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30-06 brass headstanp identification?

richard 67
I recently received some a bunch of 30-06 brass from an e-bay buy.All the brass still has the original primers and have not been fired.I know a little bit about brass but not that much.Headstamps are: FA-36 .IS THIS A CORROSIVE PRIMER ?
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4 comments

Date Votes
  • Tailgunner1954
    Frankfort Arsonal, 1936 manfacture
    Definatly corrosive (you have to get into the early 50's to get away from corrosive 30-06 military brass)

    Whittemore
    Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
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  • jonk
    Yes. Corrosive. I actually got some primed brass of similar vintage and it fired wonderfully. Just put a few wet soapy patches through when done, dry, then clean as normal.

    "...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf
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  • heavyiron
    Hi Richard,

    You can use the following as a guide:

    While the decision to go to non-corrosive primers was determined in August of 1949, and was scheduled to be implemented by the beginning of 1950, the hangeover took longer than expected. Listed below are the lot numbers and dates of the first non-corrosive military ammunition made at the Frankford Arsenal. If the lot numbers are not known, the only safe way to determine if the cartridges are corrosive or non-corrosive is to use the following year date stamp as non-corrosive. For example, the first non-corrosive lot number for Frankfort is 4149 and was produced in October 1951. Therefore, anything manufactured by FA stamped 52 can be considered safe non-corrosive.

    The following are the actual dates and lot numbers for first non-corrosive ammunition at Frankford Arsenal. Not ALL ammunition made during that year is necessarily non-corrosive:

    Type: .30-'06 Ball:
    Lot Number: 4149
    Date: October 1951
    First SAFE headstamp: FA 52

    Type: .30-'06 AP
    Lot Number: 887
    Date: October 1951
    First SAFE headstamp: FA 52

    EXCEPTIONS FOR FRANKFORD ARSENAL:

    I .Any .30-'06 Ball with zinc plated primers with headstamp of FA 47 or later is non-corrosive.

    2.FA .30-'06 "Special Match" headstamped FA 53, FA 54, or FA 56 with red, purple or green primer waterproofing (sealant) is corrosive.

    Hope this helps.

    Regards,

    Heavyiron


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    "If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix
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  • richard 67
    I cleaned the brass up in the tumbler( fa 36) and it looks awesome. I wasnt sure if the primers would still fire after close to 70 years.I didnt want to have to load up the rounds only to find out that the primers didnt work (pull the bullets, ets, ets.) It got the best of me. I loaded a brass round(no bullit) into the chamber and fired it. I just love that CRAAAACK sound. Dont do it in the living room,Theses are some of the foulest smelling primers ever! Its raunchy! But im just glad they work !
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