Haerens Laboratorium Bullets

[Dublt]

I was out with some friends exploring a battlefield area to the North-East of Elsenborn Ridge. We were looking around under a bridge and my friend found these 4 bullets between some rocks. After a bit of research I have determined that they were produced by Haerens Laboratorium, abbreviated "HL" and from what I have read, they were produced in Denmark from 1912-1937. These particular bullets appear to have been made in 1929. Also from what I have been reading, this bullet was used in the Krag–Jørgensen rifle. It seems only around 3,000 German Krag–Jørgensen rifles were produced which would possibly make these quite rare. What are the chances of finding these in a Battle of the Bulge area? Are these very rare ammunition? Any info and comments are appreciated. (Also sorry for any poor quality photos, it is hard to get them focused at close proximity.)

The 4 Bullets and their headstamps.

IMG_1530_LI.jpg (294.55 KiB) Viewed 15852 times

Close up of a headstamps (I drew over the markings for a better understanding of them)

One of the bullets had a hole in it.

2 bullets were missing from the blob of corrosion holding the bullets together, so it would have been a set of 6 had this not happened.

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

Nice find and correct, Danish made and stamped for the M89 rifle. About how rare they might be, I would say not so rare if just considering the casings. Have a handfull of them myself stamped with "HL" and the earlier "crown" too. As whole ammunition and found where you have found them they might be worth something.

waleed

[Poot]

Very interesting, and NOT where I'd expect them to be found. Non-standard capture rifles requiring cartridges outside the usual supply chain were typically relegated to rear areas, especially considering the evidence of period photos of them in use. I'm definitely surprised they'd be used in an area of (very) active combat operations like that of Belgium during the Ardennes offensive.

I have a German-captured Danish Model 1889/10 rifle with German depot stamps, but it looks like it never came out of the rifle rack.

Pat

[WilliamDS]

Possibly dropped post war by by a hunter? 8x58R is a decent deer cartridge, and I'm sure that like many other prewar and wartime rounds it became surplus and was sold off when 7.62 NATO was adopted.

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

Hi again Dubit!
Found some prizes for you on a danish site.
30 rounds of 1930s danish HL in original boxes can be bought for 250 Dkk. (that's around 30 Euros or 40 USD).
Here's the link: https://www.jjsu.dk/samler-ammunition/
waleed