I acquired a quantity of surplus 303 ammo and am wondering if it is corrosive or not.....on the box it is marked as follows: 32 CARTRIDGES .303 INCH MK 7 C.l.A. (P) P.O.F. The headstamp is as follows: POF 67 L your help would be appreciated, regards.
303 ammunition
- Thread starter bros
- Start date
I would treat any ammo from Pakistani Ordnance Factory (POF) from 1967 as corrosive, and would not shoot it in my mint Lee-Enfields. I will gladly pay the price for hunting 180-grain or Remington UMC 174-grain FMJ ammo and safeguard the bores of rifles which I searched hard to find.
Just my opinion.
Just my opinion.
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"Corrosive" ammunition is named that because of the chemical composition of the primers, (usually salt.) When fired, this residue is present inside the bore of the rifle and can attract moisture, thus giving a good condition for the bore to develop rust if the bore is not cleaned soon after firing.
The solution to this is to clean the bore as soon as possible after firing corrosive ammunition. In the Lee Enfield (.303) it was common practice to pour TWO PINTS of boiling water down the bore, from the breech end, then clean with a brush, patches, and finishing up with a lightly oiled patch to coat the bore with oil. The hot water does two things -- it washes away the salt from the bore, and it heats up the barrel. The heat opens the pores in the steel a bit to help flushing the bore, and it helps to dry the bore faster after using the water.
A special funnel with one flat side and a copper tube soldered onto the bottom was issued for this purpose. You can easily make one from a small steel funnel and a short length of bendable copper pipe of about 1/4 inch and a foot long. This tube is bent into a sort of "S" shape so that the end can be inserted into the chamber of the rifle. (Point the muzzle downwards when pouring the water.)
I would treat your POF ammo as corrosive, but not worry too much about firing it, as long as the proper cleaning procedures are followed SOON after firing. Perhaps fire the whole 32 round box off in one range session, and take a funnel and water with you. Even COLD water is better than none after firing, but I would highly recommend the HOT WATER cleaning again as soon as possible, when you reach home.
Over almost 60 years of shooting the .303 rifle, I have fired several thousands of rounds of "corrosive" ammunition and have never had a barrel rust on me. But then again, I cleaned them as I have described and as I was trained to do, and some of these were fired through Bren guns and a Lewis gun.
One thing I will stress is to use a cleaning rod and only use the Pull-Through in emergencies or when no cleaning rod is available. Clean from the breech end toward the muzzle. Using a Pull-Through can damage the rifling at the muzzle due to Cord Wear.
.
"Corrosive" ammunition is named that because of the chemical composition of the primers, (usually salt.) When fired, this residue is present inside the bore of the rifle and can attract moisture, thus giving a good condition for the bore to develop rust if the bore is not cleaned soon after firing.
The solution to this is to clean the bore as soon as possible after firing corrosive ammunition. In the Lee Enfield (.303) it was common practice to pour TWO PINTS of boiling water down the bore, from the breech end, then clean with a brush, patches, and finishing up with a lightly oiled patch to coat the bore with oil. The hot water does two things -- it washes away the salt from the bore, and it heats up the barrel. The heat opens the pores in the steel a bit to help flushing the bore, and it helps to dry the bore faster after using the water.
A special funnel with one flat side and a copper tube soldered onto the bottom was issued for this purpose. You can easily make one from a small steel funnel and a short length of bendable copper pipe of about 1/4 inch and a foot long. This tube is bent into a sort of "S" shape so that the end can be inserted into the chamber of the rifle. (Point the muzzle downwards when pouring the water.)
I would treat your POF ammo as corrosive, but not worry too much about firing it, as long as the proper cleaning procedures are followed SOON after firing. Perhaps fire the whole 32 round box off in one range session, and take a funnel and water with you. Even COLD water is better than none after firing, but I would highly recommend the HOT WATER cleaning again as soon as possible, when you reach home.
Over almost 60 years of shooting the .303 rifle, I have fired several thousands of rounds of "corrosive" ammunition and have never had a barrel rust on me. But then again, I cleaned them as I have described and as I was trained to do, and some of these were fired through Bren guns and a Lewis gun.
One thing I will stress is to use a cleaning rod and only use the Pull-Through in emergencies or when no cleaning rod is available. Clean from the breech end toward the muzzle. Using a Pull-Through can damage the rifling at the muzzle due to Cord Wear.
.
infideleggwelder
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
is the brass any good for reloading?
POF ammo may not go bang in the first place, but corrosive ammo isn't really a big deal if you clean properly. That's just flushing your rifle with plain hot water(Windex nor anything else like it is not needed. The ammonia does nothing.) before a regular cleaning.
