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If you are going to shoot corrosive ammo you should consider finding out how to clean your barrel. If I recall correctly the recommended method is soap and water for 3 consecutive days. I think the NRA has published something on the proper cleaning technique..
I saw an M1 Carbine barrel so rusted after shooting corrosive ammo and being neglected that you could see down the bore with a bore light. FYI.
The original HK MP5 manuals said to do the same thing, 3x 3 days, but with Hoppes, regular non-corrosive. kinda weird.Never had a problem cleaning up corrosive with the new-ish cleaners made FOR corrosive clean-up... and soapy hot water for first cleaning followed by regular bore cleaner has always worked for me with corrosive 7.92X57 and in black powder firearms... YMMV.. The object is to clean the corrosive salts out... would never argue with military policy but X3 seems a bit much, wonder what guys in the field did back then, as all sides used corrosive?
IIRC, .45 acp was originally loaded with Bullseye and a lot of that has been maintained and tested annually.. with no noticeable degradation.I've had trouble with only 1 batch of 45acp ammo of decidedly antique status. The seller said they were rounds removed from a decaying belted stash he discovered in his grandfathers estate. He estimated it was "WW1" era mil.ammo. I fired enough from a 1911 to establish that particular lot was failing to fire about 1 out of 3 rounds. It wasn't worth the trouble to dismount the remaining components; the seller refunded my purchase price. I still have a small supply of WW2 boxed acp cartridges; every decade or so I test fire a box of them. So far they all work fine.
Cleaning Firearms after Corrosive Ammo
My routine after shooting corrosive ammo through my AKs and Mosin Nagant is to take them home and within that first few hours:
1. Strip the firearm down including the bolt. Small parts are soaked in the hot soapy water solution.
2. Using hot soapy water I'll clean and brush the metal parts, including the bore.
3. Look over the wood, as cosmoline might still be oozing out from the wood. I clean it off. I use a patch with a bit of Hoppe's No 9.
4. If I feel like it, I'll also do the Hoppe's No. 9 w/ bronze bore brush through the bore to work on the copper build-up.
5. The parts are looked over/checked for defects and dried off. The drying process is helped along by the hot parts sort of flash drying and/or with a wipe down with a dry rag or blowing with compressed air.
6. The dried parts are lightly oiled (and/or grease applied where necessary/needed), then reassembled correctly.
7. I'll also check back in a day or two. To see if there is rust developing and sometimes I'll run another oily patch through the bore just for good measure.
LOL...many youngsters are probably wondering about this "corrosive ammo" stuff and wondering, "Why shoot corrosive ammo at all?"
Well, I can still remember when surplus ammo was plentiful and cheap. But, it was corrosive. Yup, I bought a lot of it and stacked it deep. It still serves my purpose, at a very cheap price compared to the new stuff. Though with a necessary cleaning routine.
And, cleaning with expensive formulas is not how I roll. Hot soapy water is just that. Hot water with a little squirt of dish soap added. I say hot water because it helps in the drying off the parts. Cold water has a way of just sitting there. So, if you're using cold water, you'll have to make sure to wipe the parts down (drying it off) really well.
If it's the WW2 era type that smells sorta like crankcase drainings with a little ammonia in it (for lack of a better description) yes. That's what it was made for.2) Is the old GI Bore Cleaner in the OD can with the Death Head suitable for cleaning up after firing corrosive ammo