$10/20 rounds 7.62x54

C

Coyote WT

New member
At my local ma&pa gun store I found some surplus ammo for my 91/30. They were wrapped in paper and the owner couldn't tell me what brand it was. I thought she should have been able to but what do I know. It was about 1/2 the price of Winchester so I picked up 60 rounds.

I've read a lot about the pros and cons of military surplus and I'll admit to being a little concerned about the risks of corrosive ammo. While I do clean my rifle after every trip to the range, I'm a bit nervous because of my inexperience. I may think I'm doing a thorough job I could be missing stuff.

Other than letting the barrel rust out, is there a way to determine if unknown surplus ammo is corrosive or am I being too paranoid?
 
I don't really know how to tell if its corrosive. I do think that you got riped off. I have some 7.62 for my 91/30 wrapped in brown paper which only costs $4.
 
Plain and simple,

Take the rifle completely apart (including the bolt) and get everything with hot soapy water. once that is done, get it again with cooler water that way you can touch it. Dry it, then clean it as you would any other rifle. Make sure you use a bore solvent for good measure.

Put it back together and you are done :)

Edit- I wouldd't say you got ripped off. Its like $7.50 here at the gun shop, so you paid a little extra, but as you said, its half the price of Winchester and just as much fun. If you plan to shoot alot, buy a 440 or 880 round spam can online. thats the cheapest place to get it. You can get 880 round for around $180.
 
All 7.62 surplus ammo is going to be corrosive.

I don't think you have much to worry about it as far as cleaning it. If you google it, you'll find all sorts of different products that will neutralize the salts (I use windex) and you'll be good to go. You mainly want to be attending to the barrel and the bolt face.

$10/20 is still quite expensive. Surplus is usually $5/20 at shows for the cheap stuff. You can get it even cheaper if you buy in bulk.

Also, check 7.62x54r.net if you want to know what "brand" your ammo is. They have a detailed catalog of bullets and headstamps which should allow you to identify it. There's a lot of silver tipped Romanian floating around, as well as Polish circle 21, so those may be the place to start.
 
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thanks for feedback

I've noticed that Seattle prices seem to be higher than most other places. The average price for a box that I've found ranges from 14-23 bucks. It's kind of like 65 degree weather. If you're from Texas, you're wearing a sweater. If your from Alaska, you're in short sleeves.
 
Catzor

Thanks for pointing me to the web site. I know I've used it to ID the rifle so this was really helpful. The closest I can find is the Bulgarian. They have an image of the 10/55 and mine is marked 10/85. I'll do a little more research but will treat it as corrosive and clean accordingly.
 
No reason to be afraid of corrosive ammunition. The corrosion comes from salt and the salt readily dissolves in water. Thoroughly rinse the barrel, action, and disassembled bolt with warm water and you're good to go.

If you're spending more than about $0.20 per round for surplus, you're spending too much. For $0.50 per round you could be buying non-corrosive Brown Bear, Silver Bear or Tulammo. Do yourself a favor and buy a 440 rnd spam can (or a pallet of spam cans) of combloc light ball.
 
$10 for 20 rounds? Wow, that's pricey. Hold onto your wallet next time you can do better.

As far as the ammo, shoot it and clean it afterwards. You won't have a problem with it.
 
nimbleVagrant and Kreyzhorse

Thanks guys. I'm learning what to look for as I go. I did see the Brown Bear and it was only a couple dollars more so I think I will go that round next. I saw a screaming deal on 440 rounds where the cost got down to about a nickle a round but I didn't have the hundred bucks to part with at the time. Funny how short term fixes always cost more in the long run.

Although I did clean it yesterday, I'm going to do the breakdown and rinse today.
 
You can find out if ammo is corrosive with a test, there's a description of the test here on another forum. This is a bit redundant with 7.62x54R surplus ammo I'm sure (and probably most surplus ammo) but might be worthwhile. Figured I'd share anyway.

Stu
 
Don't laugh but the first time I shot my M44 I was concerned I wasn't going to get all of the salts so I took the barreled action minus the bolt into the shower with me and then cleaned normally. Took a little while for the wife to stop making fun of me, but it worked.
 
Instead of just plain soap, use Murphy's Oil Soap and warm water. The water is necessary to dissolve the Potassium Chloride residue from corrosive primers and the Murphys works pretty well in protecting the metal while it is wet. I use it for Black Powder stuff which is ALWAYS corrosive.

- Ivan.
 
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