30M2 ammo ID

kjohn

kjohn

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Can someone enlighten me on what this ammo is, other than 30-06. What the deal is with the red band. Thanks in advance.

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I can not help about the red band. Original US Military loading was called m1906 - 150 grain spitzer flat base bullets about 150 grains weight, 2700 fps. Then, to improve machine gun range, they developed the M1 round - a boat tail bullet - not sure if it was 168 or into 170's for weight. It worked, but I read that it then exceeded the safety zones of many US military ranges. So, they developed and issued the .30-M2 - 152 grain bullet - was meant to be similar to the original loading, using "modern" components.
 
To differentiate it from M1 ball ammo


the “M2 Alternative” printing, the red stripe on the cardboard packaging here is an instant visual identifier indicating the contents are M2 Ball cartridges; wooden crates of M2 Ball similarly bore the red stripe. Other colors used to identify non-ball .30 caliber cartridges during World War II included green-on-yellow stripes for tracer rounds, red-on-yellow for incendiaries and two blue stripes for rifle grenade blanks. U.S. color coding of ammunition packaging appears to have begun during or after World War I, but any specific beginning or end date of the practice is a bit obscure.
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Okay! Thanks very much for clearing that up. Now I know it wasn't Eisenhower's personal stash of 30-06. :p I'll bet my dear old 6 digit Springfield Garand would eat that stuff up!
 
I thought the red band was to differentiate between 303 British and 30-06.
Due to the P14 in 303 and the P17 in 30-06 being issued at about the same time and both rifles looking pretty much identical.
Cheers
Jeff
 
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