Question about LC 30-06

C

chris in va

New member
Just out of curiosity.

If the Garand and BAR were 'retired' in the 60's in favor of 308 arms, why do I still find Lake City 30-06 brass made in 1980? Was it just for export for lend-lease countries?
 
That is a good question and one that I do not have a definitive answer. But, there were M1919 and M37 machine guns in service and those may have stayed in inventory longer. The M37 was used on M60 tanks, maybe some tanks still needed 30-06 ammunition.
 
The ammo could have been made up for military aid to some friendly country that still uses guns chambered in 30-06. Back in the late 70's - early '80's, I ran across some LC marked 7.63X39 ammo. Story was that it was for some friendly Central American country the US supported.
 
The M37 was used on M60 tanks, maybe some tanks still needed 30-06 ammunition.
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I don't know about the M60, I'll have to check my references to be certain, but I don't think it was a .30-06 mg.

I DO know for certain about the M60A1 and all later variants' .30 cal guns, and they are NOT .30-06.

The M60 series tanks used the M73, then the M73A1, then the M219 machineguns, in 7.62 NATO. The M73 was a crap design, the 73A1 tried to improve (failed) and the M219 tried to fix the 73A1's problems (failed, again).

Finally the entire series of M73based guns was replaced in the late 70s with the M240, a version of the Belgian MAG58, also in 7.62mm NATO and a much superior gun to its predecessors.

I'm sure there was a reason LC kept making 06 ammo, possibly even one beyond simple govt intertia.

Didn't our services field .30-06 sniper rifles through Viet Nam? Also Nat Guard and Reserve tend to have officially "retired" equipment on active use for some time. And I think the Navy kept a number of Garands for shipboard use for some time, eventually converting many to 7.62mmNATO.

Any reason can be enough to keep an established govt program in operation long after its main reason ends.

The only thing that lasts longer than a temporary govt program is stop-gap spending. The most useless, obsolete wasteful projects seem to have eternal funding, and something that might actually be worthwhile (like the project YOU work at) gets its budget cut every time the wind changes direction outside the Capitol building. Or so it seems (and yes, that is a bitter, cynical personal observation. I'm mostly over it now...:rolleyes:)
 
Because Lake City made and makes ammo for other armies than the U.S.
The M1919 machine gun was not always a .30-06. CF used 'em long after the U.S. All of 'em were 7.62NATO. M37's were likely converted too, but it was used on helicopters well into the late '60's.
No such thing as Lend-Lease after 2 September 1945. Lotta military aid to countries who agreed with the U.S. though.
 
Ships armory

Navy had BARs in some small arms armorys, not sure they were 06 though, weren't some converted to 308.
 
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