Using Corroded Ammo

[Dead Duck]

I was watching old episodes of "Carrier". Reality show aboard the USS Nimitz and a sailor was just loading a dual M2 setup. Obviously the ammo was exposed to the elements at some point. I'm sure it could be worse but how bad does it have to be to discard it?

Corroded ammo in general, when do you bury it or throw it out? (or give it to the Navy since we now know they'll use it)

This is a screenshot I got of the questionable ammo.

 

[Wolfhound]

Well, I can't speak for the Navy but I did spend many months in a jungle environment with live ammo in the army. We were expected to maintain our ammunition the same as the weapons we carried. If we allowed ammunition to deteriorate and corrode it would bring a butt chewing at the very least and at the worst UCMJ action. Any bad ammo was turned in and exchanged. I assumed it was then destroyed but I am not sure.

This was in the late 80's early 90's time frame.

Surface rust on machine gun links was not uncommon. Any type of corrosion on the brass or bullet was unacceptable and had to be examined by NCO's and exchanged. It was not a good thing for the poor Joe who didn't take care of his ammo.

 

[Thor]

I'm guessing if it's inspection time you're in a boat load of hurt...if it's go time you'd better hope it works.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

A friend of mine picked up some 8mm Yugo ammo that had been stored in a cardboard box in a barn for untold years. The green crust was nearly 1/16" thick (or thicker on some of the rounds). He gave me a bunch of some of the worst. This stuff had been in cloth bandoliers which had deteriorated to the point that some of the cloth was embedded in the corrosion. I ran it all through my tumbler (walnut media) for a few hours and then sorted through it. The stuff that was still majorly crusty got the bullets pulled, but the rest (still stained from the corrosion, but smooth otherwise) got shot. As bad as it was, it functioned just fine. Now this was corrosive, Berdan-primed ammo, which has a longer shelf life, but I was amazed that it still worked in the condition it had been in.

This is why I get a chuckle when I see guys that are worried about shooting 5 year old ammo. The Yugo was from the late 1930's (mostly 1937 IIRC).

 

[indy1919a4]

A friend of mine picked up some 8mm Yugo ammo that had been stored in a cardboard box in a barn for untold years. The green crust was nearly 1/16" thick (or thicker on some of the rounds). He gave me a bunch of some of the worst. This stuff had been in cloth bandoliers which had deteriorated to the point that some of the cloth was embedded in the corrosion.

Yugo in Bandoliers.. I would think that would have been Turk ammo.. But I am just guessing.. just trying to pull together truth from a fragments of information...

 

[Kutnupe14]

So weird. I started watching Carrier last week.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Yugo in Bandoliers.. I would think that would have been Turk ammo.. But I am just guessing.. just trying to pull together truth from a fragments of information...

Ah yes, you are correct!

 

[Max Volume]

Got some Buffalo Bore ammo on a speed strip that isn't corroded but has been through the washing machine. I am eager to take it to the range and see if it goes bang.

 

[Dead Duck]

Got some Buffalo Bore ammo on a speed strip that isn't corroded but has been through the washing machine. I am eager to take it to the range and see if it goes bang.

I guess that would be a poor mans wet tumbler.