how to unwax ammo?

bsand

bsand

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So I finally figured out why sk std plus kept FTE in my mk2 fv-sr. The rounds are waxed and I couldn't tell in January as everything was frozen. Yesterday in 24 C heat I could feel the wax dripping off the rounds. I ended up wiping last 20 rounds by hand on some carpet material, every single round ejected.

Turns out Aguila isn't waxed nor are cci minimag which run really well.

How can I quickly remove the wax from rest of the brick I have (400 rounds)?
 
Pour a small amount of mineral spirits just enough to dampen it on a rag, dump some shells on, close it up like a hobo sack and gently move around. It wont hurt lead or brass. Cleaned two bricks of the federal blazer bulk packs this way, while it didn't remove 100% of the wax they functioned in my 10/22 beautifully afterwards.
 
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People I worked with said they spread the rounds on wax or parchment paper (cant remember which) and throw them in the oven on the lowest setting possible.
 
I had my Savage MKII do that too with some "waxy" rounds. I took the ejector spring off the bolt and gave it a bit of a squeeze. Good advice from here. Since then I have not had any FTE issues. I do use mostly CCI now as they seem to be the best "bang" for the buck.
 
I recall reading a thread on another forum about a guy that was having problems feeding waxed ammo in his Pardini pistol. He used paper towels and some sort of mineral spirit to just wipe off the wax. You don't have to get it all off 100%....just the bulk of it. Other semi target pistols seem to like the stuff, but you have to clean the follower and feedramp after a shooting session due to buildup.

I would hesitate to use a tumbler or oven. Putting in strong sunlight to melt it might work, but you would still have to rub them clean of the sticky stuff.

CD
 
Just FYI, exposing the rounds to excessive heat will permanently alter the characteristics of the priming compound and powder. Not something I'd want to do if accuracy is important to you. If just plinking, I doubt the difference would be noticeable. Conversely, ammo can get very cold, warm back up to normal temp and not be altered as with heat exposure. Heat increases molecular energy and speeds up chemical reactions. Cold slows everything down.
 
I bought CCI Minimag in bulk last year and the wax on those was unbearable. 2/3 rounds wouldnt eject it was so bad. None of the other brands gave me problems.
 
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