Is all currently produced ammo considered non-corrosive?

[2agunner]

When referring to corrosive ammo, is it referring to old milsurp ammo? Or is there still currently produced ammo for either the military or civilian market that is corrosive?

If one uses corrosive ammo, I'm assuming the firearm will not be damaged as long as you clean it after shooting it. Therefore, I guess using corrosive ammo is only an issue if you don't clean the firearm regularly.

Sometimes, the ammo box will say non-corrosive on it. If it doesn't say non-corrosive on the box, can it be assumed that current production ammo is non-corrosive or if it doesn't say it, then it's probably corrosive?

 

[somethingbenign]

I could be completely wrong but I've never worried about new production ammo being corrosive. The only time I've heard of it is when buying old spam cans of milsurp ammo. I've been told when shooting corrosive ammo to at least run a bore snake at the range before packing up and doing a deep clean once home. I don't own anything that shoots the old milsurp ammo so I've never looked into it more than what I've been told.

 

[cheygriz]

When you get home, clean your bore with hot water, dry and clean with Hoppe's.

AFAIK, there is no corossive ammo being produced with the possible exception of 7N6 (5.45X39) for the Russian army.(and it can't be legally imported anymore.)

 

[FROGO207]

I have some 80's 7.62X54 surplus that IS corrosive. Also some of the Chinese 7.62X39 that is current will be corrosive but we are not able to import it at this time. So "old surplus" is a relative term it seems. Most modern ammo that has boxer primers is non corrosive from what I can tell. Corrosive usually means corrosive berdan primers as the salts will eat up your barrel and metal if not cleaned quickly after shooting. ALL black powder rounds will also corrode your barrel and such if not cleaned soon after use. The salts attract moisture and cause the firearm to rust.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Reluctant to say all but you would have to go looking for it these days I think. Could see the Chinese making some or maybe some rather out of the way small nation for their military.

 

[tark]

I have some 80's 7.62X54 surplus that IS corrosive. Also some of the Chinese 7.62X39 that is current will be corrosive but we are not able to import it at this time. So "old surplus" is a relative term it seems. Most modern ammo that has boxer primers is non corrosive from what I can tell. Corrosive usually means corrosive berdan primers as the salts will eat up your barrel and metal if not cleaned quickly after shooting. ALL black powder rounds will also corrode your barrel and such if not cleaned soon after use. The salts attract moisture and cause the firearm to rust.

I fired some of that in my New England Westinghouse that HAD a pristine bore. Stupidly, I assumed it was non-corrosive. Luckily I noticed the rust a week later. My once bright, shiny bore is now slightly dark.

Lesson learned.

 

[cjwils]

I believe for some old calibers you can still buy new production black powder ammo. I believe anything with real black powder would be corrosive.

 

[Deus Machina]

If it's not black powder or produced for a foreign military, it's safe to assume that it's non-corrosive.
I think the militaries are moving away from it, if they haven't already, and then only used it so long because (IIRC) corrosive primers have a longer stable life.

As for shooting after, just make it a habit to clean up after. At least water wherever the gasses go (the salts corrosive ammunition leaves behind absorb water, and saturating them then ensures they can be cleaned away without being left behind), but I used store-brand Windex.
The ammonia or alcohol in it not only neutralizes the salts faster (whether it actually helps in this case is debatable) but the Windex helps break up powder residue to make cleaning quicker.

 

[caribou]

Eastern European ammo was corrosively primed until the late 90's , early 2,000's when markets opened up and the demand for non corrosive ammo on the buyers side had former com block state factory's producing for new commercial entity's.

Russia and Germany both manufacture match precision ammunition in .22LR for Biathlon competition, where low temps effect primer chemical ignition. 'Wolf' though made in Germany, comes to mind, the Russian Brand might be called ''Biathalon'', if I remember correct like.

To clean up theres only one extra step.
Water dissolves salt. I use boiling hot water, (from my thermos), and a brush scrub, then a slovent (gas dipped from my snowgo or boats tank) and then lube with a light oil that wont freeze (taken from my snow go or outboard) as two stroke lube with TCW-3 is liquid at -60.
The heat in boiling water will go to the steel of the barrel and dry it Unless than a minute, but I wipe with a patch to catch any that didnt evaporate, but thats pretty rare.
Boiling water , or just water or an aquas solution like WW2 US military bore cleaner will take care of any and all corrosive salts.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

All US ammo is non corrosive. Just about everything being imported these days is non corrosive, or should be. About two years ago Red Army got in a shipment that ended up having corrosive primers. They did a recall on the ammo.
If you suspect that you have fired corrosive ammo, the world will not end. You just need to clean it properly. Some have already mentioned, boiling hot water, can’t say that I’ve ever seen boiling water in any other temperature then hot, and Windex. But then you could also use beer, Soft drinks, urine, spit, milk and a few other things.
But when it comes right down to it water is all you really need. It doesn’t have to be a special type of water, just some good old H2O. Water is what removes the salts. Just wet some patches, two for each gun will be fine. Just punch the bore with the two wet patches and then a dry one. Next punch the bore with an oily patch. Now you can clean your rifle as normal.
Now some will not agree with me, but I have been shooting corrosive ammo since the early 80’s and haven’t had one rust on me yet.

I fired some of that in my New England Westinghouse that HAD a pristine bore. Stupidly, I assumed it was non-corrosive. Luckily I noticed the rust a week later. My once bright, shiny bore is now slightly dark.

Lesson learned.

Tark
Get yourself some JB’s Bore Past. It will help clean up your bore.

 

[tark]

Tark
Get yourself some JB’s Bore Past. It will help clean up your bore.

Already did, Gunny. That's how I got from "dark" to "slightly dark." JBs is good stuff.

 

[GBExpat]

The "salts" referred to is Potassium Chloride which is what remains after the Potassium Chlorate (used as the oxidizer in the primer compound) provides its oxygen atoms to the reaction.

Deus Machina mentioned what I consider to be a very important point ... the KCl will also be deposited on everything touched by the propellant gas.

I recall reading years ago about a guy who carefully & properly cleaned his treasured milsurp after a long, fun session with "corrosive" ammo. Unfortunately, he did not consider that the attached bayonet (afterward sheathed and put away, uncleaned, in his damp basement) was also steel and repeatedly covered by propellant gas. Rust City.

 

[cheygriz]

The bore in my Remington Rand 1911 shines like a mirror.

The first 4 or 5 thousand rounds I shot through it were WW2 surplus and "malignantly corrosive."

Hot water works wonders.

 

[wally]

If in doubt about old ammo its easy to test.

Sand or grind a piece of mild steel to a bare shiny surface and mask off three areas.
Pull a bullet and dump the powder (a flower bed is a good spot for it) Pop the primer so the residue lands on one of your masked areas.
Leave the second area untouched (control), and wet the last area with some salt water (about 1 teaspoon dissolved as much as possible in a shot glass).
Spritz everything with a slight mist of tap water to speed things up.
Check things every morning and evening and if the primer test area doesn't show rust before the control area its non-corrosive. When the rust first appears in the primer test area you will have an idea of how long you can wait before cleaning after shooting.

The KCl in corrosive primers will generally cause rust faster than the salt water (NaCl).

Like Gunny I've shot lots of surplus corrosive ammo over the years and never had corrosion issues, cleaning up the day after shooting has not been a problem for me. If I'm going to shoot corrosive ammo I pretty much never shoot less than 100 rounds through the gun in an outing.