Need opinions on ammo I found

Hey guys,

I found some old(?) ammo today and was wondering if it was worth anything at all. The guy who sold it to me said it was machine gun ammo, and I agree. Sorry to sound like I know nothing about old ammo, but I know nothing about old ammo. I got it at a fairly reasonable price and have 23 boxes of 15 rounds. I have included some photos I just took. Would it be safe to shoot in a K98k?

I apologize in advance to the moderators if I put this in the wrong place, but I didn't see anything for just ammo.







KJ

Kammerjaeger said:

Hey guys,

I found some old(?) ammo today and was wondering if it was worth anything at all. The guy who sold it to me said it was machine gun ammo, and I agree. Sorry to sound like I know nothing about old ammo, but I know nothing about old ammo. I got it at a fairly reasonable price and have 23 boxes of 15 rounds. I have included some photos I just took. Would it be safe to shoot in a K98k?

I apologize in advance to the moderators if I put this in the wrong place, but I didn't see anything for just ammo.

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KJ

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First i am no expert on k98(7.9)ammunition but yes you can shoot the ammo in yours k98 mauser
look at this thread
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread...on(then-let-s-see-it)tracers-ball-steel-brass

Sme

At this point in WW2, German powder was being "fast tracked" during production. Before shooting, pull a few bullets and look for internal rust caused by nitric acid from the decomposing powder. A broken steel case can be most difficult to remove. JH

'Fur MG' only means it is boxed loose without stripper clips. Aside from the SmE bullets, there is nothing special about it that restricts it to MGs.

Late war 2.0/2.0/.045 German 7,9 powder

Three rounds of SmE. The first two are steel cased, the third is brass cased. The nitric acid in the second and third cases is breaking down the cases, the steel is much more affected by this process than the brass. The first round has not suffered from this problem and should be safe to fire. Since you have all from one loading lot, a small sample being pulled should give you an idea of it's condition. JH

haak48 said:

Three rounds of SmE. The first two are steel cased, the third is brass cased. The nitric acid in the second and third cases is breaking down the cases, the steel is much more affected by this process than the brass. The first round has not suffered from this problem and should be safe to fire. Since you have all from one loading lot, a small sample being pulled should give you an idea of it's condition. JH

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Thanks

hum... +2 haak. the st+ means steel case single primer hole? somthin like that. the germans had some issues with feeding the mg42. the rate of fire on that baby is amazing. i once had a chance to shoot an fg42 but no way.
im thinking out loud here, but i think the case may be laqured? or somthing to help feeding in the 'mg42....
ive shot some ammo with rusty innards. the case will crack. but it shoots.

Thank you Haak. Pic stickied for ref.

St+

Sol, the St+ head stamp denotes the thinner walled improved steel case head. It was reduced in thickness from about .09 mm to about .08 mm, and the internal base was rounded for extra strength. The anneal was also changed to allow the fired case to "spring" back and release the same as the standard brass case. Waxing helped and was applied before loading at a later point as well. The symbol for the single flash hole is a dash "-" in the head stamp. JH

I pulled two rounds this morning. Flake powder in fine shape and no sign of rust at all. Thanks for all the info guys. Can somebody recommend a really good book(s) on German WWII ammunition so I can learn more about the different types?

KJ

Kammerjaeger said:

I pulled two rounds this morning. Flake powder in fine shape and no sign of rust at all. Thanks for all the info guys. Can somebody recommend a really good book(s) on German WWII ammunition so I can learn more about the different types?

KJ

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If you look at the powder line on the box label, you will see the powder used in your ammo was made in 1939, well before the shortcuts were imployed. You should be good to go.JH

German ammo reference book

Title: German 7,9 MM military ammunition by Daniel W. Kent 1973/1990. Great and comprehensive reference book.

haak48 said:

If you look at the powder line on the box label, you will see the powder used in your ammo was made in 1939, well before the shortcuts were imployed. You should be good to go.JH

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Excellent. I got it for $2.79 per box.

KJ

Bad experience with "fur MG" ammo.

bjarne said:

First i am no expert on k98(7.9)ammunition but yes you can shoot the ammo in yours k98 mauser
look at this thread
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread...on(then-let-s-see-it)tracers-ball-steel-brass

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I have a Brno K98K. It has shot perfectly for years. I purchased 500 rounds of "fur MG" at a gun show several years ago. It had a light blue band on the box, steel case, and marked 1940. It was stored well, and looked perfect. Everyone at the range I go to said it was fine to shoot, if anything, MG ammo was made with better tolerances. I loaded up five rounds, feed was good, and fired. The report was louder than normal, and had slightly more recoil. The spent case ejected fine, and looked good. On the third round, the bolt was locked down, and would not operate. It took myself and two friends, holding the rifle on the ground, and using my foot to operate the bolt to open the action. The spent case looked normal, stopped shooting it for the day. Checked everything out at home, cleaned with bore solvent, and oiled. Next time out I took my trusty Turk ammo I had used for years. On the second shot, same problem, bolt jammed shut. I have not shot the rifle since. A trip to a gunsmith is next. All I can say is, if I had a do over, I wouldn't let "fur MG" ten feet from my rifle.