Corrosive ammo

[klsparrow]

I just had the chance to purchase some 7.62x54 at around .05 each. This ammo is "corrosive". Is there any down side to using this in my 1938 Mosin Nagant other than the fact I have to clean it right after shooting?

Also what is the best way to clean the rifle? I have heard Ammonia and water will get rid of the corrosive effect?


thanks

ken

[Stan in SC]

Nothing to it.Just squirt some half ammonia/ half water down the barrel after shooting and spray some on the bolt head.Then when you get home clean it as normal.
Five Cents a round is a darn good price.

[S.S.]

TERRIBLE STUFF,  JUST TERRIBLE.......
Don't use it,
Stay away from it and leave the e-mail
address or phone number of the person who has it
for .05 a round so me and Bigbill can buy it and dispose of
it properly.

[1911crazy]

Whats that?? You buying my ammo up?? No just kidding I thought i was doing good for $82 a case delivered(880rds) back when you couldn't find it and it was just before the flood of it hit here.  There was a clearance sale on it.  For .05 cents a round does it shoot?  Does it have bullets in it? Kidding for that price enjoy!!!!!!  Just make sure you clean the barrel really good like clean it twice to be sure!!!!  If you don't like that ammo send it to me and Sumner!!!!!!!!                             BigBill

[klsparrow]

Thanks for the offer to buy the ammo, but I think I will keep it.


Ken

[1911crazy]

Were just having fun with ya son!!!!!!!  I found some 7,62x54 ammo for $.06 cents a round too.  I just squirrel it away.            BigBill

[klsparrow]

I know you were having fun but that you wanted me to know that if I found this ammo a burden you could help me out and take it off my hands. BigBill your concern touchs my heart. Like you I just might squirrel it away in the tin.


Ken

[Robert357]

Personally, Blue Windex with Amonia and then later Ed's Red should do you just fine.  Or if you can find it at a gunshow some old Army Surplus bore cleaner.

Actually, when I first got an SKS and used ChiCom ammo before I started reloading, I just used lots and lots of Hoppe's No. 9 and never noticed any problems, even though folks told me I needed to use hot water and soap or something to cut the salts.  Of course the SKS had lots of chromed parts, so it might not have been a fair test.

For my MN, when I don't shoot non-corrosive reloads I do, I use Windex at the range and run a few patches.  More Windex when I get home.  Then Ed's Red prior to putting it in the gun safe.

[ajj]

I heard that "lots of Hoppe's" advice too and it seemed to work for a while. Then I did everything just as I had been, pushed Hoppe's patches through a Mosin Nagant for three or four days, oiled with Break Free and put it away. A week later the bore had grown fur! This was a long time ago. The result is HIGHLY dependent on the humidity. In Arizona you might do no cleaning and have no problem at all. In an Arkansas summer, lemme tell you there's a lot of water in the air.
As Robert357 notes, the problem is salt, in microscopic grains, throughout the barrel. It soaks up water from the atmosphere and holds it against the steel. We don't "neutralize" it. We dissolve it in water and wash it away. Hoppe's will "carry" some of it out but won't actually dissolve ANY of it. The Windex or half water/half sudsing ammonia is the way to go. Take a little bottle to the range. Push through a couple of sloppy-wet patches as soon as you finish shooting, while the barrel is hot. Use some clean water at home and then clean and oil as usual. You don't have to boil the water or scrub a lot or use a lot of soap. Just use some sort of water-based solution (like the old GI bore cleaner) or even plain water itself.

[Graycg]

Lots of good advice here, but I take it one step further....I mix old GI bore cleaner with kroil for the immediate range cleaning, I think it helps get the old GI bore cleaner under some of the fouling and helps wash away more of the salts that wouldn't have gone with just the GI bore cleaner alone.  Maybe it's not needed, but I don't think it could hurt.  I shoot lots of corrosive ammo and  have no problems at all.  I've found the GI bore cleaner in quart cans at gunshows for about $5 regularly.

regards,
 graycg

[Scota]

"We dissolve it in water and wash it away. "

Exactly!  Just plain old water is the best bet.  For some reason shooters have an aversion to putting water in their rifle bore.  There is no reason to fear water.  Just to simplify things I made a device that hooks to the garage wash tub sink.  It consists of a hose and brass tube.  The tube fits in the chamber tight enough to prevent leaks.  This allows me to flush the bore with hot tap water.  I let it flow for several minuets while I unpack my shooting gear.  I then run a couple of patches down the bore.  They come out nasty and black.  Water is tough on carbon too!  When dry I run a couple of solvent patches then oil the bore.  I have never had even a speck of rust.  No magic concoctions, just water.

[jgalar]

I don't shoot corrosive ammo unless you count black powder in my muzzleloaders. When I did shoot corrosive and in my muzzleloaders I use water also.

[jh45gun]

I reload for all my milsurps now so I do not worry about corrosive ammo but when I did shoot corrosive  or for my muzzle loaders now I mix water and Balistol as Balistol is a excellent cleaner and mixes with water. It turns white mixed with water just like the old "Moose Milk" the muzzle loader used to use or maybe still use.