Can anyone identify this 9mm ammo?

P

pocat

New member
Someone just gave me about 500 rounds of 9mm ammo tonight. I'm not sure what type it is, and I thought I'd let my internet buddies have a crack at identifying it before I take off for the gun shops, with cartridge in hand.

The letters/symbols on the headstamp are foreign (Cyrillic, Turkish?), and I can't even describe them. I can't tell if they're boxer or berdan primed - maybe someone could explain the difference to me.

Another thing I noticed is there are 3 little "dings" around the outside perimeter of the primer pocket, I assume to help hold it in. They don't look like they are reloadable since the primer looks different in appearance than my PMC and other rounds.

The main thing I'm concerned about is if they are corrosive. I'd really hate to fire anything in my new HS2000 that would ruin it from corrosion or overpressure. About 30 rounds have the blue-green corrosion on the copper jackets and some black discoloration on the brass. Should I attempt to clean these somehow, or just pitch them?

I'll try to attach a picture, but I've never done this before. I hope it works.

Thanks in advance.
 

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PICTURE WORKS

DO NOT DISCARD! (because it may be decent ammo)

(Buy better ammo.)

Try some in your gun. Clean after firing. Then decide.
 
pocat,
That looks Egyptian.
If so, it is Berdan primed.
Any corroded [cases] are highly
suspect and should be scrapped.
This past weekend a fellow was
shooting slightly corroded surplus
ammo in a Mauser. One of the cases
was discovered to have pinholes
burned through the corroded spots.
The junky rounds were culled immediately.

p_r
===
*Early Bird gets the worm.
*2nd Mouse gets the cheese.
 
Yep, I think PackRat has nailed it.

Given the fact that it is Egyptian, and early 1970s vintage, it is VERY VERY VERY likely that the primers are unbelievably corrosive!

After shooting, clean EXTREMELY thoroughly with hot soapy water, several times with several changes of water is recommended.

A friend of mine several years ago got a Helwan 9mm and some Syrian ammo for it.

He fired it on a hot, humid summer day, threw it in his truck, and prompty forgot about it for a week.

When he found it again, he brought it to me to see if it could be salvaged.

It took several hours of soaking in hot penetrating oil, and a lot of force, to get the slide back the gun disassembled.

The barrel was COMPLETELY toast. When we cleaned it out, the rifling was so badly damaged that I would have been very worried about shooting anything more than a spitball through it.

The firing pin was also frozen in the slide, and was difficult to get out.
 
Primer crimping is usually specified in ammo to be used in auto weapons; it keeps primers from popping out and hanging up the action. U.S. ammo (except match ammo) is ring crimped all around the primer. Those primers are stake crimped as shown.

Primer crimping is the reason reloading U.S. military ammo is a pain, since the primer pockets have to be reamed or swaged to remove the displaced metal.

Jim
 
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