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Posted: 11/30/2008 1:48:36 PM EDT
| what is it about corrosive that makes it so corrosive?I just bought a m&p15r(5.45) and after its fired it has to be cleaned with a water based cleaner.Any ideas on what cleaner I should use. |
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what is it about corrosive that makes it so corrosive? For non-mercuric corrosive primers the primary corrosion culprit
is potassium chlorate (KClO3). Potassium chlorate was used as an oxidizer, providing oxygen, to the primer compound reaction. When the reaction takes place the oxygen is removed from the molecule leaving potassium chloride (KCl). Potassium chloride is a salt much like sodium chloride (common table salt). As a matter of fact, take a look at most salt substitutes and you will find that they contain potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. The potassium chloride residue left in a gun barrel absorbs water from the air and creates a corrosive film responsible for barrel rusting. Since potassium chloride is highly soluble in water this is the reason why it is recommended that barrels be washed with hot water after shooting corrosive ammunition. It is also recommended that shooters wash their brass that contained corrosive primers in the same manner. LINK |
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I've only shot mine one time. I quickly cleaned it prior to hitting the road and checked it the next couple of days but saw no indication of rust/corrosion.
I cleaned mine with some stuff called "Black Off" I got from WalMart. It is a black powder cleaner (black powder is corrosive). It comes in pint jugs and is red in color. What ever is in it works as I've used it in my M1A after firing corrosive ammo. My intent next trip to the range is to not clean the rifle right away and check it the next day to see if there are any signs of corrosion. Face it, the reason the GI's had to clean their Springfields, Enfields, and M1's 3 days in a row was to insure they got all the corrosive crud out of them. Experience showed that it was easy to miss stuff and when they did it could badly corrode the metal the corrosive salts/residue were on. Supposedly it doesn't take long to show up. I'm just going to do an experiment (because I'm not convinced the Russian surplus 5.45 ammo is corrosive - not till I see my S&W showing signs of it.) |
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Please explain why you are willing to ruin a perfectly good firearm just so you can KNOW if the ammo is corrosive or not?
My intent next trip to the range is to not clean the rifle right away and check it the next day to see if there are any signs of corrosion. I'm just going to do an experiment (because I'm not convinced the Russian surplus 5.45 ammo is corrosive - not till I see my S&W showing signs of it.) If you want to ruin a perfectly good firearm then just send it on down here and I'll take care of it for you. I'll give it a bath every time I shoot it. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Please explain why you are willing to ruin a perfectly good firearm just so you can KNOW if the ammo is corrosive or not?
My intent next trip to the range is to not clean the rifle right away and check it the next day to see if there are any signs of corrosion. I'm just going to do an experiment (because I'm not convinced the Russian surplus 5.45 ammo is corrosive - not till I see my S&W showing signs of it.) If you want to ruin a perfectly good firearm then just send it on down here and I'll take care of it for you. I'll give it a bath every time I shoot it. Please explain why you have the need to tell someone what to do with an item they purchased with their own hard earned money. |
easy fellas How exactly would you be ruining it?? Just shoot it, don't clean it, if something starts to rust, it is corrosive, just clean off the surface rust. Then clean properly from now on. Not like if you don't clean after corrosive that the damn gun will be a pile of rusted junk in the morning not going to instantly pit and crumble to nothing
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| I'm interested in this too, is the Wolf .223 poly-coated ammo non-corrosive? I have a Stag Mod 1 that I shoot the stuff out of and the chamber seems to be very dirty afterwards, and it seems like its rusting (even though its chrome lined....). Sounds crazy, but I've had a bushy and shot hundreds of rounds of wolf without a single issue with chambers rusting. |
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All the modern commercial ammo (which includes Wolf of any stripe) is non-corrosive. Wolf (and some other Russian/Eastern Bloc) ammo IS much dirtier than US-made or the higher-grade foreign (like Privi). Generally, only the inexpensive steel-case ammo is remarkably dirty, however.
Where you run into corrosive ammo is mil surplus - corrosive primers do better in long-term storage, so it used to be specified. (or so I've been told) |
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I've been shooting corrosive ammo for the last 50 years. No big deal, it will not destroy your rifle or other firearms if you clean it properly.
To save money, and make your own cleaner you can use the following: mix a 1/3rd part to part, Clear Ammonia ( do not use sudsy type ) White Vinegar Distilled water When mixed and stored in a plastic bottle the mixture will last for about six months. Soak a patch with this solution,run it down the bore, and let set into the bore no longer than 20 minutes. ( 5 minutes is long enough ) Follow with a Nylon bore brush. Do not use bronze. Follow with several clean patches. ( the patches will be green from the copper ) Oil as needed. The solution will remove all of the salts,powder fouling,copper fouling and lead. I use this solution on all of my firearms. From El-cheapo to my most expensive machine guns. It works,it's cheap and it removes all of the primers salts instantly. I have never had a rusty bore from shooting corrosive primed ammo using this cleaner,ever. Good shooting. |
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Quoted:
I've been shooting corrosive ammo for the last 50 years. No big deal, it will not destroy your rifle or other firearms if you clean it properly. To save money, and make your own cleaner you can use the following: mix a 1/3rd part to part, Clear Ammonia ( do not use sudsy type ) White Vinegar Distilled water When mixed and stored in a plastic bottle the mixture will last for about six months. Soak a patch with this solution,run it down the bore, and let set into the bore no longer than 20 minutes. ( 5 minutes is long enough ) Follow with a Nylon bore brush. Do not use bronze. Follow with several clean patches. ( the patches will be green from the copper ) Oil as needed. The solution will remove all of the salts,powder fouling,copper fouling and lead. I use this solution on all of my firearms. From El-cheapo to my most expensive machine guns. It works,it's cheap and it removes all of the primers salts instantly. I have never had a rusty bore from shooting corrosive primed ammo using this cleaner,ever. Good shooting. What about your gas tube, do you just spray some down it? |
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Quoted:
I've been shooting corrosive ammo for the last 50 years. No big deal, it will not destroy your rifle or other firearms if you clean it properly. To save money, and make your own cleaner you can use the following: mix a 1/3rd part to part, Clear Ammonia ( do not use sudsy type ) White Vinegar Distilled water When mixed and stored in a plastic bottle the mixture will last for about six months. Soak a patch with this solution,run it down the bore, and let set into the bore no longer than 20 minutes. ( 5 minutes is long enough ) Follow with a Nylon bore brush. Do not use bronze. Follow with several clean patches. ( the patches will be green from the copper ) Oil as needed. The solution will remove all of the salts,powder fouling,copper fouling and lead. I use this solution on all of my firearms. From El-cheapo to my most expensive machine guns. It works,it's cheap and it removes all of the primers salts instantly. I have never had a rusty bore from shooting corrosive primed ammo using this cleaner,ever. Good shooting. Have you ever used Ballistol ?? Just curious. You seem to have your potion down to an art...What does the vinegar do ??? Ive basically read where the ammonia just clears up some copper and the real deal is the water....Whats you take on your mixture..? Thanks WarDawg |
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