M1911 Pistol Ball Ammo
I recently inherited a Colt .45 made in 1918 as well as a ton of ammo in unopened boxes labeled Pistol Ball Caliber .45 M1911 from the Evansville Ordnance Plant and the Frankford Arsenal. My question is....is the ammo safe to shoot? I am not sure if it is brass or aluminum casings but I don't want to shoot it if it isn't good for any of my .45s. And if I choose not to shoot it, does it have any value to anyone like relic collectors?
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Early 45ACP military BALL ammo had corrosive primers This led to many pitted barrels in WW I pistols as well as 1911A1 Pistols;WE need the date that Should be part of the head stamp to tell you if corrosive or not . It will not hurt to shoot said corrosive primed Ammo IFyou clean the gun the same day with boar cleaner made for this purpose. s it collectable [?] again the Date made would be what is needed . 0 -
The headstamps can read either of the below:
EC = Evansville Ordnance Plant (Chrysler)
ECS = Evansville Ordnance Plant, (Sunbeam Products)
There should also be a date code on the headstamp. Probably WWII era. Should be safe to fire, but will have corrosive primers. No real collector value unless they are in mint condition boxes.0 -
Thanks for the answers. The stamp on the casings read EC 43 and FA 43....so I am guessing 1943? 0 -
Chances are it's what is called corrosive ammo. Our older military ammo was loaded with corrosive primers. The date will be headstamped on the head portion of the cartridge case. Most of the older boxes the ammo came in are also dated. Corrosive primers were used until the early 1950's. Nothing inherently wrong with corrosive primers as long as you clean the barrel with hot soapy water after shooting. 0 -
If it's WWII production it could be steel cases. If it doesn't look like brass and is grey in color it is steel case.
It should have some collector value. Are there any stamped marks anywhere on the boxes, like a lot number [?]
What is the head stamps on the ammo [?] It should have ECS and 42or43.
They could sell for up to $50 a box.0 -
Yes, 1943.
FA = Frankford Arsenal (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)0 -
It is established that your .45 ammo has corrosive priming. It will be safe to shoot and probably 100% reliable BUT it will require disassembling and cleaning your pistol every time you fire it. I suggest selling the ammo as it has collector value in the unopened boxes. You can then buy non-corrosive ammo to shoot. 0 -
I shot many THOUSANDS of rounds of EC42 head stamped 45ACP ammo, I had cases upon cases of it. I even reloaded thousands of the STEEL cases using standard primers, I was told it could not be done......
Your ammo has corrosive primers, so what? Shoot is up and never worry or just sell it. If you decide to shoot it, so what no big deal. Just clean the gun well after shooting.
Firing "corrosive" ammo does absolutely no more harm to your gun than firing "non-corrosive" ammo does.
It will only bite you if you do not clean the gun after firing with "corrosive", AND it can absorb moisture from the air creating the salts that would damage your gun.0 -
If you shoot it, don't forget to clean not only the barrel with hot soapy water, but the slide and breech face as well. Dry thoroughly, then lightly oil.
I shoot lots of corrosive ammo- not an issue.
However in a semi auto I usually do NOT bother with it- I mainly shoot it out of bolt action rifles. The residue just gets into a lot of places on a semi auto so unless you are dedicated in your cleaning, esp. on a nice WW1 piece, it isn't worth it; but there's nothing wrong with it either.0 -
Be advised that some of that 45acp ammo had .204 diam. primers and
would not be reloadable. (I do not recall the Mfg dates)0
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