Norinco red and white box have both ended up rusting my buddies SKS periodically. As in a few rounds in a case will seem to be corrosive, so I'd definitely recommend checking up on your gun after shooting the "new production" norinco 7.62x39 so you don't end up surprised when you go to shoot a month later with a red barrel and chamber like us
Cabelas 7.62x39 Bulk Ammo Sale
- Thread starter paz
- Start date
Never had any corrosion problems with Norinco red box. So far, I've shot a couple of thousand rounds. Not even one rust speck. Perhaps, because all my firearms are well saturated with Ballistol?
What was the headstamp on the rounds that supposedly caused the rust? This is important.
The box colour is not indicative of anything and unfortunately many people dismiss the entire line presuming that it's all suspect. I have only seen mixed rounds in the 311 / 18 lot, and only this lot. I have shot many thousands of red box 311 / 19 and 311 / 20 without issues. 311 14 white box no issues whatsoever.
It's the 311 / 18 lot rounds for which you need to be wary. So when people say they have encountered corrosive rounds in white or red box, it would be very helpful for them to include the headstamp of the rounds in question.
I like to keep a case of corrosive ammo around mostly as just a backup crate, but use to do my shooting with Barnul stuff. Since we can’t get it anymore I’m saving my last few boxes.
What’s the situation on non corrosive options for 7.62x39? I see varying degrees of info out there. I’ve used RUAG before when it was rather inexpensive, what else is there these days?
What’s the situation on non corrosive options for 7.62x39? I see varying degrees of info out there. I’ve used RUAG before when it was rather inexpensive, what else is there these days?
I'm scratching my head, how would it be possible from a technical point of view to have a number of corrosive rounds in a batch of thousands and thousands rounds which are non-corrosive, that were manufactured in 2018? Corrosiveness or not only depends on a presence of corrosive or non-corrosive primer in a cartridge. Then, it would require that a number of corrosive primers were mixed up with the majority of non-corrosive primers during that "fatal" 2018 production run. The problem is that corrosive primers have not been used for more or less 40 years. So where would those "corrosive" primers come from? Something doesn't add up in this picture.
Personally, I've been shooting all three years of production: 2018, 2019 and 2020, purchased from Cabela's and other vendors, and have not seen any difference.
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I totally agree, it doesn't make sense, particularly when it is not consistent and is intermittent. I have shot entire boxes of 2018 with no problem. But where there was a problem it was with 2018 rounds.
I don't see any other recent production of anything (not just in this caliber but others) that have corrosive primers. A company would have to somehow have a ton of combloc era corrosive primers AND somehow mix it up with current production primers. With everything being automated I don't see how there would be a mixup.
I am a spreadsheet junkie, so I record everything on a spreadsheet - even with normal retail ammo or bought in the secondary market, I always record the lot numbers and where possible, cross-reference on the manufacturing dates (and record the same), and put it down it in my very detailed spreadsheet. When I shoot ammo, I record what I shot that day, from what lot, from what gun it was shot, and I keep all my brass (steel casings I just discard at the club) all sorted in bags. Also have kept every single paper target I have ever shot. For my SKSes, I check 4 hours after I get home, I check next day at the 24 hour mark and then 2 days after that, before I clean and put it away for storage (I have never gotten into the habit of cleaning right away for anything). So definitely if any ammo was corrosive, I would be able to very quickly isolate it - what lot, when it was shot, in what gun, etc.
It was in 2018 that white box changed to red box as well...not sure if that makes any difference. Even if you were to use old corrosive rounds and remove the projectile, the corrosive primer would already be in the cartridge. It doesn't make sense why anyone would pop out the corrosive primers just to mix them with a current batch. Seems to be a lot more work than its worth. I don't get it either...
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