Old 7mm Mauser Ammo

[JT27]

Bumped into a gentleman at my club today as I was leaving. He said he had just left a bag full of old miscellaneous military ammo in the clubhouse, free to anyone who wants it. So I take a peek and end leaving with it. Haven’t been through all of it yet but ended up with 80pcs of 7mm Mauser, same headstamp, UMC.

I don’t have a 7mm Mauser, don’t know anyone that does. So is this stuff worth saving? Maybe the brass?

The one pic is of the bottom of the bullet. Thought that was interesting.

 

[centerlineseal]

I loaded some of those in a 7mmRemMag 40 years ago for laughable "engine block" service. Hell on rocks tho.

 

[1911nut]

“I don’t have a 7mm Mauser, don’t know anyone that does. So is this stuff worth saving? ”

no, put it back in the bag

 

[joshb]

@hoz53 could use it!

 

[hoz53]

@hoz53 could use it!

thanks for the help JB

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I don’t have a 7mm Mauser,

Sounds like you need a 7mm Mauser.

 

[K22]

I am fairly sure that Larry Potterfield of Midway USA fame has one. He used in Africa on plains game.

 

[ebb]

Ive got a small ring Mauser that was rescued from the trunk of a car headed for the crusher. UMC sounds like it may be boxer primed, but most surplus I would think would be Berdan primed. I think mine will get bore scoped before I spend much time on it.

 

[Forum Boss]

I certainly wouldn't shoot it. The powder may have degraded leading to unpredictable ignition, and the powder may be corrosive.

Shooting Corrosive Ammo? Learn How to Protect Your Guns « Daily Bulletin

Scary stuff -- AK-74 after firing corrosive ammo and not being cleaned for a week. Image courtesy ADCOFirearms.com. No doubt you've heard the term corrosive used with respect to ammunition.

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

 

[KMart]

Ive got a small ring Mauser that was rescued from the trunk of a car headed for the crusher. UMC sounds like it may be boxer primed, but most surplus I would think would be Berdan primed. I think mine will get bore scoped before I spend much time on it.

UMC....Union Metallic Cartridge.
Was an independent ammo manufacturer way back when. Was bought out by Remington and the headstamps became Rem-UMC for a long time. Then later, just Rem.

 

[ebb]

Most American made ammo was boxer primed and UMC is obviously made in USA. But coming from a box that says Interammo is suspect. I am usually not too hesitant to use older stuff, but this is telling me Corrosive, and before I knew any better I ruined a Spanish Mauser with corrosive primed ammo. I would pull some down and see if it is boxer primed, but some Privi 7x57 cases would not break the bank.

 

[JT27]

I did pull a few of them down and they are a boxer primer. Before I de-mill them I wanted to ask if any of the components are worth saving? If not, I’ll scrap the brass.

I did pull 10 of some other odd calibers that were in there. All Berdan primers, so before I threw those in my scrap bucket, I popped the primers. Most of them just fizzled when I hit them.

 

[gat]

What????? Nobody has a 7mm Mauser chambered rifle? WDM Bell (killed over 1000 elephant primarily with a .275 Rigby aka 7mm Mauser) would roll over in his grave and so would Harry Selby. Shaking my head in disbelief!

 

[gat]

Contact me if you decide to rid yourself of the brass! Will fit my daughter's Custom FN commercial auctioned Mauser perfectly!

 

[DGP4]

I've shot lots of old 7MM ammo like that. UMC didn't make corrosive ammo that I can remember. Bullets look like the original 175 grain round nose style. Worst come to be you might get a few hang fires, but nothing dangerous about shooting it.

 

[Fire Dog]

Most American made ammo was boxer primed and UMC is obviously made in USA. But coming from a box that says Interammo is suspect. I am usually not too hesitant to use older stuff, but this is telling me Corrosive, and before I knew any better I ruined a Spanish Mauser with corrosive primed ammo. I would pull some down and see if it is boxer primed, but some Privi 7x57 cases would not break the bank.

Corrosive ammo can be used if you are willing to then get home and really scrub the barrel and chamber with hot soapy water…
Just don’t put it back in the safe without cleaning or YES, you will find the barrel showing fuzzy rusting and the damage will have started and the longer it is left in that condition the greater the damage….
I can also say that if you use corrosive ammo brass {such as military 30-06 pre 1954} than you must be sure that it has been cleaned thoroughly {I recommend wet SS pin cleaning} as there is residue left behind and you can experience corrosion even though you are using modern components… Ask me how I know..!

 

[DGP4]

I shoot a lot of corrosive ammo. As noted, unless cleaned properly you will see bright orange rust in the bore within a week no matter how many patches of solvent you passed down the barrel. When a corrosive primer is ignited it leaves salts (potassium chloride or sodium chloride) in the bore that cannot be neutralized. They must be flushed out of the barrel before you clean. The simplest way to do so is while the barrel is still hot from shooting. I carry a cheap Walmart bottle of glass cleaner with me and flush the barrel out immediately after shooting. The hot barrel will dry out almost instantly. Once home, I clean the bore in the usual way. I have military rifles with thousands of corrosive primer ammo through them that have a pristine bore.

 

[ebb]

When I was given the Spanish 8x57 I didn't know there was such a thing a corrosive ammo, I learned the hard way. I barreled it into a 260 Remington and gave it to a young marine. To this day i will not even entertain the idea of Corrosive ammo. Life is too short to mess with that junk. I totally get that some may think it is worth the trouble, and to each his/her own. I will not use the stuff.

 

[DGP4]

I wouldn't bother today, but the stuff I have was 7-8 cents a round when I bought it. And it's fun to shoot what the guns were made for. We are not talking about bench rest shooting here. Just fun plinking with the original ammo!

 

[hoz53]

Most American made ammo was boxer primed and UMC is obviously made in USA. But coming from a box that says Interammo is suspect. I am usually not too hesitant to use older stuff, but this is telling me Corrosive, and before I knew any better I ruined a Spanish Mauser with corrosive primed ammo. I would pull some down and see if it is boxer primed, but some Privi 7x57 cases would not break the bank.

wish i could find some privi 7x57 cases