What the heck is this ammo?!

N

ncshooter

Inactive
Greetings,
I was sighting in a new scope on my .30-06 at the range today when some guy came up and offered me about 50 rounds of what he said was govt. surplus .30-06.
He told me they had berdan primers and whatnot and not to reload them. The brass was already pretty corroded, but I took it anyway.
Thankfully, something struck me as not being right with these things. The case is definitely a little shorter than all the .30-06s I've ever seen. But, it seems a little big for .308.
Here are the markings:
P131 S* 23 34
P191 S* 7 35

There are others, but I'm guessing someone can figure this out.
 
Nevermind, this appears to be 8mm Mauser. Would you be mad if someone did this to you? I don't think I am, but what kind of dummy comes to the range with 8mm mauser ammo in a plastic ice bag and then gives them to someone telling him they're .30-06 rounds?
 
I remember reading that surplus 8mm has done in more than its share of old M1917s and M1903s, when they were mistaken for .30-06. I personally have never tried it, so I do not know if this is an old wives tale.

I would be mad, but you did the right thing and checked first. Think of the guy that might have tried it.
 
IMO, taking moldy ammo from someone you don't know is as bad as shooting reloads from someone you don't know. It's simply not a good idea! I'd dispose of those rounds, but I sure wouldn't put them in a gun, even if they were the correct caliber for the rifle!
 
It sounds like 8mm Mauser. If you had shot it through your rifle it may hay possibly been ruined or worse there have been a few cases over the years of 8mmm being shot out of a 30.06 and having the rifle blow up I do not think any serious injuries attributed to it though.
 
for yucks

Just for yucks, this stuff was made between 1934 and 1935. They're 192 grain 8mm made in Berlin and somewhere else (I can't read German, found info on a German site)
What I'm thinking is that this jerk tried to put it in his own rifle and noticed the bullets wouldn't fit and decided to "donate" them to the sweaty "kid" on the firing line.
He BSed me with "I know it looks ugly, but this stuff is real accurate, just don't try to reload it.But it's non-corosive... yada yada"
I guess why I'm really mad is that I heard this stooge talking about reloading and he was giving rifle instruction to two other people on the range.
I hope they weren't paying him because I just might make him look like an ass the next time I see him.
P.S. how does one dispose of live ammo?
 
OK, found your headstamp.

P131 was used, according to Munhall & White, by Deutsche Waffen u. Munitionsfabriken's (DWM). The plant was Berlin-Borsigwalde.

The 23 is the lot number, the 34 is the year of manufacture.

The S and the * indicate that the case material is brass.

The other one isn't shown.

The chances of it being non-corrosive are about NIL, if you ask me.

I'd avoid this guy in the future.
 
Thank the guy, Never NEVER fire something you do not know for sure what the load is! Guy meant well, you just gotta keep your paranoids up!
Dan
 
There's a difference between buying property in Florida and getting it for free.
I can understand the "schooling" if I had posted, "Gosh darn, I put corroded ammo in my gun and pulled the trigger and it blew up my rifle!"
I'm not an idiot. I took the ammo, realized it probably wasn't .30-06 and checked it out and found out what it was :mad:
My first question related to the origin of the ammo and my second was how do I get rid of it.
It concerns me regardless that a rifle instructor and reloader is handing out ammo at a range and making false statements about it.
If my track record proves true though, I am probably just over-reacting.
HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS STUFF?
 
How do you get rid of it?

Well, the next time you're at the range and you see someone shooting a 30-06, walk up to them with the ammo and ....

Kidding!

I would pull the bullets with either a collet puller or just a pair of heavy pliers, wearing welders gloves on a just in case basis. I would be leary of using an inertia puller on them. Throw the powder on the grass and throw away the brass and bullets in the trash. Even if the trash is burned at the dump, the primers won't do any harm to the attendants. They might be able to hear them over the sounds of the bursting aerosol cans if they listen carefully.
 
If its 8mm Ammo.Thats easy . Shoot it in a 8mm Rifle. Or give it to someone who shoots 8mm DAAA!:rolleyes: The stuff last forever!
 
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