Lake City brass headstamp question

E

echo3mike

New member
I came across some LC 30.06 rounds. I can pretty much figure out that LC 67 means 1967, LC 68 = 1968, etc.

I also have some with the headstamp LC 5.

Any ideas??

TIA
 
Echo,

It MAY be from 1955.

During World War II, when 1943 changed to 1944, to avoid having to create a whole new set of bunters, some (maybe all?) arsenals simply ground the "3" off the bunters and used a single digit to denote the year.

The same MAY have been done when 1954 transitioned into 1955.

Is the single 5 sort of off center, but if another number were beside it, it WOULD be on center?
 
No, the 5 is at 8 o'clock if the L is at 10 and the C is at 2.


It's also larger then the numerals used on the late '60s cases. Wish I had a way to put a pic online.

:confused:
 
If the L and C are not together I am wondering if it is Lake City? All of the LC stuff I have seen had the L and the C right together. Is it possible that it is an imported ammo?
 
There is Hungarian ammo using Lake City as a trademark. They use the "LC" headstamp, but the commercial caliber marking, not a date. Good ammo, by the way.

LC 5 is Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, 1955. They reused the "54" head bunter, just ground off the "4".

Jim
 
My sources indicate that the single digit was done during the Dubya-Dubya TWO, not during the 50s.

I've seen 3 as a headstamp as well.

There was little need to speed up production with shortcuts in 1955. The Korean war was over and we were up to our ears in M2 Ball and linked API/Ball/Tracer.
 
O.K., so it may not be Lake City, but the brass is pretty good. Hardly any variation in neck wall thickness, no dents, no visible wear signs.

The boxes they come in state "Mil-Spec unfired recovered componants".

Might keep a few anyway.

Thanks for the input!
 
Thanks for the info, Jim. I've seen very little LC before 1957. The LC57 Match used an unusually small letter size in the headstamp.

echo5Mike:

"Mil-Spec unfired recovered components" makes me believe it was Talon remanufactured GI stuff. All reports I've heard is that it's equivalent quality to USGI. Understandable, as the only room for deviation from genuine original production is velocity variations if powder charging is erratic (unlikely) and a conceivably slightly larger group size from mixed lots of bullets (more likely to affect accuracy) and brass (smaller probable effects).
 
Cheapo,

Yes, the box says Talon on it. Great call. It's not the most accurate ammo going, ( I think most groups are 3MOA), but I think the recovered brass will make fairly good reloads.

The primer pockets have already been chamfered, so I'm just going to deburr the flash hole and neck size, since I only have the ADL in 30.06. I'll probably use 20 - 50 cases for myself. Might store the extras, (~150 cases), or see if someone on Gunbroker.com wants them.

Thanks for the info!
 
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