Corrosive Ammo

[dale2242]

I recently bought a Mosin-Nagant at a gun show. I don`t plan to cast or load for this gun.
I plan on using it as a fun gun/plinker with mil-surp ammo. Most Russian surplus ammo has corrosive primers .
Is there any thing special I need to know about cleaning the gun that would be different from my standard cleaning procedures with modern non-corrosive ammo?
I am aware you need to clean soon after shooting the corrosive ammo.....dale

[John Traveler]

The surplus corrosive ammo is affordable but needs a bit more care in the cleaning.

Hot, soapy water is best for removing the primer salt residue that attracts moisture and causes rust. A good cleaning of bore, bolt, and all receiver surfaces that may have firing residue with a hot, soapy water solution followed by normal solvent and oil cleaning is sufficient.

The US Military used to require repeated cleaning for three days following firing firing. The repeated cleaning and oiling removes all trace of the primer residue that causes rusting of bore and gas system surfaces.

[johnly]

A water based cleaner like Sweet's 7.62 followed by a couple patches of Kroil should work just fine.

John

[Bret4207]

Sometimes you can find some of the old US surplus bore cleaner from WW2/Korea that is supposed to have special additives to deal with corrosive salts. I've had a quart for 40 years and it's still almost half full. I see it around every now and then.

[unclebill]

i once saw a photo of the funnel english troops used to pour boiling water down the bbl.s of the enfield.
i bring a thermos of really hot,soapy water and a funnel to the range with me.
when i am done shooting i flush the bbl.and swipe it with a brush.
then clean normally at home.

[stubshaft]

I shoot corrosive primed, cordite loads out of my Enfield MkV. The flash suppressor makes a great funnel for pouring water through.

[pdawg_shooter]

A 50/50 mix of "Windex with Vinegar" and water works about as good as anything you can buy.

[higgins]

"Most Russian surplus ammo has corrosive primers."

First, assume that all surplus 7.62x54R is corrosive, even if it was loaded in the 80s and beyond, and clean accordingly. That way your won't get a nasty surprise when you check your bore. Some ammo sellers will tell you otherwise, but there are just too many varieties on the market past and present to risk it. Water is the universal cheap, readily available solvent for chlorate primer residue. I've used the household ammonia and water mix, and a 50/50 mix of Ballistol and water; both have given good results.

[MtGun44]

Straight "Windex with vinegar" on about 3 patches while warm at the range, followed by
two with Hoppes #9, plus wiping off the bolt face (primers leak corrosive gasses, look at
some old bolt faces, a ring of tiny pits) with a patch wet with Windex will do it.

Cheap, handy in a squirt bottle. No big deal really.

Bill

[Blammer]

Windex, I use windex, the amonia kind that evaporates quickly.

I "flush" or hose it down real good, let it pour out the barrel and the action. I then take a dry towel, dry it off, one dry patch down the bore, then use a really oily patch down the bore for preservation and some oil in bolt and on the action.

I always check it the next day. Just incase I missed a spot.

Takes longer to explain than acutally doing it.

[mroliver77]

I use wet patches with windex or soapy water. I have not found the need to flush with boiling water. A good wipe down of bolt face and chamber area also. After dry patching I follow with Eds Red cleaner. If you use lanolin in your ER it will help get rid of any moister as lanolin loves water and will emulsify if in contact with it. I also do another wipe with ER a week later if gun will be stored any length of time. It is really no more hassle than shooting non corrosive.
Jay

[dale2242]

After posting this thread about how to clean after shooting corrosive ammo I started searching the web for info. I found a very informative site called 7.62X54R.net.
Any of you interested in Mosin-Nagants need to check it out.
They said that since Hoppes #9 was developed in 1903, it was made to clean out corrosive salts.They say all you need to do was clean your gun with Hoppes#9 and that would do the job....dale

[spqrzilla]

dale, Hoppes has been reformulated since 1903 a few times, so I don't really trust it myself for corrosive ammo these days. Also be careful, Hoppe's is now selling other solvents under that name such as a copper solvent. (And actually in 1903, the real cause of corrosive ammo's effects was not fully understood.)

The reality is that hot water, followed by regular cleaning solvents, is the best way to address corrosive ammo. Windex does not add anything to regular water in cleaning ability but if one wants to use it no harm. Windex is 90% water, some alcohol, some propylene glycol, some ammonia and other surfactants. So it is about 90% as effective as water alone.

So I use hot water followed by Ed's Red myself. I don't want to pay the high cost per ounce of Hoppe's.

[MtGun44]

Surfactants and ammonia help clean thru the grease and crud that pure water will not get
under. Only a few patches are required, massive dunking, pouring boiling water and all
that is fine if you like, but totally unnecessary.

Bill