Using corrosive ammo in below zero temperatures

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cm_machinist

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Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone has had any issues using corrosive ammo when the temperature is below zero. The reason I ask is because the salts left behind from corrosive ammo attract moisture, and when a firearm is brought into a warm place after being out in the cold the firearm will warm up and moisture will appear on the metal. Is shooting corrosive ammo in the winter problematic?

...but then again Soviets used these in Siberia for many years. :p
 
No problems here, but it is so dry that rust is never an issue unless I get rained on. You still need to clean the gun properly soon after shooting, the outside weather has no effect on that.

You do know to leave the gun in its case to warm up after being out in the cold, right?


Mark
 
Just shot 60 rounds of Czech in about -12 Deg C, works great, when I drops to -30 next week, I am going back to shoot some more and see how it does in extreme cold weather!
 
It's comm-bloc ammo guys. Do tell, what is the weather like for 6-9 months a year in most former Soviet nations?

That's right, it's cold as hell just like here in Canada. Get shootin'!
 
It worked at Stalingrad. They only had to throw rocks when the ammo ran out.
Leave your gun in a case until it warms to room temp. A couple hours does it nicely. The slow warm up will minimize condensation. Then clean with hot water and oil well. (G96!)
 
The condensation that forms when you bring your gun inside will expedite the corrosion problem, thus clean right away. I hit mine with boiling water while it still is all frosty from being outside. Then it can sit there for a while until I get to cleaning it. No problems. Actually, that corrosive ammo performs top notch in the cold and the heat. Good ammo, just a pain with the cleaning thing.
 
ciphery said:
The spacific formulation in the corrosive ammo you speak of was to cope with the nasty siberian winter.
Your com-bloc ammo should go bang in antactica.
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Absolutely correct. It's corrosive BECAUSE it's a specific formula that works to -60°C. Not just because it's cheap surplus. Surplus soviet ammo will handle colder weather than you can!
 
saskcop said:
The condensation that forms when you bring your gun inside will expedite the corrosion problem, thus clean right away. I hit mine with boiling water while it still is all frosty from being outside. Then it can sit there for a while until I get to cleaning it. No problems. Actually, that corrosive ammo performs top notch in the cold and the heat. Good ammo, just a pain with the cleaning thing.
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I do exactly the same...clean it right away, oil and good until next time.

If you are going to flush your rifle with hot water...why would anyone worry about a little condensation ?? LOL
 
corrosive ammunition in that time was the thing that will go bang every time that the weather is still +40 or -60 , i shootCzech ed some russian ammo form 1951,1958 , romanian 1969 and some Czech , and never get a misfire from +30 to -30

stop worrying and go out and shoot ^^ and clean after !
 
I've shot 1953 bxn in my tokarev in -30 with no problems, but make sure you clean the cosmoline out of the firing pin/spring. That stuff is like superglue in the cold!
 
I highly doubt there's a weather condition that a human being could comfortably (or even uncomfortably) live in that would make corrosive ammo fail at a high enough for it to be a problem. One or two rounds may dud in extreme temperatures, but why are you shooting in that anyway? And still, it's just a couple rounds. Load 'em up and try 'em again! All through WW2, all that was issued was corrosive ammo. From the freezing steppes of Russia to the 100% humidity jungles of Asia, mostly all the ammo was corrosive. I shudder to think of what happened to Garand barrels in places like Tarawa and Saipan. Must've had to clean them twice a day.

It's used in Africa today, Russia, and the middle east. Pretty much everywhere that you'll find guns, you'll find corrosively primed ammo. The Brits even under their draconian laws are to this day blasting it out of their Mosins, and so are our Australian and New Zealander friends (although the New Zealanders are probably blasting it out of their AK's and Dragunovs, too. Buggers!) Different climates, ammo works just fine.

You'll be fine using it here in Canada, weather you live in BC or Alert. Just clean your gun once you're finished.
 
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to the OP, NO it will not work in any temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius. You MUST pack it all up and ship it to me at your expense. I will of course keep it properly stored and wait until the warmer weather before I even think about using it.
 
"...The spacific formulation..." The what?
"...was to cope with the nasty siberian winter..." Nonsense. The Soviets used corrosive primers because they're cheap to make and the Soviets didn't care about rust. Battle rifles weren't taken in and out of warm places anyway. In any case, corrosive primers aren't going to cause instant rust in January any more than they do in July. Flush when you get home and you'll be fine.
 
When you bring a cold gun into a warm place, the moisture in the warm air condenses on the cold surfaces.

Therefore, one of the best things you can do is put the gun in a case, while it's still in the cold environment. A well sealed case like a pelican would be best because it'll trap the cold, dry air inside the case.

Either clean and oil the gun immediately, or if you can't, then keep it sealed in the case and don't open it for any reason until you're ready to clean it. Even if the CFO himself descends from the heavens and wants you to open the case, tell him the laws of nature will not allow it until the gun is warm. Go to jail if you have to, just don't open the case until it has warmed up.
 
sunray said:
"...The spacific formulation..." The what?
"...was to cope with the nasty siberian winter..." Nonsense. The Soviets used corrosive primers because they're cheap to make and the Soviets didn't care about rust. Battle rifles weren't taken in and out of warm places anyway. In any case, corrosive primers aren't going to cause instant rust in January any more than they do in July. Flush when you get home and you'll be fine.
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Nope, that's not ture. The potassium chloride as an oxidizer is more reliable. Just like mercuric based primers are more reliable than lead styphnate primers in use now, and even some military ammo has had small quantities of mercury compounds included for more reliable ignition. (but can't be imported into Canada) And the lead styphnate primers are more reliable than lead free primers. By reliable, this is not just self ignition, but also reliable ignition of the powder charge.

The "cost" of one primer compound isn't any different any other.
 
I have no doubts the about the ammo working correctly. I just thought if I shoot corrosive rounds the condensation from the cold would speed up the corrosion process. I have to go out of town to do any shooting and I'm paranoid I'll wait too long to clean my sks thoroughly. I'll be buying a crate of corrosive rounds later this week and I might do some shooting around Christmas. Problem is the temperature here has been around -20 for the last week. I guess if I'm really worried about corrosion I can immediately clean the critical parts of my sks and thoroughly clean the gun as soon as I can.
 
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