Can you tell if ammo is corrosive or non-corrosive by looking at the round or the headstamp?  The headstamp is top=61, bottom=89.  

What does the ammo look like?  Chocolate case?  Copper washed case?  Primer seal color (I'm sure someone will ask)

61 is most likely the factory code (Chinese) and 89 the year of production.  I think by 89 there was a lot of consumer ammo coming over, so you probably stand a good chance of it being non-corrosive.  I've never seen the Chocolate stuff marked as anything but non-corrosive, and the copper wash comes both ways.  

 

You cannot tell by the headstamp or markings generally if the ammo is corrosive or not. Your headstamp "61 89" is known only with a copper washed steel case in ball and dummy configurations. To my knowledge, this headstamp predates the importation of non-corrosive, lead core ball FROM THIS FACTORY. The commonly found NC/LC ammunition for commercial sales from this factory are dated 1992-1993. The problem with the Chinese ammunition is that there are so many variations of load/primer type/headstamp/etc... that there are few exact points of ID for it. Your best bet is to pull a projectile and see if it is steel core or lead core. Steel core with this date is likely military surplus and corrosive. If it is lead core, then your chances are better for non-corrosive, but you should still test anyways to be 100 percent sure. Or, you could just shoot the ammo, clean afterwards and be done with it. I personally don't care if the ammo I shoot in my AK is corrosive or non since I clean the same way in either case...

D.D.

Thanks guys.