Reference for carbine brass stamping?

In another thread USGI asked if any of the cases I recently accquired are USGI. I think the answer is yes, but not sure.

Some of the steel cases are marked EC 43. I believe I've learned that this is Evansville-Chrysler made in 1943. Is that correct? Also found some LC-56, is that Lake City 1956?

I could go through these and bore the heck out of you by posting all the stampings I find, but was hoping there'd be a reference for stampings somehwere. I've done several searches and can't come up with much. I'd be happy to post what I find if anyone is interested.

Thanks

Edit:
Just to bore you anyway...

I have 29 steel cases marked EC 43. The rest are the LC 56

I started poking around in some of the brass cases. Found a couple marked EC 4. Very clear, no missing number, just a 4. Also found one marked WCC 44. Winchester?

Most I've found are LC 67.

So, are any of these rarities? Are the WWII cartridges worth leaving, or just treat them as the others and reload them? What about the steel cases? Is there any value here, or are they just neat relics from an historic period?

I am not much a brass collector, but I have alot of LC 44 brass I got as de-milled. So I guess they are not rare. As far as the steel case, they are a bit of a rarity, so keep them - but do NOT reload them. Steel was/is not reloadable.

The LC 56 is reloadable as is the LC67. I like the LC brass best - the most durable.

Just make sure you trim the brass to proper length before you reload it.

Hope this helps...

Thanks. I've done some more searching using diffferent terms and found some info. I guess the 44, 43, 56, etc is the year of production. I see there's no real monetary value, none of them are exceptionally rare. As you said, the steel cases from 43 are bit more rare than the brass, but still out there.

Since I have a couple thousand, I think I might go through them when I have nothing better to do and pull out the WWII era stuff and keep them unloaded, unless it turns out there are many hundreds.

For the steel, would people here recommend leaving them alone or polishing them to remove corrosion and crud? A light coat of lacquer would preserve them and be easy enough to remove with lacquer thinner if someone wanted to return them to original. I just don't want them to deteriorate.

Reload, Everything you've listed about the cases agrees with what I've found. A single 4 means '44 and a single 5 means '55 and so on. I figured that you might find some GI steel cases in there. Thanks - Bob

The steel cases are very common and non-reloadable. There is absolutely no reason to keep or preserve them. Keep the brass ones for reloading, as all US carbine production has been non-corrosive Boxer.
I don't reload M1 Carbine ammo, but I was always told not to trim it. YMMV.

Good headstamp info: Headstamp Codes on Small Arms Ammunition

IIRC,
That Steel case was made during the brass shortage, in order to save brass. None was ever issued for over seas. Very hard on the extractors.
I had a lot of it and the original EC boxes. Found a guy (or he found me) who lived near the old Evansville, Chrysler plant. He used them for a display at a small local museum.
Also had another Chrysler plant ammo (steel Case) but can't recall the city right now. Same guy got all my boxes and cases.

FWIW,
Charlie-painter777

Thanks to the link, I found the other Chrysler plant, THX !!


ECS Evansville Chrysler, Sunbeam Ordnance Plant, Evansville, Indiana.

.30 Carbine brass can vary a lot in it's properties. Some is very easy to size and some can be more difficult. Cases can "grow" a lot in length when resized. I feel it's very important to trim them correctly, and to do it after they are resized. - Bob

WW2 production headstamps were

WRA Winchester Repeating Arms
WCC Western Cartridge Co.
RA Remington Arms Co.
PC Kings Mills Ordnance. Plant run by Remington.
ECS Evansville Chrysler Sunbeam. Sunbeam made the brass cases and some steel one for EC. Mostly found on steel .45 ACP
EC Evansville Chrysler Almost all of it's production was steel case. They were the company that developed the sealed Spam can for storage.
FA Frankfort Arsenal
LC Lake City.

Early development stamps were often stamped with REM-UMC 3 SL or Western 32 SLR. Winchester also used WRA 30 SL. These are rare and were used preproduction when the .30 carbine was being developed.

These were the only companies and plants making .30 carbine ammo during WW2. All USGI carbine ammo has been non corrosive primed from the beginning.

The only thing I would add to what Bruce has posted (and most probably already know) is that the "PC" in the Kings Mills Ordnance stamp stands for Peters Cartridge.

- Bob

but I am rethinking that issue after finding out (BQ) that huge amounts of the steel was used in testing and sighting the carbines by the companies that built them. A not small number of rounds I might add. There are two ways to look at this; either they knew about the issue and didn't care as they made extractors and spare parts or the issue is a non-issue, steel cases are not what we think they are. I'm still not ever going to shoot them, but I do wonder where the truth lies.

Steel ammunition cases are made from soft, mild steel, not the hardened steel you find in weapons manufacturing. I've never seen or heard of any studies showing that steel-cased ammunition causes any significant wear beyond brass-cased ammo. Steel cases have been widely used by the US, Germany, China, and the whole Soviet Bloc for many years. Can someone point to any information that shows any accelerated wear with steel-cased ammo???

I know that most people will disagree with me, but contrary to popular belief, steel cases are reloadable. You surely don't want to pick up rusty range brass, but if you shoot steel and keep it nice, there's no reason you can't reload it. Read Lee's Modern Reloading Vol II, he states it quite clearly in there.

I know a guy who experimented with reloading steel Wolf .45ACP casings. He wasn't thrilled with the results, but the rounds did function as they were supposed to. I'll have to ask him what problems he encountered.

There are some issues with steel, but they can be overcome. Necked cartridges need a good lubing. Steel isn't as pliable so you won't get as many reloads as brass. It's best to keep them for your lighter charges, they'll last longer that way. Again, never use rusty or corroded steel. Clean stuff is ok. If there's a guy at the range shooting steel and he leaves them behind, pick a few up and give them a try.

In reality steel cases made by the government were meant as a secondary standard in case brass was not available to make ammunition. It was regulated to state side use only and it is reloadable. But there were problems with steel cases and at least one of the carbine makers refused to use it for testing and sighting in their carbines as it did cause problems to new carbines. Brass is softer then even mild steel and is more forgiving. Brass expands much better to fill the chamber then steel and results in less carbon build up in a carbine. Steel can and does rust as brass does not. Can steel be used in any USGI cartridge small arms ever made? Sure can but none were ever designed to use steel cased ammo and steel case has been around a long time. Even today we only use brass in our military ammo. Using steel cased ammo is a personal choice and if your happy with it then enjoy it. Just don't use it in a collectable carbine as parts for them are very expensive now and getting higher all the time if you break a part.