I recently purchased a large volume of de-milled surplus military armor piercing bullets. In my 15 years of buying, selling, and collecting I have never come across this type of bullet. The bullets came with the purchase of "M61" bullets. I have included pictures of the bullet.
The bullet weight is 145 grain and was consistent when randomly selecting and weighing out 30 bullets in the bundle. The weight only varied .4 - .7 grain which is very constant and really not standard for an armor piercing bullet. The M61 bullet varies +/- 10 (ten) grain with a target weight of 152 grain. The cannelure is about 70% of the way down the bullet and is indented roughly 1mm into the copper jacket and 2-3mm wide circling around the bullet. The M61 has a dual cannelure and is an impression into the copper jacket. The two couldn't be more far apart from one another in differences.
The core weight was 70 grain and ran the full length of the bullet. The M61 core is roughly 60% of the length of the bullet with a 30% lead filled bottom. At the bottom of this core was a copper or aluminum cap much like the one present on a 163 grain M2 AP 30-06 bullet. The core is not even similar to the M2 AP full length core since the base does not tapered back but rather this core is straight all the way to the base with the exception of the pointed tip. The core is also enclosed in a thin lead casing likely less then 1mm in thickness which can also be seen in the picture.
At first I thought the bullet was a Hirtenberger Patronfabrik 7.62x51 AP bullet but those bullets have a flat nose core. While this one as you can see is pointed. Additionally the core is not smooth like the Hirtenberger core but rather it has the same texture and visual representation at the M61 core. The core is rough on the outside with circular grooves from top to bottom. The core is without a doubt harden tool steel and not/not a tungsten blend of metal. The bullet and its core does not/not appear to be any variant of the "T" series AP bullets that I found on the internet.
I would really like to know what this bullet is? its name? origination? military designator? cost to make? and estimated worth today?
Thank you in advance for any details the Snipers Hide community can provide. Cheers
144:1
The bullet weight is 145 grain and was consistent when randomly selecting and weighing out 30 bullets in the bundle. The weight only varied .4 - .7 grain which is very constant and really not standard for an armor piercing bullet. The M61 bullet varies +/- 10 (ten) grain with a target weight of 152 grain. The cannelure is about 70% of the way down the bullet and is indented roughly 1mm into the copper jacket and 2-3mm wide circling around the bullet. The M61 has a dual cannelure and is an impression into the copper jacket. The two couldn't be more far apart from one another in differences.
The core weight was 70 grain and ran the full length of the bullet. The M61 core is roughly 60% of the length of the bullet with a 30% lead filled bottom. At the bottom of this core was a copper or aluminum cap much like the one present on a 163 grain M2 AP 30-06 bullet. The core is not even similar to the M2 AP full length core since the base does not tapered back but rather this core is straight all the way to the base with the exception of the pointed tip. The core is also enclosed in a thin lead casing likely less then 1mm in thickness which can also be seen in the picture.
At first I thought the bullet was a Hirtenberger Patronfabrik 7.62x51 AP bullet but those bullets have a flat nose core. While this one as you can see is pointed. Additionally the core is not smooth like the Hirtenberger core but rather it has the same texture and visual representation at the M61 core. The core is rough on the outside with circular grooves from top to bottom. The core is without a doubt harden tool steel and not/not a tungsten blend of metal. The bullet and its core does not/not appear to be any variant of the "T" series AP bullets that I found on the internet.
I would really like to know what this bullet is? its name? origination? military designator? cost to make? and estimated worth today?
Thank you in advance for any details the Snipers Hide community can provide. Cheers
144:1
