Recently, DEGS had a table at the Greenville gun show, and wow, was that a great experience! We talked to a lot of people, many of them with the same vintage rifle itch shared by our members. A few had great stories to tell about their experiences with the Garand, especially when it came to rifles passed down in the family. And a few others had questions about the care and operation of their M1. Of course our favorite answer to that question was "join us on the range, and we'll find someone who can help you out!"
One question that came up will be familiar to anyone who shoots vintage rifles: "I have a bunch of ammo with XYZ headstamp. Is that corrosive?" DEGS dealt with that question a few years back, and we now ensure that all ammo sold through us is non-corrosive. We know our HXP is good to go! However, there is plenty of other Garand food out there, making that a tough question to answer sometimes, especially when you get into some of the less common manufactures. How many of use can say for sure whether that VC or DM or U ammo is corrosive?
Well as usual, the CMP is there to help us out. Below is a link to a PDF on their site which lists MANY headstamps, and gives tells when (or if) they made corrosive ammo.
Garand Ammunition Headstamps and Corrosive Ammo
And if you are looking for a bit more detail as to what makes ammunition corrosive and why you should care (including a little review of your high school chemistry), here is a link to another pdf which we published on our site a few years back.
By the way, VC (Verdun Arsenal in Canada) never made corrosive ammo, and DM (Des Moines Ordnance) and U (Utah Ordnance) ALWAYS made corrosive ammo!
Obligatory disclaimer: We pass this info on to our members for informational purposes only. We have no way of verifying its accuracy, so it is up to you to always err on the side of caution when feeding your vintage rifles!