Do you shoot corrosive ammo?

[maxfaxdude]

Just like the title says, do you shoot corrosive ammo? Why or why not?

[StrangeRanger]

Never. There's no point to it in most calibers since thanks to PPU and others even rare ones are available in non-corrosive with reloadable cases. Corrosive is ultimately destructive to a gas gun no matter how well you may think you've cleaned it. These guns are just too expensive to save a few pennies by buying bad ammo.

[timkel]

Yes I have in 7.63x39mm and 45acp. It used to be more available and low cost. Proper cleaning and it not a problem.

[emmagee1917]

I've shot black powder for decades back in the day . Proper cleaning as far as timing , hot water , and oiling and I never had a trace of rust .

I've shot " modern " corrosive also for decades . With the " modern " cleaners it's not that much harder to clean than non-corrosive , but you do have to take care of it in a timely manner . I have a stash of WW2 milky white bore cleaner that I've used for ages , but now that Ballistol is readily available , I've switched to that . Ballistol was developed in 1904 by Germany to clean their 1898 Mausers as well as their stocks and leather gear . Again , never a trace of rust .

These days I don't much corrosive , due more to lack of availability in my calibers of choice ( 45 auto , 10Mm , .22LR , 5.56 , 7.62 , 300 B/O , .458 Socom ) . I still fire it out of my belt fed Brownings , which do not have a gas system , but I did shoot it out of M1 Garands which do . I did not shoot it out of the BARs due to the complex total stripping procedure caused me to procrastinate it's cleaning for several days ( my bad , but a man has to know his limitations ) .

It is not " bad " just because it's corrosive . We fought two world wars with corrosive ammo , and has there been any lack in the interest of those firearms that have been used with it ?

Chris

[jl7422]

Nope, not worth the hassle.

[jim c 351]

NO!

Not worth the risk of a ruined barrel.

Jim C

[shadycon]

I've been shooting it for years in my AK74. Price; $160 a case delivered to my door. [2160rds.] clean and waste some more.

[DARIVS]

ALL THE TIME. All you have to do is clean your gun PROPERLY afterward.

Edited November 7, 2019 by DARIVS

[johnsonlmg41]

Most if not all the 8mm I have is corrosive. 7.62x25, some of my .50cal, some of the 30-06, and most all of the 303.

I prefer it since today's ammo will last no where near as long as the old stuff, some of which is sure fire at 80 years+

Swab with hoppes 9 just like any other barrel and do a normal cleaning of the rest of the parts and you'll have no problems. All of this soapy water and secret brews are complete BS, when hoppes does the trick. Fundamental to read the data sheet. Plus when you finish, you smell like you did something! If guns really rusted like many claim, there wouldn't be a decent K98 anywhere around.

[Normal1959]

Most people don't know this, but the corrosive primers actually have the longest shelf life. So I'm told

Eric

[Black River Militaria CII]

Been shooting corrosive rifle caliber ammo for 60 years and boiling water is much cheaper than Hoppes. Bolts, firing pins, boosters, gas regulators and any part exposed to combustion gases all get boiled for five minutes, pulled, air dried, any carbon cleaned off and then lubed. Never have a problem with rust. Guess water won't boil in WI, eh Jeff??

[Frank Iannamico]

I shoot a lot of corrosive ammo, no problem as long as you KNOW its corrosive. If in doubt, clean as if it is.

 

Before leaving the range, I spray Ballistol down the barrels and gas systems. When I get home from a shoot, no matter how tired I am, boiling water down the barrel and gas system (don't forget the magazines). Hit everything with compressed air, evaporates fast. Hoppes down the bore, sits overnight. Clean patches the next day. Done, never a corrosion problem.

 

I know a few people that have shot WWII .45 and 1940- 1950s 30'06 assuming because it was US ammo it was non-corrosive, wrong.

 

During the 1950s US gov't contractors of 30'06 began using non-corrosive primers.

Dates varied by mfg. Check the CMP website for manufacturers and dates they switched.

 

I also ran into some lots of Wolf 7.62x39mm that was corrosive. Lacquered cases, boxes said "Made in the Ukraine" not Russia. Since then, I check ALL foreign ammo.

[johnsonlmg41]

Black River Militaria CII, on 08 Nov 2019 - 12:37, said:

Been shooting corrosive rifle caliber ammo for 60 years and boiling water is much cheaper than Hoppes. Bolts, firing pins, boosters, gas regulators and any part exposed to combustion gases all get boiled for five minutes, pulled, air dried, any carbon cleaned off and then lubed. Never have a problem with rust. Guess water won't boil in WI, eh Jeff??

Not this time of year, the water is all solid to start with now, getting ready for people to drive cars out on the lake to fish from (you're only the first guy out once unless you have diving gear on). I clean all the parts with hoppes, saves time which is money at this point. By the time I'd bring a pot of water to boil, pour it around and make an ice patch outside the shop door (for the ole lady to slip and fall on), the guns are already clean and put away with hoppes for 9 cents. We roll large round here and buy those quart bottles that lasts a couple years for $22 LOL

 

Course the other benefit in using hoppes is it's petro based, has effectively no water content, and doesn't evaporate quickly, so even if you missed a spot it repels water. It's not the corrosive salts that cause the rust, it's the ionization of them in water, so intentionally adding water is never a good idea IMO, especially on steel, regardless of whether or not the salts are there in the first place. Course on well made guns you see some plated surfaces, high chrome steel, and polished steel which is less porous and less prone to rusting. zb-26's, mg34, mg42, etc. and lots of others, not so much on US made stuff.

Edited November 9, 2019 by johnsonlmg41

[Frank Iannamico]

Hoppes USED to say on the label (in small print) that it was good for dissolving corrosive ammo deposits (or something like that)

My newer bottles don't say that on the labels.

[johnsonlmg41]

My guess on the label is that the attorneys told them why claim anything other than "cleaner" and clean is subject to interpretation should it ever be challenged.

#9 is made up of 9 (apparently now 10 because there citronellol to change the odor or as a mosquito repellent while your out in the shop in summer?) chemicals, three of which are common alcohols of which some or all contain some water (or will if you leave the bottle open) all four of which acid primer salts will dissolve in. There is also a small amount of ammonium compounds as well, which will neutralize any acidic compounds. The mix of 9 will likely dissolve most any deposits if left long enough. Based on their MSDS ingredients on the website, the base chemicals probably haven't changed much over the years, but I'd guess there were a couple other solvents used back in the day that are now listed as carcinogens. When the guy made this mixture he was covering almost all the bases as to what dissolved the greatest number of fouling components and base compounds to neutralize acids from the primer compounds. HTH

[maxfaxdude]

To answer my own question,

 

I try to shoot non-corrosive ammo in all of my guns for 2 reasons.

1) I don't have to clean the gun every darn time I shoot it. One round of corrosive and now you need to clean the gun.

2) There is always a possibility that you miss cleaning a spot on the gun which will then rust.

 

I still however occasionally shoot corrosive ammo because I bought a lot of milsurp in the past that was very inexpensive and still have tons of it.

[Weso]

Hillyard Nutra rinse is the way to go. Designed to neutralize the corrosive salts in floor strippers before top coating.

[brucea4]

In multi-thousand dollar MGs or even a $300.00 dollar pistol...NOPE!

[MG08]

Shooting corrosive depends on the guns. Posties get it pretty regularly in 303, 8mm, sometimes 30-06, 308, 9mm. Just from a utility standpoint NC is easier since often I can't clean right away- but the old hot water trick is easy to use. As I replace older ammo, I consider NC but prices are such that it is still pretty cost effective to use surplus Corrosive . I still use a lot of reloads in the guns, so non Corrosive. Those with no reloads like 7.62x25 get good old surplus.

[Shattered]

Corrosive doesn’t scare me. I always clean my guns ASAP anyhow. One time I didn’t. The Browning A4 turned red almost overnight. I was shooting that wonderful Egyptian 8 mm and let it sit for the night (and most of the next day (went to work). Needed a complete bead blast and reparking. Lesson learned. Still have hundreds of thousands of corrosive 8 mm and I’ll use them regardless the cost of the guns. Meh...that’s only a $1700 A4 anyhow, right?

[NFA amnesty]

NO

[Ryo]

Any modern rounds like 9mm, 45ACP, 5.56, 308, etc I use non-corrosive.

However running a MG in 8mm, I do. It's way too expensive to shoot if I went with non corrosive new rounds vs old German WW2 ammo.

[BPinFL]

Yes. of course! in 1919's and Brens. 8mm and 303 non c is very expensive now. All you must do when shooting corrosive ammo is to properly clean them before you put them up.

I'm saving my Non Corrosive ammo to pass down to my kids and grandkids who wont know how to properly deal with corrosive ammo. BP

[dejan91]

Where I live non-corrosive is like 3-5eur per round while corrosive is <1eur. So why should I shoot 1 bullet of non-corrosive when I can shoot 4 or 5 of corrosive for the same price. Also you cant find special ammo types with non-corrosive powder, like APIs APs and similar.

So I do it most of the time.

[timkel]

I use WW2 USGI bore cleaner after firing corrosive ammo.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/cleaner-rifle-bore/274682843425?hash=item3ff45f9121:g:wFoAAOSwlEhgKE7G