- Location
- Grande Prairie, Alberta
can someone explain to me what exactly is corrosive ammo? i hear it all the time in regards to milsurp gun. is it bad for your gun? do you have to clean the gun more?
Corrosive Ammo?
- Thread starter FlyingHigh
- Start date
From what I understand the primer contains salts, so everytime you fire corrosive ammo apparently it stays in your barrel and will rust out your gun. If you do a search you'll find lots of threads on how to clean corrosive salts from your rifle and barrel.
- Location
- Grande Prairie, Alberta
got it. thanks alot. 
Daehanminkuk
Regular
- Location
- Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, ROK
Lots of the milsurp ammo contains if old enough (WW1) may contain chlorates which when fired leave basic oxides in the barrel. These apon exposure to ambient moisture in the air convert these in to Corrosive Hydroxides.
-- Ok, now about Czec ammo it is berdan primed with a mixture of Potassium Chlorate, and Metallic Fulminate hence the salty/Chlorine smell after you fire it.
Again just as the above forms Hydroxides after exposure to air.. it then attacks a steel barrel rather quickly. Iron + hydroxide = rust
Modern primers (US) use metal azides which are very different when they are set off.
So called corrosive primers contain potassium chlorate; this results in deposits of potassium chloride after firing. Potassium chloride + atmospheric moisture can cause corrosion. Chlorate primers were used for a long time. It was phased out in some commercial ammunition in the '30s. Some Cdn. boxer primed .303 ammunition made during WW2 was noncorrosive; all US made M-1 carbine ammunition is NC. The first two production batches of US 7.62x51 National Match ammunition were corrosive primed.
It is best to assume that all older military ammunition is corrosive, and that just about all recent ComBloc is too.
Corrosive primed ammunition is not instant death to rifle barrels. Corrosion can occur, if proper cleaning is not done, particularly if there is high humidity. USGI bore cleaner was formulated to deal with the residual salts. Most modern bore cleaners are not. The salts are water soluble; flushing exposed parts with hot water is effective. The parts should be dried, cleaned normally, and oiled. Wipe out the bore and check it carefully for a few days afterwards.
It is best to assume that all older military ammunition is corrosive, and that just about all recent ComBloc is too.
Corrosive primed ammunition is not instant death to rifle barrels. Corrosion can occur, if proper cleaning is not done, particularly if there is high humidity. USGI bore cleaner was formulated to deal with the residual salts. Most modern bore cleaners are not. The salts are water soluble; flushing exposed parts with hot water is effective. The parts should be dried, cleaned normally, and oiled. Wipe out the bore and check it carefully for a few days afterwards.
this is my experience on corrosive ammo.
i always hunted with brand name ammo and never bothered much with milsurp ammo, so i never knew what corrosive ammo was. then i bought an sks and ran some $3/box ammo through it. like many others i jsut put it way after my time at the range, a few months later, when a buddy of mine explained it to me and what it does, i went and checked my gun and found the firing pin ceased in the block, rusted tighter than the hubs of he11. and the cycling piston in the semi auto portion of the gun was tight to. after a mega can of WD-40 and time letting it soak everything freed up and no damage was done. can u imagine a semi auto, loaded with 5 rnds, with a firing pin rusted out hitting the primer cap when you cycle one in the chamber?? talk about full auto!!!!!
better have a tight hold on that baby when you let'er rip!!!
have used it since and it works great.
windex or winter washerfluid does a great job at cleaning the salt out.
chances are if doesnt say non-corrosive, its not.
i always hunted with brand name ammo and never bothered much with milsurp ammo, so i never knew what corrosive ammo was. then i bought an sks and ran some $3/box ammo through it. like many others i jsut put it way after my time at the range, a few months later, when a buddy of mine explained it to me and what it does, i went and checked my gun and found the firing pin ceased in the block, rusted tighter than the hubs of he11. and the cycling piston in the semi auto portion of the gun was tight to. after a mega can of WD-40 and time letting it soak everything freed up and no damage was done. can u imagine a semi auto, loaded with 5 rnds, with a firing pin rusted out hitting the primer cap when you cycle one in the chamber?? talk about full auto!!!!!
better have a tight hold on that baby when you let'er rip!!!have used it since and it works great.
windex or winter washerfluid does a great job at cleaning the salt out.
chances are if doesnt say non-corrosive, its not.
