Why are there still corrosive bullets?

busterboyd

busterboyd

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I was led to understand that the corrosion caused by the use of corrosive primers is due to the conversion of potassium chlorate to potassium chloride when the primer is ignited. (I'm not a scientist or a geologist so this is blah blah to me) And that newer modern primers have mercury which makes them non corrosive.
Then why are they still making corrosive bullets if they have the modern technology to make cleaner firing bullets.
 
Generally speaking, it is a matter of orrosive ammo can be made cheaper than non-corrosive. Also, considering that the nations using it (current and former communists) rely on large volumes of weapons they can aford to have a few rust out. Finally, I imagine that if you have an armed forced that is at a level of training that they clean theirweapons regularly (daily+) it would hardly be a factor
 
Not to mention that when military ammo that is corrosive gets used in guns that are not cleaned regularly and are in humid climates, it is a mater of months before the gun starts to malfunction. I know of onefellow who shot corrosive ammo through a very nice Rashid, didn't clean it and pitted the chamber so that extraction is NOT reliable. It only took about three months for that to happen in a dry climate. Rebels or insurgents who capture firearms and corrosive ammo and don't clean after use will face the same problems very quickly.

Not to mention the techonology and chemistry to manufacture corrosive primers is easier and less expensive than non corrosive. On the scale military ammo is manufactured this can add up to significant dollars saved.
 
I have a new armalite m15 on the way. If I decide to put 5.56 nato corrosive in it as apposed to the more expensive .223, how much more intensive will my cleaning habits have to be?
 
If you were able to get your hands on corrosive ammo, (I'd love to know here you could find surplus right now)You would want to clean it thoroughly everytime you shoot!That sid, If I was spending big bucks on a rife,I would be cleaning it thoroughly every time anyway!
 
busterboyd said:
I have a new armalite m15 on the way. If I decide to put 5.56 nato corrosive in it as apposed to the more expensive .223, how much more intensive will my cleaning habits have to be?
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What 5.56 NATO ammunition do you think is corrosive?

You will look for a long time to find any current production primers that contain fulminate of mercury.
 
tiriaq said:
What 5.56 NATO ammunition do you think is corrosive?

You will look for a long time to find any current production primers that contain fulminate of mercury.
Click to expand...

It is the primers that contain potasium clorate that are corrosive.
Fulminate of Mercury primers will make brass weak but isn't that corrosive.
Current primers are made with lead sulphinate.
There are some lead free non corrosive primers in the works as well
 
If I'm not mistaken, the reasoning behind still using corrosive primers is that they tend to be more stable over long periods of time. For you and I that won't be a big deal but when governments need to stockpile ammo for their militaries long term storage is a big factor to consider.
 
busterboyd said:
Then why are they still making corrosive bullets if they have the modern technology to make cleaner firing bullets.
Click to expand...

Whom do you think is still making corrosive ammunition? I thought that just about everybody got away from it about 20 years ago.

A lot of nations stayed with corrosive priming until then because it is more stable (better long-term storage) than other compounds. Nevertheless, the number of nations doing it dropped way off in the early 80's.

For what it is worth, primers used mercury fulminate before potassium chlorate came along. Currently, most primers are lead styphnate. The new trend is to invent lead-free, non-toxic primers.
 
IMHO most of the corrosive stuff is leftovers that state arsenals are dumping onto the civilian market as they turn to more modern ammunition manufacturing processes, i run it through my sks rifles, clean well and have no problems, but id be leary about putting it through any of my safe queens.
 
Buy a kettle at a garage sale. I paid $3 for mine.
Pour BOILING HOT water down the barrel, and the gas system of semi's
Be wary of those that say "just spray Windex down the bore" , yet forget to mention the gas system.
 
The US kept using the corrosive FA No. 70 primer for national match ammunition because it performed better than the alternative at the time. They also used cleaning methods that made the likelihood of chloride salt corrosion irrelevant.
Primers using both chlorate and fulminate were in use well into the 20th century. One problem with the rare and expensive ammuntion for British heavy rifles is that the caps use fulminate. Anyone wanting to shoot this ammunition should break it down for the cases, and reprime them before use. Otherwise the mercury can damage the expensive, hard to find brass. When the ammunition was manufactured, there was no intent that it be reloaded, so the fulminate didn't matter.
 
busterboyd said:
I have a new armalite m15 on the way. If I decide to put 5.56 nato corrosive in it as apposed to the more expensive .223, how much more intensive will my cleaning habits have to be?
Click to expand...

You clean with hot soapy water after shooting corrosive ammo. Treat the gun the same way as you would treat a Black Powder gun.
Keep in mind that the corrosive fouling is a salt. Hot water desolves salt, oil does not. Oil just moves it around.
Cleaning procedure, hot water, dry (blow dryer) then regular powder solvent (or brake kleen) then a quality gun oil to keep the metal from rusting or water ever oxidation the post war alloys engage in.

If you do not clean after shooting corrosive ammo important things like the rifling, chamber, and moving parts will pit, and will cause you grief.
The finish will also get old quickly.
That being said I have shot corrosive for years, cleaned with hot soapy water (Murphys oil is good) and then a regular cleaning and have no signs of corrosion on most of my guns.

The one time I had problems was with a batch of 7.62x39 that was marked non corrosive - that was a lie. I didn't use water to clean, and because I only fired about five shots I didn't clean the gas tube on the SKS, just gave it a spray of oil. a month later the gas tube had pits in it and the finish was gone, the gas rod also had pits in it. The bore was chrome lined so it was OK. Lesson learned, when shooting surplus clean like it is corrosive until you are sure it is not.
 
10x's recommendations are excellent.
Corrosive ammuntion is not living death for firearms. It just requires a level of care and maintenance to which most modern shooters are not accustomed. It is also a good idea to check and wipe out the bore for a few days after shooting, particularly if the weather is hot and humid.
 
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