Pitted barrel

bald_co

I just heard a rumor that surplus API and Tracer ammo for the BMG causes pitting in barrels, is this true? I'm sceptical because I shot plenty of tracer ammo out of my M16 and never had any pitting or accuracy problems, in fact I was company high shooter for 2 years with the same rifie.

bpost

I sincerely doubt the claim. Some old 50BMG ammo is probably still around. The primers used up until about 1952 were corrosive. By corrosive it means they created salts upon firing that are hygroscopic, they attract moisture. It is the mixing of the salts and the water that created rust. Pitting could occur if the salt, moisture mix was left too long. But, just as you can take raw steel and put it into water for a while with out destroying it, the corrosive ammo fear is way over stated.

A barrel, properly cleaned after firing, even when using corrosive primered ammo, will not be harmed by the ammo it shot. Throat erosion and plasma blasting will have a more deleterious effect upon the bore and throat than the type of ammo shot.