Does firing a few non corrosive rounds after a bunch of corrosive "clean" your gun?

Rifter

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Does firing a few non corrosive rounds after a bunch of corrosive "clean" your gun?

I have a friend that swears that firing a few non corrosive rounds after a few hundred corrosive will break up the salts and negate the need to clean the gun immediately after shooting. Is there any truth to this?
 
i was thinking the same thing recently....i thought i remember someone posting about that...never tried though, for me its one or the other...depending on available cleaning time that day
 
I can tell you from experience (with my mosin). After shooting corrosive(60 rnds), then shooting non corrosive (40rnds). The gun will look the same 2hrs later as it does after only shooting corrosive. If i had a spare rifle that was junk. i would do a longer term test. But thats what i know from shooting for a morning, then heading home and cleaning the rifle once i get home.
 
What does shooting corrosive ammo and going bareback on a prostitute have in common?- Once you shoot your gun off, it's going to need a good cleaning with hot water!
 
Thanks guys, figured this was the case. This same friend oils his guns with Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil so I wanted to verify the info as it doesn't seem like he really knows what he is talking about when it comes to guns.
 
Thanks guys, figured this was the case. This same friend oils his guns with Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil so I wanted to verify the info as it doesn't seem like he really knows what he is talking about when it comes to guns.

Time for you to learn how to use the "search" feature of this forum. There is nothing wrong with using synth oil on a firearm and MANY firearms owners use it.
 
In a rational sort of way firing some non corrosive after the corrosive might get rid of SOME of the corrosive salts, but never ALL of the salts.
I usually shoot non corrosive 2 or 3 times at the range, then when it gets dirty enough to really need a cleaning i'll go nuts with corrosive and give it a really good cleaning. My thoughts are that 1) all of the non corrosive carbon build up might(and i stress might) keep some of the corrosive salts off by having a good clean fouling layer on there first, and 2) i'm lazy and this way i don't have to really strip down and clean it every time i shoot.
 
Time for you to learn how to use the "search" feature of this forum. There is nothing wrong with using synth oil on a firearm and MANY firearms owners use it.

Im sure that literally any oil will "work" in a sense that any oil is better than no oil.

Im also sure that any gun specific oil will work better due to gun/carbon specific additives.
 
In a rational sort of way firing some non corrosive after the corrosive might get rid of SOME of the corrosive salts, but never ALL of the salts.
I usually shoot non corrosive 2 or 3 times at the range, then when it gets dirty enough to really need a cleaning i'll go nuts with corrosive and give it a really good cleaning. My thoughts are that 1) all of the non corrosive carbon build up might(and i stress might) keep some of the corrosive salts off by having a good clean fouling layer on there first, and 2) i'm lazy and this way i don't have to really strip down and clean it every time i shoot.

This actually makes some sense.
 
It would make sense if carbon had any protective qualities... It is like saying that you don't need to oil and clean your firearms if you covered it in soil because the layer of soil will protect the rifle. Don't feel bad, I see the same fellows that say this advising people not to wash their salt covered vehicles during the Winter because the dirt on the vehicle will protect it. Too bad that theory is easily proved wrong by looking at their car.
 
I don't even think id take a chance on not cleaning after a range outing with non corrosive. My rule of thumb has always been- if it's surplus ammo- CLEAN IT EVERY TIME. Those berdan primers were used in pretty much everything surplus, keeps the cost down and makes it more reliably go bang. I've heard horror stories of rusted bores from even the "non corrosive" ammo too.
 
Corrosive ammo leaves a residue of Potassium Chloride on parts of the gun. In the presence of air, which contains oxygen and moisture (humidity), the potassium chloride will speed up the corrosion process.

Shooting non-corrosive ammo will physically blast away some of the potassium chloride, but it's highly doubtful you'll get rid of it all, and therefore the gun will still corrode.

For the inside of the barrel, this might actually work, because the friction of the bullet traveling down the bore could remove most of the potassium chloride. However, it probably won't remove much of it from the chamber, receiver, gas tube, piston, bolt, etc... Seeing as the barrel is one of the easiest parts to clean, and you'd still have to clean all that other stuff anyway, you're really not saving much work by firing some non-corrosive rounds.

On a semi-auto, like an SKS, you'd definitely need to clean all the fiddly parts that have been contaminated by escaping gasses.

On a bolt-action, you might be able to get away with only cleaning the chamber and bore. But that's so easy to do, why even look for a way not to?
 
The corrosive salts from the spent primer go all through the gas system.
So how could anything prevent them from going anywhere? Also as you shoot the steel heats up allowing said salts, grime, carbon etc to be 'absorbed" into the metal which then constricts when cool. If you even fire 1 corrosive round, clean everything. If fact, just clean as if you shoot corrosive all the time even when you don't and your rifle will be around for a long time. Your friends on the other hand, maybe not. That's his problem, not yours.
 
I still do not use any hot water on my guns after shooting corrosive. Just a good cleaning and lots of G96 gun oil. To this day no corrosion. I find my mags tend to get a little rust so once in a while give them a good clean and oil. Just my 2 cents. I have had ok results in shooting some non-corrosive rounds after shooting corrosive ammo but I also spray a layer of oil over gas system, barrel, etc and it can be left for days with no issue in my experience.
 
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