Frankford Arsenal:

Headstamp: FA

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year.

Federal Cartridge Corporation:

Headstamp: FCC

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year – OR if "single digits" are found then for example, a 4 would indicate 1944 and a 5 would indicate 1955.

Lake City Arsenal:

Headstamp: LC

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year.

Remington Arms:

Headstamp: RA

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year.

Headstamp: SL

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Twin Cities Arsenal:

Headstamp: TW

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Western Cartridge Corporation:

Headstamp: WWC

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Winchester Repeating Arms:

Headstamp: WRA

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Dominion Arsenal (Canada):

Headstamp: DAQ

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Headstamp: VC

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Eu Claire Ordnance Plant: Manufactured exclusively during WWII and all production IS CORROSIVE!

Headstamp: EW

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Denver Ordnance Plant: Manufactured exclusively during WWII and all production IS CORROSIVE!

Headstamp: Den

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Utah Ordnance Plant: Manufactured exclusively during WWII and all production IS CORROSIVE!

Headstamp: U or UT

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

Des Moines Ordnance Plant: Manufactured exclusively during WWII and all production IS CORROSIVE!

Headstamp: DM

Date Stamp: Last two digits of the year:

.30 CARBINE

Note: All (U.S.) .30 Carbine Ammunition made during WWII and after is NON-CORROSIVE (regardless of manufacturer)!

Note:Note: All 7.62 mm NATO manufactured in this country EXCEPT 1956 "International Match Ammunition" manufactured by Frankford Arsenal (produced at the same time as the FA .30-’06, 1956 International Match Ammunition) is NON Corrosive! This ammunition is usually found in Arsenal White Boxes marked "International Match" with FA and the appropriate lot number.

Non-corrosive Primers By Ammunition Lot and Date:

NOTE: While the decision to go entirely to non-corrosive primers was made in August of 1949, and was scheduled to be totally implemented by the beginning of 1950, the actual changeover took longer than expected. Listed below are the lot numbers and dates of the FIRST NON-CORROSIVE military ammunition made in the United States or Canada. If the lot numbers are NOT known, the only safe way to discern the corrosive or non-corrosive nature of the primers is to consider the following year date stamp as non-corrosive. For example, if the first non-corrosive lot number of Frankfort is 4149 produced in October 1951, anything manufactured by FA stamped 52 can be considered to be safe to use. I will list the ABSOLUTELY safe headstamps at the end of this document.

The following are the actual dates, calibers, lot numbers and manufacturer’s first non-corrosive ammunition:

FRANKFORD ARSENAL:

Type: .30-’06 Ball:

Lot Number: 4149

Date: October 1951

First SAFE headstamp: FA 52

 

Type: .30-’06 AP

Lot Number: 887

Date: October 1951

First SAFE headstamp: FA 52

 

Type: .45 ACP Ball

Lot Number: 1542

Date: July 1954

First SAFE headstamp: FA 55

EXCEPTIONS:

1. Any .30-’06 Ball with zinc plated primers with headstamp of FA 47 or later is non-corrosive.
   
2. FA .30-’06 "Special Match" headstamped FA 53, FA 54, or FA 56 with red, purple or green primer waterproofing is CORROSIVE!

FEDERAL CARTRIDGE CORPORATION:

Type: .45 ACP Ball

Lot Number: 1801

Date: November 1953

First SAFE Headstamp: FCC 54

LAKE CITY ARSENAL:

Type: .30-’06 Ball

Lot Number: 13700

Date: June 1951

First SAFE Headstamp: LC 52

 

Type: .30-’06 AP

Lot Number: 13158

Date: April 1952

First SAFE Headstamp: LC 53

REMINGTON ARMS CORPORATION:

Type: .30-’06 Ball

Lot Number: 33853

Date: November 1951

First SAFE Headstamp: RA 52

 

Type: .45 ACP Ball

Lot Number: 5544

Date: September 1952

First SAFE Headstamp: RA 53

ST. LOUIS ORDNANCE PLANT:

Type: .30-’06 Ball

Lot Number: 9420

Date: May 1952

First SAFE Headstamp: SL 53

 

Type: .30-’06 AP

Lot Number: 9467

Date: July 1952

First SAFE Headstamp: SL 53

TWIN CITIES ARSENAL:

Type: .30-’06 Ball

Lot Number: 19362

Date: December 1950

First SAFE Headstamp: TW 51

 

Type: .30-’06 AP

Lot Number: 19776

Date: February 1952

First SAFE Headstamp: TW 53

 

Type: .45 ACP Ball

Lot Number: 18000

Date: August 1953

First SAFE Headstamp: TW 54

WESTERN CARTRIDGE CORPORATION:

Type: .30-’06 Ball

Lot Number: 6428

Date: June 1951

First SAFE Headstamp: WCC 52

 

Type: .45 ACP Ball

Lot Number: 6375

Date: November 1952

First SAFE Headstamp: WCC 53

WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY:

Type: .30-’06 Ball

Lot Number: 23201

Date: August 1951

First SAFE Headstamp: WRA 52

 

Type: .30-’06 AP

Lot Number: 22007

Date: June 1954

First SAFE Headstamp: WRA 55

Lot Number: 22198

Date: November 1951

First SAFE Headstamp: WRA 52

EXCEPTIONS:

Type: .45 ACP Ball (Steel Case)

Lot Numbers 22000 – 22007

Date: June 1954

If I recall, these were "mild" steel (reloadable) cases used for the 1955 National Matches, but don’t hold my feet to the fire on this one! These are not to be confused with the WWII Steel Cases to be used in the United States for practice. The WWII stuff usually had purple primer sealant, and was produced to conserve brass during the war. All the WWII Steel Case .45 ACP IS corrosive.

DOMINION ARSENAL (CANADA):

ALL ammunition manufactured by this maker is non-corrosive. They started producing .30-’06 Ball in August 1945.

VERDUN ARSENAL (CANADA):

ALL ammunition manufactured by this maker is non-corrosive. They started producing .30-’06 Ball in April 1945.

EAU CLAIRE ORDINANCE PLANT:

ALL ammunition was produced during WWII and IS Corrosive!

DENVER ORDNANCE PLANT:

ALL ammunition was produced during WWII and IS Corrosive!

UTAH ORDNANCE PLANT:

ALL ammunition produced during WWII and IS Corrosive!

For all of you who would like to print out a "cheat sheet" of "safe" non-corrosive headbase stamps, we have made a page for you to access and print separately. Simply click on the link below!

All headstamps of these dates or later will be non-corrosive with the exceptions noted.