Corrosive ammo

[Jessie]

I was given some "mildly corrosive" .308 ammo recently. I assume its the primers.
If I use it, is the best way to clean the barrel to pour boiling water through it? Then a normal cleaning? Or should I avoid it altogether?
It's only 200 rounds and would be one session at the range.

 

[bhayles]

Clean it using the same methods as normal, just don't take shortcuts you might normally take to save time. A good way to describe it would be an intense cleaning, but not using different methods.

 

[Arik]

I shoot lots of corrosive ammo. Never did anything fancy with the cleaning. No windex, no hot water, no urine, no soapy water. ....just regular Hopes or CLP. Just make sure you scrub it good. In total it takes me maybe 5 min longer to clean. Sometimes it takes a lot longer but that has nothing to do with corrosive ammo. Another thing to keep in mind is the weather where you live. Some places are so humid that rust starts to form within the shooting day. I'm in SE Pa and we get 100 degree days with 90% humidity and I have let my guns sit sometimes up to a week before cleaning and nothing happened.

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[jack the toad]

"mildly corrosive" is a term I've seen but don't understand... it's either corrosive or it's not, but as long as you neutralize and/or remove the corrosive elements, it'll be ok. As you're probably aware, don't just concentrate on the bore but also bolt, muzzle, gas system, etc.
Having shot my share of corrosive ammo, I usually use hot soapy water where possible and otherwise use the old GI bore cleaner (white, water based) cleaner for corrosive ammo. Never had a problem.

 

[sheepdawg]

I shoot a bunch of corrosive in my Mausers and my new Mosin. I do a thorough cleaning when I get home using Hoppes. Never had a problem.

 

[jdlii]

I shoot lots of corrosive ammo. Never did anything fancy with the cleaning. No windex, no hot water, no urine, no soapy water. ....just regular Hopes or CLP. Just make sure you scrub it good. In total it takes me maybe 5 min longer to clean. Sometimes it takes a lot longer but that has nothing to do with corrosive ammo. Another thing to keep in mind is the weather where you live. Some places are so humid that rust starts to form within the shooting day. I'm in SE Pa and we get 100 degree days with 90% humidity and I have let my guns sit sometimes up to a week before cleaning and nothing happened.

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"Urine"? Really? I hope you don't have to apply it directly into the chamber of your M1 Garand least you have more that just "M1 thumb" to worry about!

 

[Arik]

Some people have said that urine devolves the salts. Maybe it does but I never used any of those methods. Besides, when was the last time you heard of corrosive Garand ammo

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[jack the toad]

It's been a while since I've seen any on the market but I still have some Korean KA along with some PS M2.

 

[Jessie]

Thanks everyone. It's good to know that it's not a real problem.
Also, I would think urine has as much salt as the corrosive ammo.
I don't mind doing a good clean up after the range.
Excellent answers!
"Likes" all around.

 

[brucev]

I was given some "mildly corrosive" .308 ammo recently. I assume its the primers.
If I use it, is the best way to clean the barrel to pour boiling water through it? Then a normal cleaning? Or should I avoid it altogether?
It's only 200 rounds and would be one session at the range.

Trust me, there is no such thing as mildly corrosive ammunition. That having been said, corrosive ammunition that is otherwise in good condition works extremely well. I have fired a lot of it in various surplus military rifles. A batch of 200 rounds would be great for a nice afternoon at the range. Once you get home, use boiling water w/ some dish washing liquid to clean out the bore and chamber. Be sure and give attention to the bolt face. I stick the barrel down into the hot water and use a rod and patch to pull the hot soapy water up into the bore/chamber. It works very quickly and very well. The metal gets so hot that when you are finished, it dries itself. I then use an oiled patch in the chamber/bore. This method has worked perfectly in every rifle I've ever owned/fired.

If you have a grungy rifle, etc., fill the bathtub with boiling water and some dishwashing liquid. Remove the stock and place the metal parts in the tub. Let it sit for about five minutes. Use a phosphor-bronze brush to scrub the chamber/bore. Use a copper chore boy on the metal parts if there is rust, etc. Otherwise a rough rag will work well. Wear rubber gloves... otherwise you'll have problems holding the hot metal. Afterward, rinse with boiling water. The metal will dry itself. I've used this method to turn some dirty poor looking rifles into very nice shooters, and in a few instances what looked like another potential shooter turned out to be a real eye popper!

 

[2152hq]

The fired primer corrosive salt is water soluable,,most any metalic salt is. They are also Ph neutral to start with so there's no need for anything fancy to neutralize it,,it already is.
Water and anything with water in it works fine to disolve them.

A little soap, alcohol or ammonia added will make the water 'wet' better on the metal surfaces.

What ever you get good results with and no damage to the bore or finish,,go with it.

re; corrosive Garand ammo. That's about all I shoot yet in mine.
Mostly Denver Arsenal Ball and AP dated 44 and Korean 70's mfg Ball ammo.
One of the 2 Korean mfg headstamps is corrosive, the other isn't,,can't ever remember which is which but I always clean the rifle the same and no problems all these years. I have both.
The supply is getting down there, but enough for my range time habits for a while yet.

 

[shouldazagged]

"Urine"? Really? I hope you don't have to apply it directly into the chamber of your M1 Garand least you have more that just "M1 thumb" to worry about!

Man, you could have posted all week and not said that!

 

[Dezfan]

Avid 7n6 user.

Warm water and Ballistol.

The water dilutes the corrosive salts, the Ballistol leaves a film of lubricant that will help protect the surface until it can receive a full cleaning.

 

[jag312]

I use Hoppes No. 9 Plus on my black powder firearms and any smokeless powder firearms using ammunition with corrosive primers. No problems.

 

[Fishslayer]

Would "mildly corrosive" be anything like "a little bit pregnant?"

Google "moose milk." A mix of Ballistol & water.

 

[jack the toad]

One of the 2 Korean mfg headstamps is corrosive, the other isn't,,can't ever remember which is which...

IIRC, and having shot a few rounds of both Korean headstamps through 1919's and M1's, the way I remember is KA= korrosive ammo, PS= pretty safe.

 

[venomballistics]

"Urine"? Really? I hope you don't have to apply it directly into the chamber of your M1 Garand least you have more that just "M1 thumb" to worry about!

in that case ... use someone elses

 

[Arik]

in that case ... use someone elses

Lol

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[Old 44 Guy]

I have a can of GI bore cleaner out in the shop that's made for cleaning after firing this ammo. Works for me.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Ed's Red, you make it yourself and it was designed to work for all problems in gun cleaning. Google it. Ivan

 

[Mcwsky09]

I would think that mildly corrosive refers to the fact that the salt alone will work very slowly based largely on humidity. The more moisture available the faster the corrosion. Something that is aggressively corrosive such as sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid will cause corrosion on contact.
I heard from a relative who worked in the salt mines that they had a pickup truck used in the mines for something like 10 or maybe even 20 years with no visible rust and after all that time they brought it out of the mine and within a year or so much of it rusted completely away.
As far as ammo and firearms are concerned I would think that any cleaning regimen is going to provide better long term results than no cleaning at all.
But what about following corrosive ammo with non corrosive? Or are the salt deposits at the atomic/molecular level not affected by subsequent shots?

 

[LVSteve]

But what about following corrosive ammo with non corrosive? Or are the salt deposits at the atomic/molecular level not affected by subsequent shots?

I would never chance that. Boiling water is still the best thing for dissolving corrosive salts.

"Mildly corrosive" is up there with "slightly pregnant" and "a bit dead".

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I agree with BruceV on this. Boiling water with a little dishwashing soap for cleaning, followed by boiling water rinse, then bore brush and patches, oil the piece and put it away. This is the method we used regularly during the 1960's and early 1970's in the Army for maintaining just about all small arms.

In the field we used only rod, bore & chamber brushes, solvent and patches (an old toothbrush is also very handy). After returning from the field the trash cans with immersion heaters boiling the water were set up for proper maintenance before the weapons went back into the arms room.