Can someone help me identify this bullet? It has a lead (?) tip, GM jacket and a magnetic core. The base is stamped A.B.CO. 17. It resembles the early 30-06 AP bullets to some degree.
Weight = 175 grains
Diameter = .312
Experimental Gardner armor piercing bullet
historian
#1
historian
#2
That base mark would seem to indicate that it is an experimental Gardner armor piercing bullet; see Hackley, Woodin & Scranton Vo 1, page 143 and 144.
historian
#3
C. Punnett also covers the Gardner bullet in more detail on page 196 of his 30-06 book. It appraes that the lead portion of the bullet is actually a lead jacket covering a serrated steel core. The cannelure in the copper jacket holds the base of the steel core in place.
Thanks for posting the picture - actually seeing one of these makes the searching and reading that much more interesting.