Surplus / Corrosive primed Ammo
You may have heard horror stories about shooting "corrosive" ammunition. Much of the "military surplus" from days past IS corrosive primed ammunition. using a Mercuric primer, this ammunition can lead to barrel corrosion. Don't panic though, a simple step can be followed and you can shoot corrosive ammunition all day everyday till the cows come home. All you need to do is clean your fire arm after you are done shooting. Tell me you Do clean your firearm? Right? The combustion of the mercuric or corrosive priming system leaves a salt type deposit in the barrel and action. You just need to clean it out when your done. Don't wait a day or two, especially if it's humid or you have a swamp cooler. We don't see this ammunition a whole bunch anymore, but it's still out there. If you shoot 8mm Mauser (8X57mm) or Mosin Nagant ( 7.62X39mm) and buy the ammo in those big "tins", thats likely corrosive. It's really no big deal, just clean your gun when your done!