WWII .45 Ammo
I've been eyeing the case deals on tins of WWII era .45 ACP ammo- has anyone got any experiance with this stuff?
Is it worth the purchase for cheap fodder and reloadable cases?
Is it reliably accurate?
Is there an excess of misfires?
How corrosive is it?
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Is it worth the purchase for cheap fodder and reloadable cases?
Is it reliably accurate?
Is there an excess of misfires?
How corrosive is it?
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Matt... I have a 600 rd can of the WWII .45 ammo one the way that I won on this auction. I think it is 1944 mfg, and it has steel cases. My guess is it is corr due to the price and the yr of mfg. After I try some, I will let you know how it performs.
Iam going to clean my gun as if its corr. I have several cans of the old G.I. bore cleaner that was made for corr ammo, and of course there is warm water and soap.0 -
In training and other uses we have fired over 50,000 rounds of it. We bought the Russian repack from captured supplies the Russian got. They vacuum packed it and it looks like new. Most are 1942 mfgr and Rem/Win and a few Federal. The full auto shooters said it is the best stuff they have found for shooting full auto. We've never had a misfire. It is VERY VERY mildly corrosive which is great for long term storage. This stuff would last another 100 years if kept at moderate temperatures. The cases are all copper and boxer primed. Soviets just released another 11 million rounds for importation. Wonder how much they have left. They are also ready to export almost a million german K-98's and other guns when approved, but our own makers are complaining about such imports.
The soviets scavanged all their battlefields, put the guns in top shape and repacked them. They did the same with ammunition.
For the money GREAT quality for military ammo. .45 acp has been all but impossible to find in surplus form until the soviets released this batch in 1999.0 -
Hi Guys,
Corrosive is corrosive, there is no such thing as mild, very mild, if you shoot it & don't thoroughly clean your gun, & I mean THOROUGHLY, you will be VERY sorry, the next time you take your gun out to shoot.
CORROSIVE IS CORROSIVE!!!!!0 -
WW2 45ACP ammo is very corrosive. Do not use Army bore cleaner unless you can't get to water. Use hot soapy water and scrub the barrel thoroughly. Also clean the breech face of the slide or you will get circular pitting from leakage around primers. It wouldn't hurt to also clean the firing pin tip and its' channel in the slide. 0 -
The military in the U.s. switched to NON corrosive primers in 1951 and 52. Prior to this the primers were "mildly" corrosive by standards used in the early days of production. The corrosive nature of ammunition is to aid in long term storage.
The ammunition made for WW-1 in .45acp was highly corrosive because of a primer compound used by the government. The first non-corrosive primers however were around before the war and in 1927 Remington boasted all of their ammunition was Non-corrosive and sold as "kleanbore."
The FH-42 priming compound used by Frankford Arsenal also had a high misfire rate after a short time. It was also very corrosive. I recall firing some of this ammo back in the 1960's, and if you didn't clean the gun within hours you'd find a fine coat of dusty type rust on the slide and interior parts. In a few days a bore could be ruined.
They changed the priming compound to FA-#70. This primer was used until the late 40's or early 50's. It was nowhere near as corrosive.
In August 1949, the Ordnance decision to make all military small-arms ammunition with non-corrosive primers was made. In 1950, the Ordnance decided that the styphnate type was the best and further search for a new non-corrosive type primer was not necessary. The styphnate type primer, FA 36, was adopted in June 1958. In the 1960's the adoption of the flat primer cup as standard by all U.S. makers, impart because of the military specifications.
The 1942 .45 acp is "mildly" corrosive compared to prior ammunition. In many cases shooters fire a gun and wait to clean it until several days later and find no evidence of corrosion unless in very high humidity environments. The GI bore cleaner is designed to clean guns where highly corrosive primers are used and it works well.
With routine and normal care the 1942 era .45 acp is indeed a bargain and of little threat to a gun.0 -
The military in the U.s. switched to NON corrosive primers in 1951 and 52. Prior to this the primers were "mildly" corrosive by standards used in the early days of production. The corrosive nature of ammunition is to aid in long term storage.
The ammunition made for WW-1 in .45acp was highly corrosive because of a primer compound used by the government. The first non-corrosive primers however were around before the war and in 1927 Remington boasted all of their ammunition was Non-corrosive and sold as "kleanbore."
The FH-42 priming compound used by Frankford Arsenal also had a high misfire rate after a short time. It was also very corrosive. I recall firing some of this ammo back in the 1960's, and if you didn't clean the gun within hours you'd find a fine coat of dusty type rust on the slide and interior parts. In a few days a bore could be ruined.
They changed the priming compound to FA-#70. This primer was used until the late 40's or early 50's. It was nowhere near as corrosive.
In August 1949, the Ordnance decision to make all military small-arms ammunition with non-corrosive primers was made. In 1950, the Ordnance decided that the styphnate type was the best and further search for a new non-corrosive type primer was not necessary. The styphnate type primer, FA 36, was adopted in June 1958. In the 1960's the adoption of the flat primer cup as standard by all U.S. makers, impart because of the military specifications.
The 1942 .45 acp is "mildly" corrosive compared to prior ammunition. In many cases shooters fire a gun and wait to clean it until several days later and find no evidence of corrosion unless in very high humidity environments. The GI bore cleaner is designed to clean guns where highly corrosive primers are used and it works well.
With routine and normal care the 1942 era .45 acp is indeed a bargain and of little threat to a gun.0 -
The steel cased stuff was 'alternative,' most loaded by Evansville Chrysler and their subsidiary, the Sunbeam appliance factory (headstamps "E C" or "E C S"), although small lots were also loaded by FA. You will also find quite a bit of .30 Carbine ammo steel case in these headstamps. The steel design was created in 1942 / 1943 in anticipation of a copper shortage (remember the 1943 steel pennies?) and dropped when that did not materialize. Of the WW2 era .45 ammo, it is the most common still in existence because it was not issued in large quantities even stateside. It has been trickling out of the woodwork for decades. It is corrosive and not reloadable. I've shot a bunch of it, doing a very careful job on cleaning. I don't recall misfire problems, but it's been at least 20 years since I shot any, so any memory of minor problems would have faded. Some folks seem to think it's collectible and I've sold some of the more unusual variations on that basis, but basically it's corrosive 'Blazer' ammo and I wouldn't get terribly excited about it. Don't forget, to reload corrosive primed brass, you have to clean the brass of the residues as you do a firearm. Worth it, maybe, for something costing $s per round, but not for common military calibers. 0 -
I got a buncha the WWII tins. All I seen is steel case. They're priced at 89.00 a tin of 600 rds.....84.00 if ya get a couple.
I somehow got mine slightly below 7.00 per 50 rd. box, maybe because I got a bunch.
But, the thing I wanna mention is that, right after that,...one of the ammo guys would have sold us Russian Wolf at 6.50 per box. You had to have a tax no. or get charged extra...and...ya had to take 2000 rds. at one time.
Bob0 -
While WW1 priming compounds may have been worse, WW2 G.I..45 and 30-06 ammo is too corrosive for my liking and G.I. bore cleaner prior to the mid '50s doesn't do a proper job. Risking your barrels, bolt faces, slide faces, and gas system components on G.I. borecleaner is an expensive mistake. 0 -
G.I. bore cleaner prior to the mid '50s doesn't do a proper job. Risking your barrels, bolt faces, slide faces, and gas system components on G.I. borecleaner is an expensive mistake.
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Our GI's used it and today we LOVE those guns......most show signs of wear from shooting NOT corrosion.0
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