Will firing non-corrosive ammo flush out corrosive salt?

I never tried that, but my guess is NO. I'm a firm believer that Murphy wins.

No it won't, the corrosive salts are from the primer and that little "puff" you see out the ejection port in high speed video of guns firing is primer gases depositing their residue in the action. It might help a bit with the bore but it won't do anything for what gets deposited on the bolt face and other parts in the area.

I'm guilty of not cleaning my guns all that oiften, so long as they function well, though I've cleaned guns used with corrosive ammo pretty quickly. I think many over think it though. Just a basic cleaning with Hoppes No9 or Shooters Choice (both are water based solvents from what I understand, and both work well with corrosive ammo) does what needs to be done and doesnt take long. If you want to be a slacker, run a wet patch with either of those solvents and wipe the affected areas until you can do a true general cleaning. Thats what I've done with guns used with corrosive ammo and had zero issues.

The old Army rule was, "Clean on the day of firing and for three days thereafter." So even the most thorough cleaning wasn't enough.

We used to have garbage cans full of boiling water heated with immersion heaters and strip our M1s down the last screw and spring and thoroughly clean with boiling water.

HankC said:

Just wonder if firing a few rounds of non-corrosive ammo after a range session of corrosive ammo will drive most, or even all, of the corrosive stuff out and give me time before doing a through cleanly of the rifle.

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No it will not.

Nope.

Just use a water based solvent (water and soap works fine) to clean, dry, and oil.

I've shot cases of corrosive Yugo M67 in humid (sometimes raining) weather with no problems doing just that.

BSW

Hoppes is not water based and although people successfully clean up after chlorate primed ammunition with it, there is always a risk. Remember, the original report that identified the mechanism of chlorate primer corrosion was titled: "Corrosion Under Oil Films."

Any gun is easier to clean on the range while it is still warm and the fouling soft. A small bottle of soapy water or Windex, etc. added to the kit will dissolve and flush the chloride deposit and you can then clean and oil conventionally.

Just remember, once you clean it after firing corrosive ammunition, make a point of carefully inspecting the gun and running a patch through the bore every day for the next few days.

Just remember, once you clean it after firing corrosive ammunition, make a point of carefully inspecting the gun and running a patch through the bore every day for the next few days.

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This is a very good idea. If you do find any signs of rust reclean the affected area with a water based solvent and recoil.

BSW

No. The salts get into the microscopic bits of the barrel and will not be burned out.
"...soapy water or Windex, etc..." None of which are required. It's the water content in those that cleans out the salts. The soap and ammonia does nothing.

There is other stuff in there besides KCl. The soap, detergent, or ammonia act as surfactants to get through the powder fouling and put water on the chloride. Kind of like washing dishes.

Soap helps, as it is a surfactant...

Soap helps, as it is a surfactant...

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Yep.

BSW

When I used to shoot corrosive ammo in one of my .303's, I would rinse the barrel and bolt face afterwards with an ammonia/water mixture, followed by a clean water rinse, then lightly coating with oil. Never had a corrosion issue, but I don't shoot anything but my reloads now.

The British even issued funnels to pour water through .303 barrels.

John "Pondoro" Taylor said wet cleaning of safari rifles was important. If you were short on water, there was probably enough coffee left in the pot to clean the salt out. And, at worst, you always have something with you that is mostly water.

No it will not help. Hoppies and shooter choice will not work. Use water based products. I live in the Midwest and shoot lots of corrosive in a Mosin and my 03' Springfield. I use a mixture of murphy's oil, alcohol and peroxide. Equal parts of each. I run a patch down the bore until it comes out clean and then use sweets to get the copper out then one more patch of mix. Hit the bolt face with mix and oil everything up. I do use gunzilla oil to lube the bore. That is something I started doing recently. I have never had rust.

What I used for my Mosin Windex did a good job a old Gun Smith told me to use it.

Ballistol

Ballistol is a miracle oil - mix it with water & it will clean and lube corrosive fouling. Adopted by the German Army in 1904, it is still used by the Bundeswehr today. I won't belabor the details - look it up. It is useful for corrosive primed ammo, black powder fouling, cuts, abrasions, and more. It is really amazing, but research it - don't take my word

Sunray said:

No. The salts get into the microscopic bits of the barrel and will not be burned out.
"...soapy water or Windex, etc..." None of which are required. It's the water content in those that cleans out the salts. The soap and ammonia does nothing.

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The ammonia will help a little bit in removing the copper fouling, but I understand it is tough on some types of stock finish.

If anything, firing some non-corrosive FIRST to lay down some fouling may provide a tiny bit of protection. Just clean with water when shooting corrosive. Once that comes clean (usually pretty quick) run a dry patch and switch to your usual cleaning solvent.

Sorry fellas, But I have a MAC 10 that proves all of you nay sayers wrong!
Since corrosive ammo has almost always been cheaper than NC I have always bought it so I could shoot more.
While I have long shot corrosive in many of my weapons I will use the referred to MAC 10 as my example.
I bought the MAC to see if it was really as good a weapon as all the magazine articles said it was. I guarantee you - It Is!
I have over 10K thru said full auto weapon. The only cleaning it got for the first probably 7000+ rds was to shoot 2 rds of NC thru it at the end of the shooting session. I also rarely ever oiled the MAC, just shot the hell out of it.
The bore today is as bright and shinny as it was the day I took it out of the box.
I also have a Thompson that I treat the same way.
I believe that at least part of the reason for this is that I am in a dry climate here in Colorado, however I have also take the MAC to Okla, Mo and other humid climate areas to shoot it so that can not be the sole reason for the results I have gotten.
I Do Not however recommend nor would I do the same thing with any gas operated firearm!
Sarge

No, that merely proves you are lucky.

A friend came over and shot his Mosin. By the time he got home (2 hrs.) , there was rust forming in the barrel.

I personally use Sweet's 7.62 Solvent, but have used both Windex and soap and water in the past, and they all have worked well. I do run patches down the bore and over the bolt face for 3 days after.

The ammonia will help a little bit in removing the copper fouling, but I understand it is tough on some types of stock finish.

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The thought behind amonia is to neutralize the acid residue. I worked for a company that used acids in manuafacturing, and they used amonia to neutralize it for transport and disposal. acid + alkali (ammonia) = neutral

The only problem is that the corrosive residue from corrosive primers is potassium chloride, which is not an acid but a salt which corrodes by attracting and reacting with moisture. Anything that wil dissolve salt and remove it will work well, which is why warm or hot water is mostly recommended, followed by a good drying and oiling.