Storage Ammunition and Rust

Do yourself a favor and dig into your ammo stores and give it a check, especially if its steel cased. Fella walked in this morning and sold me his CZ54 with spare magazines and three boxes of 7.62x25 which he said had been in a storage unit for thirty years.

1953 production run of 7..62x25, rusted.

After we concluded our business I took the ammo into my office and opened the boxes to find the mess pictured in the above photograph. Don't panic if you find the same. I just striped the rounds from those silly stripper clips and gave each round a rubdown with fine steel wool.

The filled stripper clips had been stored in the original Soviet block cardboard boxes, dated 1953. Paper screams moisture. Locked inside a storage locker sans climate control ranks high on my list of 'not very bright.'

The ammunition will function just fine. But, if the rust isn't addressed it will eat thru the casing - word to the wise.

Since I don't need, nor want, the stripper clips I'll ignore their rust and chunk 'em. The individual rounds will be cleaned and placed inside dry storage containers with a rust inhibitor.

Ammunition is precious. These three little boxes only held ninety-five rounds. But when you consider the price per round in today's market - any loss, at least to me, is criminal.

So please, check it, don't waste it.

Stephen