![]() Lead styphnate was substituted for chlorate. People used to commercial non corrosive ammo simply didn't realize that the cheap surplus ammo they were shooting required different cleaning methods than what they had become used to.Ībsolutely, non-corrosive primers did not exist prior to about the mid-1920s. Most of those old military rifles with bad, corroded bores got that way after they got out in the civilian world. Corrosive was not a real problem for most military forces in normal service and use. There are many old service weapons out there that show use yet have clean shiny bores. The fact is soldiers were trained to properly clean and maintain their issued weapons. Not knowing any better many assumed that it had always been that way. Most of the Swedish surplus was later production (60's and 70's) and was NC. I believe that the claim that Sweden always used NC ammo was started during the surplus boom in the 1980's. I will have to do some digging to determine when Sweden switched priming to NC but it simply could not possibly be any earlier than the late 20's and more likely post WWII. The Soviets were still using corrosive at least into the late 1990's! FN didn't switch their ammo production to NC until 1958. The US first used NC primers in the 30 Carbine round during WWII but didn't switch other rounds over until 1952. ![]() Germany started using NC primers in the 40's but never completely switched over till well after WWII. Military forces were not so quick to abandon the known reliabiity of the chlorate primers. The first successful non corrosive compound were developed in the 1920's by several different researchers.Ĭommercial makers, after suitable testing, adopted the non corrosive mixes for civilian production starting in the late 20's/ early 30's often coming up with snazzy names to sell the public on the new primers (Kleenbore, Stay Kleen, etc.). Early primers were primarily chlorate based (some also added mercury) and were corrosive. Sorry but your source is not quite correct, I have been an active collector of ammunition for many years and have a good library of ammunition development. ![]() For instance, I have an article that discusses how in the US mil primers were corrosive long after civilian ammo had switched over in the '20s. Easy 1/2" or better groups at 100 yards with a Unertl 12x scope, and not much worse at 200 yards. For some time I shot sporter class bench rest with a Mauser action and Douglas barrel, in 6.5x55. But those rifles will handle much lighter bullets very well. Heavy 6.5mm bullets run up to about 160 grains and have a very high sectional density which will allow penetration like you wouldn't believe. ![]() If you are interested in a 6.5, the 6.5x55 is probably the best of the lot. I still have several military rifles in that caliber. But I never got completely away from the 6.5x55 cartridge. It shot very good groups, and I hunted with it for 5 or 6 years, and sold it to a friend. I think I threw the original stock and hardware away - big mistake. I bought a sporter stock and attached a ramp front sight and a rear adjustable peep sight, much as shown in the pictures immediately above. I bought a very nice M94 from Montgomery Wards around 1958 or so. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |