762x51 Ammo ID Help

[gman183]

I just bought several hundred rounds of this "STG" 7.62x51 ammo. I have never seen this brand before. I know its obviously surplus but would like to see exactly what it is (counrty of manufacture, year of manufacture, weight, corrosive) before I shoot it through my Rem 700pss and NM M1A. I would especially need to know if it is corrosive or not. If my fellow CG members could look at the photo's I would really appreciate it.

[ChrisGarrett]

It's made by Hirtenberger, Austria (HP stamp) and it's generally pretty good.

Some of it can be boxer primed and some is berdan primed, so when you shoot it, look for the single centered hole and save it.

It looks like it was made in '64 and it was meant for the StG 58, which I believe is the Austrian licensed copy of the Belgian FN-FAL.

Chris

[gman183]

Chris, thanks for the info. Do you know or can you tell if it is corrosive?

[ChrisGarrett]

Chris, thanks for the info. Do you know or can you tell if it is corrosive?

IIRC, the US military switched away from potassium chlorate corrosive primers by the early 60s, so I would just assume that IF that Hirtenberger was produced in 1964, that it's using corrosive primers and just flush your gun with warm sudsy water, accordingly.

You really want to flush the salts away from the metal and no...ammonia won't 'neutralize' the salts, so you need to get rid of them--hence flushing the bore and wiping down the bolt/gas system with simple soapy water and drying thoroughly.

I've got a couple of latter dated Hirtenberger boxes of 308. It's reputation is, is that it's the most accurate milsurp 7.62x51 ammo out there, although FNM Portugal clocked very uniformly and consistently when I tested a box in one of my bolt guns.

HP: headstamp, 64: date?, 25: plant number?

You can always sell it and make some cash.

Chris

[stevec223]

ck this

in the ammo section at m14forum.com is a list of most all 7.62x51 surplus ammo ever made.... dig through that and good luck... ck the stickies first...cheers...