What happened here?

B

brasscollector

New member
A while back I pulled down some older 30-06 rounds I had. I was told they were 'military surplus' rounds, had a black painted tip on an otherwise FMJ bullet (AP?). Powder poured out normally though there were a few bits stuck to the base of the bullets. The primers I pushed out all looked like this. Purple coating has a plastic like hardness. What causes this?
DSCF8782.JPG
 
There was a trend for a while at gun shows of painting tips of reloaded surplus brass with a black tip and calling it AP to fetch a higher price. I still see quite a bit of it.
 
Brasscollector,

Yes, that's called a lacquer seal. A lot of primers have them, though the colors vary. I've seen red, yellow, and green. I don't know who made purple. If they were original military loads I'd expect the primers to be brass color (no nickel plating) and for them to be crimped, making them hard to push out. It's hard to be sure of the color from the photo being on wood, but they look plated so they are not likely original military loads. If they are AP and are not copper-washed steel bullets, a magnet should attract the penetrator inside. If it has a US arsenal headstamp, an AP bullet will weigh between 62 and 68 grains, depending when it was made, and will have a flat base.
 
You can still get old ap rounds. Just bring a magnet with you, and you will know it is legit. Prices are steep though.
 
"If it has a US arsenal headstamp, an AP bullet will weigh between 62 and 68 grains, depending when it was made, and will have a flat base."

A US military .30-06 AP round will be a lot heavier than that, about 100 grains heavier than that.

I've never seen one heavier than about 164 grains, though.
 
"...black painted tip..." Yep, assuming it's not one of Old Bill's fraudulent gun show painted bullets, it's AP. .30 AP(.30-06) used a 168 grain bullet.
7.62NATO AP uses a 150.5 grain black tipped bullet. There are a bunch of odd 7.62NATO AP rounds using lighter bullets too. All of which were declared evil by the ATF.
 
I have some Lake City M2 with purple sealant on the primers.
I bought it from the CMP in the late 1990s. It was said to be from machine gun training and loaded a little weaker than standard M2. All I know is it is not as strong as the currently available HXP surplus.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top