There is a guy on Ebay that is selling reproduction boxes. They aren't cheap, but a lot cheaper that real 30 M1 ammo boxes up here in Canada. They come as a kit that you build the box and apply the decal which seals the ammo inside. I used a bunch of surplus ammo to my needs to give the box a realistic feel. Each kit comes with four boxes:
BALL - Caliber .30 M1
ARMOR PIERCING - Caliber .30 M1
TRACER - Caliber .30 M1
BALL CALIBER - .30M1 1935 NATION MATCHES
They aren't exact but look close enough for me!
Here is the National match box that I did up. Still have to build and load the others. Great for a display or pictures!
This is the history of the M1 that I could seem to put together. Please correct me on anything I misunderstood.
M1 was the designation for 30-06 prior to what most have seen for WWII which would be the M2 designation. 30M1 came about in 1926 after testing of the Swiss GP11 ammo. This ammo utilized a 174gr Boat Tail projectile with IMR 1185 powder. This ammo was not supposed to exceed a mean radii of 4.5" at 500 yards and 5.5" at 600 yards.
But the US Military found that the M1 ammo was actually too good for their ranges, I mean... the ammo had a max range of more than the military shooting ranges could safely utilize, so the military quickly put out orders for a new round to be designed (instead of maybe making their ranges longer?), something that matched the old M1906 ammunition that was seen in WWI. In 1938 the M2 designation arose. This is the ammo that the M1 Garands used in WWII, a 152gr Flat based bullet with IMR 4895. Funny enough the M2 was faster with more energy but the "max range" was 2000 yards less than the M1 (The M2 max range was touted as 3500 yards with the M1 being 5500 yards). This ammo was measured with a mean radii of almost double the M1.
The M1 ammo was shuffled off to be used in National Matches and sold off as surplus. Some of it did find their way into the hands of snipers early in the war but it quickly dried up and they were forced to use the standard M2 Ball ammo.
BALL - Caliber .30 M1
ARMOR PIERCING - Caliber .30 M1
TRACER - Caliber .30 M1
BALL CALIBER - .30M1 1935 NATION MATCHES
They aren't exact but look close enough for me!
Here is the National match box that I did up. Still have to build and load the others. Great for a display or pictures!
This is the history of the M1 that I could seem to put together. Please correct me on anything I misunderstood.
M1 was the designation for 30-06 prior to what most have seen for WWII which would be the M2 designation. 30M1 came about in 1926 after testing of the Swiss GP11 ammo. This ammo utilized a 174gr Boat Tail projectile with IMR 1185 powder. This ammo was not supposed to exceed a mean radii of 4.5" at 500 yards and 5.5" at 600 yards.
But the US Military found that the M1 ammo was actually too good for their ranges, I mean... the ammo had a max range of more than the military shooting ranges could safely utilize, so the military quickly put out orders for a new round to be designed (instead of maybe making their ranges longer?), something that matched the old M1906 ammunition that was seen in WWI. In 1938 the M2 designation arose. This is the ammo that the M1 Garands used in WWII, a 152gr Flat based bullet with IMR 4895. Funny enough the M2 was faster with more energy but the "max range" was 2000 yards less than the M1 (The M2 max range was touted as 3500 yards with the M1 being 5500 yards). This ammo was measured with a mean radii of almost double the M1.
The M1 ammo was shuffled off to be used in National Matches and sold off as surplus. Some of it did find their way into the hands of snipers early in the war but it quickly dried up and they were forced to use the standard M2 Ball ammo.
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