Palmetto State .308 Fed.175 OK with head stamp of 1974?

[skeeterIII]

I ordered some Federal Match .308 175 gr. ammo from Palmetto State Armory last month and got tarnished and head stamped 1974 ammo. When I ordered several cases of their .308 168 gr. Fed. Match ammo it was bright and shiny. Is the 175gr. corrosive? Is there anything wrong with it besides being tarnished and old?

I found it hard to imagine 40 year old ammo for sale and my credit card would not refund my money as I rightly thought this was recently manufactured. Now I will ask the date on the head stamp.

 

[JMGlasgow]

I would call Palmetto and ask them about it. Also, 1974 ammo isn't that old if stored correctly. And it isn't corrosive.

They might have used a different powder though.

 

[Dan M]

Photos of the cartridge headstamp and packaging of the ammunition?

Sierra didn't develop the .308 175SMK until 1995... something is wrong here. M118 could be from 1974, loaded with a 173 BT...no way you would have M118LR loaded on 1974 brass.

 

[Frank]

Never seen Federal match with a date on the headstamp. Pics of ammo and box would be appreciated.

 

[Dan M]

Agreed... only military brass has a date stamp on the case head. GMM...no way. M118/M118LR sure.

There is some missing information in this story. If this ammunition is in GMM boxes, someone switched the ammunition out.

 

[Bjm0918]

I received the same FC 74 head stamp on 500 rounds of the same ammo last week. I ordered from SGammo.Com. The bullets look like 175 SMK's but the brass looks Like some of the crap my father has laying around from the ' 60's.

 

[Dan M]

Is it the .308 GMM or is it 7.62x51?

40 year old brass in new production... that would be interesting. Can you post some photos? What is the lot number on the box?

ETA: you might want to contact Federal for an answer

http://www.federalpremium.com/company/contact_us.aspx

Federal Premium Ammunition
900 Ehlen
Anoka, MN 55303
800-379-1732
763-323-2506 (fax)

 

[marvinlr30]

I have to agree that 1974 headstamped stuff isn't Fed GMM, as said it could be M118sb with the 173 fmj bt. need the rest of the headstamp to really identify. and any markings on the box. headstamp for the M118SB should have the nato cross date and LC stamp not aware of anyone else making M118SB (special ball)

 

[Frank]

Went to SGammo's website and found the following entry for their Federal 175 match ammo --- 7.62x51 Federal Gold Medal Match 175gr Sierra Matchking Ammo. This ammo is a similar load to M118LR in Federal packaging. It is loaded on annealed military brass marked FC with year of Mfg, with crimped in primers. This is the best match ammo for you military match rifles such as the M1A and other variations.

Mystery mostly solved. So I now wonder about the "74" brass????

You guys buy ammo without reading the description?

 

[marvinlr30]

I am aware of the 7.62X51 FedGmm 175 gr, however as stated the 74 date would not be the same or equivalent to M118LR, the op as far as I can tell did not say what other markings on the case. the 7.62X51 FedGmm load is marked with a date for year mine is dated 13 and FC headstamp packaged in the Fed Gmm box with the 7.62X51 175 gr on the box. still think barring any other info it is either reloaded stuff or M118 SB just need more info.

 

[Frank]

How about "74" = July (7th month) 2014 (year ending in 4) ? Marvin, could your ammo have been made in Jan, 2013 hence "13" ? M118SB was a solid tip bullet, not a HP.

 

[marvinlr30]

military ammo is dated with the two digit stamp for year of production hence 74 would be 1974, and 13 is 2013 since 7.62 wasn't in existence in 1913, have some .30-06 dated then. yes M118SB was a full metal jacket with no hollow point. the earlier M118 Match has the same bullet(FMJ) but the headstamp had the Match stamp along with the year packaged in a white box labeled M118 Match, again only made at Lake city arsenal hence the LC. military ammo has a lot number on the box only way to determine exact month would be thru the arsenal making the ammo, same as federal, Remington etc. still need to know how the ops ammo is boxed and any other marks on the headstamp in checking the web sites ie sgammo and palmetto armoury cant find any thing other than the 7.62X51 Federal in the fed Gmm box. found some bulk M80 ball with various headstamps but it is loaded with 147 fmj. as far as I can find the 7.62X51 FedGmm is the same as the MK316 Mod0. just commercially marked box really just an upgrade to M118LR just not marked as LR.

 

[marvinlr30]

another point to consider is that the 7.62X51 FedGMM is not polished ie not bright and shiny as the commercial GMM is. also has the crimped primer as well as a 175 gr smk . wondering if the OP misread the date, instead of 74 it is 14? also to BLM0918, how is it packaged? the 7.62X51 is packaged in the FEDGMM box with the 7.62X51 marking with the 175gr smk . the brass is somewhat tarnished shows the annealing ans just FC 13 on mine could have other year dates but not 74 as far as I can find. like to see pictures of the box and ammo and headstamp.

 

[Dan M]

I wonder if a run of brass was manufactured and then stamped with a fucked up die producing the erroneous date.

 

[Double3]

Lets see some pictures!

 

[dpsthomas]

I'm thinking OP misread 14 for 74.

 

[Bjm0918]

another point to consider is that the 7.62X51 FedGMM is not polished ie not bright and shiny as the commercial GMM is. also has the crimped primer as well as a 175 gr smk . wondering if the OP misread the date, instead of 74 it is 14? also to BLM0918, how is it packaged? the 7.62X51 is packaged in the FEDGMM box with the 7.62X51 marking with the 175gr smk . the brass is somewhat tarnished shows the annealing ans just FC 13 on mine could have other year dates but not 74 as far as I can find. like to see pictures of the box and ammo and headstamp.

It's not annealing like my lapua brass, just old ass brass. Head stamp only has FC 74. Boxed in the exact same 20 round packaging as the other 800 or so rounds I have purchased in the past six months. If somebody can post pics I can email you them

 

[skeeterIII]

I feel like a total fool. I assumed because the brass was so tarnished it was made in 1974 but in fact I mis-read the 1 for a 7, it was made in 2014.I am not sure why it is so tarnished when the 168 Fed. Match is bright and looks new. I greatly apologize and thank you for your insight. It is the 7.62X51 Federal Match.

 

[Frank]

Commercial ammo is bright and shiney. Military ammo is not bright and shiney. FC is using Lake City (GI type) brass for this M118LR "type" ammo. The SGAmmo site mentions its the best a civilian can get for their military type rifles. It may be as simple as changing the headstamp during a production run to differentiate the military portion of the ammo from the commercial sales portion. FC may be doing us a favor but forgot to tell us. Lets just hope it shoot good and stays available on the commercial market.