Ammo Question - green substance!

R

RevJim

New member
I had not cleaned my Kel-tec P-3AT for a couple of months. I carry it in my pocket quite often but have not shot it for a while.

I waited until the kids were asleep, set up my cleaning station, and retrieved my pistol. I dropped the magazine and racked the slide, ejecting the bullet from the chamber. When I picked the bullet up, I noticed it had a little bit of green, viscous liquid on one side of the case and a little on the bullet. The bullet was a Speer Gold Dot 90 grain hollow point. The liquid appeared to be an oily substance with a transluscent green color. None of the bullets in the magazine had this substance on them; just the one in the chamber.

First, what in the world is that stuff? And second, where did it come from? I would guess answers to these questions would help me determine if the bullet is damaged, compromised, or fine. I have three other firearms loaded with Speer Gold Dot bullets, so I would really like to know what that stuff is!
 
corrosion on the brass and came from moisture. Also grows on copper if you have ever seen the same thing on older car wiring.

Check out the top of the nearest ancient catholic church. Used to be copper and now it's green.
 
First, shame on you for allowing that to happen. I am no fanatic about cleaning a gun, but to let a gun you may depend on to save your life go that long is a disgrace.

The substance could be any one of several copper compounds (which doesn't matter) resulting from the interaction of a liquid or airborne substance with the copper in the brass case. It is fairly unlikely that the case has been weakened enough to fail, but it is not in prime condition. If you can dispose of it safely, do so, otherwise clean it off and fire it. But don't trust it.

That kind of verdigris not only can weaken cartridge cases, but can cause failure by sealing the case in the chamber so it won't extract, by sticking cartridges in the magazine, or by building up on cases so they won't chamber.

I would shoot up the rest of the ammo in the magazine, and reload with fresh ammo. Then, check the gun at least once a week. Also, I strongly recommend firing the carry ammo at least once every couple of months and reloading with fresh. If you are carrying a gun, you must feel some sense of danger; if you do face danger, doing it with a jammed up gun is not a good idea.

Jim
 
Cleaning

I actually check the gun every week, wiping it down with an oily rag. I usually drop the magazine once a month and check the ammo and make sure everything looks good. But I have not racked the slide in order to not jam the bullet into the case (increasing chamber pressure). The price and availability of .380 ammo has discouraged me from shooting it in the last six months.

The gun was not exposed to moisture or high humidity. I have seen pots and pans and copper wire corode. It usually becomes crusty and is pale green in color. This was nothing like that. This was an oily substance with a dark green tint. When I wiped it off, I saw no corrosion on the case or the bullet. When the copper on a penny, wires, or pans corodes, the metal underneath turns dark. The bullet did not change color - it is still bright and shiny.
 
The only other source of green (unless somehow some green paint got in there) would be copper wash from the barrel, dissolved by something like Hoppes No. 9 and seeping into the chamber. I advise against Hoppes except for controlled barrel cleaning; since it is made to dissolve nickel and copper fouling, it will attack not only nickel plating but also cartridge cases.

Jim
 
I agree with Jim. It sounds like you didnt get all the solvent out of the barrel and or chamber area.

If you run a wet patch down the barrel after cleaning, and allow it to set a couple of hours or overnight, and then run a dry patch through, I think you'll see the same color green on the patch as you did on the bullet. Think about it, the residual jacket material left in the barrel is what the Hoppes or other solvents work on. If you leave a drop of Hoppes on the tip of a bullet, I'll bet you soon see the green again.

I dont know what you normally do, but I run dry patches through after brushing and wet patches, until they show very little "dark" on them, and then a couple of patches of Gun Scrubber, and then one of Eezox. After that sets awhile, I dry patch that too, until I'm sure the barrel and chamber are "dry".
 
Whatever it was, it's not good. It indicates that ether your cleaning/storage regimen is inadequate and/or that something is fouling your ammo.

Whether that is algae, seaweed or moon dust, it is not good.

Do something differently starting today. There are only so many variables possible. When you figure it out, post it and let us all know what it was.
 
I actually check the gun every week, wiping it down with an oily rag.I usually drop the magazine once a month and check the ammo and make sure everything looks good. But I have not racked the slide in order to not jam the bullet into the case (increasing chamber pressure).
Click to expand...

So you are wiping your gun down and inspecting it once a month with ONE IN THE CHAMBER? :eek:

If you are wiping down the gun every week with oil, that could be the source of the "oily liquid" you discovered which is combining with some copper residue and leaking into the mag well.

Guns don't need THAT much oil.
 
If you are getting some green corrosion ... is that spelled vergidis? The perfect stuff to clean the green off is lighter fluid on a rag. Then wipe your rounds down with a silicone gun cloth and that won't happen anymore. ALL brass and copper will oxidize over time and turn green if some chemicals come in contact with the brass or copper. That is why the big copper church domes always turn a bright green unless cleaned often.
Ohio Rusty ><>
 
Inside of chamber and bore must be dry, no solvent or residue of such. Also insides of magazines should be clean but dry, free of oil or anything that might react with the ammo. Also maybe there is some oil or solvent on the breach face or inside the firing pin channel that might run down and out onto the chambered round with the butt up in a carry configuration.
 
Nice analogy, but a little wet (rained on)...

The copper used on roofing is diferent from brass cases.

The roof copper is oxidizing to a stable from of copper.

The brass case is being attacked by a chemical agent, an acidic compound, and is destroying the chemical bond of the copper/tin mixture of the brass.

detail the firearm and dry the chamber, for a CPL firearm, empty the cartridges once every other month, polish with dry cloth and reload magazine.
If exposed to high temperature is a car, replace and recycle the ammo.
 
Actually the buildup on cartridges is somewhat protective also, but it can seal cartridges in belt loops, freeze them into magazines, or build up enough so that a round won't chamber or if chambered won't extract. Whether such ammo, once cleaned, is safe to fire depends on how much of the brass case has been eaten away. Mostly there is only a small amount of brass gone, and firing the round is the best way to dispose of it. But on rare occassions (clearly not the case here), so much brass is gone that the case can split or separate if fired. Then the best disposal method is to break open the cartridge, keep the bullet if it is unaffected, dump the powder and discard the case.

Jim
 
Jim Keenan is correct in his assessment that the substance is most likely caused by residual Hoppe's or any other solvent (e.g. Outer's) that is designed to attack copper fouling in the bore.

Regarding Ohio Rusty's suggestion of wiping down your rounds with a silicon cloth, I would definitely advise against that. Putting silicon on your ammunition is the quickest way to kill a primer.
 
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