Mosin Nagant 7.62 x 54r Soldered Ammo Tin, dated 1946

For today's posting we'll be making a U-Turn and heading back over to the Mosin Nagant M91/30 project............  I located a source for bulk ammo for the 7.62 x 54r Mosin Nagant rifle from a company that was offering it at a fantastic price, in the original ammo tins, all dated and produced in the 1940's and 1950's. (Oh yes, no tax and free shipping!) I was hoping for some ammo in the WW2 or early Cold War date range so I could save the tin for display and this batch was exactly what I was looking for.  It was delivered today, and it was EXACTLY what I had hoped for!  

Here is a quick run down on what this batch of ammo actually is:  This 7.62 x 54r ammo was produced in 1946, with powder produced in 1945.  The rounds are 148 grain, Light Ball Ammo, steel cored - copper covered bullets, steel - copper washed shell casings.  The tin contained 440 rounds, with 20 rounds to the wrapped packet.  About 25 pounds total weight.

The ammo tin is the WW2 style tin constructed out of galvanized steel and soldered together.  The tin is designed to be opened by pulling the corner tab on the top and then rolling back the top cover.  The tin is painted in standard Russian green paint and stenciled with all of the ammo specifications, dates and manufacturing details.  The tin is very "rustic" looking, but definitely well made and weatherproof.  The rounds were all in perfect condition and all of the paper wrappings and packing cardboard was intact and undamaged....... not bad for a tin of ammo that is 76 years old!

Here is a "how to read an ammo tin" photo that will help you decipher these old ammo tins.  And here is a link over to a website that gives all of the details on the individual shell stampings and ammo tin makings:
http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinAmmoID01.htm

The individual shell casings are stamped with the date "46" , and with the number "188", which indicates that the ammo was produced at the Klimov / Novsibirsk ammo factory in Russia.  This ammunition factory is still in operation and producing ammo today:  http://www.lveplant.ru/pages_en.php?id=01 
It is interesting to note that the casing numbers are raised, not stamped in.  This was the style of casing stamps that were used from 1930 and into the 1970's.

I opened the ammo tin from the bottom using a cold chisel to get a small cut started and then used the can opener from a West German mess ware set to extend the cut and then a pair of tin snips to finish opening the hole.  I plan to fold the flaps back over the hole so I can use the tin for display.

Let's take a look at the tin and the ammo: