7.5x54 MAS French Surplus Ammo: Corrosive?

[challenger_i]

I have obtained a decent amount of Frech surplus 7.5. Everything is clean and pretty.
My question is, was there ever a period when the 7.5 ammo was not corrosive?
I have headstamp dates of "59" and "64"

Thanks in advance!

[higgins]

If it were to be shot in my rifle (if I had a 7.5) I would assume it is corrosive. Some European countries used corrosive priming long after the U.S. went noncorrosive. I've shot a lot of corrosive .303 Brit, 7.62x54R, and 8x57 and cleaned ASAP with warm soapy water. The soap can be dish soap, laundry detergent, or Ballistol and water. After the water treatment clean as usual with the usual solvents.

[challenger_i]

I am familiar with the care and feeding of a firearm after the use of corrosive ammunition. My post was placed in the hopes of determining
the corrosive nature of the ammunition in hand (hence, the dates).
If I am unable to get a determination, it is my plan to salvage the ammunition for the bullets and powder, and load them in boxer brass
with #34 primers.

[Gunor]

If Syrian, misfires - break down for bullets and powder…

[challenger_i]

I specified "French" surplus.

[30calflash]

I recall seeing French surplus 30-06 ammo for sale 30 yrs ago and it was listed as corrosive. HTH.

[Linstrum]

I have obtained a decent amount of Frech surplus 7.5. Everything is clean and pretty.
My question is, was there ever a period when the 7.5 ammo was not corrosive?
I have headstamp dates of "59" and "64"

Thanks in advance!

Hi challenger_i, if you have not found the answer to your question, you can investigate for yourself whether or not your particular ammunition uses corrosive primers. This is the method I have used for myself, which takes a some tools and safety equipment, but may be done at home IF you can pop some primers without upsetting anyone close by. If you live in an apartment, either find somewhere else, or I guess you're out of luck.

What you will need is some new coarse steel wool, at least one or two of your 7.5x54 French cartridges that have been pulled apart to remove all of the propellant, a vise to hold a cartridge vertically with the mouth pointed downward, a large size nail with the tip rounded to resemble a firing pin tip, pliers or Vise Grips to hold the nail, a hammer to strike the nail to ignite a primer, heavy gloves, safety glasses, and hearing protection.

The method is to place a pad of steel wool under the mouth of a cartridge, and then fire the primer so the primer gases blow onto the pad of steel wool. Just a warning, the steel wool may ignite, since steel wool burns quite well when heated sufficiently. Be prepared to drop a pad of burning steel wool into a container full of water. Use the coarsest steel wool you can get, since it is less likely to ignite than fine 000 or 0000 size. After firing one or two primers onto the steel wool, mist a little distilled water onto the steel wool pad and wait a few days to see if it rusts where the primer gases blew onto it. You have to use distilled water, since plain tap water may cause rust to form as well. Clean steel wool by itself will tend to rust, too, but where the primer gases collected will rust more, if the primers are corrosive.

I have a MAS 36 I bought for $49.95 back in about 1995, which came wrapped in cheese cloth, all soaked in Cosmoline. After I took all the wood and hardware off in front of the receiver so that the barrel was bare and not in contact with anything forward of the receiver, I found out that it shoots sub-minute of angle groups. I convert 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser cartridges to 7.5x54 French by running a 0.307" expanding mandrel into the neck. Lee sells a Swede-to-French cartridge converting kit for this.

For what it's worth, I'd be pretty cautious about using ammunition that is 59 and 64 years old. Powder does go bad, and when it goes bad it burns faster, not slower. Powder goes bad after time goes by, as well from being stored hot. I have some powder that is only 10 years old that is already producing nitric acid fumes.

Check out the thread here, especially the post by Ricochet on page 4, I've known him for 25 years and he's a darned good chemist.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...owder-pictures

[challenger_i]

Thank you, sir, for the intel.

[pworley1]

I treat all surplus ammo before 1980 as corrosive.