Old Military ammo case-primer ruined new barrel!

[nekshot]

I pulled a bunch of bullets from old 8mm mauser ammo and had the brass laying to the side(mistake, should have put them away) and apparently when I was shooting the one gun with a new from COPES barrel I by mistake loaded and shot some of the military brass. Yesterday I went to look thru the barrel expecting to see the nice shiney shine from Bens Red and it was all dark. I cleaned it out but fortunately I bought a bunch of those barrels so this morning I put another new one on and now we are good to go. I share this as a reminder of the corrosive primers that they corrode on old geezers guns as well as those of high society!

[JeffinNZ]

Nasty.

[Gtek]

Corrosive primer stories are kind of like Tequila stories, a lot of us probably have them if they will admit it. I know of your pain!

[PAT303]

So your saying shooting a few corrosive primers ruined a brand new barrel?,sorry mate but I don't think so. Pat

[Lonegun1894]

How long did you let it sit before cleaning? I tried this with an old rifle with a pitted bore a few years ago after hearing the stories, and even with the humidity here in central Texas, it took 8 days to get a slight tinge of red, which cleaned out easily and I have never had a problem with that rifle again, but I had been wondering how long it had to sit without cleaning due to the pitting it had developed before I bought it.

[PAT303]

I've fired thousands of corrosive primers through four different rifles and they did not suffer one bit because of it. Pat

[Lonegun1894]

That's what I was thinking, Pat. I was always told to treat a gun fired with corrosive primers like a muzzleloader in terms of that you clean it the same day you shoot it and it works just fine.

[OBIII]

Perhaps it depends on the primer compound and primer type. Perhaps even the metal of the barrel. Early primer/powder formulas were not all the same.

OB

[PAT303]

OB,I've loaded corrosive primed cases with black powder in my 303's and still didn't get pitting or corrosion,corrosive primers destroying barrels is an old wives tale,plenty of modern rifles that were never loaded with corrosive primers have had their barrels ruined by corrosion,corrosive primers are just an excuse for neglect. Pat

[nekshot]

I've fired thousands of corrosive primers through four different rifles and they did not suffer one bit because of it. Pat
Happy you should be!!!

[nekshot]

How long did you let it sit before cleaning? I tried this with an old rifle with a pitted bore a few years ago after hearing the stories, and even with the humidity here in central Texas, it took 8 days to get a slight tinge of red, which cleaned out easily and I have never had a problem with that rifle again, but I had been wondering how long it had to sit without cleaning due to the pitting it had developed before I bought it.
About 2 or 3 month, I forget. I do remember looking dow bore when I put it away and it was shiney from Bens Red.

[Lonegun1894]

2-3 months? I bet that left a little damage, but it probably looks a lot worse than it actually is. Do me a favor if you would? Before you trash that barrel, I would put some 0000 steel wool on a brush and spend a little time and elbow grease on that bore. See how it cleans up and even if not perfect, try a few rounds down range, cause it just may surprise you. Worst case scenario, you spend half an hour cleaning, and a few rounds, and are back to where you are now. I had a "sporterized" 8mm Mauser years ago, that the bore was pitted the full length on, and it was badly pitted. I cleaned it up with steel wool and oiled it, and did that process for three days, at 15-30 minutes a day. At the end of it, it was still pitted but was much better, and it would shoot 2" groups all day long with the issue sights at 100 yds. A friend of mine has it now, and it still shoots just as well if not better. Still just as ugly tho.

[texassako]

A little tip I tried off of another forum may help you. A bore snake with a liberal amount of Turtle chrome polish and rust remover. Pull it through a few times and see how it looks. I managed to get 2 old milsurps to shine that way.

[Frank46]

try auto rubbing compound first then the white polishing compound. Works safe on car finishes and I have tried it on a couple rifle barrels. Did make a difference. Frank

[PAT303]

Tooth paste worked for me on a Nagant that went through a flood. Pat