Fatelvis
Member
There is WWII vintage 45 ACP ammo for sale in G.O. Sport`s ad, and it says its Boxer primed, and non-reloadable. Why is it non-reloadable, and is it corrosive? Thanks!
Corrosive, or non-corrosive 45 ACP?
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Jim Watson
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WW II .45 ammo is chlorate primed, "corrosive."
They might be calling it "non reloadable" if it is steel cased. It actually can be reloaded but is said to be hard on dies. Another possibility, at one time Frankford Arsenal loaded pistol ammo with a non-standard .204" primer.
They might be calling it "non reloadable" if it is steel cased. It actually can be reloaded but is said to be hard on dies. Another possibility, at one time Frankford Arsenal loaded pistol ammo with a non-standard .204" primer.
Nero Steptoe
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Jim, are you sure that all WWII .45 ammo is corrosive? I have a distinct memory of firing a lot of it in my teens that wasn't corrosive.
Scooter .45
Member
I've read that it's corrosive and doesn't clean with conventional modern gun cleaning solvents. Don't know if that's true, but after shooting 150 rounds followed by a thorough cleaning with Gun Scrubber and Hoppe's I can still smell the stuff in my 1911, even though it looks sparkling clean.
Jim Watson
Member
Nero, all I know is what the NRA published some years ago. They had it down by date and lot number. Noncorrosive .45 ACP (or .30-06) was not made in government arsenals or on government contract until the early 1950s. Not only WW II, but most of Korea was fought with corrosive ammo; .30 carbine excepted. All USA made .30 carbine is noncorrosive because of the difficulty of getting at the gas piston to clean.
Might have been some repackaged commercial ammo with noncorrosive primers, as used since the early '30s; but real GI is chlorate. You got lucky. Did you live in a dry climate?
Chlorate primers leave a residue of potassium chloride, akin to salt, sodium chloride. In humid air it picks up moisture and forms strong salt water in your barrel. Oily "powder solvents" don't do anything to the chloride. The original paper by the guy at the Bureau of Mines who figured it out was titled "Corrosion Under Oil Films." Old style GI cleaner contained enough water to dissolve out the chloride, with enough oil emulsified to prevent rust from the water. Plain water followed by drying and oiling will do.
I clean my black powder rifle with Windex, even though the primers are not corrosive, the black powder fouling is, and it is water soluble, too.
Scooter, I don't know what you are smelling but it isn't the primer residue, KCl has no odor. Maybe whatever powder that contract used.
Might have been some repackaged commercial ammo with noncorrosive primers, as used since the early '30s; but real GI is chlorate. You got lucky. Did you live in a dry climate?
Chlorate primers leave a residue of potassium chloride, akin to salt, sodium chloride. In humid air it picks up moisture and forms strong salt water in your barrel. Oily "powder solvents" don't do anything to the chloride. The original paper by the guy at the Bureau of Mines who figured it out was titled "Corrosion Under Oil Films." Old style GI cleaner contained enough water to dissolve out the chloride, with enough oil emulsified to prevent rust from the water. Plain water followed by drying and oiling will do.
I clean my black powder rifle with Windex, even though the primers are not corrosive, the black powder fouling is, and it is water soluble, too.
Scooter, I don't know what you are smelling but it isn't the primer residue, KCl has no odor. Maybe whatever powder that contract used.
1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Corrosive Ammo
If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the first non-corrosive
.30 ball amunition was St. Louis 1954 headstamp. All the
others followed suit by the end of 1955. I'm not sure
if .45 ball went non-corrosive as early as the '06, but it
was sometime in the mid to late 50's. All ball ammo
headstamped during the WW2 years was corrosive, except the .30 carbine.
Hope this helps answer the question.
Tuner
If I'm not mistaken, I believe that the first non-corrosive
.30 ball amunition was St. Louis 1954 headstamp. All the
others followed suit by the end of 1955. I'm not sure
if .45 ball went non-corrosive as early as the '06, but it
was sometime in the mid to late 50's. All ball ammo
headstamped during the WW2 years was corrosive, except the .30 carbine.
Hope this helps answer the question.
Tuner
Nero Steptoe
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Thanks for the info, guys. My dad bought a bunch of surplus .45 ACP ammo in the late 60's. I'd thought it was WWII, but that was probably an incorrect assumption. Could have been made in the late fifties/sixties. Shot a bunch of it through a MAC 10, with no problems, and I'm pretty sure it was non-corrosive ammo. I was probably just mistaken about its date of manufacture.
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