303 id

[billt]

I should also mention that if you shoot a lot in hot weather, like we do here in Arizona, this makes an excellent barrel cooling device. while at the same time washes the corrosive salts out of your barrel. Just fill it with ice cold water. What I usually do when I go to the range in the warmer weather, is take an ice chest along filled with soda and ice tea. (No booze until the guns are cleaned and put away). My chest has a drain at the bottom to drain off excess water, all of which is clean and ice cold. I fill my bottle with it. Run some of it down a hot barrel and it will cool it down rapidly. You can also fill a empty plastic jug with water and freeze it the night before. When you get to the range set it out in the Sun. You'll be amazed at how fast it will melt.

Running Mil-Surp ammo through a Mosin or an AK in hot weather can heat up a barrel really quick. Waiting around for it to cool down on it's own on a 100+ degree day can take forever. This gets you back shooting again real quick, and removes corrosive primer residue at the same time.

[GASPASSERDELUXE]

I should also mention that if you shoot a lot in hot weather, like we do here in Arizona, this makes an excellent barrel cooling device. while at the same time washes the corrosive salts out of your barrel. Just fill it with ice cold water. What I usually do when I go to the range in the warmer weather, is take an ice chest along filled with soda and ice tea. (No booze until the guns are cleaned and put away). My chest has a drain at the bottom to drain off excess water, all of which is clean and ice cold. I fill my bottle with it. Run some of it down a hot barrel and it will cool it down rapidly. You can also fill a empty plastic jug with water and freeze it the night before. When you get to the range set it out in the Sun. You'll be amazed at how fast it will melt.

Running Mil-Surp ammo through a Mosin or an AK in hot weather can heat up a barrel really quick. Waiting around for it to cool down on it's own on a 100+ degree day can take forever. This gets you back shooting again real quick, and removes corrosive primer residue at the same time.

Something I have wondered about, is it possible if the barrel is extremly hot and you pour cold water on or thru the barrel is there a possibilty of warping it.

[billt]

Something I have wondered about, is it possible if the barrel is extremly hot and you pour cold water on or thru the barrel is there a possibilty of warping it.

I don't think the water will cool it off fast enough to cause warping. I read an article by Rick Jameson some years back about a barrel cooling device that used liquid CO2 as a cooling agent. He said when applied it could cool down a barrel fast enough to cause it to frost up in just a few seconds. I would think shock cooling like that might cause issues. I generally don't let my barrels get that hot before cooling them. That way the temperature drop isn't so extreme.

[lhprop1]

I should also mention that if you shoot a lot in hot weather, like we do here in Arizona, this makes an excellent barrel cooling device. while at the same time washes the corrosive salts out of your barrel. Just fill it with ice cold water. What I usually do when I go to the range in the warmer weather, is take an ice chest along filled with soda and ice tea. (No booze until the guns are cleaned and put away). My chest has a drain at the bottom to drain off excess water, all of which is clean and ice cold. I fill my bottle with it. Run some of it down a hot barrel and it will cool it down rapidly. You can also fill a empty plastic jug with water and freeze it the night before. When you get to the range set it out in the Sun. You'll be amazed at how fast it will melt.

Running Mil-Surp ammo through a Mosin or an AK in hot weather can heat up a barrel really quick. Waiting around for it to cool down on it's own on a 100+ degree day can take forever. This gets you back shooting again real quick, and removes corrosive primer residue at the same time.

That's a good idea.  Thanks. 

[blackwolfe]

From Empire Arms websight.

http://www.empirearms.com/clean.htm


How to properly clean after using corrosive ammo

This is how I do it... it's easy, it's fast, and it's effective. Best of all you can do it while still on the firing-line and thus not offend your significant other with the usually pungent stench of commercial cleaners in your home.

Dilute regular household ammonia (sudsy is best but regular is OK too) to 2/1 or 3/1 with water (it can be as much as 10/1 if the smell really gets to you). Keep in a small bottle to take with you to the range but label it well so you don't mistake it for contact-lens solution or something (yeeeowww!) 

After you are done firing and while still at the range moisten (not dripping-wet, but sorta-soaked) a patch and run it down the bore and back once.  This instantly will neutralize and dissolve the corrosive salt-compounds from the primers and start in on the copper and powder fouling with a vengeance. 

Let stand for thirty seconds or so (just enough time to take off and throw away the ammonia-patch you just used and put a new, dry patch on your rod).  Run the dry patch (or several) down the bore and you are most literally done. 

DON'T OVERDO IT! More ISN'T better in this case...

You really don't want to slop ammonia (especially if heavily concentrated) all over the blued parts of the gun (as it will likely start to remove bluing after 30 minutes or so) and you also shouldn't leave the ammonia in the bore for an extended period of time (like hours, although I do know folks who do that anyway) as that may (not WILL, but MAY) cause "crazing" (microscopic pitting) of the metal.   I also have to caution against slopping ammonia on the wooden parts of your rifle, as it will usually strip the finish down to bare-wood, BUT if you follow my advise on HOW MUCH ammonia to use (only enough to dampen, but not soak, a single patch per gun) you will not EVER experience ANY problems at all...

If you are worried about primer residue getting on the bolt-face you may want to quickly wipe it with the wet patch before throwing the thing away and quickly dry it.  Same thing with the gas-tube in a semi-automatic rifle... don't go overboard, just wet it and dry it and get done with it. 

As a final precaution (since the ammonia will also kill all lubricants and leave the metal very dry) you can run a patch of gun-oil down the bore and leave it like that for protection from the elements (just be sure to run a dry patch down the bore before shooting it again).

I've been cleaning guns this way (including *every* gun we sell) for nearly thirty years, and have never had rust form in any bore (even here in humid Florida).

However, if you are (like some folks I have met) completely obsessed about leaving traces of ANY powder or copper residue in the bore of your weapon, you can certainly follow up your "field-cleaning" with a detailed, strenuous, traditional cleaning once you are home (or in a week or month from then). But I warn you... your bore is much more be likely to be damaged from your over-enthusiastic scrubbing to get out that "last speck of copper" (which has no affect on the actual accuracy of your firearm) than it will with all the rounds you could possibly send down it during your lifetime.

[Sponsor]

[billt]

I've heard that Ammonia isn't really necessary to remove the salts in corrosive ammunition. The actual "salts" are small deposits that are left behind from the Mercuric priming mixture. The powder is no more corrosive than anything contained in commercial ammo. Any type of liquid will dissolve them. The best being hot, soapy water. Ammonia will dissolve copper fouling, but that won't cause corrosion.

The Russians still use Mercuric primers because they store longer than non corrosive primers. The Russians want small arms ammo that can survive a half century of storage. They were never a group that planned for peace. Some also say Mercuric primers offer more steady, constant ignition. That might be true because some military match .308 and .30-06 ammunition used them well into the 70's.

[tombogan03884]

Any one got any of the old military bore cleaner ?
Ought to work, since that's what it was made for.

[TAB]

i am sure its something toxic that has long since been band tom.

[tombogan03884]

i am sure its something toxic that has long since been band tom.

Actually I think they just quit making it when the services started using LSA (Break Free ) for everything.

[lhprop1]

I'm taking it to the outdoor range this weekend for some 200+ yard shots.  It's a fun shooter.  It's hard to believe that the Brits were expected to put 15 shots on target in a minute at 300 yards with this thing.