[automaticlee]

Found a box of Portuguese with a few rough ones. Safe to shoot? Just curious to how much corrosion is acceptable from a safety standpoint.

 

[Buzz J]

The ammo doesn't look too bad I've cleaned and shot much more corroded ammo than what you have pictured.

 

[smleenfield]

I would pull down some of the worst looking rounds and see what the corrosion looks like inside the case. Probably OK to shoot if not corroded inside the cases.

 

[automaticlee]

Thanks, good idea. Wish i would have thought of that myself.

 

[mic52]

Most look good to shoot. Though IF there are more like that one 3 in from the right bottom row I'd dispose of similar or ANY/ALL even close. That one as near as can tell from an admittedly good quality picture looks to have even a increased case diameter and that spot weakened maybe too. With the magnitude of violent exchanges for sure with the M1A why take the chance showing up here reporting what amounts to lesson learned at best, and at worst... a statistic? Like smleenfield says pull some bad ones, not even necessarily the worst and shine some light in there to see.

 

[mb3]

I would clean the worst ones and check for pink spots. As long as there are no pink spots I would shoot them.

P.S. I would check the cases. Surface corrosion on the bullet isnt a problem for function, unless it is real thick and changes the diameter of the bullet.

 

[ray55classic]

portuguese left in the original cardboard can and will do that. the 4th & 5th rds from left look pretty rough from the photos .
If it was my rifle I'd salvage the components on ones that look that bad.
They might shoot fine , who knows ?
BUT Risking my eyes , face and a $2000 rifle with questionable 50 cents a rd ammo doesn't make much sense to me.
MB3 is right about the pink Beware any pink corrosion , if you can salvage the bullets fine , but trash the case, it's gone.

That cardboard is known to promote corrosion even in the "sealed" 200rd battle packs [they're not airtight]
You need to get all that ammo out of that cardboard , separate all the good rounds from the questionable ,
I'd recommend a 30 or 50 cal. USGI ammo can with good seals for storage
combined with a large dessicant bag, then store it inside in an indoor closet [for the stable temp and humidity].
If you check and recharge the dessicant every 3 to 6 months , your grandkids will be shooting it.

 

[Instructor]

If there are ANY question as to whether to shoot or not, simple answer is don't shoot it.
Why take a chance to save a few bucks on ammunition, it is the life blood of the rifle and as they say "garbage in, garbage out..." Military ammunition on the market is there because it has been deemed not suitable for use anymore, if it were it would not be sold on the commercial market.

 

[ripcord]

If you have to ask - the answer is NO. If you are worried about it in the box - how will you feel when it is in the chamber?

 

[KurtC]

They are too corroded for any of my rifles, but they might be fine for your's. I have not seen your rifle. RNGR2

Seriously, as mentioned by others, it isn't worth it. If the case fails, your chamber will contain it, but you aren't doing your chamber any favors.

 

[joneso308]

I had some corroded ammo like that, didn't use my M1a but it fired fine out of my Cetme.

 

[1100 tac]

I can't advise you whether or not to shoot it, but I sure wouldn't be saving it for a rainy day...

 

[automaticlee]

Agreed, and i wouldn't risk it. Just curious as i never came across rds that corroded before. It's good info about the cardboard boxes. Never heard that before. Damn it, i learned something again!

 

[Smurfslayer]

Everyone’s covered the bases here, I just want to add a point of caution

watch out for this stuff on the gun show circuit, the German MEN too. During the Crazy, starting just before the Obama regime and lasting about 15 months into it, 308 became very hard to get, even components were near impossible to get your hands on. After this began, 200 round battle packs that you could buy 3 months earlier for less than 80 bucks were 250 bucks at the shows.

Be wary of paying more than 30 cents a round for this stuff - the PORT, German MEN / DAG in the green plastic battle packs as you will have some corroded rounds.

I bought some of the Port. surplus and out of 1k I ended up with about 45 rounds like OP pictured, some had the dreaded pink corrosion marks, but most looked like the rounds above, maybe a little worse. The rest of the case was excellent.

Just be wary of the gun show battle packs, they’re still out there.

 

[Old Sarge]

I had some corroded ammo like that, didn't use my M1a but it fired fine out of my Cetme.

So did you think to inspect a fired case??? Just because it went bang like it is supposed to and your rifle didn't blow up, it's possible that the case was on the verge of rupturing. It would be interesting to know. A lot depends on the amount of corrosion and the depth it has eaten into the sides of the brass case.
Very light corrosion that can be mostly removed with OOOO steel wool should be OK to shoot, but anything worse would be questionable. Really bad ones should be pulled down, and moderate ones maybe saved for a strong bolt action rifle. That's just my personal opinion.GI2

 

[Old Sarge]

portuguese left in the original cardboard can and will do that. the 4th & 5th rds from left look pretty rough from the photos .
If it was my rifle I'd salvage the components on ones that look that bad.
They might shoot fine , who knows ?
BUT Risking my eyes , face and a $2000 rifle with questionable 50 cents a rd ammo doesn't make much sense to me.
MB3 is right about the pink Beware any pink corrosion , if you can salvage the bullets fine , but trash the case, it's gone.

That cardboard is known to promote corrosion even in the "sealed" 200rd battle packs [they're not airtight]
You need to get all that ammo out of that cardboard , separate all the good rounds from the questionable ,
I'd recommend a 30 or 50 cal. USGI ammo can with good seals for storage
combined with a large dessicant bag, then store it inside in an indoor closet [for the stable temp and humidity].
If you check and recharge the dessicant every 3 to 6 months , your grandkids will be shooting it.

That 4th round from the left looks pitted where the corrosion has eaten into the sided of the case and I feel should not be fired. And what is it about "pink corrosion"? I've never seen or heard of it...GI3

 

[joneso308]

The cases were fine inside, just external discoloration.

 

[Smurfslayer]

So did you think to inspect a fired case??? Just because it went bang like it is supposed to and your rifle didn't blow up, it's possible that the case was on the verge of rupturing. It would be interesting to know. A lot depends on the amount of corrosion and the depth it has eaten into the sides of the brass case.
Very light corrosion that can be mostly removed with OOOO steel wool should be OK to shoot, but anything worse would be questionable. Really bad ones should be pulled down, and moderate ones maybe saved for a strong bolt action rifle. That's just my personal opinion.GI2

I used dremel to open up a couple of the really offensive looking cases, and neither showed corrosion on the inside of the case, but... that’s not to say that the strength of the material isn’t at least partially compromised.

 

[Duce]

Check out this thread about corroded Port.

http://m14forum.com/ammunition/122851-heads-up-samco-has-port-cheap-3.html

My post (#41) shows Port with same if not worse looking rounds than yours. It tends to clean up well. All of the corrosion on mine has been surface corrosion, and I have not had any problems with any of the rounds that I've fired.

 

[KurtC]

Just to clear up a few things:

Case failure isn't your primary issue. The chamber is designed to contain the blast from a ruptured case, assuming there are no issues with the rifle firing out of battery. That is why ruptured case extractors were invented.

However, having the powder burn out the side of the case could score the chamber wall. It won't be as bad as a pierced primer scoring your bolt face, but as I said earlier, you aren't doing your chamber any favors.

The real danger with corroded ammunition is if the powder has been compromised. Trying to remove a squib bullet from the bore is bad enough, but you can kiss your rifle goodbye if you inadvertently fire a good load behind it. RNGR3