Shooting WW2 dated ammo?

Greetings!

I am a new member to Milsurps. I very much appreciate the body of knowledge here, and the willingness to share!

It has been a long time since I have expended any smokeless ball ammunition, but reading the posts on the shooting forum got me interested in heading out to the range. I got out my bin of G.I. 30-06 and .303, to see what I had available. Looking at the headstamps, I began to wonder if the ammo was too valuable to shoot!

The 30-06 is marked "DEN 42". The .303 is marked "K ^ F VII 3-41" ( The ^ represents a tiny Broad Arrow), and "FN 66".

Are these rounds more valuable intact than as plinking ammo?

Cheers!

Radford

There are a lot of collectors that like to have some ammunition available from the dates of their rifles. The stuff you have is all historical in nature but not rare. There is a slight premium because of the dates but not to cartridge collectors per se. Mostly to firearms collectors that just want enough to represent the accessories of their pertinent rifles.
Take it to a gunshow and trade it for more modern stuff. The 303Brit is likely corrosive primed and the 30-06 may be as well. Not really a bad thing but you have to clean "properly" with boiling water asap after shooting. Leave that stuff in the bore overnight and rust will have already formed.

"DEN 42". Corrosive, but good stuff.

I shot TW51 at the last milshoot using my Garand. 4" groups that weren't especially brag-worthy.

SHOOT AWAY ... both of these are very common not worth much at all.
I just 'traded' two full cases of this .303 to a WWI British reenacting friend in CA
Patrick