How should a rifle be cleaned after shooting corrosive ammo?

A

Andrew Bornman

New member
Having seen the results of not cleaning properly following the use of corrosive ammo on someone elses gun I want to be certain I don't make their mistake.

I am going to get one of the turkish mausers and plan on shooting corrosive ammo because it is cheap, the gun is cheap and I want to be able to practice alot.

Is corrosive ammo as corrosive as black powder?

Do you have to use hot water to wash out the barrel?

I don't know squat about corrosive ammo except that it can turn a nice SKS into one solid chunk of rusty steel. I don't want to see that happen to any weapon of mine.
 
Andrew, one good thing about what you are planing is that Trukish Mauser is a bolt action, hence easier to clean. the OLD GI bore cleaner was good for corrosive ammo, but seeing that the last of the US arsenal corrosive primers were made in about 53 or so, I doubt that the bore cleaners of today will touch barrel that ahs had corrosive primed ammo used in it. I shot hundreds, if not thousands, of rounds of corrosive ball ammo in my 03A3 Springfield and never had a problem at all. I had a hose hooked on my fathers hot water heater that fit the breech perfectly. After firing I would wet the inside of the bore with cool water and run a wet brush that had been dipped in Tide washing powder 5 or 6 times through the bore then in went the hose to rinse it. That water was so hot that it cleaned, and flash dried, the rifle immediatly. I would also rinse the action. Following that treatment I would use Hoppes #9 in the bore after it cooled. That type of cleaning may have been a little drastic, but the bore is as good as new. My father has a 7.65 Mauser that he fired only 5 or 6 times with corrosive primed ammo one day. He only cleaned with Hoppes #9 and the next day the bore was covered in rust! Of course this is humid South Louisiana. In a desert area it may not happen as quickly depending on the humidity. Luckliy for him I saw the bore the next day, and put the hot water and tide to it and no lasting damage was done. He was at Aberdeen Proving Ground for a while during WWII testing M1's and other weapons. All those weapons back then, EXCEPT the M1 Carbine, fired corrosive primed ammo, but back then GI Bore Cleaner was designed for corrosive ammo.
 
Being a person who shoots corrosive milsurp ammo all the time I found that the best way to prevent corrosion in the bore following shooting is to neutralize the corrosive salts as soon as possible. I do this at the range before I go home. I use a 50/50 mix of ammonia and water (windex will also work) and run a saturated patch through the bore several times. I allow the ammonia to work 3-5 minutes and then run dry patches through until dry and then a lightly oiled patch. Once I get home I boil some water in the teapot and once again run some ammonia/water saturated patches through the bore and then pour the VERY HOT water down the tube. Follow that up with dry patches and oiled patch and you are done. Be very careful of the wood while using the ammonia and boiling water. I have not had a problem with any bores following this procedure. Hope this helps.
 
Simple Green

Is a soap. You pick it up at the supermarket. BTW, it's green color.

You may also want to get the old Enfield Armorer's funnel. It's huge so you won't spill any water on the woodwork. The spout is bent so that it fits nicely into the action. You boil your water and just pour it through. The hot water heats up the barrel and helps evaporate any moisture.
 
After I posted above I ran into this same discussion at Tuco's. Here is the reasoning that one person posted.

"The primers that cause the trouble aren't mercuric(nobody has used mewrcuric primers in a looooong time)they are a chlorate primer that leaves a metallic salt (K Cl, potassium chloride) behind as a residue. this salt draws water from humid(51% and up) air giving you a mix of salt, water, and bare steel-a formula for rust quick. Flushing the salts away with water and then oilbased cleaners/solvents etc afterward cures the trouble. In practice any thing with water in it will work. Guys swear you need ammonia, mystical mixes and whatnot-and some of that helps clean the OTHER residues left behind-but to get the salt out it's gotta be WATER. NOTHING else dissolves a metallic salt. Mercuric primers by the way are not corrosive to steel by themselves-but no one uses mercuric primers anymore(not even in muzzleloader caps) because it's got two faults: it usually goes DEAD or becomes insensitive in a couple of years on average(this does NOT however mean it's safe to assume old mercuric ammo is inert!!!) and if fired the mercury released amalgamates with the brass in cartridges embrittling them and rendering them unusable for reloading."

And onother post;
"When the corrosive primer ignites it spews microscopic particles of salt. This is carried down the bore with the escaping propellent gases.
This salt adheres to the bore walls. It gets stuck among the microscopic burrs and carbon build up along the bore.
This salt is hydroscopic. Which means it absorbs moisture from the air. Once the salt particle absorbs enough water it chemically reacts and forms an acid. This acid directly attacks the steel/iron in the barrel.
That is why it is so important to clean with water before oil based stuff. The acid has an affinity for water and will be absorbed and flushed away. It doesn't have the same characteristic with oil. Oil will only cover it up and does not remove it.
When shooting corrosive ammo it's always a good idea to strip your bolt and/or firing pin and wipe them off with a damp cloth.
Hope this helps. "

So, no matter what the reason why, it is acknowledged that to remove the corrosive deposits you need water...and possibly other stuff. I use water and ammonia, if nothing else the ammonia will start to soften the copper deposits left from shooting FMJ ammo and make that a little easier to remove.
 
Hot water followed by a good solvent, then good oil. The how water dissolves the salts and removes any remaining contaminated lubricant left in the bore.

For some unknown reason, the US Army used corrosive primers until fairly recently. Trainees were usually "encouraged" to take the barreled actions of their weapons into the showers with them for this very reason. A patch was run through the barrel several times while held under the hot water.

You can also use any container, it doesn't have to be running water. Just stick the crown of the barrel into the hot water and draw it up to the chamber with a patch on a rod. Works just like a pump and is very effective. Follow with routine cleaning.

Good luck, JBGood
 
Buy some Ballistol oil.I dont know the website.Hose it down right after shooting and you can let it sit for a week before cleaning.I do it all the time with my 1500.00 Ar10.
 
The reason that the US Military used chlorate (corrosive) primers was because they had a longer shelf life than other types of primers then in use, however it was not recently that they changed to non-corrosive primers. The last military ammo was changed in either 1954 or 55. I do not have the dates right in front of me, but am fairly certain that by 1956 all small arms had been converted to non-corrosive primers. Different arsenals converted at different times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top