Military ammo marking.......

bobinwis

A friend gave me some old 30-06 military ammo. The base is marked 'DEN - 43'. I assume this means Denver, correct?? They also have a dot of bright red paint on the base. Does the red signify any special loading? Not sure if I have seen red before.

Thanks, Bob

bpost

IIRC you have M-2 ball ammo if the bullet is bare. A black tip would be AP. It was loaded in Denver in 1943. The red is a sealant applied to the primer to keep the powder dry. BUT, if the entire base is red then I have no clue what it could be.

If the ammo was stored properly is should shoot just fine. It is corrosive so use the Remington VORTEX BP cleaner on the first couple of patches to wet the salts and help remove them. I have been shooting hundreds of rounds of corrosive 8MM and 7.62.54 cleaning with the Vortex first. The bores look like new.

Iconoclast

Denver Arsenal, 1943. I've never seen the red marking on this ammunition nor do my references speak to such. It's possible this was some sort of internal marking to designate a test of some sort, but far more likely something applied by some party since the ammunition was produced.

Denver did produce tracer ammunition, but these were identified by the standard means of red lacquer on the bullet tip.

A good clear photo of the base would be interesting "just in case."

jonk

It IS primer sealant, I'd bet money on it. I have (had) 1400 or so rounds of this from when the CMP was selling it.

Laredo Lefty

Thats exactly what it is. I have a bunch of the WWII den stamped ammo. It IS a primer sealant.

The Military ammo of this period also had a tar like sealant on the bullets.