boxer primed, with a small flashhole of about .066", and is not corrosive so far as I can tell.

Whatever it is, it shoots at least as well as LC M-2 ball and cost me 75% less when I bought it.

Anybody know if it is Korean, Chinese, or what?


(Oh, BTW, it came in sealed cans of 480 rounds with spam-can type openers, and was packaged inside in sixty 8-round Garand clips...two cans to a wood case.)