Bullet with stamp, no clue

DorkyDeric · Jul 10, 2019

**UPDATE**
I added more photos, hopefully this will help!

So, I found this bullet today, but I am having trouble finding ANY info on it. I have a picture of it, I did not get one of the stamp but I know what it says. It is spaced out all around the bottom and just has "5 3 W T". The bullet is a 300 Win Mag, from the research I did. I also read that maybe military bullets have dates on them and I was thinking that the "53" was perhaps the year? I dunno, thoughts on this? Thank you for any help!

Bayoutalker · Jul 10, 2019

The 43 should be the year 1943. The two letters could be TW which is Twin Cities Ordnance Plant. I'm not an expert by any means but I'm sure others will comment that know more. A picture of the headstamp will help.

Cliff

Iggyks · Jul 10, 2019

My knowledge isn't vast but did the military use .300 Win Mag? Could it be 30.06?

Bayoutalker · Jul 10, 2019

Iggyks said:
My knowledge isn't vast but did the military use .300 Win Mag? Could it be 30.06?

Would need all the dimensions to know for sure. I don't know if the 300 Win Mag was around in 1943. After looking farther it came out in 1963 so it's not that. Could be a 7.62 x 67.

Cliff

Iggyks · Jul 10, 2019

30-06 was used by the military in the 1903 Springfield and the M1 so there are a lot of them out there.

BaldAssCat · Jul 10, 2019

The 30-06 would be about 63mm on the case, 85mm to the tip of the bullet. It looks like an 06 to me but pictures can lie about size.

DorkyDeric · Jul 12, 2019

Bayoutalker said:
Would need all the dimensions to know for sure. I don't know if the 300 Win Mag was around in 1943. After looking farther it came out in 1963 so it's not that. Could be a 7.62 x 67.

Cliff

I updated the post, and added pictures. Hopefully that will help. Thank you again for any info!

Bayoutalker · Jul 12, 2019

DorkyDeric said:
I updated the post, and added pictures. Hopefully that will help. Thank you again for any info!

That should help get you a definite answer.

Cliff

Longhair · Jul 12, 2019

Not a Win Mag. Win Mag is a belted magnum case, and that one isn't.
It's a 30-06.

DorkyDeric · Jul 12, 2019

Awesome, thank you! That's good info to know. Any idea what the W T 5 3 is?

DorkyDeric · Jul 12, 2019

Ok, Mystery solved!! After I found it was a 30-06 (thanks to Longhair), I was able to do more research and find out that this was a military bullet manufactured in Twin Cities in 1953. I live in the CITY of Portland, so the real mystery is, why is there a military bullet buried in my yard? This is why I love MD'ing so much. You can just imagine stories with things that you find...

imukdiver · Jul 12, 2019

It was probably sold as surplus ammo. It was a very popular round for hunting, as the ammo was cheap. The Garand was also sold as surplus by the tens of thousands. I remember Woolworths sold surplus ammo and garands.

Bill_Ace_350 · Jul 12, 2019

Iggyks said:
30-06 was used by the military in the 1903 Springfield and the M1 so there are a lot of them out there.

and in numerous machine guns.

Bill_Ace_350 · Jul 12, 2019

DorkyDeric said:
Ok, Mystery solved!! After I found it was a 30-06 (thanks to Longhair), I was able to do more research and find out that this was a military bullet manufactured in Twin Cities in 1953. I live in the CITY of Portland, so the real mystery is, why is there a military bullet buried in my yard? This is why I love MD'ing so much. You can just imagine stories with things that you find...

not unusual at all, considering the number manufactured.

Bayoutalker · Jul 12, 2019

DorkyDeric said:
Ok, Mystery solved!! After I found it was a 30-06 (thanks to Longhair), I was able to do more research and find out that this was a military bullet manufactured in Twin Cities in 1953. I live in the CITY of Portland, so the real mystery is, why is there a military bullet buried in my yard? This is why I love MD'ing so much. You can just imagine stories with things that you find...

It might have been brought home by a GI after WWII. My dad was with an MP group stationed in Washington State as part of the Manhattan Project. I have several rounds that he brought home after the war ended.

Cliff

dickn52 · Jul 13, 2019

NOT WWII but Korea.

Bayoutalker · Jul 13, 2019

dickn52 said:
NOT WWII but Korea.

You are correct, I was thinking 43 instead of 53. Oops!

Cliff

waltr · Jul 13, 2019

imukdiver said:
It was probably sold as surplus ammo. It was a very popular round for hunting, as the ammo was cheap. The Garand was also sold as surplus by the tens of thousands. I remember Woolworths sold surplus ammo and garands.

I agree with this.

I have bought and shot a lot of surplus .30-06 ammo in my surplus Garand.
Lots of fun even if not the most accurate rifle.

I also find a lot of military .45 ACP cases detecting farms and fields. Sure these were all sold as surplus.

Bullet with stamp, no clue

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