WWII ammo

[LarsB]

I have a box of original ammo...German WWII pistole 08. They show little evidence of corrosion, but not much. Is it still safe to fire that from a �´42 mauser? Can the projectile get stuck and cause damage? Opinions please.

[John Sabato]

LarsB,

Welcome to the Lugerforum.

While it generally regarded as safe to fire such antique ammo, I would not recommend it because it is corrosive in nature and would require extensive cleaning with appropriate materials to prevent the corrosives from damaging your barrel.

This ammo is also quickly becoming a collectors item and sells for about $20 a box in unopened boxes... and about $1 per unfired round in broken boxes... I would just keep it with your Luger as relic of the same war, and buy yourself some Winchester bulk 9mm from Walmart at about $11.00 a box of 100...

Most forum members use this ammo with excellent results.

[LarsB]

I actually have several boxes...This one is the only one thats opened and with some missing. I�´d just like to try them. My concern is the very small amount of rust that sits between the projectile and the casing on some of them.

I opened one and the powder seemed green-ish. Is that natural?

Modern ammo. Should I be careful not to buy ammo loaded too hard (amount of powder)?

[John Sabato]

Don't buy ammo that is specifically marked for submachine guns... and don't use anything that could be considered +P hot ammo. Everything else is fair game for shooting.

Go ahead and shoot a couple of the WW2 stuff if you want, but you should use a good bore cleaner that is specifically designed to deal with the effects of corrosive ammo. WW2 American bore cleaner is good. After using it then clean it again using modern stuff... and don't think that shooting non-corrosive ammo after using the corrosive stuff is good enough to get the corrosive material out of your barrel... it isn't.

Good Luck and be safe. Have fun.

[John Sabato]

A Caveat... My recommendation to "Go Ahead and shoot a couple" above should also have said "at your own risk" IT is your gun and your ammo and while it may be perfectly fine, it could also result in a damaged gun. After all, the ammo is 60 years old, and you have no idea how the ammo was stored...

Frankly, my own curiosity about the ammo would not be so piqued... The last time I actually fired one of those rounds was 40 years ago... Now that they are worth a $1.00 a round, I wish they were still in my odds and ends box.

I stand by my recommendation to go with modern and appropriate ammo (WInchester).

My thanks to the forum member who chose to contact me via Private Message and remind me that I had not included that warning...

[policeluger]

While I would avoid using this ammo, as you my not have a full history on it, where and how it was stored, and so on, remember to clean all bolt/breech faces, as corrosive ammo, will as all ammo, have a small amount of blow back around the primer cup...this is/will cause a small pin corrosive ring around the primer...I never use ammo in question, good clean factory ammo is cheap, compared to a blown gun..we are aware of two in the last week here, a Ruger and a glock...both guns wasted.

[Sieger]

Hi:

If the ammo has black bullets, you will be shooting steel jacketed ammo through your barrel.

If you value your Luger, don't do this, as it doesn't take a lot of steel jacketed ammo to whip-out your barrel.

Why would you want to shoot this stuff anyway?

Sieger

[Edward Tinker]

Hey guys, why not?

Jeez, sometimes I am surprised at the conservative nature of youse guys?

I am at a conference this week and they talk about thinking "outside" the box all the time, but many of the people here at the conference can't imagine ever doing that?

So he shoots some corrosive ammo, heck, they did that for all of WW1 and through WW2 (?) for 9mm. Clean it well, use some warm soapy water, then use hoppes or whatever and clean her up.

Ed

[Vlim]

Hi Ed,

Within limits. Not like the guy on Jan's forum who dug up a Luger, buried for some 30+ years and decided to fire it.

As long as thinking outside the box doesn't put you into one, I agree.

[policeluger]

It is not an issue of corrosive anything Ed, it is a matter of someone coming here for what he may feel is professional advise, when the gun ammo combination blows up in his hands...do you want to be liable? Here is a gun we have not had a hands on exam, no headspace check, ammo lord knows where its been or how bad it has deteriorited....I would use caution here in all recommenditions. Ed, are you going to the VL gun show in May?? would like to see ya there!

[Johnny C. Kitchens]

Its like not using sub-machine gun ammo. Why???

The ammo was never marked sub-machine gun only...

[LarsB]

Well guys...Thanks for all your replies. I cant really decide wheter to go ahead and try them or not. I think I wont for now. They waited for 60 years so maybe they can wait a little yet.

An aditional question though...I've heard from different people that normal 9mm are a little hot for a luger. Is that true? For self-loading, how many grains would be best for a luger?

[Edward Tinker]

PL, no arguements here! Was only "bothered" by everyone getting up in arms on "older" ammo.



So, yes, I am a safety guy too, but was "assuming" they had, their gun checked, I know I shouldn't assume anything

I doubt I'll make any gun trips, except, I am going to the Colorado Springs gun show in May, and also taking a trip to do work at the WA house.

Ed

[Vlim]

Lars,

That 'too hot' story sure sticks. But don't worry. The main problem with modern 9mm ammo is the overal average length.

The P08 likes longer bullets than most modern suppliers make.

Try feeding your gun the 115/124gr S&B or 115gr WalMart Winchester stuff and remember that feeding problems are usually a 'spring' affair or a too short OAL of the bullet.

[Sieger]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by G. van Vlimmeren:
<strong>The P08 likes longer bullets than most modern suppliers make.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Hi:

Actually, the bullets are the same length, but the American manufacturers simply don't load them out far enough to obtain proper OAL for the Luger.

The P-38 and practically every other newer design doesn't need a precise AOL for proper feeding and function, thus, OAL has become less critical with the ammo manufacturers.

Sieger

[G.W. Gill]

Hi LarsB, I Like to shoot my older aquisitions with thier original load or ammo. I want the feel the history. If this is what you want. Use pristine ammo or the equivalent load as per specs.
For me knowing how it felt to fire my 1816 or 1942 as it was issued is very important. The feel is an issue that triggers imagination only for some of us. I count myself as one of the few that would risk. Sometimes it is super anxiety and very scary to shoot an older weapon. I can't resist it myself. This is a personal choice as I have tied to trees and such and reprooved very old iron barreled muskets. Then fired them multiple times in the same manner to be sure. To assemble and fire with the actual feel of the original owners is a blast.

[Dean]

One of the things to be aware of while shooting old ammo is hangfires.

I once shot some old surplus 7.62x25 in my CZ52. Would you believe 2-3 seconds from the time when the hammer hits till the time the bullet exits the barrel? Pretty scary, not to metion a safety hazard.

The problem is over time moisture seeps in and the first casuality are the primers. They either go all the way (and you have a dud) or they "fizzle" (and you have a hangfire).

The fact that you notice rust on the cartridges is a pretty good indication that the stuff has been exposed to some moisture.

So, very important when shooting surplus/old ammo is to wait after you have a dud. Keep the gun pointed down range.

You won't shoot really old ammo anymore after you've had the "hangfire experience".

[George Anderson]

I used to shoot that stuff all the time back in the seventies and never had a problem. Now I collect it.

[USMC]

The old ammo is fine to shoot, just make sure you inspect the ammo before firing. Look for such things as severly corroded casings and primers, cracked casings and other things of that nature. If the casing has a little surface rust on it, clean it with some fine 0000 steel wool and clean it off before firing, but DO NOT lubricate the ammo. This usally leads to jams and other malfunctions. In my opinion I think its fine to keep a box or two of ammo for display, but it was manufactured to be shot, so why not shoot the stuff.

[Steinar]

I just bought 35 boxes (*16 bullets) of original german WW2 9mm ammo. 23 of them was with sealing intakt.

The price was the same as new ammo in store

I used 8 rounds and they worked just fine in my 1940 byf. A gun that usualy jams 1 out of 8 rounds..
Don't see any reason to use the rest of them, so keeping it for my collection. If any forum members are interessted in trade/buy german ammo, I might be helpfull.