i've just been given a batch of old lake city 43 30-06 ammo. the box says "BALL caliber .30 M2". is this ammo corrosive? i've been told "yes" and "no" so i want to know what the AR people have to say about it. if it turns out that the primers are corrosive, i'm thinking of unloading all of it, getting rid of the primers, and working up some loads using new primers with the old bullets, brass, and powder. all advice is welcome.

thanks

It's corrosive, and if it's been stored under proper conditions it should be quite shootable. Were it me, I'd just shoot it and reuse the brass. It's time consuming to pull it down just to reuse the components. The primers are crimped so you'll have to deal with the primer pockets also. If you do decide to shoot it, the best way to get rid of the corrosive salts is several applications/cleaning with hot soapy water (Windex also works well), followed with normal cleaning methods.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure that the transition from corrosive to non in the US military took place in 1956.

What Craigster said. Clean the bore and bolt with patches soaked in Windex w/ammonia. Clean your cleaning rod and don't cross-contaminate anything with the bore brush you use.

Nothing wrong with corrosive primed ammo IF you carefully clean same day. I have 100 year old rifles that have had a lot of corrosive primed ammo fired to them that the bores are very bright/shiny.

I think LC'52 was the first non-corrosive from them, could be wrong. Some place I have a table showing when everyone switched. As a kid I shot bunches of the stuff thru my 03 with no problems. I just made sure to clean it after every use with soap and water followed with #9 and oil. Still have the rifle and the barrel is great. You might check with the collectors, your ammo may be worth more than new stuff, especially if it is in factory boxes.
C.G.B.

cgbach, you are correct LC'52's were the first Non-corrosives made. I agree with every one else. Shoot them up. Just clean well with ammonia to kill the salts as soon as your done for the day. Excelent brass for reloading,tends to be very durable.


"Back off man ...I'm a scientist"

thanks to everyone for the replies. i will try this ammo in an old remington 30 express i have and see how it shoots. it is all in original boxes so if anyone knows about any collector value, please let me know. again, thanks