I have some .50 BMG APIT surplus rounds that are probably close to 40 years old. Teal stuff is coming out of the neck between the seated bullet and the case. It is mostly like tooth paste. Anyone know what it is and why it's happening?
by 
Anonymous
ANSWERS: 4
-
I would suspect that moisture is causing some corrosion. Beyond that, be very careful because old munitions can become very unstable. If you are keeping them for sentimental or ornamental purposes, have them disarmed. Otherwise you are gambling every time you handle them.
-
Sounds like you had an alien life entity in there and it's now oozing out all over the place
-
Probably just copper corrosion, They should be safe to fire if it isn't too severe. I bought bulk world war 2 surplus ammo and a lot of it shows minor corrosion but haven't had a single problem in over 700 rounds fired. Most bulk ammo for big bores like the .50 or 30-06 and 8mm is surplus WW2 ammo and is completely safe to shoot. I've been shooting it for at least 10 years when I got into milsurp rifles and haven't had any problems.
-
unless the brass shows signs of weakening down in the body it should be safe to fire. try pulling one of the bullets, dump the powder onto a sheet of paper. bad signs: if the powder has a sharp acidic smell or is caked or clumpy or taking on a dirt brown color. a little pungent smell is ok. look at the projectile, most likely the copper jacket is corroding, the green stuff is verdigris. the base of the bullet is usually lead and may show some white crusty corrosion, of course tracer should not. Do not use any ammonia based cleaners to shine up the ammunition! use a brass safe cleaner to polish if desired.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC