Corrosive...primers?

lazarus · Jul 5, 2020

For corrosive ammo, it’s the primer that is corrosive, right?

So long as the case is boxer primered, could you pull the bullet, dump the powder, press out the primer and load a new, non-corrosive primer in the case, dump the powder back in and load the bullet on top?

Just curious as I’ve got some 40s head stamped .30-06 M2 AP that I have no doubt is corrosive and I am a lazy SOB and hate cleaning guns after shooting corrosive ammo. I don’t have a lot, so I figure if I am going to shoot brake rotors or whatever with it some day, might as well swap the primers. Rather than having to scrub my Garand after shooting 2 or 3 clips as it’s the only corrosive .30-06 I have (in fact the only corrosive ammo I have other than several boxes of 7.62x25, but at least my M57 is super easy to pull apart and scrub out. )

Scrounger · Jul 5, 2020

It would be easier to pull the bullets and load them into newer brass, with fresh powder and primers.

Depriming cases with live primers is not recommended. The older brass may have issues, even if you can’t see it.

Doco Overboard · Jul 5, 2020

lazarus said:
For corrosive ammo, it’s the primer that is corrosive, right?

So long as the case is boxer primered, could you pull the bullet, dump the powder, press out the primer and load a new, non-corrosive primer in the case, dump the powder back in and load the bullet on top?

Just curious as I’ve got some 40s head stamped .30-06 M2 AP that I have no doubt is corrosive and I am a lazy SOB and hate cleaning guns after shooting corrosive ammo. I don’t have a lot, so I figure if I am going to shoot brake rotors or whatever with it some day, might as well swap the primers. Rather than having to scrub my Garand after shooting 2 or 3 clips as it’s the only corrosive .30-06 I have (in fact the only corrosive ammo I have other than several boxes of 7.62x25, but at least my M57 is super easy to pull apart and scrub out. )

Probably just easier to clean the rifle. You would save a lot of time.

Doctor_M · Jul 6, 2020

Yep... shoot it and clean it. A couple of wet patches with dilute ammonia, and then clean as normal. I shoot corrosive stuff all the time and as long as you are attentive to cleaning, you won't have any problems.

Oswaldo87 · Jul 6, 2020

I did this with some Ethiopian 8mm. My purpose was to average the powder load out into boxer brass while getting rid of corrosive/unreliable primer. It’s a lot of work, just clean.

jr355 · Jul 6, 2020

If you decide to break down rounds you must first place cartridges in a vice and gently break the sealant around the bullet by squeezing bullet back into case. After that you may then use a conventional puller on them.
If you're going to salvage cases give each a squirt of some penetrating oil or just drop in a wide mouth jug with water for several days to a week to deactivate the primers. The primers must be driven out using a punch and base. Using your reloading die will just BEND the decapper stem or break the decapper rod end. Lee has a inexpensive one as do some others. After depriming you may remove the primer crimp.
Easier just to shoot'em and clean up with Windex spray several times. Then decap and remove crimp. Luck.

erwos · Jul 6, 2020

Yeah, this is not worth your time. Corrosive ammo is just not that big a deal if you clean after you shoot. And you don't need to clean much, just enough to neutralize the salts.

John from MD · Jul 6, 2020

jr355 said:
If you decide to break down rounds you must first place cartridges in a vice and gently break the sealant around the bullet by squeezing bullet back into case. After that you may then use a conventional puller on them.
If you're going to salvage cases give each a squirt of some penetrating oil or just drop in a wide mouth jug with water for several days to a week to deactivate the primers. The primers must be driven out using a punch and base. Using your reloading die will just BEND the decapper stem or break the decapper rod end. Lee has a inexpensive one as do some others. After depriming you may remove the primer crimp.
Easier just to shoot'em and clean up with Windex spray several times. Then decap and remove crimp. Luck.

If you have to disassemble milsurp ammo, push the projectile into the case to break the seal and then you can pull it with an inertia puller.

lazarus · Jul 6, 2020

Thanks for the advice on the vise. Yeah, I dunno. I might just pull the bullets and reload it in to new (well, new used) cases.

John from MD · Jul 6, 2020

Cleaning is easy some of that 1940's ammo is pretty damn accurate.

Art3 · Jul 6, 2020

If there was a better reason to get a much easier to clean .30-06 bolt action rifle, I haven't heard it :shrug:

Art3 · Jul 6, 2020

Scrounger said:
It would be easier to pull the bullets and load them into newer brass, with fresh powder and primers.

Depriming cases with live primers is not recommended. The older brass may have issues, even if you can’t see it.

Ask me how I know :innocent0

https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=202138

(you don't really have to ask...the link should make that obvious

)

willtill · Jul 6, 2020

Squirt of Windex on the bolt face and in the breech. Like the man says...

...it works every time.

lazarus · Jul 6, 2020

John from MD said:
Cleaning is easy some of that 1940's ammo is pretty damn accurate.

Gotta pull the gas system apart though to clean the whole thing though, don’t I? All I’ve got in .30-06 is a Garand.

John from MD · Jul 7, 2020

lazarus said:
Gotta pull the gas system apart though to clean the whole thing though, don’t I? All I’ve got in .30-06 is a Garand.

No. All you have to do is to remove the screw at the end of the gas cylinder and you can clean it and the piston at the same time. As others have said, windex is the perfect neutralizer for corrosive salts. Clean both the barrel, bolt face and piston/cylinder with the windex and then clean and lube like you normally do with Hoppes or whatever you use.

K-43 · Aug 8, 2020

Myth: Windex with ammonia and/or Ballistol neutralizes corrosive primer salts.
Reality: Water dissolves the corrosive salts. Checked that with a Navy chemist I worked with decades ago.
Sure you can scrub you bore with Windex, but it's the water that dissolves the salts. The ammonia in Windex acts like a detergent and helps the water in Windex wash away the salts. It is better replaced with dish-soap like Dawn and water mix.
Same with Ballistol, it doesn't naturalize anything except your wallet. Take a look at the ingredients: medicinal grade mineral oil, alkaline salts of oleic acid, several alcohols, Benzyl Acetate and an oil from vegetable seeds (Essential oils: anise, mint or wintergreen to make it smell good). http://www.ballistol.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MSDS_TECH_BIO.pdf
You can make it at home. It cleans, but you're better off mixing it with water to make moose-milk and then rinse with water followed by a normal solvent cleaning.
Water, soap and water, followed by a regular gun cleaning solvent.
The Brittish used to have a "Sergeant's Funnel" through which the Sergeant or Corporal would pour boiling water through each Enfield bore during group cleaning time.

K31 · Aug 8, 2020

Dumping the power back into a case after swapping the primer is going to give you an unknown load as far as pressure is concerned. You would have to work up a safe load using an unknown powder so the starting weight of powder would be unknown.

As others have said, clean the rifle.

6-Pack · Aug 8, 2020

It’s the primer that’s corrosive.

I only shoot corrosive ammo in 8mm, 7.62x54R, 7.62x38R, and 7.62x25. It was dirt cheap back in the golden days of C&R (early 2000s). To clean, I just run a few patches with windex down the barrel to neutralize the corrosive salts, then a few patches to dry, then clean as normal. I also swab down the bolt face with windex before oiling.

Doco Overboard · Aug 8, 2020

Every once in while one of these will pop up. The Turks had a funnel designed to be used with their rifles too.
Boiling water can also be used to bust out the crud of a rifle barrel that has been abused instead of scrubbing the hell out of it with expensive chemicals and abrasive material like steel wool, chore boy or bits of copper/metallic screen.

Corrosive...primers?

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Ultimate Member

Active Member

Ultimate Member

Certified Mad Scientist

Active Member

Active Member

The Hebrew Hammer

American Patriot

Ultimate Member

American Patriot

Eqinsu Ocha

Eqinsu Ocha

The Dude Abides

Ultimate Member

American Patriot

West of Morning Side

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

NRA Life Member

Ultimate Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics