Have you ever look at the bottom of your bullets? Usually you see an indication of the brand, so big deal, of course you know the brand, you removed it from the box. What if you’re going through some old stuff and encounter some loose rounds with head stamps you have never seen before and you start to wonder.
I recent question by huntfishtrap on the Outdoor Life forum asking about some .22 LR rounds his Grandfather had; this had an HP stamp. As a young man I burned a lot of those Hi-Power Federal rounds so I knew that one well. Then I got to thinking there are lots of ammo companies no longer in business or they have changed their logos, so how would one go about finding this information.
After some extensive searching I found an interesting site The Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners here they have galleries of head stamps where you can look up head stamps and see images of them or if you have one that is not there yet it can be uploaded. A great historcial archive!
The Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners general gallery
This is one of the boxes Federal Hi-Power 22 LR came in.
25-06 Guy says
Charlie, how are you? Haven’t heard much from you on OL. I just scored two boxes of full 22 LR, A box of hi-power and a box of Western super X. I also have an empty box of Remington high speed 22lr its old I don’t know how old to bad its not full. Cool site Is the Smitty’s PA outdoors the same Smitty from OL? If so whats going on?
charlie elk says
Good to hear from you 25-06 Guy and welcome to my fledgling blog. Those old ammo boxes could be worth something to the right guy, there many collectors looking for rare things.
Yes that is the same Smitty who frequents OL, he and dropjhook offered to do some blogging here and I took them up on it. At the moment they are very busy but they’ll be back around when things settle down.
I pop around on OL as time allows so you’ll be seeing some posts from me. I like the folks, like you who frequent there.
later,
charlie
25-06 Guy says
Hey on more thing what kind of round is that on the home page with the bird on it? Never saw on like that.
charlie elk says
That humingbird is a mystery. I too am very curious about its origin so figured a post here wouldn’t in case anyone happens along who can enlighten us.:-)
Anthony Lumbard says
I have some .22short rounds with the humming bird head stamp. I bought at an auction as a mixed lot in UK.
Joseph says
I have 3006 ammo one marked sl 43 the other den 42 do they have corrosive primers and do you thing they are shootable? thANKS
charlie elk says
To be on the safe side I would not shoot them. There is a collector market for old ammo and boxes you might want to check into selling them. Then use the money to buy more new ammo.
Aileen says
Charlie
I thank you and just found your page. Since my Mother died on my 40th Bday Sept 7 2015, I see hummingbirds everywhere! I was at the lake about 6 yrs ago and found my shell in the sand with the hummingbird. I have asked around and nobody knew anything about the stamp. Now I know and this is a great page. Thank you again.
Charlie says
You are very welcome Aileen. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and visit my blog more often.
Justin says
Isnit rare to find empty hummingbird cartridges in Louisiana in 2022. Found probably 6 of them unfortunately no live rounds