.30-06 Ammo Crate Question
 

Hi all,

I have just acquired this wooden ammo crate which bears a Canadian Nato Stock Number, along with the IVI ammunition manufacturer's code...
This crate would have held four metal boxes of ammo.
The content is marked as M1909 linked BALL ammo, but since the .30 Cal M1909 round was a blank round, the word BALL could have been altered from BLANK...
Other markings may have been altered or added too...

Can anyone confirm the Canadian origin of this crate and date it?

Thanks,

Johan

Good find. DA (Dominion Arsenals) made very good 7.62x51 ammo. Some lots were so consistent they were reserved for proof testing. I don't know but the name for the plant changed in the mid 60's. So if the lot number ends -61, that would seem too early by 3 or 4 years. They made a lot of ammo for Canada and for export to the US. But IVI's quality control was the absolute $hits in the 70's.

The wood case you show is exactly the style of packaging I remember (from my youth). The one thing that looks missing are the light web handles on the removable end panels. Or maybe that was on the DA cases, which had 2 heavy cardboard boxes full of infantry ammunition in bandoliers?

The NSN is indeed for 30 cal blank. The NSN also mentions that it will be packed belted 250 rounds to a belt, each belt in a M19 metal box, and 4 boxes into a crate number C23. Sounds like yours has been altered from blank to ball.

Ammunition Crate
 

Nice Vietnam era crate! Did you get it the metal ammunition boxes in it as well?

Hi Ed,

No the crate was empty when I found it...

I don't collect Canadian or post WW2 gear so will have to see what I will do with this....

Thanks for the replies all...

Canada
 

If you lived in Canada, I would be trying to cut a deal with you on it.

Ball/ Blank
 

TheNATO symbol on the box (broken circle) depicts "Blank". the symbol for "Ball" is just that, a black ball.
As most ammo(Ball) even at that time, was packed as; 4 Ball, 1 Tracer (4bit) that makes yours pretty rare. I cannot explain the contradiction

Proof rounds are of a much higher pressure than standard ball ammo, and the cases will be specifically marked to not confuse the two. Proof ammunition is rarely issued to service and will be generally only found in Arsenals or acceptance facilities.

It is possible however, that you meant that batches of consistant ammo was retained and selected as Match ammo, used for shooting competitions and in service as Sniper ammo, where outright performance is not the chief attribute, but repeatable consistancy is of paramount concern.