rusted ammo.

[vujade]

I came across some wolf steel cased 7.62x39. It's ugly, dirty and rusty. not of the cases split, rust is only on one side and sometimes the bullet also. The primers are in good shape. I assume the inside's are good; Russian ammo have that red sealant in the bullet and primer areas.

Is this safe to fire? Saiga 7.62x39 is the rifle.

How would it affect accuracy?

Any ideas on how to clean it (when I'm bored)? Someone mentioned spraying WD40 on it and rubbing them around..

[vujade]

i guess I'm also wondering if the rust gets on the barrel, will that be bad? Is that an abrasive that can scratch the bore?

[Mike]

I wouldn't put oil on them. Knock the chunks off and load them up. It should run fine. Edited December 9, 2012 by Mike

[vujade]

Thanks, with that...I'm headed to the range in an hour. I'll report back!

[gregintenn]

If it's light rust, knock it off with steel wool.

If it is heavily pitted, I'd be leery about firing it.

[felinesNfreedom]

I shot ammo through a mosin that went through Katrina. It was corroded and rusted and shot just fine..... but thats a mosin. Hell the ammo was probably dug up from some field and then sold.

[vujade]

yep. went through about 80 rounds today. All fired and landed where the front sight pointed.

I'm curious though, if I wanted to clean it up a bit and prevent FURTHER rusting - what have folks done?

someone at the range suggested putting it through a tumbler but I'm not sure I want to do that with live ammo. Is there danger in that? If it's handling each round with steel wool, i'm not doing it. =)

does rust spread/move pretty quickly?

[vujade]

anyone try rubbing baking soda and then rinsing and drying it really quick?

and i figure just a wipe each down with an old rag with a hint of gun oil.

I don't shoot the AK that much. I figure this will preserve it better for a few years and stop the spread.

I can do the above in pretty big batches before storing them in ammo cans with desiccant.

(i came upon some really cheap AK ammo that I couldn't pass up)

[Troutburger]

Don't put them in the tumbler. I've read the vibration and banging around can damage primers and break down powder causing over pressure.

[1gewehr]

[quote name='Troutburger' timestamp='1355149259' post='857751']
Don't put them in the tumbler. I've read the vibration and banging around can damage primers and break down powder causing over pressure. [/quote]

Totally false. There have been cases where live ammo was tumbled for a week or longer with no degradation of the powder or impacted primers.
But in this case, the problem is that it is STEEL cased ammo. Brass cases will discolor, which usually causes no problems. Steel rusts, and the rust can cause the case to lose a lot of strength. If the case blows out, it can cause damage to the firearm and be dangerous. I would personally not fire rusted ammo.

[dlm37015]

dosent hurt it to tumbel all new ammo is tumbeled when loaded to clean it up

[Troutburger]

Here's my source not recommending tumbling live ammo.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2008/09/why-you-should-not-tumble-clean-loaded-ammo/

I am by no means a powder expert, and have also read where people have tumbled for weeks with no mal effect.

Maybe its just an urban legend?

[dlm37015]

i can only tell you from going into ammo factorys the last step before boxing or putting on strippers is tumbeling in a dry media like corn cob

[Caster]

How many rounds of ammo is it? Are you hard up for ammo? THis isn't exactly Lake City Match. I would chunk it in the trash. Never would I put it in my gun. This stuff is cheap, just pitch it.

[dlm37015]

the trouble with rusted ammo is it splits and gets stuck

[vujade]

here is a sample of the stuff:

[IMG]http://i45.tinypic.com/n3njpk.jpg[/IMG]

some are pretty bad, some are pretty clean. I plan to go through them tonight and separate the best from the worst.

[z90HD]

[quote name='vujade' timestamp='1355175962' post='858047']
here is a sample of the stuff:

[img]http://i45.tinypic.com/n3njpk.jpg[/img]

some are pretty bad, some are pretty clean. I plan to go through them tonight and separate the best from the worst.
[/quote]
Im glad you posted a pic. about a year ago I bought 1000 rounds of wolf ammo at the gun show same caliber. I got it home and opened both boxes and found exactly what you have. Just about every round was rusted. I simply took each one to the bench grinder using the wire wheel and cleaned em right up. I was quite worried about it until about the 10th round and I figured it they have'nt blown up yet im good to go..Once cleaned I just kept them in an ammo can and have not had any rust come back yet..

[vujade]

I wonder if they are all coming from the same flood plane - these are wolf too.

I don't have a wire wheel and that sounds like a lot of work for AK ammo. I started to clean a few with either sandpaper or steel wool and it was just too much work (i stopped after about 10). I think i'll just wipe them down in batches with a rag with a little bit of gun oil. This will hopefully just get them a little cleaner and without all that red dust particles. I'll store them in some ammo cans and find more reasons to go out and shoot my AK.

[vujade]

[quote name='1gewehr' timestamp='1355151532' post='857769']
Totally false. There have been cases where live ammo was tumbled for a week or longer with no degradation of the powder or impacted primers.
But in this case, the problem is that it is STEEL cased ammo. Brass cases will discolor, which usually causes no problems. Steel rusts, and the rust can cause the case to lose a lot of strength. If the case blows out, it can cause damage to the firearm and be dangerous. I would personally not fire rusted ammo.
[/quote]

Thank you for the info. As I transfer these, I'm going to find the worst ones and clean them up. If the rust is too deep, I may trash them. So far, I'm able to sand a few down and remove most of the rust and the steel is still in tact (doesn't go all the way through).

[vujade]

Once this is dry and in a good place, i assume that slows down/stops the rusting process?

How long do you think this ammo will last until the rust eats all the way to the other side?

[Garufa]

For the time being just put it in ammo cans with good seals and some dessicant packs for extra moisture protection. Rust needs moisture to grow.

How much ammo are you talking about anyway?

[gregintenn]

I'd probably tumble it, and shoot it pretty quickly. If left untreated, the rust will progress.

[vujade]

[quote name='Garufa' timestamp='1355179526' post='858096']
For the time being just put it in ammo cans with good seals and some dessicant packs for extra moisture protection. Rust needs moisture to grow.

How much ammo are you talking about anyway?
[/quote]

thanks for the info. once it's a little cleaner, I'll store it safe and shoot them sooner.