Kirk
07-27-2010, 06:13
The AYR (Norwegian) M2 AP ammo sold by the CMP came from various lots made in 1955 & 1956. The photos here are from lot AYR-28 from 1956. Cases are berdan primed and the primers are non-corrosive. Several people have reported problems with the ammo, including blown primers & case head separations. Those who pulled the bullets found, in a few cases, caked powder or corrosion inside the cases. Some found corrosion outside the case. No cause was established; my best guess is improper storage. Some of the wood packing crates showed water stains. Those interested can follow up on the "Ask Orest" and "Ammunition" forums at the CMP website. http://www.thecmp.org/forums/
I bought 12 cans (192 rounds/can) in early May and because of the problems noted, decided to pull down all the ammo, separate all bad components & then reload the rest. So far, I have pulled down 10 cans & found no real problem until can #10. Up until then, the worst I found was caked powder that readily broke up by tapping the case on a press or scraping with the handle of a powder spoon. About 30% of the cases had a very slight amount of a white residue - corrosion - inside the case. I saw no reason not to use any cases, bullets or powder (still has the sweet solvent odor & shoots well in reloads) - until can #10. When I took the clips out of can #10, one clip had a severely corroded round that had caused corrosion on adjacent rounds. I set that aside & pulled the rest. Five rounds went "pop" when I pulled the bullet. They were "pressurized" like a can of soda pop and emitted a puff of white dust as the bullet cleared the case mouth. (I'm using a Forster collet type bullet puller) In each case, the base of the bullet is heavily corroded. There was no corrosion on the outside. None on these rounds were in the same clip; on the clip with the externally corroded round, all 7 others pulled normally & the powder/bullets are good. Except for these few rounds, the powder poured out of the cases exactly like the previous 9 cans. The can was well sealed; no rust or any evidence of water being inside the can. No rusted clips, bandoleers, etc. to suggest anything. I can't imagine why only a few rounds were corroded among so many. The only reason I can think of is that there was some contamination in just those cases at time of manufacture. Any ideas?
The photos show the cases with corroded bullets found at random & then the ones out of the clip with the externally corroded case.
53215320532353245322
I bought 12 cans (192 rounds/can) in early May and because of the problems noted, decided to pull down all the ammo, separate all bad components & then reload the rest. So far, I have pulled down 10 cans & found no real problem until can #10. Up until then, the worst I found was caked powder that readily broke up by tapping the case on a press or scraping with the handle of a powder spoon. About 30% of the cases had a very slight amount of a white residue - corrosion - inside the case. I saw no reason not to use any cases, bullets or powder (still has the sweet solvent odor & shoots well in reloads) - until can #10. When I took the clips out of can #10, one clip had a severely corroded round that had caused corrosion on adjacent rounds. I set that aside & pulled the rest. Five rounds went "pop" when I pulled the bullet. They were "pressurized" like a can of soda pop and emitted a puff of white dust as the bullet cleared the case mouth. (I'm using a Forster collet type bullet puller) In each case, the base of the bullet is heavily corroded. There was no corrosion on the outside. None on these rounds were in the same clip; on the clip with the externally corroded round, all 7 others pulled normally & the powder/bullets are good. Except for these few rounds, the powder poured out of the cases exactly like the previous 9 cans. The can was well sealed; no rust or any evidence of water being inside the can. No rusted clips, bandoleers, etc. to suggest anything. I can't imagine why only a few rounds were corroded among so many. The only reason I can think of is that there was some contamination in just those cases at time of manufacture. Any ideas?
The photos show the cases with corroded bullets found at random & then the ones out of the clip with the externally corroded case.
53215320532353245322