+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Newbie with a question...

Click here to increase the font size Click here to reduce the font size
  1. #1
    FREE MEMBER
    NO Posting or PM's Allowed
    WFJones's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Last On
    04-27-2013 @ 05:30 PM
    Posts
    1
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    12:40 AM

    Talking Newbie with a question...

    Bumped into this Site while searching for some answers on "Spam Cans"...and it appears that jes' maybe, someone here can help me out!

    I have a coupla unopened Spam Cans of 30 cal. AP M-2 Ammo, with clips and bandoleers...I am attempting to find a source for manufacture date.

    The Lot # on the can is:

    SL 9978

    And I have found from another source that the "SL" is for St. Louis Missouri...I have also found some differing info as to just possibly when the St. Louis facility turned these cans out.

    The cans are in pristine condition, no dents, dings, and if not for a coupla "scrape marks" (maybe from the wooden crate they once were housed in?), one would think they were relatively BRAND SPANKIN' NEW...and surely couldn't pre-date your's truly here---born in '51...and I should look so good with the years!!

    Anyways...any help at all will be greatly appreciated...

    Jones
    Information
    Warning: This is a relatively older thread
    This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

  2. # ADS
    Friends and Sponsors
    Join Date
    October 2006
    Posts
    All Threads
    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

  3. #2
    Advisory Panel smellie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Last On
    01-14-2019 @ 09:17 AM
    Location
    Virden, Man. Pop 3250, 4 miles from Wolverine's range!
    Posts
    632
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    01:40 AM
    Friend, I don't know when the St. Louis Ammunition Ordnance Plant closed down, but I DO know that they made an absolute POTFUL of ammo during the Second War and had turned out zillions of rounds before I was born... and I'm a Real Olde Phart now.

    They made good ammo, but likely most of it will have the necks starting to harden by now. To make the brass last, best to pull it down and unload, anneal the necks and then load it right back up with the original powder and slugs: nothing wrong with them.

    US military ammo up to about 1953 still used the old Frankford Arsenal Number 70 primer (FA-70), which was chlorate-based and thus corrosive. Any US milspec ammo dated 1954 and later can be relied upon to have modern noncorrosive, nonmercuric primers which give you less grief with the rifles and happen to store so very, very well in comparison to the old stuff.

    If your Spam cans have been stored okay, this stuff still might make the modern guys sit up and take notice.

    Likely SOMEBODY out there will have an idea as to when your particular Lot was made.

    Good luck!

  4. Avoid Ads - Become a Contributing Member - Click HERE
  5. #3
    Banned Edward Horton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Last On
    09-10-2011 @ 01:42 PM
    Location
    Harrisburg, PA USA
    Age
    73
    Posts
    935
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    01:40 AM
    What is stamped on the rear of the cartridge case, the ammo could have been repacked at a depot. Normally the last two digits would be the year 78 (1978) BUT St Louis Ord Plant switched over to making artillery ammunition so another possibility is a exception number dating to 1952-1953 for AP ammo.

    Go with the number on the rear of the cartridge case for dating, ammo cans can have the repack/inspection date on them.

    "St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant
    The St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant (SLAAP) is located in the northwestern section of St. Louis, Missouri, bordered on the west by Goodfellow Boulevard and on the north and east by Interstate Highway 70. The 21.05 acres now comprising the SLAAP were originally part of the St. Louis Ordnance Plant. In 1944, SLAPP was converted from small arms to 105 mm production."


    Federal Facilities Department of Defense Sites - DNR

    Problem with 1978 dated ammo, St Louis shut down after the Viet Nam war.

    "Living St. Louis: Ammo Plant

    Living St. Louis tells the story of a piece of St. Louis and U.S. history as it is torn down. Built in 1941, the St. Louis Ammunition plant was at one time the largest ammunition plant in the U.S., employing not just St. Louis men, but St. Louis women as well during the years of World War II. The plant stopped production after the Vietnam War. The iconic building of the plant, where howitzer shells were once made, was torn down to make room for retail development, and new jobs for the region."


    Your Stories: Living St. Louis: Ammo Plant

    St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant (SLAAP) / St. Louis Ordnance Plant (SLOP)

    A look back • St. Louis factory loaded America's weapons during World War II

  6. #4
    Legacy Member Bruce McAskill's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Last On
    01-17-2023 @ 09:10 PM
    Posts
    1,880
    Local Date
    03-29-2024
    Local Time
    12:40 AM
    The first lot of non corrosive AP M2 ammo that the St. Louis plant made was SL-9467 dated 1952. So your spam cans are non corrosive AP made after 1952.

  7. Thank You to Bruce McAskill For This Useful Post:


+ Reply to Thread

Similar Threads

  1. Newbie Here with M1917 Sporter Question
    By my05hammer in forum Pattern 1913/1914 and M1917 Rifles
    Replies: 18
    Last Post: 09-14-2010, 11:10 PM
  2. Newbie Question: BNZ 42
    By sbucy in forum Mauser Rifles
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 04-20-2010, 01:06 PM
  3. newbie barrel question
    By paradox998 in forum M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-11-2010, 10:46 AM
  4. Newbie Comments and Question
    By boater1217 in forum M1 Garand/M14/M1A Rifles
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-21-2009, 01:01 AM
  5. Newbie Win 97 question
    By LimeyCarbineLover in forum Military Shotguns
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 10-17-2009, 03:35 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Raven Rocks