Anybody experience corrosion with non-corrosive ammo? I've been shooting Tul-ammo out of my new Saiga with a CL barrel. The barrel shows no sign of corrosion but I've noticed some rust in the gas tube. Also, I acquired a Colt 1903 ACP in very good condition with a pristine barrel. It came with a bunch of  old Remington non-jacketed bullets still in the box marked "non-corrosive". I suspect the bullets must have been purchased sometime prior to the 1970s given the  history of the handgun. In any event,  I shot all of the ammo (about 20) and ended up with about 5 of the bullets that actually failed to fire. I then put the gun away without cleaning it for a few weeks. Last night, I pulled the pistol out to slug the barrel and found the barrel coated in surface rust. I did my best to clean the barrel out  by scrubbing the barrel with a brass brush and by running several patches through but damage from the rust appears to be serious enough to cause some amount of pitting. I'm beginning to think that I should treat all ammo as corrosive and clean my firearms immediately after use just to be on the safe side. 

Does anyone have a similar experience or have an understanding as to whats going with these non-corrosive corrosive ammo?

I have had some lacquered covered steel case Russian AK ammo and white wolf box ammo that says non corrosive but read on other forums that it is corrosive. something to do with the berdan primer and where and when the ammo was produced.... so far so good, no rust or corrosion in the my barrel but I clean my guns after every range trip.

heard that windex works but I have never tried it out personally.

I had some Greek Prykal M2 ball ammo that caused my chamber to rust.  Which is odd in the extreme, because I've shot that stuff for years without an issue, and it is universally acknowledged to be non-corrosive.

Just a clarification, there is no such thing as "mildly corrosive."  I know, you've seen it on an ammo box, or read it in an article.  It's the same thing as being "a little bit pregnant" or "sort of dead."  And it has nothing inherently to do with whether the ammo is boxer or Berdan primed, it has to do with the chemical formulation of the primer.  Older primers made use of mercury fulminate.  Once ignited, MF leaves behind a residue of salt.  Not table salt, but salt nonetheless.  Salts are hygroscopic, meaning they attract moisture.  So "corrosive" ammo isn't literally corrosive in the "it's an acid that will eat your barrel" sense, but it's bad news in a "I'll stay in your barrel and keep it damp" sense.

What works best to dissolve salts and wash them out of your barrel?  Water.  Why do people say Windex works?  Because Windex is mostly water.  Doesn't the ammonia in Windex help?  Not a bit.  It will help dissolve any copper fouling in the barrel, but it will also dissolve the metal of the barrel itself (excluding chromed barrels).

I'm beginning to think that I should treat all ammo as corrosive and clean my firearms immediately after use just to be on the safe side. 

Excellent!

I had some Greek Prykal M2 ball ammo that caused my chamber to rust.  Which is odd in the extreme, because I've shot that stuff for years without an issue, and it is universally acknowledged to be non-corrosive.

Just a clarification, there is no such thing as "mildly corrosive."  I know, you've seen it on an ammo box, or read it in an article.  It's the same thing as being "a little bit pregnant" or "sort of dead."  And it has nothing inherently to do with whether the ammo is boxer or Berdan primed, it has to do with the chemical formulation of the primer.  Older primers made use of mercury fulminate.  Once ignited, MF leaves behind a residue of salt.  Not table salt, but salt nonetheless.  Salts are hygroscopic, meaning they attract moisture.  So "corrosive" ammo isn't literally corrosive in the "it's an acid that will eat your barrel" sense, but it's bad news in a "I'll stay in your barrel and keep it damp" sense.

What works best to dissolve salts and wash them out of your barrel?  Water.  Why do people say Windex works?  Because Windex is mostly water.  Doesn't the ammonia in Windex help?  Not a bit.  It will help dissolve any copper fouling in the barrel, but it will also dissolve the metal of the barrel itself (excluding chromed barrels).


Excellent!

Thanks for the tip.   Since I will be shooting corosive ammo out of my nagant.  I've read that hot water is the best thing.  But who carries hot water with them
  Other than that its ammonia Windex patches, then dry patches and final touches with gun oil on the patch. Give a good clean when u have a chance bat home.

I think I've found the culprit. I started processing the brass to reload the .32 ACP and noticed that some of the primers pockets resemble pockets for Berdan primers. The brass was hard to deprime and when I pulled the shell from shell holder, I noticed that the primer pockets were Berdan primer-styled with two small holes in the webing. I thought corrosive ammo was limited to rifle rounds. Why I thought that so, I have no idea. Lessons learned.

I thought corrosive ammo was limited to rifle rounds. Why I thought that so, I have no idea. Lessons learned.

Isn't learning fun?   

... And sometimes painful ....

ALWAYS clean your guns after use...can't think of a reason that would prevent you from doing so. Well, unless you were alien grabbed right after the range...

Sorry to hear about your barrel...