Why corrosive ammo is bad for emergency supplies

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Check the cleaning kit in the butt stock of most AK's...... That and an oil bottle ......there be your answer matey.
 
Evan said:
If TSHTF you are not going to be shooting thousands of rounds. It's not going to be some massive war of liberation led by John Connor against the Terminators.

The stockpile is for BEFORE TSHTF for practice and competency.
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Well said.
 
Stored ammo, either corrosive or non-corrosive, will probably out live you anyway so why worry? The important thing during the crisis, is to survive. Not go out in a blaze of glory like in Red Dawn. I am a C&R junkie and tending to a gun after shooting adds about 5 seconds to the cleanup.....chris3
 
I use this, worked for GI Joe, works for me.
 

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I use ammonia to neutralize mine corrosive ammo, $1 a gallon, not spendy.
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ammonia does nothing to remove salts.
It can create salts (you've heard of ammonia salts right?)
you are actually wasting money by using ammonia

Plain Jane water removes corrosive salts.
even better like Fishslayer pointed out, Moose Milk (Ballistol/Water mix)
Works great for corrosive black powder and corrosive ammo.
Works great regardless.

Spray down the firearm after shooting. Go home. Spray a bit more, patch, wipe down, put away. simple. fast. even a caveman can do it.
 
Hold the Presses
soap and water are expensive??
shoot, I'd just use any ol water i could find and some ivory that I already have in my shave kit, then some oil and I'm good to go

How is this any more expensive than any other cleaning supply?
 
Ammonia actually dissolves copper and is present in a number of bore cleaners for that very reason. Windex with ammonia also contains a solvent that helps remove fouling.

The speed of potential corrsion and potential harm caused by it will vary from weapon to weapon. An AK built to true specs with proper chrome lining can actually go a fair time without cleaning after using corrosive ammo. The gas tube may rust some but it won't impair function unless a substantial sized hole has been created which would take a long time. Even after rust has formed just clean with water and apply a light coat of oil to stop continued corrosion. Also, one does not need to scrub the gas tube to sufficiently clean it. Just spray with windex or other water based cleaner, rinse with water and apply light coat of oil. If no cleaner is available water alone will probably work. There is no plethora of additional cleaning products needed to clean any gun after corrosive ammo. Water alone will do fine, the hotter the better, so long as oil is applied after.
 
One time, at band camp, I heard that the Japanese started out with a 6.5 Arisaka, but their ammo was so corrosive that they had to move up to a 7.5 Arisaka. After that cartridge rotted their barrels out, they were planning on shooting 8mm Mauser, like the Germans, but we won the war before that happened.

Then again, that could just be garbage, and you could just clean your bores with soapy water, dry them, then oil. Seriously, I clean blackpowder cast lead .32 Winchester special residue out of a 107 year old gun with hot water and Ajax dish soap. Do you really think your Commie tent peg rifle is gonna rot out if you do the same with smokeless powder and a corrosive primer?!
 
I've yet to see any proof that ammonia neutralizes corrosive salts.
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I'm on my 3rd crate of surplus through my 2 AK74's, If ammonia didn't work, I'd have holes in my guns :) A lot of people use Windex, but the active ingredient in Windex is ammonia.

Remember chemistry? A strong base can cancel out a strong acid.
 
Piss down the barrel and use oil build up on your nose. I don't see myself running out of motor oils with all the vehicles lying around, but this is one method of doing it when you run out of everything.
 
I'm on my 3rd crate of surplus through my 2 AK74's, If ammonia didn't work, I'd have holes in my guns A lot of people use Windex, but the active ingredient in Windex is ammonia.
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In regards to removing salts the active ingredient in windex is water. As indicated already the only benefit from the ammonia is removal of copper. The goal here is not to neutralize an acid but to remove salts.
 
If you're in a SHTF scenario (or just at the range) your gun is going to need to be cleaned eventually whether you're using corrosive ammo or not, and honestly, there's not much difference between cleaning guns no matter what ammo you're using. Maybe one more step to neutralize/remove the corrosive salts, but its not too bad. You may also have to move up gun cleaning on your list of priorities, but if you're in a firefight, the first thing that should happen when you get safe is that you clean your gun anyway.

One, cleaning supplies tend to be very bulky, as well as give off noxious fumes. They will easily take up far more space and be more difficult to transport than the ammunition itself.
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While I have a nice, well stocked home cleaning kit, I also have a good portable kit that is my "SHTF" or my "I'm traveling with a gun" cleaning kit. Seriously, it fits in a quart sized ziplock bag and weighs less than a loaded pistol magazine and has what I need to clean every single gun I own. Oil, solvent, bore snakes, a bit of old tshirt for a rag and a syringe of grease.

And on the "proper cleaning supplies" note, I love how people always say you need a high dollar, gun specific cleaner. You can clean a gun just fine with kerosene, diesel fuel, ammonia, or even soap and water (as mentioned earlier in this thread). For lubrication, you can do anything from motor oil to wheel bearing grease. Hell, buy a bucket of lithium wheel bearing grease for $6, load it into a couple of syringes, and you've got a lifetime supply of gun lubricant! And while the fancy gun specific solvents and oils may disappear from stores, I don't see any of these things disappearing if the SHTF. People are still going to need their cars to run.
 
I just recalled an article i read long ago about an AK47 left and forgotten in some ranch barn. Years later when it was found the carrier had rusted shut and could only be opened by kicking it with a boot like starting a bike. Aside from wiping the components and receiver down and a little lube applied no work was done on the gun as i recall. Anyways, the gun ran without a hiccup. I wouldn't be surprised if the thing would have run bone dry.
 
Actually wait, here's the funny

Windex doesn't contain ammonia
check the MSDS, it's alcohol.

Sorry, but, yall have to switch to sudsy ammonia, it's cheaper BTW.
 
A lot of people buy corrosive ammo because it's cheap and, in spam cans, has an indefinite shelf life. That's all well and good for range use, where you can clean your guns thoroughly afterwards. However, for actual emergency use, you won't have that luxury.
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FALSE. If "emergency use" extends beyond a period of months, and you can't find time to clean your weapons, you have more problems to worry about than a little salt in your weapons.

But without (cleaning supplies), your weapon will quickly degrade if you shoot a lot of corrosive ammo. On a semi-automatic, this includes thoroughly cleaning the gas tube, which gets absolutely filthy and requires a ton of supplies to clean.
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FALSE. Mild potassium salt residue won't cause corrosion unless it is exposed to moisture. Even it this happens, the minute corrosion will not immediately degrade the weapon. This residue is easily removed with common water anyway. BTW, one other thing removes any corrosive moisture from the barrel. Firing it.

The cost-per-round of 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 ammo difference between surplus and Wolf or Bear ammo is more than offset by the cost of the solvent used, considering with non-corrosive you can get away with cleaning just the barrel and only cleaning the gas tube when it really needs it.
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FALSE. Surplus ammo is cheaper than Wolf or Bear ammo. Water is free.

When it boils down to it, corrosive ammo often turns into a false savings, and can seriously compromise your ability to maintain your weapon in the absence of proper cleaning supplies. You wind up paying more for supplies than the cost difference for budget commercial ammo. Of course, if you're only shooting a Mosin Nagant, surplus ammo can definitely make sense, but with any semi-auto, you're asking for trouble.
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FALSE. Millions of WWII era and older rifles have spent their entire existence (that's going on a hundred years.) firing corrosive ammo, and have not been rendered unusable by it.
 
leadchucker said:
FALSE. If "emergency use" extends beyond a period of months, and you can't find time to clean your weapons, you have more problems to worry about than a little salt in your weapons.

FALSE. Mild potassium salt residue won't cause corrosion unless it is exposed to moisture. Even it this happens, the minute corrosion will not immediately degrade the weapon. This residue is easily removed with common water anyway. BTW, one other thing removes any corrosive moisture from the barrel. Firing it.

FALSE. Surplus ammo is cheaper than Wolf or Bear ammo. Water is free.

FALSE. Millions of WWII era and older rifles have spent their entire existence (that's going on a hundred years.) firing corrosive ammo, and have not been rendered unusable by it.
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Reminded me of this

Dwight-Schrute-False-cropped.jpg
 
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