shot some 92 year old ammo in my 93 year old gun

[amazin steve]

I bought some military .45 auto ammo,us cartridge co dated 1918 and decided I had to try some. I loaded 3 rounds into a half moon clip and popped them in my 1917. I really did not expect them to fire. I cocked the hammer and squeezed off the first round. Awesome, all three rounds went off like new. I can't stop grinning. These rounds were much stouter than my standard handload of 5.5grs. of unique with 230gr. lead. I think I will save 3 rounds for the guns 100th birthday. By the way 15 yards 3 inch vertically strung group.

 

[Lefkiguy]

I'll have to do the same with my old 1911, made in Dec 1914. I've got some of that 1918 .45 ammo as well. I guess I should shoot my S&W 1 1/2 a couple of times as well, I have some modern ammo for it. In fact, I should just do an "Old Fogies" day at the range, everything older than 1935. That'll make 6 S&W's, 5 Colts , 2 Mausers, a FN, a Becker and Hollander, a Husqvarna. Hmm, maybe that's too much cleaning.

 

[guitar1580]

I have a few boxes that I got with my 1917. I never have shot any of it. It looks very old, but I have no way of know exactly how old.

There's one box of tracer rounds, labeled Frankford Arsenal.

JP

 

[WildCard ZX6R]

Nice !!!

Funny thing is, the general consenus from what i understand is that old ammo is actually more stable for storage and last longer than current production ammo. In another 100 years that stuff might still be shootable while new stuff turns into duds.

 

[thedane]

That older ammo is probably corrosive. I would make sure that you clean the barrel and cylinder with soap and water or some appropriate ammo cleaner. A while back I bought a significant amount of WWII .45 ACP vintage ammo. I always use corrosive ammo cleaner "Guardian Corrosive Ammo Neutralizer" afterwards.

You may want to read this:

G.I. Surplus .45 ACP Ammunition

 

[Chromedhearts]

I shot some old 30-40 Krag ammo(Headstamped ".30 Gov.") recently in my 1898 Krag. Worked like a charm. I wonder how old that stuff is. I was told it was 1920's.

 

[cgt4570]

I've got a case of pre-WW2 Remington production .30-06 ball ammo that I shoot regularly in my 1903A3 at the local CMP shoots (I don't run it through my Garand because of the corrosive issue. The '03 is much easier to clean)

 

[bmcgilvray]

I've also got a few 1918 .45 ACP military contract cartridges. I've fired a few in my 1918 Colt with normal results.

Have fired a 1904 Frankfort Arsenal .30-40 round in my Krag. It gave a normal sounding report and recoil sensation. The neck exhibited a thin crack upon extraction of the case.

All such ammunition is corrosive which is easily dealt with with proper cleaning.

 

[guitar1580]

1) How / why are they corrosive? Will typical bore solvent like Hoppe's 9 be adequate for cleaning?

2) How can I determine how old my ammo is? Can anyone here estimate age if I post pics of the ammo and boxes? I have Rustless .45Colt ACP, and the Frankkford Arsenal tracers, in original boxes.

Thx, any info appreciated.

JP

 

[kennyb]

the primers are the corrosive component...i keep some old military solvent that works just for these types of corrosive primers

 

[Smithhound]

Older ammo such as the .45acp you refer to had primers that used fulminate of mercury or potassium chlorate, upon firing the primer residue would coat the bore, and being Hygroscopic (attracts water) would quickly rust and pit the bore if not cleaned out thouroghly.
Warm soapy water is best, give it a good scrubbing, then clean water, dry and then use the Hoppes. Hoppes by itself will not dilute the chemicals those old primers leave behind.
Much info has been published on this subject. Most US manufactures had quit using corrosive by WWII, the gov still loaded some ammo up untill the early '50s with it,
Here is a way to check it: pull a bullet, dump the powder, take a piece of iron or steel plate, cleaned up with sand paper and fire that empty primed case at it from about 6" away (use safety glasses), let sit outside for a day or two and see what happens.
RD