.308 WIN by Remington With 150gr Metal Case Bullet (FMJ) Question

General Ammunition Discussion
#1

A fellow collector happened across a few boxes of these some time ago. Typical looking .308 WIN by Remington with a 150gr FMJ or “Metal Case” bullet.

Scans of the box label, box end tab and cartridge shown in the photo below:

IMG_20200223_130437
IMG_20200223_1304371331×965 505 KB

Headstamp:

IMG_20200223_131353

Possible lot/date code “LW25T” on box end flap:

Rem. .308

Note the Remington index code (product code) “INDEX 1308”, this index code CANNOT be found in any catalog listing for Remington ammunition that we can find nor can we find a listing for Remington produced .308 ammunition with a METAL CASE (FMJ) 150gr bullet from the time frame for this type of box.

So is this a special law enforcement contract loading that was not listed by Remington since it was not a normal .308 WIN loading by Remington?

Any information is most welcomed.

Thanks,

Brian

#2

Brian - relatively current catalogs only describe a .308 Winchester round with 150 Grain FMJ bullet under the “UMC” brand.

That box design ended c.1972, in favor of the lighter green/yellow box. I don’t have a Law Enforcement catalog that early, but I suspect in those years, these rounds would likely have only been made for Law Enforcement, to include the Federal Prison System where use of expanding bullet types was prohibited. I don’t know if that is still the case, but I know it to be true, because many years ago, our store purchased some Winchester Model 94, I think in .25-35 Winchester caliber, from San Quentin Prison, along with some other rifles and obsolescent shotguns. In trade, they took new Model 94 Winchesters in .30-30. The reason given for the change was that they could no longer find a vendor willing to produce .25-35 ammunition with FMJ Bullets. The same was true for three Model 81 Remington .35 Remington Caliber self-loading rifles - no FMJ ammo available anymore in that caliber.

I searched a lot of commercial catalogs, and other than in the “UMC” line, way too late for that box, I also could not find any listing for a .308 FMJ cartridge.

Wish I could have helped.

John

1 Like
#3

Hi Brian, thanks for sharing.

This load is included in Law Enforcement items lists published between 1969 and 1972, inclusive. Same applies to “Metal Case” loads in .223 Remington (5223), .30 Carbine (0003), .30-30 Winchester (1230) and .30-06 (0630).

Regards,

Fede

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#4

Fede - since this interested me too, I thank you, as usual.

Salud!

John

#5

Fede,

Thank for tracking down this information, very much appreciated!

Brian