51 year old Chinese made ammo!

[03Lightningrocks]

There was a thread about old ammo and I had mentioned I have some old Chinese rounds that still fire. A suggestion was made by wildbill that they may not be safe. I am hoping to get opinions on this. I originally had three five hundred round tins. I have one left that is still sealed and about 250 rounds I took out of the second tin I opened. When I first opened the tin, a very strong odor was present. Almost smelled acidic...or maybe a bit like ammonia? Hard to describe but it reminded me of an old powder smell. It is no longer present on the opened rounds in the picture. It has been at least a year since I transferred them into the green ammo can. Following are pics of the ammo. Last time I fired it, no problems other than I had to clean the jeebers out of my SKS. What does everyone think. Toss it or use it? I hate to throw out 750 rounds of ammo. Does anyone think there is any "collector value".

Pics I took of it



The pic below is from the net but this is how they were wrapped before I dumped them all in my green ammo can. The writing on the my wrappers was in red and all chinese. No english at all. The tin in the first pic is unopened and I didn't want to open it simply to show a pic of a paper wrapper.

[Topbuilder]

Dang it. I don't trust the chi-com products made today much less 51 years ago. I would sure be weighing a bunch (every one?) to see what kind of varience there is.

[03Lightningrocks]

Dang it. I don't trust the chi-com products made today much less 51 years ago. I would sure be weighing a bunch (every one?) to see what kind of varience there is.

Already a good idea! I didn't think about it but I do have a Kinetic bullet puller. I wonder how easy it would be to knock that bullet loose? Did they use a sealant that might be a problem?

I didn't mention it above but I bought this stuff some 30 years ago. I have fired maybe 750 rounds of it over the years with no failures of any kind.

[WildBill]

I thought you said the "acid" smell was after they were fired. Maybe I misunderstood.

Do the bullets have any value, i.e. can they be pulled and reloaded and fired in another firearm?

[03Lightningrocks]

Did it smell the same when you bought it or is this something new?

Do the bullets have any value, i.e. can they be pulled and reloaded and fired in another firearm?

The best I can remember, The first tin I opened right after I bought the ammo had that smell. The 250 rounds that are open have been out of the second tin for at least a year or more. It had the same strong smell. The ammo had no smell when I popped open my green 50 cal ammo can just before taking those pics. It seems the smell builds up while in the tin and dissipates after being exposed to the air for awhile. I don't reload for the 7.62x39 because it had always been cheap. I don't see myself pulling all those bullets to use them. I might try to knock one lose to see what the powder looks like.

[03Lightningrocks]

I just saw your edit. I am sorry. the acid smell was coming from the unfired ammo in the original tin. It is pretty nasty stuff while firing but no acidic smell to speak of. Just the usual cheap ammo smell.

[WildBill]

I just saw your edit. I am sorry. the acid smell was coming from the unfired ammo in the original tin. It is pretty nasty stuff while firing but no acidic smell to speak of. Just the usual cheap ammo smell.

Well maybe I was over reacting then. Over time all ammo that is confined in a closed container will out-gas to a certain extent. The extent will depend on the composition and nature of the propellant and the storage conditions [time, temperature, humidity]. Once you open the container the smell will dissipate.

I probably have a better trained nose than you - acid is different than ammonia smell. I have no experience with "the usual cheap ammo smell."

[puma guy]

The ammonia smell is of the nitrocellulose powder breaking down i.e. degrading. If you can pull a bullet and get a look at the powder it will probably have a powdery coating. The brass cases can be compromised by the attack from the ammonia in some instances, which would be my biggest concern. Have you seen any split cases? If you can smell it it means the case sealant, if any, has lost it's properties and moisture could get in exacerbating the corrosiveness of the ammonia. But hey I'm still shooting some .22 WMR and .22 LR from the 1960's.

[Weg]

That smell is normal when opening a tin of that Chicom stuff, i've smelled it from every tin of combloc ammo i've opened, 7.62 x 54r and 7.62 x 39mm. I shot a lot of it in the 90's with never a problem, except accuracy. I would not worry about it being unsafe, but I would not rapid fire the stuff, just in case you have a squib. In the 90's I shot a lot of WW2 headstamped British .303 and US M2 Ball with very few problems. Every once in a while the British cordite loaded ammo would hang fire with about a 1/4 second delay, but it always went off. I say shoot it, but if you decide you don't want it I would be interested in buying it if the price was reasonable.

[JSThane]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it being unsafe. As Weg said, I'd refrain from rapid fire, in case you get a hang-fire or squib, but I doubt anything would go off at higher than intended pressures. A few rounds might leave unburned powder, take a moment to fire, or just plain not go off, though.

I have (and have shot) ammo a good 30 years older than that. Never had overpressure signs, but did have a few duds.

[03Lightningrocks]

Thanks everyone. Puma describes the smell to a T. That was exactly what thought of when I smelled it. I will post up after I knock a bullet out. I am curious now. The cases don't appear compromised from the outside but I suppose that may not mean they aren't corroded inside. Other than just being real nasty to clean up after, so far not one misfire, hang or squib. I think I will take the advice on not rapid firing them.

[JSThane]

Pull one and check if you like, but given that it's old com-bloc ammo, it's almost certainly berdan-primed, and therefore useless for reloading unless you have a specialized berdan punch and spare berdan primers. I wouldn't worry about internal corrosion, unless it was causing problems. Just my take on it.

Out of curiousity, what are you shooting this from?

[tomtexan]

I think you should go ahead and dispose of them. Let me give you my address, errrrr, an address for proper disposal.

[03Lightningrocks]

I think you should go ahead and dispose of them. Let me give you my address, errrrr, an address for proper disposal.

Well that sure is nice of you to offer. That is what this forum is all about. Members helping other members get rid of their ammo.

[Pawpaw]

The ammonia smell is of the nitrocellulose powder breaking down i.e. degrading. If you can pull a bullet and get a look at the powder it will probably have a powdery coating. The brass cases can be compromised by the attack from the ammonia in some instances, which would be my biggest concern. Have you seen any split cases? If you can smell it it means the case sealant, if any, has lost it's properties and moisture could get in exacerbating the corrosiveness of the ammonia. But hey I'm still shooting some .22 WMR and .22 LR from the 1960's.

Are those brass cases or copper-washed steel?