Lapua .30 Luger ammunition
 

Is Lapua's .30 Luger ammunition decent quality or should it be avoided?

I don't know anything about their .30 Luger specifically, but Lapua products are excellent quality, as good as it gets...they make some of the highest quality cartridge cases and bullets available....the only issue is cost, Lapua stuff is pricey.

Are Lapua and Sako the same company?

I don't think so.

I have shot 30 luger Fiocchi ammo for years,great ammo and reasonable price ($22 box of 50).
Don't know about Lapua.
Bob

They are two top quality Finnish industries, but I don't think they are commercially related.

Sergio

I have never heard bad remarks about Lapua ammo or components. I, also, have never seen any Lapua 30 Luger ammo for sale. If I did, I feel sure I would purchase a box or two to test.

The Lapua .338 Magnum cartridge is the sniper rifle of choice for long range hits by our Special Operations troops, etc. They must make good stuff, eh?

Fiocchi does make good .30 Luger ammunition!

There is a company called Samco Global Arms, and they are offering .30 Luger ammunition. They make the claim that its made by Lapua/Sako and it comes in 25round boxes. 1950's manufacture. Surplus ammo perhaps?

https://samcoglobal.com/Ammo-9mm-ball.html#L

I thought it was commercialy made ammo but normally such ammo comes in 50 round boxes or higher. I'll have to search the gunshows for an old box of Lapua.

Wow...thats not bad.....comes out to 14.95 a box (plus shipping of course)

Sure they do, as well as SAKO that are supposed to make among the best sniper rifles (TRG-22 and TRG-42)

Sergio

The price is very good for 30 Luger ammo IF you are not a handloader. This ammo uses a Berdan primer which is non-reloadable. For an inexpensive range ammo, I would think that this would have to be considered. If it utilized a Boxer primer, I would be most tempted!!

I thought about this ammo overnight. That is a good price if this is good ammo, and no real reason that it is not. It is Finnish Military ammo from the 1950s. If stored correctly, it should be fine. I have some 1942-43 US 45ACP ammo, and it runs 100%. This 45ACP is corrosive primer ammo, so one has to clean well after shooting it.

Anyway, long story made short, I ordered some of this 30 Luger ammo to give it a try. I will report back once I have the ammo and can test it. Hopefully Samco still has some in stock. :typing:

Richard....how much did they hit you up for shipping?

I have one old "box" since several years , but never use those ammo
/
Packaging is not beautiful !!

I look forward to your report, I cannot afford any ammunition right now but hopefully will be able to afford some within the next 2-3 weeks (starting a new career in Corrections on the 9th of June.)

A good question! I ordered 250 rounds, was promised a shipping quote later in the process, but it never came. It's supposed to be available when the order is received. I don't know how much more received it can get, unless there is a human being as part of it all, who'll show up Monday and arrange an email apprising me of the amount. At this point, I am concerned it may not be such a great deal after all.

I don't shoot 30 Luger but I know that Fiocchi make pretty good .30 Luger ammunition, although here they are flipping expensive!
Perhaps you can find cheaper ones made by Fiocchi USA.
Here in Italy now they are selling .45ACP brass with small pistol primers, made by Fiocchi USA!

Sergio

I don't know yet, as I had to mail them a copy of my Drivers License(all of my fax copies were too dark for them). They want a copy of one's driver license on file.....I can understand that.

I expect that the shipping will be pretty stout as they are in Miami Fla. and I am in So. Az. and ammo is pretty heavy. At my age, whatever I paid for shipping will likely be forgotten in a day or two......yet the ammo will still be here.

You're lucky, Richard, if that's all that's necessary! In NY State, although the impending background check for each purchase of ammunition of any kind has not kicked in yet (I have my doubts that this behemoth of bureaucracy will ever be effectively implemented), it's still necessary to show one's pistol permit to buy it. And when buying from out-of-state, it's required to have it sent to an FFL and pick it up there!

I found out this A.M. that the shipping to me is around twenty bucks, which does not seem too bad for what it is--heavy and haz-mat. Though It bumps up the price almost another 10 cents per round, it will still be less than Fiocchi. I'm considering the feasibility of adapting the shells to accept standard small pistol primers, so that I can reload it...but we shall see.

Selway Armory has Fiocchi 30 Luger for $20.99 per box of 50 plus shipping.
Bob

I had no idea that you folks in NY had to jump through so many hoops just to purchase ammo. You have my deepest sympathy!! Here in Az, they ship it to your door.

There is no hazmat fee for ammo.....only for powder and primers. Figure that one out!! Ammo that is shipped has to be labeled as ordnance on the outside of the shipping box. These are a specific label to be used(of course).


I would be pleased with a $20 shipping fee, but expect more.

To convert Berdan brass to Boxer brass will require you to close off the two(2) lateral flash holes. and drill a proper size center flash hole. That will be labor intensive, but possible.....I think.

I will check it out when it arrives, and after I've created a few empties. Sounds like a little prep, a couple dabs of silver brazing alloy in the lateral holes, then drill--all of which sounds like a pain, but a worthy project after some of the more pressing boondoggles are completed... I'll soon be fooling around reloading .22lr, just to develop the skill, and perhaps to result in the FMJ round in .22lr I've always wanted to try! There are now a couple of concerns that offer a hand crimper tool, made desirable by current lack of availability and higher prices for .22.

You can reload .22 LR!? :eek:

Maybe "changing" the load, is more a appropriate description of
what Ithacartist means to do.

I doubt he means reloading fired brass!
Theoretically it could be done, but likely with a very low
success rate.

But that is JMHO.

It's a floor wax and a dessert topping! You are both sort of correct. I ran across a few YouTubes of people reloading fired .22 brass.

It's difficult to disassemble the round because of the crimp, which really locks the round in there. You'd have to destroy new rounds to have primed cases--which would next need to have their necks expanded before replacing the projectile and re-crimping effectively enough for the round to feed. (Remember that the case is the same O.D. as the bullet.)

Nope, I'm gonna have the fun of firing the new brass first, then work with the empties. I'll make some tooling to reach in and clean out the insides of the rims, tap the dent from the f.p. back into place, re-pack the rim with an alternate primer, work up a powder load, and crimp everything back together around a fresh bullet--which I also may have to make or modify.

Success was definitely not 100% for what I saw demonstrated, but the guys doing it were doofuses, and I think a more precise job will come out better than theirs. At this point, I think the new primer should be of as fine a texture as possible, and packed as densely as possible into the inside of the rim. I'm hoping I'll be able to prime at least as well as Remington!:D

Homemade primer options include a paste of black powder and acetone, and similar goo made from the phosphorous compound on the tips of strike-anywhere matches. I'm sure it's all corrosive as the dickens, but, hey, I'll be shooting it through one of my old Ermas, which I will clean thoroughly afterwards.

p.s. I'll be wearing safety glasses at the very least!

Sometime back, I read about a hydraulic device that some fella built to remove Berdan primers from rifle brass. He had some obsolete rifles and brass and wanted to shoot them. For a time, Berdan rifle primers were available for sale. Perhaps they still are. I can't say about Berdan pistol primers. If one can purchase Berdan pistol primers, then that would definitely be the way to go in my way of thinking. I will do some looking around.

Have you heard anything from Samco as to shipping information on your 30 Luger ammo? I was able to get them the needed documents faster than I thought, so everything should be a go for me as to them shipping the ammo.

Yes, they have the FFL and said they were sending the next day, which would be today. My dealer had apparently sent them a copy for someone else's deal, but it had expired. I'm expecting a project gun/frame to come in soon and I hope to be able to p/u it and the ammo on the same trip to the dealer.

Oh, My! Sounds like work.:thumbup:

Thanx David for the info. I have heard nothing concerning a shipping date, but they did receive the needed information and hopefully will ship the ammo post haste.

Hi,

The Sako and Lapua ammo is excellent, though the over all lengths of the cartridges are way too short for reliable function in a Luger. Proper O.A.L. is 1.173 inches.

I ordered about 500 rounds of this stuff, from Samco of Miami, Florida, years ago. It shoots great and is very clean.

Other than the aforementioned O.A.L. problem, I'd recommend it for target shooting without question.

Sieger

I've shot both in my .30's, and they shoot excellent! They are hotter than Fiocchi and function well. Samco's .30 is 1879-81 vintage.

Mike


http://www.a1ammo.com/uploads/produc...m/100_1213.jpg


I believe the 81 means 1981 Mfg. Pic courtesy of A1Ammo.

I found this page of info about Berdan primers: http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/ber...imensions.html

top left on page is a link to de-capping.

David,

Thanks a bunch for the link!! I find this kind of thing most interesting, and that is where I read about it, I am pretty sure. I have yet to locate any Berdan primers for sale that would function in the 30 Luger brass, but I have not given up.

A few years back I bought 500 rds of Sammco's 7.65 parabellum. No feeding or ejecting problems through my 1912 and 1920s 30 cal. This ammo is Berdan primed so no reloading.

Anybody got their ammo yet?

I've had that thought too, frequently, over the years...Mostly for .303 British...Why not just drill a central hole??? Not even braze the off-center holes??? If there is blowback, place a drilled copper/brass disk inside the case to cover the Berdan holes... :confused:

Also, there was a site that had a big write-up about reloading pinfire cartridges; it had a link to rimfire reloading as well. I think it was off Gerard Henrotin's site...Anyway, IIRC, you mixed your own primer chemical and dabbed it into the case, waited for it to harden, and then added the powder & bullet. I think Gerard may even have had an e-book on it...

Yes, but things have been so busy I haven't shot any yet. Looks good, sealed bullet and primer.

Interesting, I will have to check that out.

I received an email from Gerd Schön in Oberndorf, which contained the following news about >30 Luger ammo:

Any of our European members have more info about this, or perhaps a synopsis/translation of this article for us monoglots here?

I got my order. I believe that mine is a '55 vintage. It looks good, and as David said, the bullet and primer are sealed at the factory, so it should be GTG. I have not fired any yet.

Forgive me if I was rude, gentlemen. Glad to hear the ammo looks good!