While digging through the depths of my safe I found a box of 45acp that I inherited from my father that passed away 19 years ago. I don't ever remember him owning a 45 so who knows when he got them. Anyways there in the original box rounds look good, box is plain brown and the top says
" 50 cartidges
Caliber 45
Ball M1911
Lot WRA 22461
Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation"

Before I give them a ride any reason not to?

Thanks Hray

We put a magazine of military ball ammo that my dad had from the late 1960's through my Springfield 1911 last summer. They all went bang, but were a bit dirty.

Two digits on the headstamp on the brass itself will be the year.

Here is where to tell if it's corrosive or not.

http://www.odcmp.org/1101/usgi.pdf

If it's corrosive, no worry to fire. To clean just swab the bore with a patch soaked in Windex or plain water, wipe down breech face, muzzle and inside slide the same. Dry it and oil as normal.

What year is on the headstamp?
It will shoot fine but if it's really old, maybe kind of neat to keep.


ETA - Nice bit of info dusty3030. Thanks!

If the brass looks clean (a good indication that they weren't submerged etc). Go ahead and shoot them.
A friend gave me some .357 magnums his father bought a long time ago. Price tag still on the box, was $5.75 for 50, all went bang.

Head stamp 66. Thanks

66 would definitely be non-corrosive.

Be neat to go with a Vietnam era display. You now have to go buy a USGI 1911 to complete the package.

It takes you to a next level gun collector once you've bought a gun just because you found some ammo for it.

That's good mil-spec ammo. I have a few hundred rounds of it stashed away for a rainy day. It's not particularly rare, but I wouldn't just indiscriminately blast it down range. At least save it for some special occasion.

I'm teetering on the fence on buying a new Ed Brown special forces to celibate my 20 years at the FD this past December. That got me digging in the safe for Factory rounds as I do reload for 45. Will see and thanks again. Hray

Long story short, I once took for safekeeping an actual WWI 1911. Not an A1, a 1911. IIRC it was loaded with ammo headstamped 1917.
I took it to the range out of curiosity to see if it would fire.
Bang! 7X.
This was in the mid 1980s.

Shoot the heck out of them!

I'd keep them and go buy a $15 box of modern fmj to shoot. I'm funny that way.