oil contamination of ammo ?

[bikeguy]

So I was unloading my pistol the other day and noticed that the round in the chamber had a lot of oil on the back of the case and all around the primer. Seems I forgot to wipe out the slide real good last time I cleaned and oiled it (doh!).

Of course, I replaced it with a fresh round after wiping the slide out, but I was wondering whether this type of exposure could/would contaminate the round. It is a Federal Hydra-Shock. Planning on sending it downrange on my next trip, but was curious about the possible detrimental effects of this type of exposure

 

[Frohickey]

Its prolly okay to fire, and will probably fire. The primer to case fit is pretty tight and would require time and pressure to get oil into the lead styphenate pellet.

This is the reason that some vendors put laquer around their primers.

 

[bikeguy]

I was pretty sure it was not a "sealed" primer (by the way, how "sealed" are those) and that is why I was curious about it. I figured better safe than sorry!

 

[James K]

True sealed primers are pretty good protection against moisture and oil. But most civilian production primers are not sealed well enough for protection against penetrants like WD-40 or Gun Treatment. It is a good idea to clean excess cleaners or oil off the gun, inside and out, before loading.

In one notorious case, a LEO had a habit of opening the cylinder of his revolver each evening and spraying everything in sight (including the case heads) with a cleaner/penetrant. One day he needed the gun in the worst way, and it clicked in the worst way. He lived, but it was close. That is an extreme case, but shows that penetrants do penetrate, even where they are NOT wanted.

Jim

 

[Zorro]

Oil kills the Primers, it will either fire or not.

For practice it is safe to fire.

 

[Johnny Quest]

This is an old police trick:

take fingernail polish and paint around the primer edges. It does a great job sealing and you can tell by the color that the round has been sealed.

For you ladies, make sure that the color matches your outfit and accessories.

JQ