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Thread: M2 Ball Ammo

  1. #1
    Boolit Master

    dale2242's Avatar
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    M2 Ball Ammo

    I was recently gifted some ball ammo dated 1941-1943.
    I really don`t want to shoot it in my M1 Garand because of the corrosive priming.
    It is slightly stained but no green corrosion.

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Cleaning After Corrosive Primers


    As a kid I was brought up on the M1 Garand, 03A3 Springfield and M1911 pistol using WW2 era ammo having chlorate primers. Cleaning after corrosive is no big deal. When done properly there is no worry about after-rusting. Older US military primers are VERY stable and have a great shelf life. I am still using WW2-era .30-'06 and .45 ammunition. I grab every round of it that I can find at garage and estate sales.

    US military primers produced prior to about 1953 caused rusting in humid climates because potassium chlorate is used as an oxidizer. Upon combustion this converts to potassium chloride, which attracts ambient moisture from the atmosphere in the same manner as ordinary table salt. Chlorate salts are water soluble, but not oil soluble. To quickly remove the salts use boiling hot soapy water. Boiling water is best because it evaporates quickly of its own heat, simplifying drying. If you don't have a means to heat the water, cold water will do. So will leftover tea or coffee or standing water soaked up on a patch left in a hoof print!

    I was taught by the late Frank Marshall, Jr., a WW2 vet to bend a wire cage from coat hanger wire to hang a metal canteen near the exhaust manifold of your farm tractor, pickup, Jeep, M151, etc. Lacking that use your Natick cooker from your canteen case or build a small "Indian fire." Leave the old school metal canteen screw-top slightly loose so that steam can escape while it heats as you drive to the range or back and forth between the pits and firing line. When ready to clean your Garand, snug the lid and lift the hot canteen out of its cage by the cap chain. Pour out 1/2 a canteen cup full of hot water into your canteen cup. Use your Mil-K-818 pocket knife or K-bar to scrape about 1/2 teaspoon of flakes from your bar of green GI soap, Calgon, Ivory or Fels Naptha into the hot water. If your rifle or pistol bore is rough and tends to metal foul, use cake Bon Ami wiped and worked into a lather onto your hot, wet patch.

    Put your "soap patch" through the loop tip of your cleaning rod and stir the hot water vigorously until it is nice and sudsy.

    Do not use your "oil patch" or your "inspection patch" for this purpose, because your platoon sergeant will chew you out and not issue you any new patches for being a Sad Sack. You are issued only three patches at a time because "War is hell! Some poor seasick merchant mariner braved Atlantic storms and German U-boats, barfing his guts out to bring those precious South Carolina cotton patches to you! Treat them with the same reverence as you would your girl friend's panties! Replacements will be issued only after rifle inspection, if you pass!

    1. Field strip your M1, .45 pistol or ’03 Springfield on your folded shelter half you have spread across your Jeep hood or rack. Rest the barreled action with its sights down, so that water running out of the chamber does not run into the action.

    2. Wipe the bore with your "soap patch" wet with hot soapy water, passing it through the bore both ways, TEN times. Remove your dirty "soap patch" but DO NOT throw it away! Place it back into the soapy water, swish around, squeeze out a couple times for washing and repeat and re-use as needed until you are done.

    3. Now change to your bronze bristle bore brush. Rinse the brush in the hot, soapy water and pass it back and forth through the bore TEN times.

    4. Now lather up and wring out your used "soap patch" squeezing out as much of the water as you can. Put it back on the loop tip, run once through the bore, remove, wash, wring out again and repeat! If you still see carbon on your "soap patch" go back to #3 and repeat. If both bore and patch appear clean, then use washed and wrung out "soap patch" on your combination tool to clean the chamber, gas cylinder, gas cylinder plug, operating rod piston and bolt face. Then again wash and rinse the soap patch, wring it out and spread out carefully on the foot rail of your rack for inspection by your platoon sergeant.

    5. Now take "oil patch" and apply VVL800 or PL (Oil, Lubricant, Preservative, Light) in a stream making an "X" crossing corner to corner, in the form of St Andrews cross. If you don't know who St. Andrew was Platoon Sergeant will instruct Sad Sack to recite the history lesson for you (*see below). [If you don't have real military weapons oil, Hoppes or Outers Gun Oil or non-detergent SAE30 motor oil is OK, but a "water displacing" dewaxed, polarized oil is best].

    Roll the patch tightly lengthwise to the diameter of a cigarette, squeezing and twisting tightly to evenly distribute the oil. Now insert "oil patch" into your loop tip and pass through bore back and forth TEN times, then remove the patch from the loop tip and use to wipe chamber, bolt face, gas cylinder, gas cylinder plug and operating rod piston.

    6. Inspect "oil patch." If it exhibits more than trace amounts of carbon, rinse out again in the soapy water, wring out and get it as clean as you can, then go back to step 2 and repeat everything all again!

    7. If "oil patch" has only slight traces of carbon, you are allowed to break silence to express satisfaction and now may respectfully hum either Eternal Father Strong to Save, the Marine Corps Hymn or the Battle Hymn of the Republic as you then use "oil patch to wipe operating rod track in receiver, bolt lugs, bolt face, hammer hooks of trigger group, sights and exposed metal.

    8. Apply ONE DROP of weapons oil to your paint brush, brush out the operating rod track in the receiver then brush away all loose dust and dirt from metal parts.

    9. Take your Popsicle stick and dip one half pea sized dab of grease from your grease pot. LIGHTLY lubricate the operating rod cam pocket, rear surface of locking lugs, hammer hooks and shiny spot under barrel where operating rod rubs as it reciprocates.

    10. Reassemble your rifle, wiping all excess oil from its exterior with the "back forty" end of your baby diaper not used for shining brass or shoes, then dry and remove excess oil from the bore with the "Inspection Patch."

    Now lay out "Soap Patch", "Oil Patch" and "Inspection Patch" across the footrail of your rack, prepare for inspection by Platoon Sergeant and pray quietly.

    *[Andrew was a Galilean fisherman working in the Black Sea before he and his brother Simon Peter became disciples of Jesus Christ. He was crucified by the Romans on an X-shaped cross at Patras in Greece. Hundreds of years later, his remains were moved to Constantinople and later, in the 13th century, to Amalfi in southern Italy where they remain to this day. Legend has it that the Greek monk known as St Regulus was ordered in a vision to take a few relics of Andrew to the ‘ends of the earth’ for safe keeping. He set off on a sea journey and eventually came ashore on the coast of Fife at a settlement which is now the modern town of St Andrews, Scotland. In 832 AD Andrew is said to have appeared in a vision to a Pictish king the night before a battle against the Northumbrians in what is now the village of Athelstaneford in East Lothian. On the day of battle a Saltire, or X-shaped cross, appeared in the sky above the battlefield and the Picts were victorious. The Saltire, or Saint Andrew’s Cross, was subsequently adopted as the national emblem and flag of the Scots, against a deep blue field symbolizing the waters of the North Sea. 100 years later it would appear also on the flag of the Confederate States of America, against a scarlet field symbolizing the spilled blood of martyred patriots of Scots-Irish descent, who comprised the majority of Confederate forces].
    The ENEMY is listening.
    HE wants to know what YOU know.
    Keep it to yourself.

  3. #3
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    Another approach--pull and save the bullets, dump and save the powder, de-prime the brass and replace with modern primers, salvage the powder and bullets back into the cases (reload them), and avoid the corrosion problem. A buddy and I did this with several thousand rounds of corrosive Turkish ammo about 20 years ago, and turned out some very fine loads. But in that instance, since the brass was Berdan primed, we replaced the brass with new R-P brass using new primers and the Turkish bullets and powder.

    DG

  4. #4
    Boolit Master





    SSGOldfart's Avatar
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    I 'd save the primers and break out the cleaning patches they are much easier to find these days. Enjoy some find ammo wish I had it.
    Simper-Fi
    I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.
    Paralyzed Veterans of America

    Looking for a Hensly &Gibbs #258 any thing from a two cavity to a 10cavityI found a new one from a member here

  5. #5
    Boolit Master


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    I don’t have any of the ammo in question but I certainly feel that I can remain squared away after such finely detailed cleaning information.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master

    FLINTNFIRE's Avatar
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    I have shot old corrosive primed ammo through my M1 Garands and it is no big deal to clean and strip them down , if it is showing its age I would shoot what fires and pull down what does not . Have done this with 303 old ammo that it was hit or miss on firing , if you have a 03 or a model of 1917 shoot it from them , just found a half a box of EC 43 and ECS 43 45acp amoo steel cases and of course corrosive primed it will be shot through a 1911 this weekend .

    I had a wood ammo crate of Taiwanese 30-06 I shot up in my M1 it to based on its year was corrosive , also has a larger primer pocket , was no issue with it being corrosive a little cleaning and I strip my M1 down when cleaning , no rust no problems , if you do not want to do the little extra cleaning then sell it , at this time it will bring a good price .

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy

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    You can make it easy on yourself. Buy some WWII bore cleaner at a gun show, it will remove all corrosives from inside the bore.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check