Sks rusted after shooting Norinco non corosive ammunition. Anyone experience this?
- Thread starter Military Surplus Lover
- Start date
I don't understand how that's possible. Did a batch of corosive get mixed in somehow I wonder
The two retailers mentioned have great reputations.
However, in China, melamine has been found in infant formula .... quality control is not what we would expect in other countries. It’s not a stretch that some corrosive primers could be mixed into a batch of non-corrosive primers.
However, in China, melamine has been found in infant formula .... quality control is not what we would expect in other countries. It’s not a stretch that some corrosive primers could be mixed into a batch of non-corrosive primers.
I've got quote a bit of experience with Chinese non corrosive ammo, tens of thousands of rounds. And I've used that Norinco ammo, too, but only 2 cases.
I have a theory, and it's completely conjecture on my part, but it's based on my experience that I can go through 10 000 non corrosive rounds with no problem and then one day a bit of rust or even a light blanket of rust shows up in a couple of guns at the same time. And then it gets cleaned off and I go through another 10 000 rounds with no problem.
My theory- and it might be nonsense as I have no knowledge of the inner workings of Chinese ammo makers- is that they aren't too concerned about primers and if they find a case of corrosive primers from 1973 at the back of the warehouse, they will dump them into current production and keep going.
Is this what happened with the OP? Who knows. I do know someone else had some rust with this ammo at one point but there have been thousands and thousands of cases of this ammo used with no problem. And of course, maybe the OP's rifle just got some moisture on it.
I would clean the rifle and shoot the same ammo, make sure it is kept dry and see what happens.
I have a theory, and it's completely conjecture on my part, but it's based on my experience that I can go through 10 000 non corrosive rounds with no problem and then one day a bit of rust or even a light blanket of rust shows up in a couple of guns at the same time. And then it gets cleaned off and I go through another 10 000 rounds with no problem.
My theory- and it might be nonsense as I have no knowledge of the inner workings of Chinese ammo makers- is that they aren't too concerned about primers and if they find a case of corrosive primers from 1973 at the back of the warehouse, they will dump them into current production and keep going.
Is this what happened with the OP? Who knows. I do know someone else had some rust with this ammo at one point but there have been thousands and thousands of cases of this ammo used with no problem. And of course, maybe the OP's rifle just got some moisture on it.
I would clean the rifle and shoot the same ammo, make sure it is kept dry and see what happens.
Yes you are right. I have bought quite a bit from both dealers and never had problems.
The primer situation is quite possible. But the day I went to the range it was bright and sunny out. No rain. It then went straight back in the safe next to another Russian Sks which I checked and it was completely rust free. I've fired thousands of rounds of non corosive through this rifle and haven't experienced this which leaves me stumped
Yeah, i sure don't know, it's jsut my theory
But for sure, clean it up, shoot again and try again. That bit of surface rust isn't really going to destroy your rifle. Check it the next day for rust, as it will usually show up wiht in 24 hours.
You are right. I cleaned it up. It cleaned up pretty good. I'm glad I caught it before it got worse. Still some rust but I'll keep working on it.Yeah, i sure don't know, it's jsut my theory
But for sure, clean it up, shoot again and try again. That bit of surface rust isn't really going to destroy your rifle. Check it the next day for rust, as it will usually show up wiht in 24 hours.
You could always run a primer test on some iron nails to see if the primers are truly corrosive.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5A0aheehk4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5A0aheehk4
I have seen much worse, that will clean up ok and the rifle will be fine, make sure you take apart the bolt and remove the firing pin to clean, the gas piston just needs to soak in oil or eds red or balistol overnight and you can tap it out!
I was sold Czech 1200 round ammo as non corrosive about 4 years ago by a supposed reputable dealer here ( not Canam ) my bad I was fairly new with x39 so I got soaked and extra $150 for Czech corrosive, still have it and the price has now come up to match what I paid! If you don't want your sks, I will buy it! Cheers Bob.
Myths that surround "non-corrosive" are astonishing. I think marketing for "non-corrosive" was very successful as now ppl wonder where did corrosion come from after firing "non-corrosive".
I'm sorry for bringing bad news but regardless of type of ammo you shoot you metal parts will corrode. Without going into much of details - if you have metal, oxygen and humidity - it will corrode. There are factors that can slow down (controlled corrosion AKA bluing, alloys in metal), prevent (regular cleaning and protective oils) or speed-up this process (salts as in "corrosive primer").
Let me give you example - if you fire a rifle with non-corrosive ammo and leave it for two weeks in the room with certain humidity you will get a corrosion.
If you fire same rifle with corrosive ammo and leave her for two week in very dry room - you will not get a corrosion. Salt from primer does not corrode, however it's hygroscopic, it attract water.
That's why I don't care if ammo I buy is corrosive or not - I clean my firearms same or the very next day and in my case type of ammo does not matter. So many ww1 and ww2 rifles fired corrosive ammo and retained perfect bores because they were maintained, and I often see modern guns with ruined bores because owners thought that no need to clean after non-corrosive ammo.
I'm sorry for bringing bad news but regardless of type of ammo you shoot you metal parts will corrode. Without going into much of details - if you have metal, oxygen and humidity - it will corrode. There are factors that can slow down (controlled corrosion AKA bluing, alloys in metal), prevent (regular cleaning and protective oils) or speed-up this process (salts as in "corrosive primer").
Let me give you example - if you fire a rifle with non-corrosive ammo and leave it for two weeks in the room with certain humidity you will get a corrosion.
If you fire same rifle with corrosive ammo and leave her for two week in very dry room - you will not get a corrosion. Salt from primer does not corrode, however it's hygroscopic, it attract water.
That's why I don't care if ammo I buy is corrosive or not - I clean my firearms same or the very next day and in my case type of ammo does not matter. So many ww1 and ww2 rifles fired corrosive ammo and retained perfect bores because they were maintained, and I often see modern guns with ruined bores because owners thought that no need to clean after non-corrosive ammo.
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I am unsure of what to think now Oleg. I used to shoot Barnaul and the dominion arms ammunition that was avaliable in the past. I did not clean the Sks all the time and had no problems with it until now. Same goes with mosins. I have fired mfs non corosive and left it up to a month because I knew that I would be shooting that rifle next time at the range with no problem whatsoever. Never had any problems with mosisture or any other non corosive ammunition.
Thanks for the offer bob. I was able to clean it pretty well. It just shouldn't be happening with non corosive ammunition in my opinion. Never had any other problems with non corosive ammo
With guns is like with girls. You can get lucky many times and don't catch STD but you will eventually get one if you don't use protection. With firearms, firing removes protective oil and corrosion starts. Again, salt from corrosive primer is not the reason, it's a catalizator. Your reasons are chemical components of metal, oxygen and humidity, and they are present regardless type of ammo you use. Every day humidify is different outside from where you bring your rifle. In your home probably too. Results may vary. So you probably had dry day and dry environment in the home and had no issues earlier. No matter what you fire you have to clean firearm. IMO only emergency is the excuse for not cleaning firearms. No manual would advise you to leave your rifle for months without cleaning. So make sure she is clean and wet and then she is good.
BTW I was getting surface rust on my firearms without firing when I had to spend nights sleeping outdoor. That's because oils also wears out outside when you handle firearm.
Does anybody know if tracer rounds are more corrosive then the normal corrosive ammo?
Reason I ask is I shot some Chinese green tracer through my vz58 a while back and cleaned my gun like I normally do
Checked the gun a month later and the barrel was rusted heavily but the bolt and gas system was good
I had to keep cleaning the gun barrel every four days for a month straight to get the rust to stop coming back
Never had that happen to me before and all the other guns in the safe were fine
Reason I ask is I shot some Chinese green tracer through my vz58 a while back and cleaned my gun like I normally do
Checked the gun a month later and the barrel was rusted heavily but the bolt and gas system was good
I had to keep cleaning the gun barrel every four days for a month straight to get the rust to stop coming back
Never had that happen to me before and all the other guns in the safe were fine
Normally I do clean my firearms especially if it is surplus that was shot through. But when it's clearly advertised on the box to be non corosive you expect it to be that. I understand what your saying how moisture and humidity are factors but it's a common thing I have done other times with the exact same rifle. Only factor that is different is the ammo. It's stored in an area with constant temperature. I understand if it was corosive ammo then fine this would happen, but when it's marked specifically non corosive it shouldn't be happening. I believe that norinco must have used old corosive primers for this batch. I plan to do a nail test to see if it is in fact corosive.
