Corrosive Ammo

[leomazuera]

Should I completely avoid using the Russian type ammo for my MAK-90 or should I fire it no problem, and just make sure the gun immediately, and if so how soon after firing should I clean it? how fast does the corrosive elements in the ammo start affecting my beloved rifle?

as long as you don't leave it dirty for extended periods, you should have no problem using corrosive ammo... i'd reccomend doing it the same day, but NOT because it will damage it in so short a time... mostly because cleaning is a pain in the @ss and it's easy to keep putting it off till it does have a chance to start pitting...
butch...

[KYoon]

I have read where during an extended firing session, the gun will exhibit some corrosion. But, I think that this mainly applied to shooting in a very humid environment where corrosion is accelerated.

What you probably should do is take a small bottle of cleaner with you to the range and just quickly spray some of it down your bore and on your bolt after firing your rifle and before packing it away. This is only a stop-gap measure before you actually break it down for cleaning.

Don't worry about the Russian ammo. Just make sure you throughly clean it after you get home from the range.

[JA]

shoot corrosive ammo 1-2 days before rust sets in. use mil-surplus clp(cleaner-luberecant-preserative) to clean rifle been using this for over 10 years best thing since sliced bread. it is cleaner, kicks corrosive ammo residue in the butt. lube gun inside and out with it. next time it's a lot easier to clean.fouling cames right off gas piston because of clp coating.my guns sit in gun safe for years with no sign of rust. don't need no stinking dehumidifier in safe.
try it you will love it! Sarco has it for $22 a gallon.

[Heavy Metal]

Get a bronze 12 guage bore brush for the gas tube and a bronze kleen-bore toothbrush for your gas piston. These two tools will make the chore much easier. I also use shooter choice bore solvent (or more recently, my homebrew ed'd red) on the gas block and bore after shooting corrosive ammo. H.M.

[Brian W]

I've shot a TON of corrosive ammo through my Mosins and Enfields. What makes the ammo corrosive is the salts used in the primers. What you need to do is make sure that the rifle is properly cleaned with a solvent that will dissolve these salts. I use WW2 GI bore cleaner. If that's not available any blackpowder cleaner on the market will do as well. Just clean with that then use hoppes or shooters choice to get the lead,copper etc out of the bore. You could also use a patch saturated with ammonia to dissolve these salts. I hope this info is helpful.

[56s]

Hello leomazuera,
I have only shot the so called corrosive steel core Chinese ammo through my AKs and I have never pushed any green out of my barrels while cleaning. I am now going to shoot some of that HP russian and I can't imagine any problems with it. Practice a good gun maintenace program and you will not have any problems. Clean them right away a or at least within two days. OUT
Note; I once shot some Chi Com ammo through my Colt 7.62 and it was not cool. It destroyed the chamber and the bore and it required a new barrel.

------------------
56s-2

[Jaeger]

What color are the primers on your Russian ammo. If they are grey they are corrosive. However if they are gold they are noncorrosive. I have shot thousands of rounds of the gold primered RHP through my SA93 and have had no corrosion problems. I usually clean the same day but not always. I just cleaned it last night after having shot it 2 weeks ago and there was no corrosion. I have also had no corrosion problems with German surplus, Sellier and Bellot or South African ammo. It's still a good idea to clean the same day though.

[Heavy Metal]

If in doubt, strip the gas tube and keep it nearby. The FIRST place the corrosive salts will attack is on the pressed in bearing ribs inside the gas tube. This will be easy to spot and will begin within a couple of hours after firing to a couple of days later depending how moist/dry where you live is. The gas tube is the canary in the coal mine here. You can also shoot a box of non-corrosive ammo thru last to help blast out some of the salts in the barrel, but this will not help the gas system and will not remove you of your cleaning obligation. H.M.