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Best way to clean after corrosive ammo used.....

82trooper
....and the rifle was put away dirty?
Hypothetically, if one were to shoot some surplus corrosive ammo, and then not clean the weapon for a month or so, what would be the best way to clean and minimize any long term damage to the barrel? I searched the archives here, but everything seems to address "immediate" cleaning (windex, etc..) Would there be a different technique for this scenario? Please note, I really did NOT do this (I am probably guilty of overcleaning-thanks to 4 years of armorer inspections at Ft. Bragg!!) but we were talking about this at work, and it got me to thinking.
Any thoughts?
Thanks
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • tsr1965
    Just like cleaning a muzzle loader, when shot with real black powder, or percussion caps. Take it out of the stock, and clean all exposed(exposed to corrosive ammo) metal surfaces with hot soapy water, then dry, oil, and wipe down with light coat of rust inhititing oil.

    Just a FYI, it usually takes less than a week for the corrosive ammo residue to start damaging the weapon.

    Best
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
    Just like cleaning a muzzle loader, when shot with real black powder, or percussion caps. Take it out of the stock, and clean all exposed(exposed to corrosive ammo) metal surfaces with hot soapy water, then dry, oil, and wipe down with light coat of rust inhititing oil.

    Just a FYI, it usually takes less than a week for the corrosive ammo residue to start damaging the weapon.

    Best


    +1.

    Once the damage is done, its done, but whether or not any metal is corroded, how you clean the gun shouldn't change.

    Basically you just want to wash the hygroscopic (ie water-attracting) primer salts out of the bore and action (ie breech face, etc).

    There are multiple solvents that could work to do this (eg Hoppes) but good old fashioned hot soapy water is one of the cheapest and safest.
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  • jonk
    Depends on humidity. Col. Hatcher determined in the 30s that if in a very dry climate, it wouldn't rust.

    Most of us aren't consistantly under desert humidity conditions, so cleaning is a must, and hot soapy water is best.

    Unless a gas operated semi auto, there is no reason to disassemble the gun from the stock. Pour a few pints of boiling hot soapy water down the bore from the breech with a funnel, swish the bolt face in some boiling water, then dry (most water will have flash dried anyhow) and clean as normal.
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  • SoreShoulder
    quote:Originally posted by jonk
    Depends on humidity. Col. Hatcher determined in the 30s that if in a very dry climate, it wouldn't rust.I think this strongly implies that if you oil shortly after shooting, which will keep moisture out of the fouling, you can go a bit longer without cleaning. Oil itself is hygroscopic, though, so it will rust eventually.

    I know some people here disagree with me but I like to clean the bore of powder and jacket fouling first, then clean it out with hot soapy water. You might as well get the stuff out of the way first because there may be corrosive salts hiding underneath it.

    However, since milsurp 303 and 7.5 ran out in the last decade, we'll probably never exhaustively test my theory. I think the M91/30 Mosins may be chrome lined, btw.
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  • Fatstrat
    I've always used some Ammonia based product, such as Windex w/Ammonia.
    Give gun a thourough disassembled cleaning as usual. Repeat w/Windex. Repeat as usual.
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  • 11b6r
    As has been said, after a week, what is going to happen HAS already happened. BTW, none of my M-Ns have chromed bores.

    I place the rifle in a padded vise, muzzle down at a 45 degree angle, with a bucket under the muzzle. Remove bolt, plastic funnel in chamber, quart of HOT water thru the bore, couple of drops of Dawn dish detergent on bore brush, scrub, another quart of hot water. While waiting for bore to dry, wipe off bolt. After 5 minutes, lightly oiled patch thru bore.

    IF there are signs of metal fouling, then Hoppes #9, THEN hot water/Dawn/Hot water treatment.

    The corrosive chemical is potassium chloride, first cousin to table salt. Like salt, it encourages iron to rust when in presence of moisture. Like salt, is water soluble.
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  • mark christian
    As Beantown already said; it has a lot to do with the humidity level. Just like the old adage: It is not the fall that kills you, it is the sudden stop; it is not the actual salts in the primers that cause rust, it is the moisture in the air that they draw in. Water based cleaning solvents like the old GI bore cleaner (getting harder to find every year) or plain old water is what you need and the sooner you clean the better off you are. If you lived in the relatively dry South West where I do then a day or two before cleaning won't make much difference but if you live along the Gulf Coast you might see rust forming within an hour! If you wait a full month before making the attempt you'll still need the proper cleaning method, but there may not be much metal left to clean!
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by SoreShoulder
    I think the M91/30 Mosins may be chrome lined, btw.

    Negative.

    If you'd look down the bore, many of the "rearsenalled" ones look like sewer pipes from corrosion and pitting. Which is annoying, when the outsides have been refinished to look nearly new!

    Never seen a chromed bore on one, though that would be nice!
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  • 82trooper
    Thank you to all who took the time to reply. I appreciate all the tips and your willingness to share your knowledge!

    Mike
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  • Wolf.
    I learned this information from a variety of sources, such as general experience, a weapons dvd, Hatcher's Notebook, and Father Frog's web site. Buy a copy of Hatcher's Notebook, and visit Father Frog's web site for some other good, invaluable information regarding weaponry.

    Here is my process. This process is suitable for any cleaning situation involving jacketed ammo, corrosive or non-corrosive.

    Do the work in the order presented below:

    == Field strip the weapon as much as is practical, removing the stock if possible.

    == It might help to put some of your cleaning liquids in squirt bottles.

    == --do this step first-- Using the stiff nylon bore brush, soak it in ammonia or some commercial brass removing bore scrubber to remove the military bullet jacket residue from the bore. Recharge the brush with your scrubber product a couple times, running the brush back and forth maybe twenty times. NOTE: The nylon brush is used because brass weapons brushes will dissolve in ammonia-based weapons cleaning products. You could use a brass brush for the soap-based scrubbing but it is not recommended for the ammonia-based scrubbing. I do not like using a stainless steel brush, because I believe them to be too hard on the bore.

    == Squirt-saturate parts exposed to fouling, including the bore, with Simple Green, and let soak in for 5-10 minutes. Use a military M-16-type weapons "toothbrush", or just a regular toothbrush, to scrub nooks and crannies.

    == Soak a bore brush (brass brush is okay for this) in Simple Green and scrub the bore back and forth maybe twenty times to remove any residual ammonia product and corrosive fouling. I believe you need to remove the residual ammonia-based product from the bore and other metal to prevent possible corrosive effect on the steel from the ammonia.

    == Rinse everything well with warm water to remove all the Simple Green soap and wipe off any residual water with a rag. Let stand to continue to air dry completely.

    == Lastly, squirt on a light coating of BreakFree CLP over your parts and the weapon proper (get some into the trigger group, the bolt, etc. and, using a patch, rub it in well over the weapon's exposed surfaces. Run your CLP-soaked patch throught the bore a few times.

    == You are done. Store the weapon in a dry location.

    This procedure sounds more complicated than it is. Basically, it is just routine cleaning, but with a couple water-based steps to remove the burned corrosive fouling and the ammonia product. At this time, I believe that the BreakFree CLP is the best lube/preservative product and the Simple Green is the best soap-type emulsifier.
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