Lake City Ammo

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Originally Posted by enbloc8

Speaking of LC ammo, in all the lots that have come down the CMP pike, has anyone seen any lots with a date after 1972?

Years ago I read an article in American Rifleman claiming that a final batch of 30-06 on Browning links was made up for South Vietnam in early 1975. Given the abrupt collapse of South Vietnam that spring, it was speculated that the ammo may not have gotten there.

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I bought some of the de-linked LC from CMP a few years ago. That was the stuff that they had Talon de-link and box for them. It came in cans that had nomenclature stating linked with a packing date of 1975. All the ammo was 69 headstamps.
My bet is that they took boxed ammo already in inventory and linked it in '75.

The newest M2 ball headstamp I have seen is 1972.

Always believed that "old" ammunition not stored within sealed containers became stale. A friend said that it would stay good for a long time if properly stored. So what's the real story?

Would suppose with a semi-auto such as the M1 Garand, correct power and pressure of the round is most important. Have about 600 rounds of vintage military ball 30.06 dating to the 1950s much of it being Lake City. Since I picked the stuff up at shows, it has been stored within metal ammo cans. How it was kept before hand is not known.

How old is this Greek ammo derived from the CMP? Have a couple of bolt action rifles where the old ammunition is not an issue. If the round turns out to be a dud, a person can just manually cycle to the next one.

Will this 30-40 year old ammunition cause problems with M1 rifles?

From what I understand ammunition will stay good a very long time if kept in a cool, dry place. Ammo in sealed cans may get hot but at least the can keeps moisture out. Since this ammunition is loaded to M1 spec and won't get more potent in storage it isn't a hazard for M1 rifles. I've shot thousands of rounds of Lake City and HXP and have yet to have a problem with any of it my M1's or M1903s.

Now if you get a can that was stored under poor conditions for a very long time malfunctions can be a problem and I have had that happen a few times, especially with some very old .303 British. I have never had a problem with CMP ammo though...yet.