Surplus Corrosive Ammo Cleaning

[Uncle Grinch]

I have shot thousands of rounds of various surplus ammo and most of it was corrosive. I always cleaned up my milsurps with various window cleaner type products and then oiled them. While shopping for more of these window cleaners, I saw some were ammonia based (alkaline) and some were vinegar based (acidic). Logically speaking, I would think you would want to use which one that would counteract the corrosive salts in the milsurp ammo.

Does anyone know if this ammo is alkaline or acidic?

[JimB..]

Potassium chloride and sodium chloride, both are hydroscopic alkalis. Folks report success cleaning first with just hot water and then regular gun cleaning products, but I have no first hand experience with corrosive ammunition, just know a little chemistry.

[schutzen-jager]

vinegar is an acid + is very corrosive - as long as it flushed out w/water + not left on for extended period it should do no harm - soapy water + old GI surplus bore cleaner has always worked for me -

[Larry Gibson]

Use the cleaners with ammonia in them. Ammonia was the original ingredient in bore cleaners of yore for cleaning out the corrosive primer residue and removing the bullet fouling. With corrosive ammunition, especially with cupro nickel jacketed bullets, you want to clean the bullet fouling out also because there will probably be primer fouling deposited under the bullet fouling which with cause corrosion and pitting.

While water based cleaning, even with some ammonia in it, will clean the primer residue out it will not remove the bullet fouling. I prefer to use a strong ammonia based cleaner like Sweet's to remove the bullet fouling while at the same time it removes the primer residue. After extensive shooting of cupro nickeled bullets w/o cleaning it is even sometimes necessary to use a bit of JB bore cleaner to remove the stubborn bullet fouling.

[gnoahhh]

Anecdote concerning ammonia versus cupronickel fouling: I once came into possession of an early M1903 barrel that was befouled with old cupronickel deposits. Having read about the ancients removing said fouling with stronger ammonia filling the barrel I thought I would give it a try. Back then one could buy the Real Deal stronger ammonia over the counter at drug stores. (My pharmacist gave me the hairy eyeball as he sold me a small brown bottle of the stuff and expressed curiosity about my intended use thereof.)

First mistake: doing it indoors. I plugged the chamber with a rubber stopper, set up the barrel in the bath tub (for immediate access to a drain and water), took a deep breath and opened the bottle of ammonia and poured the barrel full and stoppered the muzzle. I evacuated the bathroom, closed the door and exhaled. All good, so far.

After waiting a while I took another deeeep breath and ducked back in. I unstoppered the muzzle, dumped the stuff down the drain(!), and tried flushing the bore with water from the spigot. Needless to say I ran out of breath halfway through the operation and was forced to breathe.....

My then wife heard me hit the floor, out cold. She rushed in and grabbed me by the ankles and dragged me out into (relatively) fresh air where I came to with a splitting headache (which could've been from her shrieking nonsense at me about being an idiot).

Moral of the story: she was right, I was an idiot.

P.S. The barrel did turn out squeaky clean....

[snipin101]

Back in the days of spam can ammo for Mosins was crazy cheap. I shot a lot of it. I just always boiled some water in a pot, take it outside and pull the bolt and point rifle down and take a turkey baster and suck up hot water and shoot it down the bore. Run a wire brush and then more water. Do that until the water comes out clean then a couple dry patches and then an oily one. Never had any problems at all, and it didn't stink.

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[eastbank]

i have shot a ton of it in my bolt action surplus rifles(never in my semi-autos milsurps) over the last 50+ years, hot water and a soft wire brush with more hot water and a oily patch after that. a early o3a3 had its barrel shot out with thousands of rounds, but no pits.

[Outpost75]

What Larry said.

If you don't have JB use the old fashioned cake Bon Ami with hot water on a tight patch, repeating until patches come out clean. Then use a turkey baster with clear hot water to flush out the feldspar, dry patch and oil.

[Remiel]

I've always used hot water and then cleaned as usual

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[john.k]

The military always 'boiled out' after corrosive ammo .........each rifle got a gallon pitcher of boiling water poured through an offset funnel.

[Eddie1971]

Water, dishwashing liquid and ammonia is the way to go. Like Larry said Sweet's is a must for the copper foiling.

[Uncle Grinch]

I’ve always used the Windex solution, but after all these comments, I’m going to the hot water route. As a side note, I have always stripped my bolt down and cleaned it inside and out. Also the inside of the action surfaces.

[georgerkahn]

I’ve always used the Windex solution, but after all these comments, I’m going to the hot water route. As a side note, I have always stripped my bolt down and cleaned it inside and out. Also the inside of the action surfaces.

"Pepsi to the rescue" :) Sadly (I envy all who may shoot off their back porch!) the range where I shoot mil-stuff with corrosive is a 45-minutes drive. Another fellow's idea -- which I have subscribed to -- is his (and me) filling a 2-litre plastic bottle Pepsi-Cola was marketed in with hot tap water to which is added just a teeny-squirt of Dawn dishwash detergent. I put a rubber stopper in muzzle end after -- using a funnel I bought at auto-parts (NAPA) which is plastic with maybe an eight-inch long bottom, pour about 1/2 of solution through. Those few added drops of Dawn make it easy to push a rubber stopper in, after which I fill barrel to receiver end where the 2nd rubber stopper is added. Only once did a stopper wiggle out on its own, with the old bath towel underneath in my truck's bed for ride home absorbed all.
Then, when home, it's relatively easy to remove stoppers and rinse with fresh HOT water. I salvaged an old hair dryer and on damp/rainy days I use that -- on low setting -- to hopefully DRY all out. (I always feared replacing a little corrosion with a lot of rust ;))
What I do...
geo

[Thumbcocker]

Back in the days of spam can ammo for Mosins was crazy cheap. I shot a lot of it. I just always boiled some water in a pot, take it outside and pull the bolt and point rifle down and take a turkey baster and suck up hot water and shoot it down the bore. Run a wire brush and then more water. Do that until the water comes out clean then a couple dry patches and then an oily one. Never had any problems at all, and it didn't stink.

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I have read a couple of sources that stated that troops were told that in a pinch peeing down the barrel followed by a cleaning would work.

[georgerkahn]

I have read a couple of sources that stated that troops were told that in a pinch peeing down the barrel followed by a cleaning would work.

...and I have read: "Urine has been imbedded in myth for many causes. You don't pee on an open wound and you don't pee down your barrel. Urine contains concentrated salts and would rust up a barrel in very short order. Hot soapy water followed by patches and a light gun oil."

[Chili]

When shooting corrosive ammo in my bolt guns, I use Windex with ammonia. While still at the range I run a few windex patches down the bore and follow up with more when I get home. Then it's just a regular cleaning.

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[atfsux]

Just use Ballistol and be done with it. You can mix Ballistol 50/50 with water to do a flushing if you wish, but there's no need. I just douche out the weapon with it straight, run a brush and a patch through, and that's it Maynard. The Germans used it through both world wars and it is the reason why so many German weapons are still serviceable today. And as a side benefit, it is non-toxic. German soldiers would even occasionally dress their wounds with it when proper med supplies were unavailable. Prior to discovering Ballistol, I used to just douche out with plain old WD40. It worked fine and of course left a protective coating on everything. But WD40 is a poor lube for many autos, like AR15s, which will gum up quickly as the remnant WD40 attracts all the powder fouling and turn it into a bolt-dragging sludge. The comparison is apt when you own an 8mm Egyptian Hakim that uses the same direct impingement system as the AR15. Once I started using Ballistol to douche out the Hakim after blazing through corrosive Yugoslavian and Romanian 8mm ammo, everything started working more reliably.

[Bigslug]

I second the 5-to-1 water/Ballistol mix - AKA "moose milk". I take a 30 ounce spray bottle full of it to the range when I shoot corrosive stuff.

Last time I had the Garand out, I pumped it generously in to the chamber end of the still hot barrel, waited for the hissing splutters to subside, ran a bore-snake, then re-sprayed to soak for the drive home, whereupon it got a full cleaning and wipe-down with undiluted Ballistol.

Best way to think of Ballistol is that it's kind of like Break Free's 3-in-1 properties, but for guns using the old school nasty propellent options - it'll neutralize the corrosive crud, AND it gives you the moisture barrier and lubrication of oil. The various home-brew water/soap/ammonia options all work, but you need to put the oil barrier back afterwards. The green can is a really nice one-stop-shop.

[Lead Puller]

I usually push two tight fitting patches through the bore to remove large debris first. Then I push a sopping wet patch with Windex through the bore, follow with a dry patch, then repeat one more time. After that I clean as usual.

I made a funnel to fit the chamber in my M24/47 Mauser and tried using hot water before cleaning. I push two dry patches through the bore to remove large debris, then pour a tea kettle of hot water through the bore. I haven't noticed any difference between this method and using Windex.

Some guys feel the bore starts to corrode immediately after you fire the last shot. So long as you clean the rifle the same day you shoot you should be good to go.

[elmacgyver0]

...and I have read: "Urine has been imbedded in myth for many causes. You don't pee on an open wound and you don't pee down your barrel. Urine contains concentrated salts and would rust up a barrel in very short order. Hot soapy water followed by patches and a light gun oil."

On the battlefield with a rifles action gummed up with mud and dirt, peeing on the action to get the gun working again was used in the heat of battle.
They were not worried too much about a bit of rust and corrosion when keeping the weapon shooting meant life or death. No firsthand knowledge, only told me by an old WWII vet, rest his soul, I sure miss the old guy.

[Martin Luber]

Would it matter less with stainless barrels?

[Dutchman]

Windex and GI bore cleaner. Either or.

Dutch

[Adam Helmer]

I began shooting military surplus corrosive ammo in 1958 and still do so today. The Old Army Manual prescribed hot, soapy water followed by dry patches and then an oil patch. I use the same for my muzzleloaders. Windex, etc., works because it is WATER based.

Adam

[Lead Puller]

I began shooting military surplus corrosive ammo in 1958 and still do so today. The Old Army Manual prescribed hot, soapy water followed by dry patches and then an oil patch. I use the same for my muzzleloaders. Windex, etc., works because it is WATER based.

Adam

After a day at the range, I'll remove the barreled actions from my muzzleloaders and submerge them in hot soapy water. Several passes with a tight fitting patch siphons the hot soapy water through the barrel. I've never had an issue with corrosion.

[JSnover]

On the battlefield with a rifles action gummed up with mud and dirt, peeing on the action to get the gun working again was used in the heat of battle.
They were not worried too much about a bit of rust and corrosion when keeping the weapon shooting meant life or death. No firsthand knowledge, only told me by an old WWII vet, rest his soul, I sure miss the old guy.

The other version I've heard was about soldiers using urine to refill the cooling system on water-cooled machine guns.