What do you think causes this erosion?

[Ranch Dog]

Typically, I have loaded firearms always within reach. At lot of reasons for it, home & self defense, critter control and just plain because it is part of the freedoms gauranteed me by the 2nd Amendment. I just stood up from the computer to get a cup of coffee and saw a coyote in my yard. My R92 chambered in 357 Mag sits in a rack by the back door so I picked it up, leaned out the door, and shot him. It is just the lifestyle I am free to live.

Anyway, I have noticed that on my Rossi rifles I see some erosion develop on my lead bullets within a matter of days. I typically load just of the lands, around .005", but it is close enough to develop the erosion demonstrated in the picture.

bullet_errosion.jpg

It wipes off and there really isn't any residue in the chamber, just the bullet nose. I wonder if it is some type of dissimilar metal corrosion?

I've noticed this on all my Rossi rifles, but not my Taurus pistols. My self defense handguns remain loaded all the time and are using the same bullet alloy with the bullets seated the same way but I have never seen this develop. I would think that Braztech is using the same barrel stock, my Rossi's are all 2011 or newer, so this leads me to believe that the difference might be in how the chambers are finished. Any thoughts?

[joec]

I've never seen it on mine but would venture a guess it might be the stuff you clean with. I use Breakfree CLP and Hoppes #9 or Balistol when I shoot black powder.

[Ranch Dog]

I've never seen it on mine but would venture a guess it might be the stuff you clean with. I use Breakfree CLP and Hoppes #9 or Balistol when I shoot black powder.

I thought about that but then it would surface on my pistols as well. I use Birchwood Casey products, in the case of a chamber it would have been cleaned with Barricade but with a number of dry patches behind it.

[pricedo]

Typically, I have loaded firearms always within reach. At lot of reasons for it, home & self defense, critter control and just plain because it is part of the freedoms gauranteed me by the 2nd Amendment. I just stood up from the computer to get a cup of coffee and saw a coyote in my yard. My R92 chambered in 357 Mag sits in a rack by the back door so I picked it up, leaned out the door, and shot him. It is just the lifestyle I am free to live.

Anyway, I have noticed that on my Rossi rifles I see some erosion develop on my lead bullets within a matter of days. I typically load just of the lands, around .005", but it is close enough to develop the erosion demonstrated in the picture.

bullet_errosion.jpg

It wipes off and there really isn't any residue in the chamber, just the bullet nose. I wonder if it is some type of dissimilar metal corrosion?

I've noticed this on all my Rossi rifles, but not my Taurus pistols. My self defense handguns remain loaded all the time and are using the same bullet alloy with the bullets seated the same way but I have never seen this develop. I would think that Braztech is using the same barrel stock, my Rossi's are all 2011 or newer, so this leads me to believe that the difference might be in how the chambers are finished. Any thoughts?

There is a plan afoot by the Obama/Feinstein capitol hill gang to start an insidious process (creating gun owner licensing, a federal gun registry & an anti-gun lopsided supreme court) with a near future endgame to gut the second amendment and remove those freedoms (and the guns) you hold so dear. When the liberal/commie oppression hits close to home it's no longer "somebody else's problem" and a sense of urgency develops rather quickly.

As far as the corrosion is concerned all you need for electrolytic corrosion is 2 dissimilar metals and an electrolyte to act as a media for the ion exchange...........could be a number of possibilities in a gun chamber in the presence of salts, oils & cleaners & the omnipresent O2 (oxygen) which will quickly oxidize any newly deposited metal ions.

[ironhead7544]

I would try a little Birchwood Casey stock wax on the bullet. Might keep it from corroding.

[runfiverun]

looks like lead oxide to me.
it's usually caused by exposure to moisture.
if the rifle is on the side of the door that opens and closes i'd try switching to the other side.

it could also be a form of electralisys [sp] from the dis-similar [ferrous/non ferrous] metals.
if the ones in the mag tube do it too.
i'd move the rifle to the other side of the door in either case and not have the chamber loaded if it's just there.

[Ranch Dog]

looks like lead oxide to me.

I don't think that is it as the cartridges in the magazine tube would be affected as well and they are not. It causes me to wonder about the chamber finish between semi-auto handguns and a rifle. What types of finishing are there. I seem to remember a Taurus catalog talking about honed chambers on the handguns. I will have to spend some time reading I guess.

In the meantime, I dip my bullets in Alox but will run a light tumble on the 92 bullets before I dip them. That should help.

[runfiverun]

alox is calcium soap based ...
i know water with calcium in it will leave white deposits on boolits that are dropped into them.
and will build up white deposits on water pans on the wood stove.

[Ranch Dog]

alox is calcium soap based ...
i know water with calcium in it will leave white deposits on boolits that are dropped into them.
and will build up white deposits on water pans on the wood stove.

Still, wouldn't it be on all the bullets? It has to be something with the near contact of the chamber. May be that conductor between the steel and lead is the calcium. Makes me wonder if it would be there with chamber wall contact. Still wonder why it isn't present with the Taurus pistols or my Marlins as well. My three Rio Grandes are not back door guns but I'm going to load them up and leave them sit next to a 92 to see what happens. I've left a Taurus pistol sitting next to the 92 for two days now and nothing. It would have started to appear on the 92 within 24 hours.

[runfiverun]

i have given this a little thought over the last couple of days.

i have left cast boolits in a chamber for an entire day while hunting [rain/snow/hot and cold] and have seen nothing like this.
the only time i have seen something like this on lead is when i have left ingots outside and they have seen some hot/cold, wet/dry weather even though they were in buckets with lids on them.

the calcium could be a conductor, they do use zink anodes on boats as sacraficial alloys for electraulysis [sp?]
and i have seen aluminum/copper and such get eroded in strange way's before too.
but the round and the barell are grounded to each other and they are insulated by the wood.
[it's like you say weird,,, unless something like peroxide or ammonia is involved.]
or there is some type of vibration involved like a fridge or dishwasher.
maybe an electrical wire nearby, i'd think maybe it would have to be an aluminum one though
that area of the boolit would be right where the boolit and the rifling would be in the closest contact.
if it's against the wall under a light switch and the wire is aluminum it could be catching some "current" and the not quite touching boolit is the only place for it to react like that.

s'all i got [shrugging]