chinese '52 LC corrosive M1 carbine componant reuse

[DaveL]

I have a few boxes of '52 LC M1 carbine ammo. I pulled a bullet from one and yup, they are the berdan primed Chinese corrosive ones. DANG! I'm going to pull the bullets from them and reuse them. I am sure the cases and primers are trash but can I reuse the powder? Or is that corrosive also?

[Tuna]

The powder is not corrosive and can be used again as can the bullets.

[Old Guns]

I would suggest that the first thing to do is to test the ammo to see if it is in fact corrosive. Just pull the bullet on one case and fire the primer against a mild polished steel plate using a propane torch and vise grips. Be sure the primer which will back out has a proper backstop. As a control you may fire a known non-corrosive primer in similar fashion. I have used thousands of rounds of this ammo and contrary to what others say, I have never seen any sign of corossive primers.

[budster]

Some .30 carbine ammunition marked LC 52, made by the Chinese, or .30-06 marked B N 4 40 made in the U.S., both probably intended to arm allies while hiding their source of supplies. Sometimes the headstamp only indicates the maker of the cartridge case, or distributor of the loaded cartridge, or the using activity, not the actual "manufacturer" of a loaded cartridge.

[raymeketa]

budster

The Cal .30 cartridges with the B N 4 40 headstamp were made by St. Louis Ordnance Plant in 1953. The other "clandestine" headstamps were A N (Twin Cities) and C N (Lake City). The current Internet rumor is that these were made for the Bay of Pigs fiasco but there is no evidence to support that, and no evidence that any of them ever made it to Cuba, or to any other clandestine operation. All 250 million rounds were declassified in 1962 and many of them were sent to Central and South America and the Far East for use by various militaries.

Ray

[Tuna]

The fake LC-52 ammo is made in China and is considered to be Berdan corrosive primed. It is in plain boxes marked with a rubber stamp 7.62. This was imported in the early 80's and there is still a lot of it around. It and a lot of the French 30 carbine are not good to use in the carbine because of the compounds used in the primers.

[DaveL]

Thanks Tuna. That's just what I wanted to know.

[DaveL]

Thanks Old Guns, but I think I will pull them down anyway. I have enough real Lake City brass to use.

[M2Phil]

I would suggest that the first thing to do is to test the ammo to see if it is in fact corrosive. Just pull the bullet on one case and fire the primer against a mild polished steel plate using a propane torch and vise grips. Be sure the primer which will back out has a proper backstop. As a control you may fire a known non-corrosive primer in similar fashion. I have used thousands of rounds of this ammo and contrary to what others say, I have never seen any sign of corossive primers.

I have to agree. Years ago when I got my first carbine ($139 Korean return IBM, still have it), I also got about 500rds of the fake "LC-52" Berdan primed stuff. As has been noted, it came in 100rd white boxes stamped with only LC-52 in a fairly tall, thin font style. I have fired all of it in over the past 20 years. None of it was corrosive. And it really didn't shoot any better or worse than any other surplus .30 Carbine ammo. Maybe some of the production was corrosive, so it would be wise to test.

[Tuna]

I have never seen the fake LC-52 in anything but 50 round white cardboard boxes stamped with only 7.62 on them and I have seen lots of these boxes.

[M2Phil]

Tuna,
I stand, or rather slouch, corrected. It was "7.62mm" wasn't it, and they were 50rd boxes.

[John Kepler]

I would suggest that the first thing to do is to test the ammo to see if it is in fact corrosive. Just pull the bullet on one case and fire the primer against a mild polished steel plate using a propane torch and vise grips. Be sure the primer which will back out has a proper backstop. As a control you may fire a known non-corrosive primer in similar fashion. I have used thousands of rounds of this ammo and contrary to what others say, I have never seen any sign of corrosive primers.

Sir, this ammo is a known quantity, it's definitively and unequivocally corrosive, and you are advocating re-invention of the wheel to "prove" a well established fact! From the CMP Forum archive: http://forums.thecmp.org/archive/index.php/t-93648.html

[emmagee1917]

You have to remember that the corrosive residue , in and of itself , does no harm. It has to be exposed to the right amount of moisture to start to corrode. If you live in the dry desert , like me , it could take years for the right conditions to occur . But those salts can lie dormant for years , too. Don't be fooled.
Chris

[M2Phil]

I live in Northeast Ohio. The humidity can be miserable (this week, for example). No hygroscopic salts are going to lie dormant here. Those little molecules get busy, and stay busy.
Not wishing to argue on and on, but the Chinese Berdan primed "LC-52" is not all corrosive. I know that from personal experience with it. Others have found that theirs was corrosive. I will not say they're full of it just because their findings differed from mine. Who knows how many zillions of rounds of fake "LC-52" they cranked out, whenever they did it, and for whatever reason.

[John Sukey]

Well, if you are going to use the stuff, it would be a good idea to pick up a piston nut wrench because you are eventualy going to NEED it.

[budster]

Thanks for the info, Raymeketa.

[John Kepler]

Not wishing to argue on and on, but the Chinese Berdan primed "LC-52" is not all corrosive. I know that from personal experience with it. Others have found that theirs was corrosive. I will not say they're full of it just because their findings differed from mine. Who knows how many zillions of rounds of fake "LC-52" they cranked out, whenever they did it, and for whatever reason.

This statement is in the same logical universe as saying that you ate some arsenic and didn't die.....so arsenic isn't a poison and you should sprinkle it on your corn flakes in the morning for extra flavor!

ALL Chinese military ammo is corrosively primed.....just ask'um if you won't take anyone elses word for it! It's all they make! And just because you had a firearm that didn't turn into a ball of rust immediately doesn't mean the primers are safe! The "little molecules" in question are potassium chloride.....ordinary table salt's more benign cousin.....not some "magic acid" like the stuff in the "Alien" movie! Plain old everyday salt.....and not much of it! How much ends up "residing" in your firearm after you shoot it is kind of the central issue....and is also difficult to predict. The United States fought two rather "biggish" wars and a dozen or so smaller conflicts with corrosive primers (the US military didn't start using non-corrosive primers in any large way until the mid-1950's)......a LOT of it in places that have MUCH harsher conditions than we're having in Ohio this week....and the rifles didn't dissolve! So yes.....you can shoot corrosively primed ammo and convince yourself it isn't because your firearm didn't immediately turn to a ball of rust. But that is simply an exercise of what we used to call in the lab, "Drawing a 5 dollar conclusion from a nickels-worth of data!"....it's actually a form of self-delusion!

First: I don't willing fire ANY ammo that doesn't come off my own loading bench.....me I trust, you I don't! Second: If I happen to shoot ANY mil-surp ammo....I ALWAYS assume it's corrosive and clean accordingly ("No matter how dumb the dealer looks....always cut the cards!").....I don't like "unpleasant" surprises! So Chum.....you go right ahead, assume some of that Chinese ammo is non-corrosive....tell your friends the same thing if you have a mind, some are bound to listen and believe. I don't care, it's your money, your firearm, your choice. Treat your ignorance like it's a virtue. But pardon me if I think you a fool in this case and anyone that listen's to you an even bigger one, and continue to treat ANY mil-surp like it's gonna eat my historic firearms alive and clean accordingly!

[M2Phil]

Gee wiz, John,
I'll shore try not tuh sprinkle no arsenick down in my korn flakkes.
But brother, you might want to stop drinking the pee out of yours.

[John Kepler]

Gee wiz, John,
I'll shore try not tuh sprinkle no arsenick down in my korn flakkes.
But brother, you might want to stop drinking the pee out of yours.

I rest my case!

"Never argue with an idiot! They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience!" B. Slipiec

[Hefights]

"If I happen to shoot ANY mil-surp ammo....I ALWAYS assume it's corrosive and clean accordingly."

A bit of an extreme statement isn't it John? I and others shoot lots of Greek HXP M2 Ball, and its not corrosive. It is pretty dirty. But granted that how you clean your guns is not my concern.

[John Kepler]

Why take the chance? The cure is about 30 seconds with a wet patch soaked in Windex......not onerous, not a major chore, miniscule investment......the peace-of-mind: Priceless! It's one of the most lopsided "No-Brainer" cost-benefit equations I've ever dealt with! YMMV!

[raymeketa]

If you do a lot of Carbine shooting, and if you are handy with tools and do most of your own minor gunsmithing jobs - buy one or two extra piston nuts, crack the original, take it off, clean the piston and gas cylinder, put on a new nut, and then maintain the assembly on a regular basis. The piston and nut were designed so the average GI could not mess with it in the field or barracks, but you should be smarter than the soda-jerk turned infantryman and not feel so restricted.

JMHO

Ray

[Hefights]

you should be smarter than the soda-jerk turned infantryman and not feel so restricted

LOL

[joem]

Just buy a Hornady Cam Loc bullet puller. Pull the bullets, save the powder and load into your cases.