7mm ammo

elect1mike

December 22, 2002 11:13

I bought some surplus chilean 7mm Mauser ammo and have a
question. How do you tell if this ammo is corrosive? It has a
green paint on the primmers and is very clean. Any help you guys
can be would be greatly appreciated.


col elect1mike Illinois
volinters RRG
O give me a home where no democrats roam

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  mark christian

  December 22, 2002 13:00

  Although others disagreed with me on a previous corrosive/non corrosive ammo post, it is still my opinion that nearly all foreign military surplus ammunition made outside of the NATO alliance or for other than a western military, prior to 1980, will have corrosive primers. Short of having a chemist break down the primer compound into its chemical components and searching for potassium chloride (salts), the only known "at home" test that I am aware of is the old "bright nail" test which is somewhat involved but works nearly 100%. Head for your garage.
  
  Take a sample round, pull the bullet and dump the powder. Take new common nail which will fit into the empty case, clean it with brake cleaner, and rub the tip with sand paper to rough it up. Drive the nail into a piece of wood that is thick enough to hold it firmly while leaving enough of the nail sticking up to support the full length of these cartridge case. Now take a piece of 1X4 scrap about 24" long. About 6" from one end dril a hole 1/4" deep and just a little larger than the diameter of the case head. In the center of that hole drill another much smaller hole all the way through the board and just large enough to allow the sharp end of another nail to pass through. The hole should be tight. Are you with me so far?
  
  Okay. Put on a pair of leather gloves and some eye protection. Place the empty case over the nail sicking out of the first board, with the primer end up, so the nail is supporting the case. Place the hole in the second board over the primer end of the case. Slide the second nail through the small hole and over the primer. Keep everyone clear and make sure that there is nothing flammable around. Drive the nail home and pop the primer. Remove the case and toss it...you want the first nail. Set that nail aside for 24 hours. Non corrosive primers will leave the nail coated black, while corrosive primers will give the nail clear signs of rust that should be very obvious.
  
  This "bright nail" test is as old as my old boss (God rest his soul) who taught it to me. I am un aware of any other reliable test method but there may well be one- I don't take well to new fangled ideas. I would like to hear from someone who has an easier way to determine with accuracy whether or not a primer in surplus ammunition is corrosive.
  
  Mark T. Christian

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  Iconoclast

  December 23, 2002 04:51

  mark has it 'nailed.' [:)] Seriously. But 100-1 the stuff is corrosive.

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  Mobuck

  December 24, 2002 17:03

  You didn't give the headstamp dates. I got some of this ammo from Sportsmans Guide a couple of years ago and what I got is NC. It's not too accurate but definitely is NC.
  
  Mobuck

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