Garand Ammo - Black Tip AP
Need some help in making a decision!
A fellow has 2K rds of subj ammo for $600. He says its all on stripper clips and was produced in 1961. Only marks on base is "F."
Good deal? Non-corrosive? Reloadable?
Thanks, Bill
A fellow has 2K rds of subj ammo for $600. He says its all on stripper clips and was produced in 1961. Only marks on base is "F."
Good deal? Non-corrosive? Reloadable?
Thanks, Bill
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I am not a total expert for this thread, but I will venture to suggest you avoid the deal.
First of all, the ammo is over 40 years old. If it was stored absolutely perfect all those years, it may still be OK. But you can't bet on that. No telling how old surplus ammo was stored in some 3rd world countries--probably not good.
I don't have a clue what the F stands for but I bet someone on this board will. Maybe they will post and give the answer.
On corrosiveness, I always assume surplus to be corrosive, whether it is or not. That assumption could save you a bore someday--it has for me. The AP doesn't bother me, other than you have to be a little extra careful where you use it...but you need to be extra careful anyway.
Bottom line: if it were me, I would not do the deal.
My 2.5-cents worth,
Rafter-S0 -
Bill,,, 300 per thousand is a bit high. I think the "F" might be for "Frankfort" arsenal.
If it was made in 61', then it is very likely non-corr. If it is from Frankfort then it is boxer primed and would be reloadable.
You can get Korean 30-06 for about 90 bucks for 400, thats about 22.5 cents per rnd instead of 30 cents per rnd. Find a copy of Shotgun News.
"Never let school interfere with your education"0 -
USGI AP is quite accurate, almost as good as NM ammo. Of course, you have to be careful of your backstop.
However, all Frankfort Arsenal ammo I've seen is marked FA, with the 2 digit year. So, I don't think the ammo you are looking at IS USGI. I don't fool with ammo of unknown origin, certainly not at a price that high.
Neal0 -
Thank you for the input. I appreciate your insight and will pass on this buy. Bill 0 -
The headstamp is a mystery to me; none of my references list this variation. Frankford Arsenal used "F A" for all except a few rare experimental lots of .30-06 and 1961 is far too late for that. Australia and Poland used this headstamp on some of their ammo, but with other markings and none post WW2. Fabrique Nationale (FN) is another clear possibility, but again, all their loadings include both letters at the very least. Someone referenced Korean ammo and it is possible this is of Asian origin, as the '06 was still in use by several militaries in that area of the world well into the 1960s.
I would ask about packaging - is there any? If the seller knows the ammo was made in 1961 but "F" is the only data on the headstamp, I would think there must be. If he can provide data on that, I would be *VERY* interested in learning about it.
$300 / K is not a bargain, but neither is it absurd. USGI AP typically runs much higher. I have been collecting / dealing in military ammo for 30+ years; I wouldn't be in such a hurry to walk away from this deal until I learned more. Feel free to contact me off the forum if you need further assistance; frankly this piques my interest.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain)0 -
If you want a bulk supply of '06 AP ammo, you can probably handload it in new brass using surplus AP bullets that are pretty easily and affordable available from suppliers like widener's or in shotgun news for alot cheaper than $300 per 1000. 0 -
rReally a dumb question:
Why would the U.S. have 30-06 ammo loaded on stripper clips? Especially in 1961???
Good judgement comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgement. Gen. Omar Bradley0 -
He probably means en bloc clips, not stripper clips. The US still had a pretty big aresenal of M1 Garands. They were probably making ammo and shipping it to places like Korea for the ROK soldiers. 0
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