Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    B"H

    Hello guys! How do you identify if a ceratain ammo is corrosive? I dont see it say on the packaging any where. Are "federal" and "prvi patizan " ammo corrosive?

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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    Quote Originally Posted by voola View Post
    B"H

    Hello guys! How do you identify if a ceratain ammo is corrosive? I dont see it say on the packaging any where. Are "federal" and "prvi patizan " ammo corrosive?
    More info would help.

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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    If its for your AR probably not. You need to be able to recognize the different primer sizes (boxer Vs Berdan) and this will most times tell you if its corrosive or not.


    .

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    Smile Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    B"H

    Well i think i asked a "not-so-simple" question. maybe you guys can just tell me how to protect my rifle , in case i discharged corrosive ammo. what post-firing action do i need to take?

    Thank you

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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?





    If you have a spent case you can look down inside and see the flash holes. The one on the left is a Boxer primed round and the other two are Berdan. Boxer primed rounds are non corrosive, while most but not all Berdan primed rounds are Corrosive.


    Your ammo packaging should tell you what primer the manufacturer used or that the ammo is non corrosive and you can go from there.


    However if your still not sure.......


    Hose everything down with Windex and thoroughly clean the gun. The ammonia in windex counteracts the corrosive salts that the primer may leave behind.


    .

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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?


  7. #7
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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    There are a couple of ways to determine if your ammo is corrosive. I've tried both.

    One way is to shoot the questionable ammo through your rifle, and then put it away without cleaning. When you pull it out after a couple weeks and see the bore is completely rusted to the point that you have to pound a brush through the bore, then the ammo is corrosive.

    Another way is to pull the bullet and powder from the questionable ammo and discharge the primer onto some bare steel. After a week or so, you will see the corrosive effects if present in the primer.

    Having tried both, I recommend the latter method.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    Quote Originally Posted by RaisedByWolves View Post




    If you have a spent case you can look down inside and see the flash holes. The one on the left is a Boxer primed round and the other two are Berdan. Boxer primed rounds are non corrosive, while most but not all Berdan primed rounds are Corrosive.


    Your ammo packaging should tell you what primer the manufacturer used or that the ammo is non corrosive and you can go from there.


    However if your still not sure.......


    Hose everything down with Windex and thoroughly clean the gun. The ammonia in windex counteracts the corrosive salts that the primer may leave behind.


    .
    Humbly begggin' your pardon, Sir. The single flash-hole, the cartridge on the RIGHT is BOXER primed.

    The other two, (left and middle) with two distinct flash-holes are BERDAN.

    Boxer primers have the anvil, priming compound and anvil all in the primer. Usually, the anvils in modern Boxer primers are three-legged.

    Berdan, however, have only cup and compound. The anvil is formed as an integral part of the case when it is shaped. The holes are punched one on each side of the anvil

    While not all corrosive primers are Berdan, it is more lilely in modern ammunition that if you DO find a corrosive primer, it will be BERDAN. However, there are still some near-modern brimers, both Berdan and Boxer that are corrosive, most notably from foreign (central and southern Asia -Pakistan, Turk, indonesian, etc) sources.

    American primers and American ammunition have generally been non-corrosive since the 50's, though there may be some narrow exceptions to that, and they would most likely be so marked.

    pstew outlines a method to distinguish which is which. It may not be as quick as you might desire, but it is more than definitive.

    If in doubt over whether you have fired some corrosive, just pour a couple ounces of clear water through the bore when you have fired your final shot of the day, while the barrel is still warm. Follow that with a dry patch, a shot of windex to remove the copper-fouling, another dry patch, and then a sloppy patch of CLP/LPS, G-96, RemOil, or something until you get home for normal cleaning. The first flush with water will get the corrosive salts out.

    It is important to note here that if you have fired corrosive and you know it, following those rounds with known non-corrosive rounds to eliminate corrosive salts is not in any way a guarantee that you have fired that stuff out of your bore. In fact, it is pretty much guaranteed that it will NOT clean anything appreciably, so your best bet is the water-method as above, anyway.

    If what you have fired is NOT corrosive, following the above directions will still not be a waste of effort, but clould be good insurance if there is any possibility.

    Flash

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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    If you have federal and privi, no worries. They are not corrosive.

    The only time you'd even need to worry about corrosive ammo in 5.56 / .223 is if you bought old surplus ammo - and there aint a whole lot of that around anymore.

    None of the modern / recently produced 5.56 / .223 ammo is corrosive.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: How do i know if my ammo is corrosive?

    Those WWII surplus .45s that I had (WWC 43 headstamps) were corrosive as hell...an old gunny sergeant buddy said that in the jungle, without a cleaning kit that they'd piss down the barrels of the pistols and Thompsons to keep them from crudding up...

    Gotta do what ya gotta do, I guess...

    For all the years I had that old '45, she had her barrel cleaned with Sea Mist sudsing lemon ammonia.
    "...a REPUBLIC, if you can keep it."

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