5.7 ammo, reloading item assistance

[DanP 0]

Greetings everyone,

I am a carbine guy but never gave the conversions much thought.

Those of you that are into the M1 carbine are familiar with Larry Ruth, who passed away in May 2022. Those that are not familiar with Larry, he was the most prolific author on the M1 carbine with 6 books on the topic as well as co-authoring several books and sharing information with other authors.

I am one of three friends of Larry that is helping the family deal with the estate.  It was quite the learning experience getting to handle all variations of commercial carbines as well as conversions of calibers. In the collection there was a MMJ, Iver Johnson, Plainfield, Israel Arms International (IMI), as well as a few USGI caliber conversions to 5.7 and .22 cal.

One item of interest was a USGI carbine used in the High Velocity Small Caliber (SCHV) tests in .224 which lead to the development of the .223 round.

With all of that there was some ammo and reloading components that I need help putting a value on.

The reloading components were combined into one box, but notes indicate that it was two sets. Larry had no reloading press, so he obtained these as reference materiel.

There was also some ammo pictured below.

 

The MMJ ammo is wrapped in clear wrap giving it a wrinkled look. It is missing a few cartridges and those remaining have cracked necks. Is there any collector value to this?

Below you can see the dies. One of the formers does not have a decapping pin and I think it goes with the short die that I believe is to size the case.

 

Square D ammo. One box is missing a round, which I believe is in the ammo collection case next to a cartridge marked .22

I have not found any recent sales and those companies that list it are long sold out.

 

Below is ammo that I am guessing was made for a specific carbine. Is this something that can be used in other 5.7 carbines?

 

Any help appreciated. I can take any specific pictures if needed to figure out what things are.

Thanks Guys!

[eb in oregon 0]

This is opinion only.

Cartridges with split necks are not collectable, and depending on the crack may not be shootable. Small cracks not advanced further than the neck my be shot one time and one time only. That's a decision the shooter will have to make based on their own experience.

Dies are worth no more than what they are selling for new. 5.7MMJ may not  be common, but new dies are available from several manufacturers. I once had two sets of dies and like an idiot I sold one set. Should have kept the set.

5.7MMJ is available from custom ammunition manufacturers, it sells for about a buck a round, so you should be able to sell it for that price if not a bit less.

The carbines will sell for common prices in my estimation, I can't see anyone paying a premium for who once owned them.

Good luck with your mission.

[Rarecat 0]

I concur with EB's guidance with one caveat.  The Johnson produced ammo might have a higher collector value than the Square D.  I know I'd pay more for it based on condition, etc.  The Square D ammo is shooter quality  

[DanP 0]

Thanks guys,

The MMJ ammo I was questioning if the box had any collect-ability. I pointed out the case issues to make it clear they should not be fired.

I have found no reloading dies in stock, hence I cannot value. What we they selling for? I realize there may not be enough information posted and will follow up with picture of the individual items.

Ammo. Any of the manufacturers show out of stock, many without prices of what they were selling for, and why I asked. Some other posts here point to ammo being sold for $2 TO $4.75 a round, though I have no expectation of those valuations. Just the same I have to question the $1.00 a round, I pay that in the NE for .30 carbine. Again, I am not trying to find the top dollar, just what an average would be.

The carbines all came with certificates stating they came from Larry's collection. Many of the carbines have found their way into the hands of collectors, those that did not are on their way to an auction house.

The auction company would be overwhelmed smaller stuff and they do not do ammunition.  So the task is dealing with all the smaller stuff and not concerned with the commercial carbine values. The mention of those carbines was just to point out all of the variations of caliber.

The USGI carbines included many special carbines such as presentations, experimental, and even a prototype. There were many collector variations such as subcontracted, transfers, and other things that collectors put a premium on. Many  of these items received a premium due to being in Larry's books.

I do not know if the linage has any effect on the commercial carbines and accessories.  I am just trying to establish a fair value for the estate.

 

[Geno 0]

Grafs has the reloading dies https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/search?keywords=5.7MM+JOHNSON+ all in stock

 

What I paid for 6 boxs of Sq D last July:

	precision cartridge inc. 5.7 johnson spitfire 50rd boxes	$74.99