Corroded Brass..how?

[Mossy88]

All my ammo is literally inside the home....not out in the garage or shed or basement either...its in the living area of the home, entirely away from anything that might put out any humidity...away from windows or sinks...etc.
I hadnt messed with shotgun shells in a few years here....maybe 6 years or so.
And this shell was in an ammo can that had a dessicant pack AND the rubber seal, so its not like there was much moisture to get in anyway.....AND not one other single shell had even been discolored that was in the box with this one.
So Im very confused how one single shell ended up like this when I have many thousands of rounds of all kinds of ammo stored in the same exact place, in the same exact conditions.

Any ideas about what might cause this to happen to a single shell but none of my other ammo in the same place in the home?

282743

[243winxb]

Steel rusts from handling. Winchester? Some folks can handle a gun & by the end of the day, there are rusty finger prints forming.

[Mossy88]

Steel rusts

its colored like regular brass though? do they make alloys or something?

[remy3424]

I am guessing impurities in the metal....just a guess.

[GhostHawk]

moisture inside the hull at the time it was loaded. Corroded out from the inside. Steel hull, brass washed.

The good news is you caught it before it could spread.

[starnbar]

I have had that happen a few times dont know if it was me or a bad shell but seen it before myself too.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Many shotshells have a steel rim/base that is lightly/thinly plated with brass, just cheaper to make.

[Mossy88]

oh...ok...thanks a ton guys.
I just saw a video where someone had lost 10000 rounds of ammo over this sort of thing on youtube.
I freaked out when I saw this shell a bit and went thru all my ammo but couldnt find any others. lol

[Mossy88]

I have had that happen a few times dont know if it was me or a bad shell but seen it before myself too.

actually good to hear this one, lol.
Makes me feel a little better that its not likely going to destroy my entire ammo stack.
I wonder if I maybe got something on the shell handling it years ago and maybe that was why it was just the one.

[JSnover]

It happens. I bought a case of Winchester 7.62x51 three years ago and last week I started seeing corroded brass when I opened one of the sealed boxes. I doubt it's a Winchester problem, it could have been packed on on humid day, somebody in the plant had sweaty hands, who knows...

[Mossy88]

It happens. I bought a case of Winchester 7.62x51 three years ago and last week I started seeing corroded brass when I opened one of the sealed boxes. I doubt it's a Winchester problem, it could have been packed on on humid day, somebody in the plant had sweaty hands, who knows...

one reason I stopped using brass casings in my carry guns is man...if any sweat happens to get on the ammo for whatever reason and you dont get to it quick enough. I had some brass get discolored in my stainless Ruger sp101 when I was golfing a lot on hot days. It literally discolored the cylinder chamber. Never did get it looking new again.
I only use ammo in my carry guns that dont have plain brass casings after that. Either aluminum or that nickle plated stuff.

[jsizemore]

This won't help with your shotshells. I have a friend that had a bunch in his enclosed trailer he used for gunshows. He gave me the hulls and it was obvious the humidity had accumulated on it and was questionable for reloading.

You might check out this sticky about citric acid and it's ability to make brass corrosion-resistant.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner

[fatelk]

What's really bad is when you load a bunch of ammo with powder that's on the edge of going bad, and start finding rounds corroding from the inside out over the next few years.

I had some surplus 4895 a long time ago, and did just that. It was a mess.

[Land Owner]

That you found only one is a good thing. That it has caused you, me, and others to look at our stash too is a good thing. I have an SP101 that I carry and I don't keep loads in there long enough to corrode. A week is long enough. Some LE's change rounds every shift.

[shooterg]

Yup. Carry gun gets a magazine dump every couple weeks just for peace of mind - and the joy of shooting the plate rack one extra time !