CAL 30 BALL-M2 Spam Cans

[SoCal Bob]

I just bought an M1 Garand and along with it came 2 - 220 round spam cans of Cal 30 ball M2 ammo. Both have the rounds in cardboard cartons holding 20 rounds each. One was opened and contained boxes that looked like new; one box was opened, the rounds are head stamped U 42. The other can is still sealed and has Lot LC 13144, Grade AC/R, Code T1EHW-5, repacked HAW .50.

I understand that the ammo in the open can is from the Utah plant and was made in 1942 and has corrosive primers. I know that the ammo in the sealed can was made at the Lake City plant, and sealed in the spam can in Hawthorne in 1950. Is there anyway to tell what year the ammo is in the sealed can without opening it? I read some of the other posts and understand that some people are interested in ammo from WWII and I would prefer to not see history depart with a flash and a bang if someone wants it for their collection.

So my questions are; should I just open the can and take a look, and, should I just shoot the U 42 rounds, or should I hold onto them for their historical value?

I ordered a Schuster gas plug and have read up on modern .30-06 ammo, so I have a backup plan in case the consensus is to preserve rather than shoot.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[maschronic]

mmm....i would shoot it. then again, i'm sitting on about 3k of M2.

[NaughtyMonkey]

I would love to have a box of that just because its WW2 ammo.

Personally I would keep some of it for the historical value, and shoot the rest. Or at least shoot some of it to say I did. lol.

[TRICKSTER]

All of your ammo is corrosive. I wouldn't shoot any corrosive ammo in a garand when the non corrosive ammo is readily available. If you must shoot it, save it for a bolt action which is much easier to clean.
As far as what year your LC is, try posting over on the CMP forums. Someone there will have an answer. LC M2 ball went non corrosive starting with lot 13700 6-51.

[SoCal Bob]

Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate the information. Trickster - good information, I will give that a try. NaughtyMonkey - we have friends in Tehachapi, I will PM you the next time we spend the weekend with them.

[chuckdc]

I understand that the ammo in the open can is from the Utah plant and was made in 1942 and has corrosive primers. I know that the ammo in the sealed can was made at the Lake City plant, and sealed in the spam can in Hawthorne in 1950. Is there anyway to tell what year the ammo is in the sealed can without opening it? I read some of the other posts and understand that some people are interested in ammo from WWII and I would prefer to not see history depart with a flash and a bang if someone wants it for their collection.

So my questions are; should I just open the can and take a look, and, should I just shoot the U 42 rounds, or should I hold onto them for their historical value?

Schrodinger's ammunition.. If you open it, it could lose value, if you don't, you don't know what you have..

[gorblimey]

USGI stamps

This attachment may have what you're looking for...

[NaughtyMonkey]

NaughtyMonkey - we have friends in Tehachapi, I will PM you the next time we spend the weekend with them.

Much Appreciated, how much would you want for a box? Sorry I'm getting off topic a bit.

[SoCal Bob]

Thank you gorblimey, I had the non corrosive starting lot numbers but the pdf you linked had more information, more is better. After reading the CMP forums as TRICKSTER suggested I learned that record keeping was not a high priority at the time and there was no way to tell what was inside without opening the can.

I opened the spam can from the bottom with a can opener, as was suggested on the CMP forum, and the answer is: Lake City Ball M2 Lot 13144 (I incorrectly listed it as Lot 13141 in my first post) was made in 1943, (LC 43).

Thanks for the suggestions and help.