Ammunition, corrosive-style.

[GunnySkox]

In the words of Will Farrel, impersonating Harry Kerry (sp?), "Hey, everybody!"

I've been trying to convince my dad lately to allow me (I'm only 17, y'see, just turned) to sell/trade "my" Mini-14 for something else that's less of a pain in the butt. I want to forego the annoyance of trying to find useable standard-capacity (20-30 rds.) magazines and just get something else, something more interesting, something with some history, y'know?

I did some debating internally, and came up with a little list of possible replacements, and on that list came up the Yugo M48 8mm and the Hakim (that's the Egyptian version of the Ljungmann AG42B, right? I read about the Ljungmann in an issue of Gun Tests and fell in love with it).

However, the eight-millimeter nature of the aforementioned rifles and the fact that the inexpensive Turkish surplus 8mm is of the corrosive variety bugged me (I'm not exactly a fan of things that corrode expensive pieces of machinery). I ran a search for some stuff on corrosive ammo, but came up with not-everything I was looking for; from the threads I read, I gathered the following on cleaning up after corrosive ammo:

1) Always clean up ASAP after shooting (knew that much)
2) Clean up AGAIN the next day
3) Methods of getting rid of the corrosive salts:
a) Hot water and soap: No. It's just one of those things. To me, water + metal where (metal | metal == gun) = bad.
b) Ammonia-based cleaners: A lot of people suggested Windex or other ammonia-based cleaners for getting rid of the salts. Does that work? If so, it'd save a lot of the "unlearning" (IE: don't put guns in the water) associated with the water method.

Right, that's about it. What I'm looking for is more methods of getting rid of the corrosive stuff that don't involve water.

Thanks in advance.

~Slam_Fire

P.S. As to the Mini-14 bit, I know someone out there is going to try and convince me that I want to keep it, that 40 - 110 bucks for a reliable magazine is a good price, and that I can make my Mini-14 into a DMR just by replacing the barrel, and the stock, and the sights, or taking the good old spanner to this widget and welding this on... Stop, I don't care. The Mini-14 is alright and everything, and I love my dad for getting it for me, but, y'know, "bigger and better things" as they say.

 

[wasrjoe]

The ammonia thing does work. I've used that method on my Mosin Nagant M38 and have not had any problems. I am not sure how the cleaning methods would be different for a gas operating firearm, though. All I have to clean on my M38 is the barrel and bolt.

 

[GunnySkox]

Thanks, Joe! Mm, I wonder if anyone keeps a supply of Windex in their SHTF stash. ^_^

The bit about gas-systems wouldn't be too hard, I think, with something like Windex. a fairly large basin of Windex wouldn't be too expensive, and you could just let the tube/cylinder soak in it before taking some pipecleaners/a brush to them...



~Slam_Fire

 

[telewinz]

I use WW2 surplus gun bore cleaner I get from the Army Navy store. Clean-up isn't as involved as some would have you believe, the residue really isn't a powerful acid that will eat your rifle in 30 seconds flat. I run 3 soaked patches thru the bore, spray with WD40 and check the bore a day or two later. I still have a mirror brite bore. BTW just plain water works too, you are just flushing out the primer residue. Turk ammo is no more dirty than any other rifle ammo I've shot...there are a lot of myths floating around. Turk brass (brittle) was not annealed until 1950 which results in all the split necks, its loaded about 150fps "hotter" than other surplus ammo and since many semiauto owners DON"T ajust their gas valve accordingly, they experience torn case rims from the violent extraction. See this site for an excellent dicussion on Turk ammo and Hakim rifles.

http://www.gunboards.com/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=48 do a search on Turk ammo

 

[cracked butt]

Water doesn't hurt guns. I clean my pistols in hot soapy dishwater in the sink. Just make sure not to lose any parts down the drain, rinse with scalding hot water and the metal will dry quickly then reoil everything. Do the same thing with muzzleloaders, except they don't fit in the sink and need to pour the water down the barrel.


Running a couple of windex soaked patches down a barrel after shooting turk ammo has never let me down yet.

 

[gaven]

in one of my m1's all i shot is corrosive ammo because of the price.
there is not a problem cleaning it like everyone seems to think,its not the powder thats corrosive. enjoy which everone you decide to get you mite
want to look at the 308 enfeilds i have 3 of them and they shoot great

 

[jrhead75]

Plain ol' Hoppe's No9 works just fine. As stated above, there are no bore eating acids involved, just salts that will wick ambient moisture out of the air...moisture+metal=rust.

 

[DMK]

Hot water with a little soap works the best. The water dissolves the salts(something oil based cleaners can not do) and washes it away.

Windex will do in a pinch mainly because it is made of, guess what? ..... water and soap.

After water and soap, dry patch to remove the water then oil or clean with your favorite powder/copper solvent and oil.

 

[cwalker3]

Cleaning up a bolt action after shooting corrosive ammo is no big deal. Using plain water, water/ammonia, Windex, etc., will all work. You just need to use something that will dissolve the salts. Here's a good article on how to do it: http://www.empirearms.com/clean.htm

Shooting corrosive in a semi-auto is another matter. There are just too many places that the salts could end up and if you don't get to them all, you end up with a rust bucket in a couple of weeks. I'd stick to commercial ammo if shooting a semi.

And have you considered an SKS? You can pick up a nearly new Yugo for under $200 (shooter grades for about half that amount) and 7.62 x 39 ammo is cheap and plentiful. On top of that, the Yugos are built like tanks, are very reliable, and surprisingly accurate.

 

[Feanaro]

If you clean it up and use hot water you won't harm your gun a bit. Ammonia doesn't clean the corrosive agent away any better, in my experiance. Oh and I second an SKS.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

It's not the ammonia in Windex that gets rid of the corrosive salts, it's the water in it that flushes them out. Windex works fine, but you can also use windshield wiper fluid, rubbing alcohol (which is mostly water), the old GI bore cleaner, or ... plain ol' water. If you use HOT water right after you shoot while the metal is still warm, it'll evaporate in short order.

 

[telewinz]

Say again

Just about all I shoot are semi-autos and corrosive ammo, none of mine are rust buckets. I just swab the bore and gas system and might wipe off the barrel and receiver. Five minutes and I'm done, its not a corrosive acid after all.

 

[No4Mk1*]

In case it isn't clear yet, the most important thing to clean the barrel with after corrosive ammo is...

WATER!!!

It dissolves salt, which is essentially what is in the bore. The salt in the bore of your rifle will be the salt of a strong acid and weak base, so some people like to use an alkaline solution (Water and soap or ammonia), but the only important ingredient is WATER!!!

I hope that helps you get over your fears.

Maybe you can calm your fears by going and getting a nice new steel nail and every night soak it in water and then dry it off. It won't rust any time soon. Especially if you put a thin coat of oil on it when it is dry.

By the way, when you talk about Yugo 48's and history together, it makes me think you got your information from "Mitchell's Mausers," where you can pay twice as much for a deceptively advertised rifle. Yugo M48's are excellent rifles with history, but I don't want you to be fooled if Mitchells is where you learned about them.

 

[Hutch]

First, let me say that I'm impressed with Slam_Fire's command of the issues, at the tender age of 17. Second S_F, your magazine cost problem is going to evaporate in ~3.5 months. Keep the mini. You can get an M48 for just over a hunnert bux. Do dat.

 

[Redlg155]

I use Windex with ammonia for my corrosive shooting needs. Whether or not the ammonia really helps I'm not sure, but I'm confident in the product.

At the same time I use dish detergent and hot soapy water for my BP rifles, followed by a swabbing with bore butter for a preservative. I've never tried Windex for by BP rifles.

Good Shooting
Red