Is corrosive ammunition really that bad?

Say I get a mosin nagant, and use corrosive ammunition for it. Would it be ok as long as once I get home from the range (about 20 min after firing) I clean the barrel with windex and just and clean out the receiver with a rag? (Basically what I do with all the other guns)? Or does it require more/faster action than this?

Fatefinger2012-10-27T20:59:28Z

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Corrosive ammunition is not bad if you deal with it quickly. It is best to clean ASAP or at least same day. It won't take minutes to start rusting but still don't leave it overnight.

The Freak Show2012-10-28T02:42:09Z

I just put the muzzle into a small plastic ice cream bucket with a few inches of hot soapy water. I have a 30 cal mop brush that's only used for that purpose. Then I run a dry patch down the bore and clean as usual. When I shoot corrosive ammo through my CZ52, I just take it apart and drop the barrel and slide into a sink of hot soapy water, punch the bore with the same 30 cal mop, dry it with a heat gun and then clean as usual. It actually only adds about 5 minutes to the cleaning process. I shoot a lot of corrosive surplus ammo, and I have never had a problem with corrosion. I also never let the weapons sit more than 24 hours before I clean them after shooting corrosive, and I usually just do it when I get home from the range. There's no reason a few patches soaked with Windex wouldn't do approximately the same thing. I just do it this way because it's what my Dad taught me years ago and it worked for him.

Jeff2012-10-28T02:19:59Z

Hot (really hot) water and a little dishwashing soap or sudsy ammonia will kill the chemicals that cause the corrosion from old military primer residue. Windex has enough ammonia to do the same thing.

If your worried... pull the bolt and give it a good hose down with windex...then run a few patches through the bore and wipe things down--- but you need to get a good cleaning done in 24 hours or less.

Learn to take the bolt down also... that gets full of crud.

Black powder (the real stuff) has the same issues. I've seen guys pull the grip and run BP revolvers in a dishwasher then pull the side plates and dry and lubricate the whole thing before storage.

Zack2012-10-28T02:58:37Z

I always shoot corrosive. It won't do anything to your barrel within 20 minutes. Whenever I worry about it I just think, "I don't think they ran hot water or windex down the barrel during war". I've shot corrosive rounds through one of mine on a trip and forgot to clean it for a day, it was and still is perfectly fine.

?2012-10-28T02:19:39Z

Corrosive ammo isn't that bad at all. As long as you clean it within a day or two it will be fine. I doubt the Russians EVER cleaned their's on the battle field, so you'll be good. ;) I'll hurt the bore if you leave it too long. Its not like a ******* acid, it doesn't require speeding home and soaking it in hoppes #9.

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