- Location
- The Orion Arm
It's the primer that was used......right?
In that case....the powder should be fine to re-use if I wanted to?
In that case....the powder should be fine to re-use if I wanted to?
What's the "corrosive" component in "corrosive ammo"?
- Thread starter Melnibonean
- Start date
Isn't it a mercury salt? Not sure, just was told that by a guy who was shooting corrosive, and let me shoot his stuff. He said no big deal as the salt wouldn't absorb through skin nearly like elemental mercury, but that you should wash your hands well, and not just because of lead and lead dust (which I don't think is actually as big a risk, in the amounts we are exposed to normally just by shooting, that California would have us believe)
Primers used to contain a mercury compound - fulminate of mercury. The corrosive residue from corrosive ammo is potassium chloride, a product of reaction of the potassium chlorate in the priming compound.
Mercuric primers supposedly chemically altered the brass, making it brittle, hence unsuitable for reloading. Or so I've read - I've never knowingly fired any ammo with mercuric primers.
Mercuric primers supposedly chemically altered the brass, making it brittle, hence unsuitable for reloading. Or so I've read - I've never knowingly fired any ammo with mercuric primers.
The most common corrosive priming compounds are potassium perchlorate, potassium chlorate, and mercury fulminate.
When potassium perchlorate or potassium chlorate react (go off) they produce potassium chloride which is somewhat similar chemically to sodium chloride (table salt). This compound is hydrophilic which means it attracts water; usually moisture from the air. Water will cause a surface reaction involving carboxylic acid (an acid formed in water by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air) and other jazz to rust most steels. Though it can rust steel, potassium chloride is pretty safe for people unlike the lead compounds left by non-corrosive lead styphnate primers (pretty much all modern US made primers).
Mercury fulminate can produce several different mercury based salts when it reacts which will have the same effect of attracting moisture from the air and holding it against the steel. One compound it can make is mercury cyanide which is as bad as it sounds. Mercuric priming can degrade the case metal over time as mercury can infiltrate (be absorbed by) some metals which then become incredibly brittle and unsafe for cartridge cases. As far as I've read mercury fulminate wasn't used much past the late 1800's so the odds of having cold war era surplus ammo with mercuric primers is pretty slim.
I've never heard of salt being used to store or coat anything in a cartridge.
The only issue with using surplus powder from pulled bullets is you don't know what its burn rate is and wont be able to find load data for it. There are several ways to derive load data for it that are relatively safe but you will need a chrony and a lot of time.
When potassium perchlorate or potassium chlorate react (go off) they produce potassium chloride which is somewhat similar chemically to sodium chloride (table salt). This compound is hydrophilic which means it attracts water; usually moisture from the air. Water will cause a surface reaction involving carboxylic acid (an acid formed in water by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air) and other jazz to rust most steels. Though it can rust steel, potassium chloride is pretty safe for people unlike the lead compounds left by non-corrosive lead styphnate primers (pretty much all modern US made primers).
Mercury fulminate can produce several different mercury based salts when it reacts which will have the same effect of attracting moisture from the air and holding it against the steel. One compound it can make is mercury cyanide which is as bad as it sounds. Mercuric priming can degrade the case metal over time as mercury can infiltrate (be absorbed by) some metals which then become incredibly brittle and unsafe for cartridge cases. As far as I've read mercury fulminate wasn't used much past the late 1800's so the odds of having cold war era surplus ammo with mercuric primers is pretty slim.
I've never heard of salt being used to store or coat anything in a cartridge.
The only issue with using surplus powder from pulled bullets is you don't know what its burn rate is and wont be able to find load data for it. There are several ways to derive load data for it that are relatively safe but you will need a chrony and a lot of time.
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I don't know why we call it "corrosive". It isn't. It is salty. And like the salt on the roads, it promotes rust. unless it is washed away with water. hot water is best.
Not a big deal. Most military ammo was corrosive until about 1950. Soldiers cleaned their rifles after shooting.
Not a big deal. Most military ammo was corrosive until about 1950. Soldiers cleaned their rifles after shooting.
- Location
- The Orion Arm
Thank you all for the replies
