Ammunition Evaluation: Ethiopian .30-06
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Century International Arms has imported a quantity of Ethiopian ammunition, and asked me to do a video on it. So, I have a three-part evaluation here: appearance and packaging, live fire testing (including velocity and consistency), and teardown and bullet weight consistency. This ammunition was produced (as best I can tell) at the Emperor Haile Selassie Ammunition Factory, established with Czech technical aid in the late 1940s in Addis Ababa. This ammunition is all headstamped 1977, made for a variety of American surplus rifles and machine guns acquired by Ethiopia including the M1 Garand, M1917 and M1919 machine guns, and M1918A2 BAR. I received this ammunition packaged in 15-round loose boxes as well as in M1 Garand en bloc clips and bandoliers.
Velocity:
I tested velocity using a .30-06 M1917 Enfield rifle (barrel length 26 inches). Measurements were taken at 10 feet from the muzzle, with a sample size of 15 rounds fired. I found an average velocity of 2998 fps, extreme spread of 90 fps (max 3031, min 2941), and standard deviation of 25.36 fps. None of the rounds exhibited any unusual behavior when fired, although the velocity I measured was substantially higher than the American M2 spec which I would have expected in a flat base 150 grain loading. Note: I tested ammunition from the 15 round boxes, and no form the Garand bandoliers. I did not test this in a Garand rifle, and cannot comment on the bolt velocity it produces therein.
Bullets:
I tested the weight of 10 bullets using a calibrated Lyman electronic scale. I found an average weight of 150.7 grains, extreme spread of 1.6 grains (max 151.6 gr, min 150.0 gr), and standard deviation of 0.52 grains. Bullet construction is flat base with an open base, lead core, and gilding metal over steel jacket (these bullets do attract a magnet).
Century advertises this ammunition as using corrosive primers, and I took them at their word and did not test for corrosivity.
Raw data:
Velocities (fps): 2955, 3015, 3028, 2993, 2992, 2976, 3009, 3017, 3020, 2995, 2941, 3001, 3031, 2994, 3007
Bullet weights (grains): 151.0, 150.7, 150.1, 150.5, 150.0, 151.6, 150.9, 150.7, 150.4, 151.4
Who else wanted the speed of one of those rounds to be exactly 3006 fps?
Haha I was. One hit 3007.
Well, I do NOW...
why is it called 30 on 6 but not 30 zero6 or 30 o6
@@jerryhsi005 it's 30 ought (awt) 6. Ought means zero.
3007 gah so close
We're at the range today so please bear with any gunfire you hear in the background.
Is it loud enough to make a difference? You be the judge.
Now let's go crunch the numbers.
Thumpert the Fascist Cotton-tail lacks the jacket bit has gained some glorious hair. Equally interesting as an orator.
Ian and Paul should do a collaboration video.
MEAT TARGET and high tech fleece bullet stop.
You win the comment section
It's the year 2011 in Ethiopia right now. That's why they mark it 1970 in their own language and 1978 in English.
Jussi Leppänen Jesus didnt get to ethiopia the same year as he did to Israel maybe
He's explained in prior videos that he understands the discrepancy between the Ethiopian calendar and the Gregorian one, his point is that the head stamps are '77 and the date on the box is 1970/78.
Somebody already said that on the last video.
If such a useful comment didn't make it through on a channel like this, I think commenting is largely useless.
And I realize these videos were made in bulks, but we have seen annotations in the past.
I would guess that the brass was manufactured in 1977 and actually loaded and packaged in 1978.
@@royhorn2782 Could also be that the ammo was manufactured and put in to crates, and later distributed to ammo boxes.
In the early 90's I bought several cases of 7.62x51 from Century that was the finest surplus ammo I've seen to date. However it had nothing on the headstamp to indicate its manufacturer. I called Century to inquire about the maker and they didn't want to say. Pressing the issue I was advised it was manufactured by Winchester for the Contras fighting Ortega in Nicaragua. With the conflict over the government was dumping it.
While I can understand why they might be hesitant to share something like that at the same time good ammo is good ammo regardless of who or why it was made.
That's capitalism for ya, folks.
Did it have a red purple primer seal ?
Matthew: There are quantities of fake .30 Carbine headstamped " LC 52 " in a white stenciled box also marked " LC 52 " with non-crimped corrosive Berdan primers. Made and distributed by People's Republic of China and sent to world wide rebel groups using US carbines. (To make one think it's US aid.) Ammo of poor quality, with spent primers often blasting out of case. That's socialism for ya, folks.
@@doraran2138 socialism eh? Think they copied that from project eldest son?
"Slightly Hot" 3000 FPS is pushing it with modern powders and strong bolt action rifles. I would NOT put it through a Garand.
You could, IF you have an adjustable gas plug to bleed off the excess pressure
Thanks i thought i am the only one who thought "holy shit".
With a 150 grain bullet and .30-06 3,000 isn’t too hot. There are quite a lot of modern .30-06 commercial loads with velocities in that range. Plus he’s testing with a 26 inch barrel whereas most of the tests I’ve seen got that same velocity with 24 or 22 inch barrels, so that also probably makes a difference
Uh, ~ 2750 or so, with a 147 grain projectile.
this ammo is pretty consistent. compared to the others
The 20+ year age difference might account for a lot of that.
I have been enjoying these surplus ammo vids.
Imagine this ammo in the back of a 1977 Pinto reversing uncontrollably down a hill with a full tank of gas. Now that is a match made in heaven.
The ammo can is a British H82 MK1 for 7.62 NATO. My Ethiopian 30-06 came in the same type of can. My can was made in 1964. You can see the same stampings in the metal under the green paint.
You know that you really liking a channel if you're still watching the videos even if the particular topic is of little interest to you.
Have a very nice Christmas time everyone.
Loving the ammunition evaluations, it's a welcome addition to the channel.
People don’t realise, but Ethiopia for a long time was the most technologically advanced country in Africa - they even beat the Italians in 1896!
Also I bet Rastafarians would buy the shit out of that ammo
I can't understand why Ian is pretending he doesn't know who Jah is. I thought Arizona was Rasta friendly?
@Eugene Stoner A simple google search shows that isn't true.
D B bullshit at least in the first war, but in the second italo Ethiopian war Ethiopia had help from Britain
It wasn't technology that allowed them to beat the Italians - honestly, it was the Italians that beat the Italians. It was a comedy of errors, except for all the dead people.
Someone like Nick Irving?
Sis the best series on surplus and I have yet to see. Thank you.
I like this format. Thank you.
Your descriptions are much appreciated. It seems like most people just use them to sell things now. It’s refreshing to see actual information in there!
I bought a P-17 Eddystone in part because of this channel. I love that rifle.
30-06 is my favorite rifle round. Also i was trained with my fathers 30-06 bolt action an i just fell in-love with this round. Thanks for the members Sir.
Love the ammo evaluations! More fun than the guns! Please keep them coming. This is a great idea and keeps me coming back for more!
Was I the only one hoping one of the rounds would hit 3006 on its speed? 3007 was so close!
Lmao, same here!
Really cool to see the packaging and the box they are carried in.
Excellent vids on ammo! I'm into surplus rifles and this is certainly helpful to me!!!! Keep em coming please!!
According to the guide I found, S.F. clips are from Serini of France. Fitting for your collection, then!
This stuff seems far better than the others. I'm guessing it's the heat that got to the rest, it all looked quite well packed.
The events leading up to Selassie's downfall are something of an interest of mine, being one of the more comic (and tragic, for the people) 'revolutions' of that era.
Excellent video Ian. I'd definitely like to see more ammunition evaluations.
Excellent presentation. Please move forward on that series idea. Thanks.
Love the ammo review videos.
So the 3006 is average feet per second.
Smart move, yanks.
I'm probably gonna miss the joke here but *it's called the 30-06 because it is 30 caliber and it was created in 1906*
NO WAY!
Really like this series, hopefully more will be sorted.
Thank you Ian .
congrats on 1 million!
30.06 so wonderful
I really like these ammo evals
Thanks for the review, I think I’ll leave this on the shelf.....
I love these ammo videos
I'm sure all videos leading up to the G11 will be on books, ammo, and other miscellanea just to troll us all
It's such a tease! That being said though, I'm really enjoying these surplus ammo evaluations and the auction price videos in the meantime.
@@tenhundredkills the price videos are awesome
I have 3 cans of this ammo (each can has 4 bandoliers with 6 clips each). So far this ammo has not blown up my M1 so im happy
Ah yes, Ethiopian .30-06, my favorite scripture.
Awesome video, can't wait for more :-).
Thanks Ian, I too like these videos :)
I have a Century M1 Garand that you can use for testing. You will need only one cartridge as it jams pretty securely on the first shot. It is done to prevent the wasting of ammo. Thanks for an interesting video.
Great stuff
Great video as always, but let me start out with I have 4 M-1 Garands and I bought some of this Ammo several years ago from Sportsman’s Guide. It is the most inaccurate and I experienced some hard primers that wouldn’t fire first time. I also had many rounds that I could spin around in the case. The Greek surplus I’ve found to be the best this far in my Garands. Just remember not just any 30.06 will work in a Garand has to be M2 Ball thanks for the awesome video.
1000 m/s with those heavy pills? Ouch!
Don't wanna be on the receiving end of that rifle at any range, that's for sure.
Its not quite 1000m/s. The average is 913m/s; still plenty fast
ammunition evaluations are fairly interesting and would be a good side video series.
Great vid love ammo reviews thanx
More of this please.
I love that rifle! I seriously need to get me one.
Already gained 15k subs after the 1M mark. Awesome.
Im thinking about buying this stuff just for the collectability, the packageing is just cool
also 48th!
I believe the standard M2 ball was chronographed with a 24" 1903 Springfield. Using the 26" you used should account for the increased velocity.
@@Peter Connell Good point. Too bad he didn't have a controlled lot of ammo to compare to.
A comparison chrono of M2 out of the M1917 would have been good.
Thanks for the ammunition review Ian (goes well with just passing 2 kidney stones in 2 days). I don't see other countries ammunition being talked about on TH-cam.
Hang in there, m8!
Thank y'all for the comments. I've passed 2 stones in a row and still trying to pass my 3rd one with no break in-between them. I've had stones since I was 8 (and continuously) and I had my right side kidney get blocked where it needed surgery since it was failing (literally and not passing urine). The chances of making more stones increases with passing one each time (the highest) and if any family members pass one (highest being closest, then second highest being nearby, then descending order). Just some extra info for anyone reading at the end.
Bought a couple cans of this in bandoliers a couple years back, just because I thought it looked neat. Never really intended to shoot it. After finding this video, I'm doubly glad that I didn't just slap in a clip and let 'er rip.
I sure hope you do surplus 7.62x54R at some point.
If he can find any. Since the war in Ukraine that stuff has all dried up. It now costs more per round then .308
Dont forget the war in Syria ate up the surplus out of europe, being given to the jihadis. Its free to them so they dont even aim just spray long bursts
looks like good stuff
I keep wanting to correct you when you call it a clip, then i keep remembering that you are correct 😂
thats great, i think this is great
That's hot ammo - loaded to modern commercial 30-06 velocities
My coincidence-meter just exploded, I guess:
I went to a new hairdresser last Friday and it turned out she is Ethiopian. So I talked to her about her country and the emperor (as you do at a hairdresser's ;) ) and she pronounced his name name "hi-lee".
Does she have a sister?
@@circleofsorrow4583 'Wax on, wax off'?
Fascinating series! I really hope to see an eventual offering on some .303, 8mm Yugo, 5.45, 7.62x39, and 7.62x54 surplus ammo.
I'm happy to donate some if you're interested in filming.
Also, I've never heard an explanation on extreme spread vs standard deviation. What do these terms mean?
That's some hellacious muzzle blast!
Coefficient of Variability (SD/MV) works out to 0.85%, which is actually quite good.
Hot ammo is hot. I wouldn't shoot that in my Garand.
@Flying lead Enfield barrel is longer than Garand barrel.
Bent op-rods.
An adjustable gas port wouldn't hurt, but I won't willingly put corrosive (or potentially corrosive)in my Garand.
@@monkeyship74401 new ammo is cheap enough, wouldn't buy this crap
@@JohnAdamso Handloading .30-06 is even cheaper.
No hangfires, spares you that split second of worry of what went wrong.
"Dear Santa : I think I've been a good boy this year, would you mind bringing me a new inertia hammer ? I will be really geateful, yours sincerely, Ian ."
I was going to ballpark the standard deviation at 20, but I didn't want to break out my calculator.
Still surprised at the age of both the firearms and the ammunition.
10:11 I think you meant 2740 feet per second. 1740 feet per second would be pretty slow for .30-06.
I heard that too.....
I wondered if someone had heard that, I see I'm not alone! :)
"You be the judge..."
“And here we have Green and black ammo can Ethiopian 150 grain 30-06.” “Over there is the meat target and the new and improved hi-tech fleece bullet stop.”
take a shot every time the shade pops.
The Ethiopians use a different calendar and it has a gap of 7-8 years from ours. This is probably why the dates on the cases and the ammo are off. It looks like the date stamps on the ammo case are the same year but for the different calendars.
i wouldn't mind a bit more history on the country's weapon inventory
Ian is the most badass nerd who ever lived.
More ammo muster!! Huzzah!
Wow...velocity wise thata not bad. For what it is id almost call it excellent.
just bought cans of enblock from SG, looked trough and cleaned it up, found some bullets that were very loose in the cases. still waiting to try it out...
Would like to see a side-by-side with new, or near new factory ammunition.
Also, I have never wanted a 1917 Enfield as badly as I do right now.
FYI - A quote from "Cheaper Than Dirt" website, "For surplus ammunition, there are two main types of primers: Berdan and Boxer. Boxer-primed ammunition is not corrosive, so you don’t have to worry about it. Not all Berdan is corrosive, but almost all of the surplus ammunition you find on the market with Berdan primers is corrosive.
That is an inaccurate simplification.
@@ForgottenWeapons "Cheaper Than Dirt" handles more surplus ammo than I do so thought they should know more than I do on the subject. Personally, I treat all surplus ammo as corrosive until proven otherwise.
@@ForgottenWeapons Your right. As I understand it the US switched to non corrosive primers in 1953, but match ammo still used corrosive primers many years later. It was thought that corrosive primers were more reliable and longer lived and so the military was reluctant to change over (we don't trust this new fangled stuff). But for different parts of the world, corrosive may have been loaded much later.
00:06
The first ammo can holds 300 rounds (20 x 15-round cartons).
The second ammo can holds 192 rounds (4 x 48-round M1-type bandoleers). Each bandoleer has six pockets, with 1 x 8-round en-bloc clip per pocket (48 rounds).
I love the Everytown for Gun Control ad that TH-cam pushed on this video.
I got a video from Praeger U. about the definition of nationalism.
When will you be doing a review on the m1917? You've done some shooting matches and shot it here, but I can't find your definitive video on them. Truly a great firearm with tremendous history, but still lesser known than the Springfield 1903 or the M1. Thanks!
The first ammo put in that can was put there in 1970, the second time the ammo can was filled was in early 1978 and the ammo brass was made in late 1977? Some might date the can as to when it was filled, not the date of the ammo, or the round was made late December and put in the can early January the next year.
The Ethiopian calendar varies from our calendar by 7-8 years depending on time of year, that would explain why the Ethiopian date of 1970 and the English date of 1978. I would guess that the headstamp to can difference is just that the ammo was made in 77 then packaged in 78 but that’s a guess
3000+ FPS this is pretty hot stuff
😳 hot stuff ❤️🔥
The garand bolt has the strength; the weak point is the operating rod. If gas port pressures are above spec the operating rod can get bent and I guess the back of the receiver might suffer some damage. If you have an adjustable gas port add on you can adjust the port pressure and all will be well. I am not sure how it would work in a browning machine gun.
in addition to velocity testing, I would like to see some on paper, to get an idea of accuracy.....
The ammo can has "Ball L2A2" painted over with the Ethiopian markings. Hence it must have originally held British 7.62mm L2A2 ammunition (ie normal rifle ball).
If you could test the ammo out of a Garand, that would be great!
The only thing from Ethiopia that has a higher velocity than this is a dog running for its' life.
hahahahaha!!!!!!
HustleMuscleGhias What does that mean? This is Ethiopia not Vietnam.
Ethiopian bullets- Gun JC you light the way- made me look up Ethiopian hx- now I want to use Haile Selassie in everyday conversation-like the meow thing from super troopers
I would venture a guess at he dates on the box. As you noted, the cans are to be re-used. So is it possible the can was first issued in 1970, and then re-issued in 1978, having been loaded with ammo produced the year before, 1977? Occam's razor and all.
no. Ethiopia uses a different calendar than the rest of the world, making them 8 years behind where we are. right now it is year 2010 over there just to give you an idea
Wish we could get cool interesting surplus ammo here in Canada.
I remember seeing on the TV news coverage of a conflict in Africa. What was surprising is the combatant depicted was using a long rifle.
'Is that a M1 Garand'? I wondered. It wasn't a close-up shot for obvious reasons. I started to count the shots & sure enough after the eighth shot up popped the clip, confirming the rifle was a Garand. I wondered at the time where the ammunition was coming from.
The conflict might have been in Ethiopia, actually. I was intrigued why the guy would have a WW2 Garand and not an AK variant.
Seems hot to shoot in a Garand.
Were I to be gifted a few thousand, I'd probably pull the bullets, collect the powder and work up a more reasonable load. The corrosiveness of the primers could be checked by firing one (a primer) onto a sanded mild steel plate and left in a humid environment for a few days.
Praise the ammo of Haile Selassie, the Rastafarian Jesus! If you smoke enough he may bless your Extreme Spread!
A corrosive boxer primer? I had no idea those even existed.
now we know why, even despite a 'low quality' manufacturer the us and other moved away from full power cartidges in favor of others
I thought I was seeing double, for a second!
I've fired the ammo in en blocs through my M1. Non corrosive from my observation. My op rod is okay. The M1 is tougher than the marketing wants you to believe.