Due to recent ammo shortages, I am breaking out an old SMLE so as to spare my sparse supplies of .30-06 & .308.

I would like to shoot up some old .303 I have had for years. The thing is, I'm sure it is corrosive. I know that to prevent rust, the British had some kind of kettle and funnel arrangement for pouring hot water through the chamber and bore. But I don't. Besides, it just goes against my grain to douse steel with water.

I remember the standard advice back in the day was "use GI Bore Cleaner" but I don't have that either.

So the question is, would it be adequate to just do a thorough cleaning with Ballistol? Or do I need to buy something else?

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You're shy a few manners.

Not straight Ballistol for the initial clean. Use the 9/1 water/Ballistol mix for the initial clean and a final wipe with straight Ballistol. I've been cleaning Mosins that way for years, although my initial wash mix is probably closer to 8/2.

Water’s the way to go. You can use windex if it makes you feel better, but water is what washes the corrosive salts out of the bore

Water is steel's best friend when it comes to clean-up after corrosive ammo. Lots of water, promptly applied, followed by sensible oiling.

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Pisgah

I use to clean Mosin's with boiling hot water. I used a piece of surgical tubing attached to a funnel. I would put the tubing in the chamber, the rubber tube would form to the chamber. Then just a matter of pouring the water. Boiling hot water dries quickly. At the range I used patches soaked in Windex, then followed it an oily patch.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My long gone friend Charlie Bombardier used to say that in New Ginnea, (he had flown the back seat on Marine dive bombers), that the cooks would boil up some kettles of soapy water to clean the m1903's after the corrosive 30-06 ammo they had used to shoot (****). The Carbines that were once around were already disposed of into the dump cans.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

Not what I wanted to hear but it looks like I will have to get over my hydrophobic ways.

One last stab:
What if I fire corrosive ammo till I am about ready to go, then finish off with a magazine full of known non-corrosive rounds? Won't the last 10 rounds blast or burn up all the corrosive salts out the muzzle?

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You're shy a few manners.

Don't think so.......better safe than sorry, use the water.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

In a word, NO! You need water or a water based solvent to neutralize and eliminate the corrosive salts produce by firing that ammo, any way you slice it.

Froggie

And then there is the old standby, US GI surplus bore cleaner. Usually in pint cans, occasionally in quart cans, available from on-line sources or at many well attended gun shows for a couple of bucks per can.

Most people find the odor to be unpleasant. Nothing is better for removing residues from powders, primers, bullet jacket metal from chamber, bore, and small parts. The usual procedure is to clean thoroughly on the day of use, then clean again the next day. I like to swab the bore heavily with a saturated cleaning patch, then leave the solvent to do its magic for an hour or two, then complete the job.

I seriously doubt that any manufacturer, company, organization, or individual will ever do the amount of research and development that the US military has focused on small arms maintenance products. Corrosive priming, non-corrosive priming, every conceivable propellant mixture, any bullet construction you can think of, the Army has dealt with them all on the range, on the testing grounds, and in the field with troops in any climate or environment.

I purchased a carton containing a dozen pint cans of surplus bore cleaner about 30 years ago. I paid $1 per can. I will never run out and I will never buy anything else. I also will not use it indoors or without good ventilation because it truly assaults the senses with its odor, but it cleans like nothing else.

There's no kill like overkill, but I've had 100% success with just
a few drops of water.

I've put a few hundred rounds of corrosive primed Russian through
a Mosin, and similar (Romanian) through a TTC. After firing, I
run a dry patch through bore, then a new patch wetted with water
(from a rinsed out eyedrop bottle). Follow that with a dry patch,
then another wet one, and another dry one. An oiled patch goes
last.

Been doing it for five years or so, and no rust.

I've got a simple enough setup that I use to clean a Mosin, a Czech Mauser, and an Argentine. Really works simple enough. I use some medical supplies, but you can get the equivalent easily enough anywhere.

I've got a length of plastic tubing, that came from a suction kit. I also use a length to bleed my brakes, get a length of tubing for that purpose and it will work.
For a funnel, I use a 60cc syringe, which is basically what I see in kitchens for turkey basting etc. I remove the plunger, stuff the tip of the syringe into one end of the tube, and feed the other end into the chamber at the very beginning of the bore.

Outside, I set the rifle muzzle down using a chair, sling holding it so I don't place the muzzle into the ground.

Fill a teapot up and bring it to a boil, then pour it down the tube, so it goes down the barrel. If the pot is whistling hot, by the time you walk back inside and set the pot down, and then go back out, the barrel will be dry.

Proceed to clean the rifle as you would with any ammo. That's never caused me any issue, with lots of surplus stuff.

Just some wet w/water patches, dry the bore and oil.
Check it the next day to make sure no after rust.
Wipe down the bolt and recv'r,ect with a damp water patch. Then dry and oil.

It doesn't take a great amt to clear the corrosive salts. They disolve in water easily.
Can't hurt that old Enfield one bit by cleaning it up that way.

No need for pots of boiling water nor a special funnel w/a crooked neck.
I think the Brits put that system into place so they could have Tea while cleaning their rifles.
Not necessarily a bad thing...

I keep it as simple as possible. I swab with water or ballistol or a mix of both; it doesn't matter. Work a brush through the wet bore for a few strokes and push a dry patch through, then do regular cleaning.

You can run some boiling water through the keg and then apply a dry patch to remove any traces of dirt and moisture and finally you can spray the inside of the keg with WD40 which is a moisture inhibitor among many other uses, after 15 minutes pass another dry patch to finish cleaning and drying the inside of the barrel.

When I first was told about corrosive ammo I envisioned dump truck loads of salt coming out of my barrels. Lol

For fifty years I been flushing the barrels with the orginal USGI RIFLE BORE CLEANER using wet patches till they come out clean. Then dry patches till dry. The USGI light weapons oil to oil the bore.

Remember to pull the patches from the chamber to the muzzle.

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Plant garlic in the fall

Ed's Red Bore Cleaner (ERBC).
WWII G.I. Bore Cleaner has gotten hard to find ... and it smells funky .
I clean my O3-A3 the same day as shooting the corrosive military ammo. And just to make sure I will clean it a second time the next day.
Use brass brush , mop & patches , all soaked in ERBC ... be liberal with the application . Mop and patch until they come clean.
To date no corrosion in the old war horse ...
Buy it from Brownell's or search Ed's Red Bore Cleaner Recipe and make it your self.
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I usually just boil up some water and pour it into a 16oz thermos to take with me to the range. When I finish with the corrosive ammo I pour it all through the chamber end of the barrel. That heats up the barrel as well as flushing out the salts. The water evaporates almost immediately. When I get home I run a couple patches with Ed's Red through it and done.

I’ve used Windex for years. The ammonia breaks down and removes the corrosive chemicals.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Why pour water down the bore? Makes too much of a mess.
Just saturate some patches with water and run them up and down the bore AND CHAMBER several times. Don’t forget the bolt face, lug recesses, etc. Then a couple or more dry patches, followed by a few patches of Ballistol highly diluted with water. You’re done.
Two or three days later check the bore closely to see if any rust or green corrosion has formed. If not, you are ok.

70% isopropyl alcohol should work good also for salts removal only, and evaporates well after 30 seconds or so, but I have not used it for this application, though.
Works great on black powder guns.

The newer GI bore cleaner is not designed for primer salts. Go to the dollar store and buy a funnel, comes in a set of four or so, use the one that fits the best and gift your wife the rest of the funnels for the kitchen. Just not a big deal to pour water down the barrel, hotter the better it dries. Follow with your favorite oil, and recheck again the next day. Keep it simple.

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Kevin in Oregon

Boil water in a large deep pan. Place the muzzle in the water. Push a tight patch thru the barrel and pull it back up to the breach. This will suck water up the barrel and when the vacuum breaks the water will flow back down the barrel. You can alternate using a bronze brush and a tight patch, but a few passes with the tight patch and water will remove all the salts from corrosive primers.
Hot water evaporates quickly.
If you are the kind of guy that cleans firearms obsessively continue with your usual routine.

I have to think anyone worried about water and gun metal never had a DS make them shower with an M16A1.

Been there and done that!👍😎

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Try it with an M60!

As the others have said, "water". I've shot a ton of corrosive ammo over the years and never had any rust issues. I'd wipe the bore and bolt face good with several patches soaked with water at the range, then dry it out. At home I'd just clean and oil the bore as I would after shooting any other ammo.