Ammunition Tests--Water, oil, and more.

[Dave_M]

Okay, we've seen the Box o' Truth tests with primers. I've also seen a test like I'm doing before (can't find the link) so I'm repeating it with more variables:

Privi M193, Federal XM193, and Wolf

I've heard complaints about Fed XM193 not being properly sealed at the bullet so I'm going to test that out. Wolf is cheap and I have a bunch so I threw some of that in as well

The setup:

4 water bottles full of different liquids (Militec-1, denatured alcohol, tap water, and salt water)
60 rounds of 5.56/.223 (20 rounds of Privi, 20 rounds of Federal XM193, and 20 rounds of Wolf (not pictured since it was an afterthought))

I wanted to use WD-40 as well but I don't have a large can around the house. Maybe next time.

Procedure:
Nothing crazy here, just 5 rounds of each brand of 5.56/.223 placed into each bottle. This way the salt content won't be an issue (and I can use less bottles). The rounds are easy to tell apart because of the headstamps and also the red primer sealant on the Privi ammunition.


I understand that you aren't likely to soak your ammo in militec for a week but if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.

After 8 days, here's what the bottles looked like:



You can see how rusty the water and salt water are, this is from the corrosion of the wolf ammo. The bottom of the bottles are coated with crap--the polymer coating of the Wolf ammo.


I drained the bottles and rinsed the ammo off. Here's what I got:









Now, you might have noticed in the first photo that the alcohol in the bottle looks almost purple-ish, here's the reason:




The primer sealant appears to be completely dissolved. The sealant on the privi wasn't completely dissolved but it was reduced. If any alcohol got in, that'd be it for this ammo.

At the range:

The rifle I used was a 16" H-bar with no muzzle device (it's being reworked so I figured it was a good candidate)

Militec-1: Everything ran 100%
Alcohol: Everything ran 100%
Salt Water: Everything ran 100%
Water: Everything ran with a 'but':
One of the XM-193 rounds was light. It wasn't a squib load (no audible pop, some recoil (but reduced)), the bolt moved rearward enough to eject the cartridge but not enough to load the next round. I checked for a bore obstruction or unburned/wet powder in the barrel and there was none. If any water had gotten into the powder, it would've been a squib. My deduction is that it was light from the factory.

Conclusions:
The next step would be to soak the rounds for a longer period of time or in different liquids. Based on this test, it appears any concerns about XM-193 not being properly sealed are without full merit--no worries about Federal XM-193 being ruined by simple heavy rainfall. The Wolf looked terrible, still functioned fine but I wouldn't make a practice of shooting rusty ammo (stuck cases, anyone?)

Further notes: Since the barrel didn't have a muzzle device installed, muzzle flash was far easier to see (I shot in a covered woodland today, not in direct sunlight). Of all the ammunition, the Privi had far less muzzle flash than anything else tested. The Federal XM-193 had a very large muzzle flash in about every round fired. The Wolf did was Wolf does best--be totally inconsistent.

I wish I would have thought to use kerosene or another fuel since your ammunition is far more likely to be exposed to that than denatured alcohol--maybe next time.

[mkmckinley]

Nice test. Thanks for the insight.

[bkb0000]

i've fired rounds found in the grass at the range.. i've had a couple total duds, but i've also had "light" rounds as well. just last month i found a round of Wolf 9emem half burried in the mud and crusted with rust. spit on it, wiped it on my pants, and loaded it into the top of an almost full magazine- fed and fired, but it stovepiped the case and failed to pick up the next round.

i've concluded it's not 1s and 0s- a tiny bit of water wont necessarily kill the round.

[Dave_M]

Originally Posted by bkb0000

i've fired rounds found in the grass at the range..

I'd recommend against doing that. If you find some ammo you really have no idea if it's a double-charged reload some bubba put together or what--not worth the risk just to save some pennies.

[tpd223]

I quit shooting mystery ammo after one too many squibs and seeing a couple of guns blown up.
Just sayin.

Thanks for the write-up on the test.

[bkb0000]

Originally Posted by DavePAL84

...not worth the risk just to save some pennies.

[spew coffee]pah![/spew coffee]

done in the spirit of science, man.. not saving money.

[glen]

Thanks for sharing!

I myself just salvaged 300 rounds or so of m193 that was underwater for a day or so. I too had my apprehensions but they shot just fine.

The kerosene/fuel test sounds interesting, looking forward to that.

[whiterabbit05]

Thanks!

Weird how the Wolf seems to have rusted more in water than in salt water.

[Safetyhit]

That was an interesting test indeed. Very much so.

As far as picking up random ammo off the ground BKB, I know you shoot a lot but this just reeks of a bad idea. Simply not worth it, even in "the spirit of science".

[Dave_M]

Gearing up for test #2.

It's going to be assorted brands of pistol ammunition (everything from Brown Bear to TAP), and 7.62x39.

Water
Salt Water
Diesel Fuel
Penetrating oil
Blood