shooting steel jacketed ammo AK 47

[arjohnson]

I use to buy that stuff by the crates back in the day, can't tell you how much of the steel core ammo I shot through AK's. It performed perfectly and won't hurt your AK at all.

[Emptymag]

I use to buy that stuff by the crates back in the day, can't tell you how much of the steel core ammo I shot through AK's. It performed perfectly and won't hurt your AK at all.

If you still have any of those crates you could probably sell them and retire.

It's been several years since I saw "steel core" ammo prices, but MAN, it was insanely high. I may have 100 rounds of it around here somewhere.

[Asmodeus6]

If you still have any of those crates you could probably sell them and retire.

It's been several years since I saw "steel core" ammo prices, but MAN, it was insanely high. I may have 100 rounds of it around here somewhere.

The good shit goes for a $1 a round to retards on gun broker.

That's a $100 EM.

[arjohnson]

If you still have any of those crates you could probably sell them and retire.

It's been several years since I saw "steel core" ammo prices, but MAN, it was insanely high. I may have 100 rounds of it around here somewhere.

My buddy was a dealer and if I recall correctly I was buying it for about 70.00 for 1200rnds. Although not quite 100% sure on the price because back in the mid 80's alot of the ammo was cheap so I may be confusing it with other ammo.

Thing is I would buy 1200 rnds on a friday and on saturday it would be gone, and I did this quite often.

[marinville]

No nyman... Ammonia has nothing to do with salt. Water dissolves them.

I have heard it both ways. Some guys say the ammonia neutralizes the salts, others say the water flushes them out. Not being a chemist myself, I cant call it.

I will say, from what I have read, it seems like most feel that the water is what actually does the trick. Either way, besides the ammonia, windex also has a high water content. So either way, I suppose it would work.

Personally though, I would just use hot water. (hot just because it would evaporate faster.)

[Asmodeus6]

I have heard it both ways. Some guys say the ammonia neutralizes the salts, others say the water flushes them out. Not being a chemist myself, I cant call it.

I will say, from what I have read, it seems like most feel that the water is what actually does the trick. Either way, besides the ammonia, windex also has a high water content. So either way, I suppose it would work.

Personally though, I would just use hot water. (hot just because it would evaporate faster.)

You've heard it both ways because the same people say the same tired things on the internet.

Water dissolves salt and washes it away. Hot water is exactly what works. Ammonia has nothing to do with it.

[bac0nfat]

Wasn't there a thread on here a few months ago about a guy who used windex after shooting corrosive ammo, and ended up with a barrel so rusty it was impossible to clean?

[shortthrow50]

Steel jacket isnt gonna shoot through much and it has lead core. Steel core is a different story. I doubt thats what you have but its not impossible to get steel core ak bullets. The steel in them is very mild.

[shortthrow50]

Wasn't there a thread on here a few months ago about a guy who used windex after shooting corrosive ammo, and ended up with a barrel so rusty it was impossible to clean?

Windex is good but boiling water is better. Of course it will rust if you store the gun in a damp location for long enough. After you wash out the corrosive salts, its always a good idea to run at least one patch of solvent down the barrel folllowed by a patch with oil. Who's this guy thats cleaning the corrosion and then not taken the extra 2 sec step of not oiling the barrel?

[Noah_Zark]

Water dissolves salt and washes it away. Hot water is exactly what works. Ammonia has nothing to do with it.

Hot water is the operative ingredient, but ammonia can help.

Ammonia is the common term for ammonia hydroxide, a base. Bases have a pH above 7.0, and make good wetting and cleaning agents. Sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide with or without sodium silicate or potassium silicate are principal ingredients of industrial or heavy-duty cleaners and degreasers. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, was once a common ingredient of soap, and is still used in some soaps but usually not used in facial or bath soap anymore because it dries out the skin and can damage corneas. Sodium hydroxide is what the Norwegians soak whitefish in to make lutefisk, the disgusting concoction they seem to have developed a penchant for. It's an acquired taste, and that's a different thread.

Ammonium hydroxide is not corrosive to steel and as a hydroxide can actually help the hot water "wet" the steel and loosen the products of combustion "crud" and help make the hot water more efficient in diluting and carrying off the corrosive chlorate salts (NOT mercury) from chlorate primers used in corrosive ammo. (Mercury fulminate was dropped as a priming compound ingredient pretty much before WWII. Not entirely, but mostly. Mercury fulminate corroded brass cases, taking out the zinc and weakening the cases. This was recognized and primers were switched to incorporate potassium chlorate as the principal ingredient for brisance (think: spark generation).

As for Windex, there is Windex and there is Windex. The ONLY Windex product to be used in bore cleaning is the old-fashioned original formula window cleaner, and NOT anything that says "All-Purpose" or "Kills Bacteria." The bactericidal agent in the Anti-Bacteria form of Windex is an organic chloride compound that can and WILL promote corrosion in the bore of a firearm. KEEP ANYTHING that says "KILLS GERMS" or "KILLS BACTERIA" AWAY from the bores of your firearms. Period.

As for me, I use a 50-50 mix of household ammonia and water to which I add two drops of original formula Dawn (again, NOT the "Kills Bacteria" kind of Dawn) to take advantage of the surfactants (wetting agents) in that product. I have yet to experience a rusty bore after shooting corrosive ammo.

Noah