surplus ammo question

[dlbott]

Hi, my new Mosin should be here today and also some ammo I bought over the net. Was wondering about the ammo. Should surplus ammo be wiped down or cleaned or anything before it is shot.

How much failure on rounds and what is drawback of surplus ammo as opposed to buying new 54R rounds. Problem for me is I have had a heck of a time finding any ammo, 9mm or 54R in my area. Seems uncle sam has bought up every round he could get his grubby little fingers on. I was thinking about learning how to reload and whether it is worth it.

thanks for the info...

P.S. any Mosin owners in Louisiana here. Would love to actually hook up and learn from other collectors/shooters...

thanks

the bot

[Pip6214]

If you have a Facebook, I would suggest joining the group Louisiana 7.62x54r Only. Decent group to find ammo, info, etc. but a lot of Bubba and Archangel abominations. I've seen some Chinese API for sale on there around NOLA. Unlike 8mm Mauser, 8mm mannlicher and some other surplus, 54r usually is hermetically sealed and can be shot right out the spam can.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Unless for some reason you got the ammo dirty there is no need to wipe it down before using it. DO not oil it, failure is not generally a problem, some minor case failures have been reported with some of the older Soviet ammo. This is something that can happen with any surplus ammo, and none of it has hurt any of the rifles.

[john_the_plinker]

No need to clean the ammo before shooting, unless it was dropped in the mud. A quick look to make sure its in good shape is all you really need to do before shooting.

As far as failure rate, what is currently available seems to be very reliable. In the past there was some that wasn't, so unless you were sold some of that you shouldn't have any problems.

One of the big advantages to surplus is that it is cheap. Just about the only drawback is that all east bloc surplus is corrosively primed. Not a big deal, you just need to clean for it. A quick flush of hot water down the bore then clean as normal. If you don't do it in a reasonable time, your bore will rust. Higher the humidty, the less time. I live in the Ohio valley, and our humidity is almost as bad as it is down there and I've seen rust start in a couple of hours.

[millman]

These guys have pretty much covered it. Surplus is the way to go for cheap shooting.
Hey John the plinker, how far are you from Louisville?

[dlbott]

No need to clean the ammo before shooting, unless it was dropped in the mud. A quick look to make sure its in good shape is all you really need to do before shooting.

As far as failure rate, what is currently available seems to be very reliable. In the past there was some that wasn't, so unless you were sold some of that you shouldn't have any problems.

One of the big advantages to surplus is that it is cheap. Just about the only drawback is that all east bloc surplus is corrosively primed. Not a big deal, you just need to clean for it. A quick flush of hot water down the bore then clean as normal. If you don't do it in a reasonable time, your bore will rust. Higher the humidty, the less time. I live in the Ohio valley, and our humidity is almost as bad as it is down there and I've seen rust start in a couple of hours.

Wow, so how do you know if you have corrosively primed ammo or not. Is there a stamp on it that denotes where it is from and or a list somewhere. So you have to take the barrel off and poor hot water down it within two hours of shooting. OUCH, lol.. that is really good to know... is no one else having this issue as you are the only one who mentioned it....

Yea there is constant humidity here lol... so pretty much any ammo i shoot will be this bad stuff and should have to poor the water in... I assuming got to be pretty liberal with oil since you have to poor water in it... wow, got lots to learn lol...

hope I can find someone close here in louisiana and can hook up...

thank all of you for your help... i am going to need it.... i am ex infantry but it has been many years since I owned a long gun....

the bot

[Junk Yard Dog]

Boiling water, and yes, it will remove any oil in there, you will follow it up with bore cleaner, but this is not enough to protect the bore, it will need a coat of real oil once you are done.

[millman]

All of the commie surplus ammo is corrosive. You can find current production Russian commercial ammo that is marked as non corrosive, but frankly I don't trust it, and clean as if it were. There is a reason for the corrosive ammo. Corrosive primers have a lot longer shelf life than non corrosive primers. BTW it is the primers that produce the corrosive salts upon firing.

[jimpierce7]

Maybe my daddy taught me wrong, but he said any time you get done shooting. Clean the gun before you put it away. He didn't say only after shooting surplus ammo. But then, a lot of it wasn't made yet.

[WeldonHunter]

Bot, here's some good reading. http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forum.c ... m.php?f=66 And this specifically for cleaning after firing corrosively primed ammo. http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forum.c ... =66&t=6932 It's pretty easy. Basically this has been said but most all of the 7.62x54R surplus ammo is corrosively primed. If you have some ammo and aren't sure post a picture on here especially a close-up of the headstamp and we can tell you if it's corrosively primed. Oh and I'm in North Central Louisiana. If you have problems finding ammo you can look here. http://gun-deals.com/ammo Just pick a caliber and a list of who has what comes up. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

[Joeinthehills]

If you plan to shot allot, then surplus ammo is the ONLY way to go unless you have deep pockets.

BUT, clean the rifle from the bore including the bolt parts

And then you're good to go.

The US Military used corrosive ammo thru WW2, and I've got my fair share of those pieces that don't exhibit any problems even some that came back from Greece after that unforgotten war in the late '40's.

[bunkysdad]

Yep.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Proper cleaning after shooting any sort of ammo will keep a rifle in top shape. I have black powder cartridge rifles from the 19th century that have spotless bores despite a lifetime of highly corrosive black powder exposure.