corrosive ammunition?

Corrosive ammo is ------ you guessed it ----- corrosive. The longer you wait to clean - the longer the chemicals have to rot out the rifle chamber and bore. AK's and SKS are made of steel that is easily chemically deteriorated - you really shouldn't be taking a chance.

When using corrosive ammo the firearm must be cleaned immediatly after firing since the acid in the residue begins eating the steel immediatly also. Every hour you wait is equal to shooting another 100 rounds down the barrel and wearing it out.

On the bright side - not all old ammo is corrosive. Corrosive was necessary for World War 2 and Korea but by Vietnam most countries had given up on it. By the 1980's most corrosive ammo was non-existant........ but there is always one factory somewhere making it.

Funny thing about corrosive primers - the are always rounded. Not squared off like the normal boxer primed factory ammo Americans are used to. Being military ammo - it will have a crimped in primer - and many people think this makes it corrosive. It does not. Take a good look at the primer - if it looks round like the top 2% of a marble - it's corrosive. If not, it is probably non-corrosive.

You can also visit your local lawn, plant, or garden shop and get a PH kit. Add a few drops of water into a fired case, let it sit for 10 minutes, shake it - and test the PH. This will definitly tell you if it is corrosive or not also.

Hope this helps

I run matches for old military rifle and he is a set of instruction I came up with for cleaning weapons after shooting corrosive ammo:

Corrosive ammo has primers with Potassium Chlorate in their composition. This forms a residue after firing that attracts moister and causes the barrel to rust. The only way to remove it effectively is with a water based cleaner. Hot soapy water, Windex and water based commercial bore cleaners such as ‘Shooter's Choice Copper Cleaner’ will do this. The old G.I. Bore (Which smells horrible) will work too. To clean a firearm after shooting corrosive ammo run about 15-20 patches soaked in the cleaner through the barrel in one direction taking them off at the other end. You want to get the corrosive stuff out. Then dry the barrel with a few patches and clean with a regular bore cleaner like Hoppe's # 9. If you can clean you guns soon after shooting them then there should be no trouble with corrosive ammo, but remember the old warning from the days when there only was corrosive ammo:

"Don't let the Sun set on a dirty gun"

Corrosive Primer

Theres nothing wrong with using corrosive ammo.

It shoots great.

However like the previous people said, the primers are usually the corrosive part.

You should ALWAYS clean the rifle barrel with soap and water afterwards.

ALSO, when storing corrosive ammunition its a great idea to buy some Desiccant(silica gel), and put it in a air tight container with your ammunition when storing it for long periods.

(you can buy it pre-packaged online, or goto a crafts store such as Michaels, and buy a big box of Silica Gel...it costs $8....then goto wal-mart and buy a 100pack of TeaBags..that costs about $1......then cut the teabags open at the top, empty the tea out, then fill it with silica gel, then tape it back up and staple it once or twice......you could literally make hundreds of bags of silica gel for only $9 or $10.

Its WAY cheaper than pre-packaged bags.

Silica Gel is a preservative for ammunition,electronics,etc.....

It absorbs moisture.

If you ever get your hands on Chinese Armor Piercing rounds for the ak-47, YOU MUST keep it sealed airtight with silica gel, or it WILL rust within weeks.....just for knowledge!

well the gun would still function fine, but its a good habit o clean the gun asap after shooting corrosive ammo. a quick spray of Windex down the barrel will neutralize the destructive effects of corrosive ammo.

if you really are strapped for time, just swab out the barrel with tissue to get the dust out, wipe the bolt face, spray on some Windex on both parts, wipe dry. The rest of the cleaning can wait till later. Doing so you have neutralized the corrosive salts on the most important parts of the gun. Its still important to clean the rest of the gun with a corrosive salts neutralizer though.

I only placed the muzzle right into a small plastic ice cream bucket with some inches of warm soapy water. I actually have a 30 cal mop brush it relatively is barely used for that objective. Then I run a dry patch down the bore and sparkling as accepted. as quickly as I shoot corrosive ammo by my CZ52, I only take it aside and drop the barrel and slide right into a sink of warm soapy water, punch the bore with the comparable 30 cal mop, dry it with a warmth gun and then sparkling as accepted. It relatively in basic terms provides approximately 5 minutes to the cleansing technique. I shoot countless corrosive surplus ammo, and that i've got by no potential had a situation with corrosion. I additionally by no potential enable the weapons take a seat extra desirable than 24 hours in the previous I sparkling them after taking photographs corrosive, and that i many times do only it as quickly as I get abode from the diversity. there is not any reason some patches soaked with Windex does not do approximately the comparable concern. I do only it this way because of the fact it relatively is what my Dad taught me years in the past and it labored for him.

If the ammo that you are shooting has corrosive primers, you should thoroughly clean it immediately after firing it. Do not put off cleaning it because corrosion starts immediately and if you forgot or got pulled away from cleaning it, it would end up with possible corrosion and pitting of the barrel. It's okay to use the stuff but you have to clean thoroughly and immediately after firing it.

You should clean as soon as possible as the primer is the cause of the corrosive properties. They leave a salt residue that attracts moisture. At least run hot water through the bore and all over the gun then apply a light coat of oil. Clean it with solvents when you have time to clean it properly.

You should always clean your rifle after use a.s.a.p. Especially the barrel! If you only let it sit for a couple of days without cleaning it , then it should be fine. I wouldn't go much longer than that though. It also depends on where you store it while it is waiting to be cleaned. You want to at least keep it in a case or somethin'. Should be fine though.

Bad habit. You should clean a gun immediately after shooting it, specially if you know you are using corrosive ammo.

It probably will not hurt the gun but do not do it again.