Question about "corrosive ammo".

**rikilii** · December 10th, 2009, 11:55 PM

I've seen statements indicating that you should clean your gun immediately after shooting it, etc.

Why would I shoot corrosive ammo? How do I know if it's corrosive? Presumably the manufacturer will not print "this ammo is corrosive" on the side of the box, or do I have that wrong?

I also found some posts elsewhere indicating that "all surplus ammo" is corrosive. But what exactly is the definition of "surplus"?

In short, is there a sure fire way to tell if I'm using it or not?

**max384** · December 11th, 2009, 01:26 AM

I can't recall ever seeing corrosive written on corrosive ammo (other than store stickers saying so).

If it isn't new manufacture, was manufactured in another country, or is any old military ammo consider it corrosive. Also, if in doubt, consider it corrosive.

Yes, you should clean your gun right after firing corrosive ammo, it can cause rusting/pitting in your barrel. Make sure to use plenty of lube to clean it, and it's not a bad idea to spray (or pour, squirt, etc.) it down with lube right after you're done shooting it before you get to clean it.

**wa3ra** · December 11th, 2009, 03:22 AM

Corrosive ammo means corrosive primers in the cartridge; either sodium perchlorate or mercury fulminate. Byproducts of the burning process leave either a mild alkaline (sodium perc), or a mild acid (mercury fulminate). Note that these are on opposite sides of neutral pH, but both can cause damage: either pitting (acid) or rust (salt).

The easiest way to neutralize either of these is to use a mild, neutral soap (Ivory Snow) to clean the parts, then clean and relube as needed.

I used, over the course of many years, an entire pallet of corrosive .45 ammo, mostly in a GI Colt. The Western Cartridge Company cartridges that I used had mercury fulminate primers, which left acid. The fastest way to neutralize that stuff was to spray the gun with Windex, wipe it down, then run a patch through the barrel with Windex on it, followed by a patch with gun oil to coat the barrel.

The 'real' Kalashnikov training manual tells the Soviet conscript that if nothing else is available to clean the weapon, piss on it! Urine has plenty of ammonia, and us generally chemically basic.

If you are using ammo with sodium perc, a mild solution of white vinegar can be used in place of the Windex.

Don't be afraid of corrosive ammo; it is cheap and consistent and only requires a minimal amount of 'extra' care.

**PA Rifleman** · December 11th, 2009, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by rikilii

I've seen statements indicating that you should clean your gun immediately after shooting it, etc.

Why would I shoot corrosive ammo? How do I know if it's corrosive? Presumably the manufacturer will not print "this ammo is corrosive" on the side of the box, or do I have that wrong?

I also found some posts elsewhere indicating that "all surplus ammo" is corrosive. But what exactly is the definition of "surplus"?

In short, is there a sure fire way to tell if I'm using it or not?

You're asking two questions, how to detect corrosive and how to clean up afterward.

Basically any ammunition that falls into one or more of these categories:

Eastern European ammunition - very likely
Ammunition that's Warsaw pact compatible even though it's non-European. Example: ChiCom surplus 7.62x39
Warsaw pact military surplus is a certainty.
Berdan primed ammunition, especially in military sizes
Certain military surplus ammunition made around W.W.II or pre- W.W.II. Examples: German wartime 8mmx57 ammo, some early M2 .30-06 rifle ammo, W.W.II & earlier .45 ACP ammo.

This list isn't complete, so if your ammunition isn't factory-fresh commercial loads, run through the detection process.

Detection:

Cleaning: