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Corrosive Ammo

mdinana
Maybe a stupid question but if you fire corrosive ammo and then soon after clean the bore properly will there still be corrosion?

Thanks
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5 comments

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  • mdinana
    Can someone run through how to clean a rifle after using corrosive ammo? I was told just to run a rag with ammonia (ie, use a windex-type solvent) and clean as normal. Is it this easy? Thanks.
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  • Tailgunner1954
    Windex works because it contains a lot of water.
    All you need to use is water. (amonia is used to cut the copper fouling from the bullets, and all cleaners have it in varing amounts).
    The corrosive salts come from the priming compound, and all it takes to clean after using them is a patch wet with water followed by regular solvent cleaning.
    Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.
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  • Iconoclast
    I am mechanically challenged, so I make it a point to avoid shooting corrosive primed ammo. However, proper cleaning procedure involves more than simply swabbing the bore, as the fumes permeate the mechanisms as well. To avoid rust, you must strip the action and do a thorough cleaning of that, as well. All you need for the salt residues deposited by the priming is hot water, as these are water-soluble. The other chemicals remove metal fouling. Pre-1960 GI bore cleaner works as well, or better than, hot water and can still be found in surplus stores if you watch for it.
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  • jonk
    Just to dispell a myth or two. Some folks talk of using Windex or ammonia as it "neutralizes the corrosive salts." Huh? Salt is a pretty stable substance. There is nothing to neutralize. You simply need to remove it. If the primer had acid in it, and that caused pitting, I would agree that a neutralizing agent was needed. The primer contains salt. Ever leave a shaker of salt on the table in humid weather? It gets gummy as salt retains moisture. The salt in the barrel from the primer attracts moisture, causing pitting, that is, rust over time. And therefore, you need something to dissolve the salt and wash it away. Why mess with windex, ammonia, etc that can harm wood and metal finishes, when plain, hot, perhaps soapy water does the same?

    Incideintally, this is why if it is below feezing outside corrosive primers won't hurt even if left uncleaned... providing you store the gun outside. I have a buddy who lives in Alaska and never cleans his rifles the whole winter... stores them in his garage... and they never rust, so I guess it works.

    "...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf
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  • allen griggs
    The US Marines shot corrosive ammo in WW2. This is how they cleaned their rifles.
    Get a pot or saucepan and put hot water in it. Add a little dish soap. Remove the bolt. Put the bore into the water. Put a patch on the rod and run it down the barrel to the end of the bore. When you draw it up to the receiver you will draw hot soapy water all the way up the barrel.
    Run that rod up and down ten or fifteen times. The salt will be washed away.
    Then run some dry patches up and down the bore.
    After that you clean as you would any rifle, Hoppes #9 or maybe just gun oil.
    I tried ammonia patches, and didn't get the gun as clean as I had hoped. And I splilled a little ammonia on the stock and it ate the finish off.
    After shooting corrosive and cleaning the weapon, be sure to check the gun a week later. Run a patch down the bore and inspect for rust. If there is red rust on that patch, back to the drawing board for you.
    I have a collector's grade Finnish rifle. I shot some corrosive ammo in it, and cleaned with ammonia patches and Hoppes. A week later I happened to look down the bore, and it looked fuzzy. I ran a patch down it and it was bright orange red! Man I almost had to call 911, my heart wasn't doing too well.
    Many people get good results with the ammonia patches, using half ammonia, half water. I say, if hot water is good enough for a WW2 Marine it is good enough for me.
    As for the bolt, I do minimal cleaning of the face of it, never had a problem there.
    If you get the hang of it you can clean after firing corrosive very well. I have two Swedish Mausers and the bores are spotless. These guns are 105 years old and had corrosive ammo fired through them for decades.
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