Lake City/ATK trinket

Archives General Ammunition Collector Discussion
#1

Howdy all,
I picked this up at the the Modern Day Marine Expo at Quantico MCB. It’s a 5.56x45 Lake City round that has not had the primer pocket created and is headstamped with INERT. 2 holes are dilled through the side walls and it’s mounted on a key ring that has the ATK logo. I know these things are dime-a-dozen promotional items for for trade shows, but I dig them. Now if CCI would just give out the empty .17 boxes they have at SHOT every year!!!

Any one else have neat-o promo material to share?


#2

Chris, I share your fascination with these items. I have quite a number in my collection. If they have a cartridge on them, and it is a caliber I collect, they go in my main collection with other cartridges of that caliber. If they are not a caliber I collect or they don’t include a cartridge, I put them in my “odds and ends” drawer - stuff I like and decided to keep, even though they are not within the scope of my main collection. I have collected firearms-related paraphenalia since entering the industry, with my main criteria for picking it up that it be free. I have a couple of dresser drawers full of cloth brassards, marked souvenir pens, decals, belt buckles, pins, etc I don’t suppose they have any commercial value to speak of, but I enjoy them as well as the cartridge-related brick-a-brack. I hope my son doesn’t crap-can it all when I am gone. He collects baseball stuff, so maybe he will find it worth saving just because he understands collecting, although he has no interest in any firearms other than the one he carries.

#3

I have this promotional item made from a cartridge:

This is a fired brass Prvi Patizan .303 case headstamped “PP 60 VII”. Oddly, it has been resized in a .308 Die and fitted with a 7.62 NATO Spec bullet, probably because it was cheaper. If you look closely at the neck you can see a definite step where it has been necked down to take the smaller diameter bullet.

It has “CHOCKS AWAY!” printed on the side in black ink, above the web address “www.eclipseglobalevents.com”. This is advetising a corporate team building exercise, which involves building a lifesize model biplane from dowel, paper etc. It can be seen here on the company’s website.

I got this from the London Airshow in 2005, which is a static trade show event for light aircraft and related items/services held every year at London’s Earl’s court exhibition centre. I thought this would be an interesting day out as I have always been interested in aircraft of all kinds. The Chocks Away event was being advertised there, with an example of the model biplane. about 20 of these cartridges taped to paper strips had been used as ammo belts for the (quite well made) cardboard and tinfoil Vickers machine guns of the model biplane.

The guy who was handing out these cartridges told me it cost more per round to get them printed than the dummy cartidge itself, but I do not remember the exact cost. It may well have been 20p per round and 35p per printing. I ended up with three of them, after looking through the ceramic bowl they were in for various headstamps. One was “RG 55 7”, but I cannot remember (or find) the other.

#4

Cris,

The “INERT” headstamped, 5.56 cartridges were never made to be used as trade show promotional give aways. They were produced by Lake City, to provide the makers of ammo links, boxes, bandoleers and such, with an item that simulated the true weight and shape of loaded ammunition. These inert or dummy rounds bearing the “INERT” h/s, are found in ball with a plain bullet tip, ball with a green tip, blanks with clear, yellow and purple crimp seals, a flechette round also exists in a collection.

To simlate a powder charge, a white or light gray, poly pellet is used as a filler.

There use as a give away has been noted for the past couple of years and yes they do exist by the barrel full.

#5

I have another variant, 7.62 NATO, “LC 77 INET” headstamp, blue tip. Same concept.