7.62x51 corrosive or non?

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Adamlxlx

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Hey guys,

So I grabbed this ammo at a gunshow yesterday and totally forgot to ask the guy whether or not they were corrosive or not. Can anyone tell by the headstamps? I am gonna do the nail test I just thought I would check here first.
Thanks in advance.
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It's non-corrosive, but you might want to read this:

http://www.thegunzone.com/30cal.html

Companhia Brasileria de Cartuchos, CBC, says its 7.62mm x 51mm cartridges from lots dated 1975 pose serious safety risks because of excessive pressures. The cartridges, headstamped "CBC 7.62 75", should not be used, given away or sold under any circumstances. There have been reports of rifles bursting as a result of the excessive pressure. An independent testing lab detected peak pressures in excess of 130,000 CUP, in one of 20 of the cartridges it tested. CBC calls these rounds outdated.

The particular round was manufactured solely for military use in several countries. They are not intended for civilian use at all.

CBC also has issued a warning for any of its 7.62mm x 51mm cartridges from any year which have a label on the packing material with the Spanish word "reengastada." The label was not affixed by the manufacturer and its application to ammunition is unclear.

If you have any ammunition with the 1975 headstamp or with the Spanish word, contact CBC at 800-742-1094.
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Im no reloading guru here never have reloaded but if you did get a box of these could you pull the components and reload them with a proper powder charge at a safe CUP?
 
Alright so upon further investigation i found a few things. Well mayne haha. First off i did find 5 rounds labeled 77 and 1 labeled 76. Are those safe to shoot? Also i am no expert of course, quite the opposite but i thinl these rounds are reloads already. Are there any for sure signs of reloaded ammo? I am suspicious because the projectile is non magnetic lead/brass. Though military rounds were steel? Also excuse the terminology but the crimping method looks different on alot of them. I will have to take more pics.
 
Adamlxlx said:
Alright so upon further investigation i found a few things. Well mayne haha. First off i did find 5 rounds labeled 77 and 1 labeled 76. Are those safe to shoot? Also i am no expert of course, quite the opposite but i thinl these rounds are reloads already. Are there any for sure signs of reloaded ammo? I am suspicious because the projectile is non magnetic lead/brass. Though military rounds were steel? Also excuse the terminology but the crimping method looks different on alot of them. I will have to take more pics.
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Apparently 77 and 79 are bad too. How many rounds did you buy and are those the only ones with a CBC headstamp?
 
Just 50 rounds. Not even gonna bother shooting them now. Thanks for the headsup btw i really appreciate it. I will most likely pull the bullets, dump the powder and reload them.
 
Those rounds were supposedly responsible for a number of kaboom's in the US a few years ago, surprised to see them up here now! I guess someone dumped them on the Canadian market because it's a hard sell in the US.
 
IIRC International of Montreal sold this in the late 80s in Canada and had to issue a recall and caution not to shoot it. This was at the same time it was sold in the states.
 
This ammo was sold in both Canada and USA and caused kabooms. The reason is that during the loading process someone added a can of pistol powder to one of the loading machines. As a result, out of hundreds of thousands of rounds, a few have a high percentage of pistol powder. Since the rifle and pistol powder are both ball powder, there is no visual way to see the contamination.

The reason your ammo has a variety of head stamps and a funny crimp is that some lots of CBC ammo were over annealed in the neck. the brass is dead soft. The ammo has inadequate neck tension for military use (ignoring the kaboom issue). An attempt was made to save these soft lots by re crimping the necks. This is why you have a mix of dates and aggressive neck crimps.

I bought a couple tons of this bad ammo and re-loaded it all by dumping the powder, mixing it all up to dilute any contamination and re-loading it with Sierra match bullets. It worked very well and was cheap.

Your best bet would be to pull the bullets and dump the powder and reload with good powder.

DO NOT SHOOT THE AMMO AS IS. THERE IS A SMALL BUT REAL RISK OF A OVER PRESSURE LOAD. A CONSULTANT BLEW UP A PRESSURE GUN TESTING THIS AMMO. HE ESTIMATED THE PRESSURE AT OVER 200,000 PSI.
 
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