The advertiser said non-corrosive, but the headstamp has a K

[DMK]

Glad you got your barrel cleaned up. I had a similar shock just a few weeks ago when I was shooting my parkerized 1911. I had a bunch of guns to clean and something came up so I never got to the .45. I put it in the gunsafe and a few days later when I went to clean it, it was covered in spots of surface rust! My heart fell to the floor. I ended up scrubbing it with Breakfree CLP on a toothbrush and it all came off. I can't even tell where it was now. So I guess as long as you get the rust quick, it doesn't do much permanent harm.

A "K" on a headstamp would be part of a manufacturer identification, nothing at all to do with corrosiveness or primer composition.

FYI: Yes, the KA is the factory the ammo was made in. It should also have a manufacture date like 73 or something. The Korean M2 was made in two factories designated by the KA and PS headstamps. The PS factory never used corrosive primers. However, the KA factory did. They also made some non-corrosive M2, but nobody knows how to determine which lots are non-corrosive (they may have even mixed them in the same lots) so it's assumed that all M2 from the KA factory is corrosive. As Real Hawkeye found out the hard way, it's a prudent assumption.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

According to distributors, surplus ammo is always "non-corrosive, clean, and accurate." Don't believe any of them until you test it for yourself or get reports from someone who has. I always check what THR members say.

BTW, cleaning your gun immediately is like cuddling with your S.O. after relations...some guys like it, some guys don't, but if you don't do it, you're going to have problems somewhere down the road.

Glad it wasn't a big problem for you. BTW, how did that stuff shoot otherwise?
RT

In 32 rounds of the Korean stuff (I also fired 8 rounds of American made stuff), I experienced one failure to feed. Probably because the gun was dry.

P.S. The next day after removing the rust, the rust came back. Will try again today to clean it with water and remove the rust. Will be shooting it again today, so that might actually blast most of the rust out. I hope so.

 

[USSR]

Real,

So tell me, are ya gonna order any more corrosive ammo after you shoot this batch all up? You might want to look into reloading. You can reload those cases you have and buy surplus bullets and powder pretty cheap.

Don

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Real,

So tell me, are ya gonna order any more corrosive ammo after you shoot this batch all up? You might want to look into reloading. You can reload those cases you have and buy surplus bullets and powder pretty cheap.

Don

I can't help but to think that I just did it wrong. So many people report using corrosive ammo all the time without a spot of rust. Must just have to pour hot water down the barrel as soon after shooting as possible. Remember, because the advertiser said it was non-corrosive, I waited two days to clean it.

 

[USSR]

Yeah, hot soapy water immediately after shooting works, and I suppose it wouldn't be TOO bad with a bolt gun, but when you have to deal with a gas-operating system as well as the bore, it's a PITA.

Don

 

[Cacique500]

The hot water will definitely work for a good cleaning.

I shoot M39's and all my ammo is corrosive. I do the windex thing at the range...

After about 30 shots or so I'll take a windex soaked patch and run it down the barrel. I do this a couple of times until the patch is fairly clean. I do this about every 30 rounds or so (probably don't need to do it that much but...)

Then I do the windex thing after I'm done, until the patch is clean.

When I get home, a couple more windex patches then I clean normally with Hoppe's and CLP.

No rust so far!

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Went to the hardware store yesterday and bought something that made cleaning the bore with hot water very easy. It's a sort of a funnel shaped container, with a sort of Tupperware top on it. The small end has a valve for off or on, and that is attached to a tube. At the bottom of the tube is a plastic nozzle which, just by pure coincidence, fits snugly into the chamber of the M1 Garand. No water leaks. It all goes right down into the chamber and out the muzzle end. Holds about a quart of water. Very easy to do.

 

[1911user]

Make sure you also clean the gas system components every time. They can rust up also and it's harder to notice. Advantage goes to the bolt-guns for cleaning up after corrossive ammo

 

[brentwal]

I've been working on a system for cleaning the barrels of Mil-Surp rifles of corrosive residues.

First I trim back a sent cartridge and remove the primer, then I drill out the primer pocket to 1/4", then I solder a 1' long piece of brass tube into the pocket then I solder the tube into a brass 1/8" nipple.

The nipple is then screwed into a 1/4"x1/8" brass bushing and that into a 1/4" ball valve. The valve then connects to a barb fitting and reinforced hose and that connects to a length of PVC with a fill cap and valved quick connector for a air compressor.

I then fill the tank with a mixture of water, soap and ammonia. Once full I pressurize the tank.

With the bolt removed, I insert the old cartridge into the breech and hit the valve.

This works great with bolt guns, but semi-autos can be done by cutting the cartridge down to about 1/2 it's original length and putting a 90deg bend into the supply tube.