I just shot CORROSIVE AMMO. Will my rifle barrel implode?

[arado]

For just a few cents you can use any of the commercially available bore cleaners, but for the initial cleaning nothing is cheaper or better than tap water.

What purpose does the white spirits play other than diluting the Waxoyl? It won't dissolve the corrosive salts.

The white spirits dissolve gunpowder residue. The residual wax keeps the salt and oxygen off the steel. I use it on my guns, cars, tools and Norton. No rust. gary

[Patrick Chadwick]

Machine tool shops - and a lot of us BP shooters - are very familiar with the straightforward way of getting water onto machinery without rusting it. Just use soluble machine oil that produces a milky solution when diluted about 20:1 (depends on the type) - the stuff used for a coolant on cutting machinery.

Wash the rifle out with this solution, and the salts are gone, dissolved in the water, leaving you with an oiled bore. Swab out the remains and oil with Ballistol or whatever you prefer for storing your gun until the next shoot. Just get a gallon or two of soluble oil, for a fraction of the price of some of the "snake oil" products offered to shooters, and it will last for a good portion of a shooting lifetime. Only downside: it smells rather strongly (my opinion) or stinks (domestic verdict) and the smell is hard to get out of your skin. Some shooters take a plastic bottle full of soluble oil to the range, and dunk cartridge cases, revolver cylinders etc straight in to the solution after shooting.


Patrick

[enfield303t]

Personally I go crazy cleaning any of my firearms after shooting corrosive ammo. I use Wipe-Out, Hoppe's and G96 and probably 30 patches before I think it is to the point of being clean.

When I am to the point I think it is clean I give it another patch with Hoppe's.

Hoppe's seems to be able to find "dirt" even after you have done what you think is adequate cleaning.

If the Hoppe's discloses "dirt" I start over again. Takes alot of time but worth it in the end.

[Gun Surfer]

Many will no doubt disagree, but they have no basis for disagreement per se because I have had a little different experience, in actual practice. In cleaning muzzle loaders with plain water, I often get rust forming too quickly for me to prevent, too soon before I even have any chance to apply gun oil etc. Thus the cleaning session invariably complexifies slightly to ensure that I get all of the many bright red rust spots etc (which prob do not do much harm). Those are what I see on the outside, not what I can't see inside the bore. However, when I clean with Dixie's Black Solve, an inexpensive blue musty concentrate that mixes nicely into a 32 oz spray bottle with water, I get no rust forming and have plenty of time to dry and apply Hoppes #9, gun oil and /or any other gun cleaner / follower /protectant that is preferred. No rust ever appears thereafter as long as I am thorough. When I pull it from storage 6 mo later and run a patch in the bore, no rust appears on the patch. Thus, plain water does not and will not every touch my barrels. I don't care if the stuff is just plain windex or whatever the @#@*! it is, it works. I use the same stuff in cleaning corrosive residue from milsurp rifles. Never a problem. YMMV

[Patrick Chadwick]

In cleaning muzzle loaders with plain water, I often get rust forming too quickly for me to prevent, too soon before I even have any chance to apply gun oil etc.

Thus, plain water does not and will not every touch my barrels.

100% agreement here. That's why many shooters use the soluble oil at the range, immediately after shooting.

[Gun Surfer]

Patrick, I did not see your post above when I responded, yours is very helpful, thx! I may also order some Balistol as I have heard good things about it.

[Will]

What has been posted explains what to do to firearm but how about the cases if you intend to reload ? How soon do you need to clean them out ? I have also heard that using cases w/ corrosive primers WILL ALWAYS leave a minute deposit in bore ! Don't know if that is an "Old Armorer's Tale" or something dreamed up. I have better than 300 rds never fired of WCC 58 (308 Win) w/ corrosive primer. Had better than 500 but pulled bullets and dumped powder then deprimed. I just didn't want an issue in the match rifle this brass is going to be used.

[Bruce McAskill]

What makes you think your 1958 7.62x51 is corrosive primed?

[Will]

Says so right on the box !! Factory handloaded w 200 gr FMJ and corrosive mercury primers. I'd post a photo but all I have is my cell phone and have no idea of how to transfer a photo to here.

[Gun Surfer]

Sometimes I have had necks get green powder from corrosion when not cleaned. Often nothing happens when I let them sit for a few days. In more humid conditions you might see more action sooner.

Usually I take no chances and decap them immediately, wash em in a bucket of hot soapy water, then into the tumbler. I have been reloading brass shot with corrosive primers that way for a while, no problems yet. Your decapping pin will corrode if you dont wash it right after the decapping process.