It’s been a long time since I logged back in here.
Anyways, my friend found a Ammunition Box in his basement.
He wants to know what era it’s from and such, He’s gonna send me some pictures of it maybe tomorrow. So far he says it’s empty and some writings on it.
I’ll ask him tomorrow what these writings are.
OK it says.
840 Cartridges,
5.56 mm
Ball M19s
10 round clips
Bandoleers
wcc85a c41012
and has a big number 2 on the side.
10 round clips sound like rifle clips, 556 is a common rifle round, well its a very common ammunition round, well thats practally all i know
5.56 is the standard U.S. cartridge used in the M16 rifle.
M19s: Are you sure it’s not M193?
wcc: Western Cartridge Co.
JT
My friend says the M19’s last part is unclear, so it could possibly be M193
From memory it’s normally 120 rounds to a bandolier, could be 60 though - last time I used one it was night, I was alternating between section commander and section 2IC and the various DS were on my arse.
I agree with Jacob, it almost certainly says M193 on the case. That’s the older 5.56mm round used in the M16 and M16A1 rifle - the newer variants fire a heavier round which requires a different number of turns on the rifling.
My guess is that he has a Vietnam War era ammunition box then?
Nope, little bit more recent than that - came in in IIRC 1973 so right at the very end of the war.
My friend sent me the pictures, here they are.
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u190/101stgomez/01-08-08_1714.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u190/101stgomez/01-08-08_1716.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u190/101stgomez/01-08-08_1717.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u190/101stgomez/01-08-08_1721.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u190/101stgomez/01-08-08_1720.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u190/101stgomez/01-08-08_1718.jpg
Oh and he has yet to open it, the box belonged to his grandfather. He is going to try and pick it and see whats inside.
its an m193 case, the first pic shows the box and then zoom right where 19 is, and it has a faded 3
Well I just remembered that I got an ammunition box 2 years ago for christmas, but the ammunition box was to hold the .50 cal bullets that were being fed into the machinegun. When I got it, it was holding paintball stuff in it because at the time i loved paintball:)
ill buy it
How much do you offer for it.
2 dolla
1 dolla. lol. Nope I am not going to sell it for the price 
I have to check everything on the box and see the value of it. Probably going to have to do more research on how much it is actually worth.
The bandoliers that I have are 140 rounds. Just wondering what is different about the round that it requires different rifling? Just wanting to know if I’m using the wrong ammo in my rifle.
Bullet weight is different, IIRC the newer round is heavier so had a lower muzzle velocity and needs a tighter rifling to give a similar rate of spin for stability.
Are your bandoliers a set of pockets containing 10 round clips of 5.56mm? If so 140 is a really wierd number - not a whole number of magazines!
The bandoliers in my collection contain seven pockets, each holding two 10-round stripper clips. 6 bandoliers to an ammo can, 840 rds. Also, I don’t think it is required to change the rifling when you change the weight of a bullet. I shoot 52 gr. 55 gr. and 62 gr. bullets in the same rifle. Also shoot .270 100 gr. 130 gr. and 150 gr. in the same rifle.
Wierd. I’m 90% certain I’ve only ever seen them with 30 rounds to a pocket (for obvious reasons - you should be counting your rounds when you fire so you know when a magazine change is coming up - you hardly want to introduce different sized magazines to the mix for private soldiers to try and keep track of in their heads in the middle of a firefight). To be fair it’s pretty rare for me to be issued ammunition in a bandolier though (my lot are a CSS unit) and the last time I used them it was night.
As for the twist, I’m a little vague as to exactly why it’s important. I think it’s because NATO standard ammunition is designed to be inherently unstable to improve the wounding effect, and hence requires a certain rate of spin for stability. Lower muzzle velocities will give less spin in the same rifling, hence the need for steeper rifling with a lower muzzle velocity.
Again, to emphasise, I’m rather out of my depth on all this. The following comment I dug up may help:
Because the steel penetrator increases the length and changes the
weight distribution of the SS109 bullet, it is suitable for use only in
barrels with a twist of one turn in nine inches or faster. Pre-1986 Ruger
Mini-14’s with the one in 10 inch twist will handle this round but
stability is marginal and accuracy falls off below zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Military rifles intended to use this ammunition have a seven inch twist to
ensure bullet stability under arctic conditions and to stabilize the even
longer L110 and M856 tracer bullets. Current production Mini-14’s and some
Ranch Rifles now have seven inch twists.