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I have a 03A3 complete rebuild with Criterion barrel. Here in crappy Kalifornia,
.30-06 is not to easy to find. I don’t reload yet. There is a local guy selling Greek surplus ball. I’ve read where is ammo is dirty and also it may not chamber in bolt action rifles. Opinions please
I would use it in my 1903’s or Garand. I like the brass for reloading and buy it for that.
If it is genuine factory, ball-spec ammo, it should chamber and fire safely in your trusty Springfield. it was made tat the proper plant and was specifically for use in an array of .30-06 small arms in Greek service.
Bonus for reloaders; It should be Boxer-primed and easily "recyclable".
I reload the HXP .303 brass with no real dramas. .30-06? SAVE your brass!
HXP .30-06 is apparently loaded with a 150gn FLAT-bases bullet so should also work fine in original M-17 barrels
Greek HXP was made in a relocated Winchester plant and is M-2 ball in all regards. Tell your friend you'll give him .05C a round for it.
HXP ammunition in either .303 British or cal .30 M2 ball is first rate ammunition of exceptional quality. Non-corrosive, Boxer primed and excellent brass for reloading, surplus ammo doesn't get any better.
HXP was highly regarded back in the days when CMP issued ammunition was required at the National Games Matches. For as-issued rifles shooting at 200 yards at a fairly generous target, HXP was plenty accurate, and the brass is great. I still have half a five gallon bucket full. Probably last me 100 years or so.
"...HXP was highly regarded back in the days when CMP issued ammunition..." Is was when The CMP sold the stuff too.
I doubt you'll have feeding/chambering issues with a Criterion barrel.
More praise for HXP. I bought 1000rds of HXP 303 British when it was cheap a few years ago. All head stamped 1969 and 1975. Tough brass, and exceptional quality! I have a batch of 50 that are on their 8th reloading. No issues yet, although I'm sure I'll have to toss it soon.
You wont be disappointed.
HXP is very good. I have shot stuff from the early 60's and it worked flawlessly. It is a bit hot but not out of spec. In 2011 I chronographed some HXP 69 from an M1 and it was 2,800 fps. My 147 grain reloads were only 2,600 fps. Your best bet is to get a bunch and then weigh each round. Sort out the heavy and light ones, and shoot them separately. The problem in bolt rifles was M1903 rifles that had minimum length chambers would jam with the HXP that had cases at the long end of the spec. People griping over "free" CMP ammo. The brass is reloadable. At one point they changed the extractor groove from 30-06 to 7.62 style. Rifles don't care though, just an observation. All the rounds I pulled were Ball powder, around 50+ grains. The primers are barely staked in and just thinking about reaming the pocket is almost enough to clean them up. Anything under a buck a round these days is doing good.
Dave
I've been very happy with my 1969 and 1970 lots of Greek HXP 30-06 ammo (bought from CMP). My remaining supply has unfortunately not been stored very well for the past decade-ish, so I'm pulling it down and replacing the powder. The brass is very good quality and reloads well.
Seems a shame that AZ caused issues. Hot garage? I keep anything in the garage in a big heavy duty ice chest, the Yeti knock offs by Coleman are perfect and you can stack them. Our guest room has storage under the bed too.
I shot a 99-5x with HXP at 200 prone with an M1 so it can be pretty accurate.
Happy Holidays!
Dave
I can remember not that long ago I could drop by Camp Perry and pick up a spam can of HXP for $70. and then I would see them at the next gun show for $140. I was at Perry one day and there was a 2 ton dually there that was loaded with cases of rifles 03's garands carbines and pallets of ammo and yep next day he was at the big show in Berea and everything was double the price. but the ammo itself is excellent