Is this 7.62x51 ammo copper jacketed?
I picked up about 200 rounds of surplus ammo at the guns shop a while back. I noticed that the bullet isn't copper in color but more of a tarnished silver. Is this a metal other than copper? I don't want to use it in my M1A if it's going to damage the rifling.
The head stamp is
F
NA TO
69
and there is green coloring covering where the primer and casing come together, and around the bullet and casing where the neck ends.
The boxes have an emblem with a sword and some type of branch criss-crossing and the letters FAMAE
Boxes also have the words
20 Cartuchos de Guerra
7.62 mm. NATO
LOTE No. 39
POLVORA Esferoidal Belga
LOTE POLVORA 1 1960
FECHA 1 1 OCT 1969
So what have I got here?
The head stamp is
F
NA TO
69
and there is green coloring covering where the primer and casing come together, and around the bullet and casing where the neck ends.
The boxes have an emblem with a sword and some type of branch criss-crossing and the letters FAMAE
Boxes also have the words
20 Cartuchos de Guerra
7.62 mm. NATO
LOTE No. 39
POLVORA Esferoidal Belga
LOTE POLVORA 1 1960
FECHA 1 1 OCT 1969
So what have I got here?
0
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Try a magnet, if they don't react they are most likely some copper/brass alloy (maybe silver - save them for werewolves)
Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis0 -
GL, likely cupro-nickel (CuN) jackets or plated over steel / gilding metal. Fairly common practice in some other nations. Don't speak Spanish and don't have time do to the research, but believe the source on the box is either Mexican or Argentine. The green is sealant, to protect the ammo from environmental hazards (water especially) - which is standard on military ammo; HOWEVER depending on who did the loading & when, the colors sometimes are a code to ID non-ball loadings, although the verbiage shown doesn't suggest it. Unless the boxes were sealed, no way to determine if the rounds are original to the box or a re-pack from some source. Almost certainly the jackets are not exposed steel, but that's only 99.99% and not worth the chance on a match barrel to save a few bucks. 0 -
A few years ago I picked up some like that from Venizuala or however you spell it. Shot a little hot in my BLR but will make the action on your function okay. 0 -
FAMAE: Tradename of Fabrica de Material de Guerra del Ejercito of Santiago Chile. Translation: Army War Material Factory. Cartridge model is 1960 but these were made in 1969, lot #39. Cartuchos de Guerra means that they are made for military use and are full metal jacket (which you already know). They very likely are cupro-nickel. Besides the magnet test you can just kiss one of them with a file and see if the jacket material seems to be soft. Possibly corrosive and probably berdan primed. 0 -
Magnet will only tell you if there's steel in the jacket (or core); many loadings have coated steel jackets, including .30-06 ball. The Mtn Hunter's idea of cutting a bullet is the only way to be sure. 0 -
So at this point I should probably be more worried about them being corrosive. I've just got the standard M1A so I don't have to worry about a match barrel. Still not a good idea though to used ammo with corrosive primers and have the residue going through the gas system, right? After I go shooting it might be 3-4 days before I get a chance to clean the gun. 0 -
If there is a chance that you will not be able to clean for 3 or 4 days, avoid corrosive ammo like the plague.
For many, 3 or 4 DAYS has a way of stretching to 3 or 4 WEEKS as the immediacy of the need to clean slips away and that length of time WILL damage most guns. Worry more about the damage to the barrel as operating rods and other gas system components are much cheaper to replace than barrels. (Don't interpret that to mean not to clean the gas system after shooting corrosive ammo, just that barrels cost a hell of a lot more.)
Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis0
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