i ordered some 80s vintage Danish 30-06 from Sportsmansguide. when it arrived, it turned out to be manufactured in 1962 instead of in the 80s. they have agreed to refund my money and let me return the ammunition.

before i do that though, i want to get an opinion. is this stuff pretty good or not? my experience is that 50 year old ammunition is still reliable and as accurate as any other. all of the really old stuff i have shot though has been american manufacture. so i was looking for some experience with this Danish ammunition.

is 60s vintage probably okay still?? the cases are all very bright and the bullets show no tarnish. it looks new. so it must have been stored well. what do you all think??

another consideration is that the 80s ammo has a copper coated steel core bullet. the 60s ammo has a steel jacket, or at least it looks shiny like steel. however, i have always understood that the steel used in the bullet jacket is considerably softer than barrel steel. if this is the case, then shooting steel jacketed ammo will not damage the barrel in a modern firearm. likewise, it will not plate the bore with copper. is this true or not??

thanx............

[ 01-28-2003, 23:45: Message edited by: bill smith ]

Bill, I don't know about the Danish but I'm still shooting some surplus U.S. stuff dated 1942. I've kept it in the original wooden box with the metal lining. Lid is sealed with six wingnuts. I've never had a misfire.

Bob.........thanks for the info. i've had the same experience with US surplus. my larger concern though is that of bore fouling. with US surplus, the bullets have a copper jacket. this plates the bore with copper which is then removed using Hoppe's or some other cleaning agent. but with the steel jacket, i assume that the bore gets plated with steel. what cleaning agent do you use to remove steel plating? or is this a concern?

I've shot all sorts of milsurp steel jackets. Never had a problem with steel fouling. Just clean as you would any other rifle. Keep in mind that a lot of the non US ammo is corrosive primed, and clean accordingly. However, I wouldn't be runnin' a lot of steelies down a high dollar custom barrel. Use 'em in the milsurps all day long.

Bill, I got a case of the Danish loaded in the enbloc clips for the M-1. It shoots real well compared to other surplus, but mine definately has copper bullets. I pulled some bulltes to check the powder change and they are using 51.5 grains of a canister grade 4895. According to some who have cronographed this stuff------- it is running about 2800 fps in the Garands. It is however, Berden primed.

Bill, I have fired .45 ball with a 17 headstamp-WWI!! It worked fine!!

one more question concerning the age. is the 60s vintage definitely non-corrosive?

thanks for all the replies. i appreciate the advice.

As far I know, all US milspec ammo made from the early part of the 50's (can't remember exact year) through present day uses non corrosive priming. With the Euro or otherwise, your guess is as good as anybody elses.

I do not know for sure about all ammo but almost
all ammo that people think is steel Jacket is actually cupro-nickel or copper plated steel,the nickel is what makes it look shiny. All of the
steel used is much softer than the barrel steel
and the plateing used futhers the protection of the bore.
SS