Corrosive Ammo

[Gil Boyd]

Parashooter,
Locked up more Cooks and bottle washers for gunjy rifles at a time when they needed to be able to work. Perhaps we were too demanding expecting good grub from good chefs who were basically trained soldeirs, who knows!!!

[Daan Kemp]

The boiling water seemed to work for decades and still does today. Not easy to access when in combat or when water and heat wasn't available. Didn't seem to be too bad for the rifles but circumstances were different and probably returned to 'normal' as soon as they weren't actively in combat.

While I acknowledge what is said about cordite and smokeless burning temperatures, I have my doubt if this is correct. Comparison between various calibre military cartridges of the same [war] year manufacture would clarify the 'facts'. Anyone have access to these facts?

Just saying, a shot out barrel is relative to what is meant by it. For a 'normal' bolt action military purpose rifle I would hazard 75-150mm at 200m would be entirely adequate. Target shooters wouldn't even consider it remotely sufficient.

[browningautorifle]

most having seen the rigors of battle probably more than once in their life-cycle.

I've carried rifles in the field and they take a shitkicking. The ones that come home mint haven't seen battle. Corrosive will consume your pipe...in short order. Don't believe me? Try it then...

I would hazard 75-150mm at 200m would be entirely adequate.

A pie plate at 100 would do...mostly...remember our qualification standard isn't that small, also unacceptable by target shooters standards.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The official, FACTORY acceptance for a SMLE, fired from a machine-rest, at 100 FEET, not yards, was as follows:

42. Rifle, testing of, - Every rifle will be fired at a paper target, with full sight, leaf and slide down, at a range of 100 feet, from a mechanical rest. Trial shots will be fired, if necessary, and the foresight will be adjusted for lateral deviation, or will be replaced by another foresight to correct vertical deviation. Then five rounds will be fired from the magazine; if the rifle fails to put four shots out of the five into a rectangle 1- inch broad and 1 1/2- inch high, or if the blade, foresight, requires to be set more than .03-inch to one side of its normal position, the rifle will be returned to the manufacturer.

Lifted verbatim from:

Specification S.A. 462

14 December 1938.

So, roughly 3 x 4.5 MOA: Close enough for Government Work.

[CINDERS]

Sounds pretty broad but thats only 3" W x 18" H at 100yds and as the trenches were at times only feet apart in WWI didn't matter even at a 100yds at a centre mass shot you've a good chance of hitting the target.
I am wondering if it was the same criteria for WWI production rifle and given the length of time between the World Wars whether they improved the requirement basically what I am asking were the WWI production rifles and more or less accurate than a WWII production rifle just curious.

[Sunray]

"...Boiling water is cheaper than..." Especially when plain, hot, tap water will do. Doesn't have to be boiling hot. Firing a non-corrosively primed cartridge will do nothing.
"...PROPER cleaning and oiling was essential..." Only ever used non-corrosive DA and IVI(crap compared to the DA) ammo. Only thing the CF gave us to clean everything, MG's included, was regular motor oil. No other solvent existed in the entire system.

[browningautorifle]

No other solvent existed in the entire system.

Well, we did used to thin it down with red gas...and clean the FNs by immersion. 50/50 oil and gas. That was the old Imperial oil cans for the FN...

[bombdoc]

The original primer compositions used in UK Berdan primers contained both Mercury Fulminate and Potassium Chlorate.. the US moved to non mercuric primers in 1900, but UK hung on with Mercury Fulminate for some time.. Both compounds attack the bore. The Mercury attacks the metal grain boundaries and the Potassium Chlorate ends up as Hydrochloric acid..

What folk forget is that you were supposed to add washing soda (sodium carbonate) to the hot water to clean the bore. The soda, being an alkali will neutralise the acid and as it is a detergent, will clean the bore...

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Wonderful stuff, washing soda. And a handy bit of advice regarding its use in bore washing.

I use quite a bit of it in my "case washing" process.

1. Chuck the brass you scrounged from the range into a tub of warm water and remove all of the sand, lawn-clippings etc.

2. Immerse in vinegar. This can be the el-cheapo "cleaning vinegar" sometimes found in supermarkets or hardware stores. For obvious domestic reasons, avoid swiping the "Gucci" vinegar from the pantry.

3. Swish around and watch for colour changes from "brown" to "brass-like".

4. Fish out the brassiest-looking ones and dump in a bath of hot water.

5. Every so often, transfer to the next bath; a stiff brew of washing soda in HOT water. Stir with a wooden or plastic "stick" until a general brass look is obvious.

6. Final wash in HOT water. For best results a wash-bath with steady drainage is best. You want NIL washing-soda residue on the brass after drying.

7. Spread the rinsed cases out to dry in a warm, dry spot. We do a LOT of direct sunlight here in sunny Queensland. Alternatively; on towel-lined trays on top of the house water heater. NEVER get impatient and use the kitchen oven or horizontal griller to dry brass; there is a HUGE risk of annealing the case heads, which will render the brass dangerous / useless.

Cleaned and dried cases then go through a full-length sizing die and a Dillon power trimmer. Yes the Dillon trim die also sizes the brass, But I prefer to be a bit "Irish" (t' be sure, t' be sure) about this.

Inside and outside neck chamfering follow that. If your "range treasures" are once-fired military cases with crimped-in primers, swage out the pocket entrance at this stage. I swear by the big Dillon bench-mounted 6000 after "over-doing" it with both RCBS and CH press-mounted pocket swagers. Because I am a bit eccentric and still use a LOT of Berdan-primed brass, I bored a little anvil clearance hole in the end of the "large-rifle" pocket swaging tool. It works for both types, now.

Around here, this bulk processing caper happens once or twice a year, with the brass being stored in labeled, air-tight containers.

That way, all you are generally storing is components. Also, ammo used on the range / in the field, is quite fresh, with little opportunity for powder degradation, etc.

ALWAYS date and list the "recipe" on the containers of ALL handloads.

A whizz around in the case tumbler usually precedes filling a batch of cases. This really only makes the reloads a bit "prettier", it is not essential for proper functioning.

[CINDERS]

Sage advice from Bruce, what I do on my final rinse of the cases after the sonic cleaning is to do it in distilled water to stop the stained look treated water gives to the cases I also made a flat peg board so the shells hang upside down in our not so sunny state to dry (kidding).