Corrosive 5.45x39 Ammo Through an AR?

[Olympus]

Went to a gun show this weekend and all the people got me thinking I need to stockpile some ammo. I know you can still get spam cans of the corrosive 5.45x39 ammo for reasonably cheap. I can also build a pretty cheap upper in 5.45. Is it alright to shoot the corrosive ammo through an AR? Just for high amounts of range fodder and to keep a couple two or three cans stockpiled?

 

[TurtlePhish]

Sure it's okay to shoot. Just remember to clean it with hot water afterwards to keep it from rusting.

 

[Olympus]

I used to shoot corrosive 8mm through a Mauser and used a mixture of warm water and ammonia through the barrel. It's what was recommended by the old milsurp guys. I assume this would be safe for the AR too?

 

[Neo-Luddite]

w/ chrome bore, h20 bath for upper after (I like boiling water for this) likely a-ok. Myself, I save the cheep (but long storing) Soviet for later and shoot the non-corrosive. But, I'm too darn lazy to clean 'em.

 

[HoosierQ]

I didn't think they made the 5.45x39 corrosive. Am I incorrect? I thought that was a 54R and similar vintage problem.

 

[mberoose]

All surplus 5.45 is corrosive. There's always Tula/Wolf/Da Bears commercial ammo that isn't though, but you'll usually pay more.

I'm always left dumbfounded when I hear the question "is it safe to shoot corrosive ___ through my ____?" Just do a complete takedown and clean thoroughly, no rocket science behind it.

 

[Reloadron]

Considering plenty of wars have been fought with corrosive ammunition and millions of rounds fired of it on battle fields my best guess is it is perfectly OK to shoot.

The only necessary precaution is making sure any gun that has been used to fire corrosive ammunition is thoroughly well cleaned but thorough cleaning should follow any shooting session as a good shooting habit anyway.

Ron

 

[Southside830]

Clean the barrel with windex after shooting and you should be good to go.

 

[HoosierQ]

Well I've learned something. Thanks.

 

[Olympus]

Should I clean the gas tube and action as well?

 

[Southside830]

Yes

 

[RCArms.com]

Should I clean the gas tube and action as well?

Good practice to clean anything that the gas contacts when using corrosive.

I have a S&W 5.45mm upper with a about 12,000 rounds through it and with proper cleaning have had no corrosion related issues.

Extremely nice shooting rifle and the ammo is dirt cheap.

Don

 

[WardenWolf]

Just make damn sure whatever upper you get uses a gas piston instead of DI. You do NOT want that stuff puking back in the receiver. Seriously, that'd be a nightmare.

 

[RCArms.com]

Just make damn sure whatever upper you get uses a gas piston instead of DI. You do NOT want that stuff puking back in the receiver. Seriously, that'd be a nightmare.

My S&W upper is a DI and I've had zero issues with a high round count.

Just remember to Properly clean it and you'll be ok

Don

 

[WardenWolf]

My S&W upper is a DI and I've had zero issues with a high round count.

Just remember to Properly clean it and you'll be ok

Don

Or you could just save yourself the pain. At that point, the whole gun might as well go swimming in the bathtub after a trip to the range. At least with a piston you'll confine the mess to the forward part of the upper receiver.

 

[TrickyDick]

Corrosive or not, I ALWAYS clean my rifles after I shoot them. It irks me to grab a dirty rifle.

 

[Okiegunner]

I keep an un-opened "Soviet" era spam can of 5.45X39 corrosive ammo around my house for emergencies. As long as "un-opened", it should stay good forever.

I have fired a couple of thousand rounds of this ammo thru my 74'. Yes, it is dirty. I now mainly fire the somewhat more expensive Tula.

My best advice, if firing the corrosive ammo, rinse thouroghly the reciever and barell with "HOT" water. Dry the rifle barell and reciever. Next, rinse thouroghly the reciever and barell (swab barell) with Windex. The ammonia in the Windex helps neutralize the corrosive salts.

Lastly: Finish cleaning as usual.

(The old Soviet stuff serves a purpose. In my last buy, I paid about .13 cents for each round)

Gunner

 

[stubbicatt]

Years ago on one of the forums, one fellow determined that if, after firing corrosive ammunition, he ran 5 or 6 non corrosive rounds through the rifle, and left it to sit without cleaning, it didn't rust as badly as if he didn't.

With respect to the AR15, I do not know how one would successfully clean out the gas tube in such a way as to eliminate the corrosive salts from in there. If you do decide to follow this path, be sure to fire the 5 or 6 non corrosive rounds afterwards to hopefully degrade the salts in the gas tube which you will be unlikely to be able to reach, and then clean all the rest meticulously.

 

[WardenWolf]

The reason for this, stubbicat, is that the additional fouling basically seals the corrosive salts in and prevents their exposure to air. Some of it is also simply blown off. Generally people use water to wash off the corrosive salts. I'm not sure if the AR gas system is chromed or not. If it is, cleaning it will be easy. Just use some water and solvent and clean like normal. If not, well, you'll have your work cut out for you. Corrosive ammo through an AR is generally a Bad Idea. At least make sure you're using a gas piston so you don't wind up with the stuff in your lower, too. It's not always obvious that you don't have it all off, and then you come back to it days later and it's green with rust.

 

[RCArms.com]

The reason for this, stubbicat, is that the additional fouling basically seals the corrosive salts in and prevents their exposure to air. Some of it is also simply blown off. Generally people use water to wash off the corrosive salts. I'm not sure if the AR gas system is chromed or not. If it is, cleaning it will be easy. Just use some water and solvent and clean like normal. If not, well, you'll have your work cut out for you. Corrosive ammo through an AR is generally a Bad Idea. At least make sure you're using a gas piston so you don't wind up with the stuff in your lower, too. It's not always obvious that you don't have it all off, and then you come back to it days later and it's green with rust.

I do suppose that the gas piston will vent the gas to atmosphere before getting to the receiver, but in my personal experience, it has not been a problem in my DI 5.45x39mm upper over a large amount of use.

I've not yet warmed up to the gas piston AR's yet as well, so all my experience is with DI rifles and SBR's.

Don

 

[krinko]

"At least make sure you're using a gas piston so you don't wind up with the stuff in your lower, too."

This is an idea I once held to, until I built a piston onto the 5.45 M&P and found that it just wasn't so.
I was still scrubbing the lower and then had a piston drive to clean, too.

Now the 5.45 AR is strictly DI, with a Colt upper, a chrome lined Green Mountain barrel, Spikes NiB bolt carrier group and a stainless steel gas tube. Still on the M&P lower.

Cleans very easily---I have an irrigation syringe I use to flush the gas tube. Got it from my dentist.
-----krinko