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Long story short I worked a graduation last night and was in the rain/hail for hours directing traffic My glock (and myself) got soaked. I came home and cleaned it. I have never seen water inside my gun before. I am concerned about the ammo in the gun. It appeared dry and I know work won't cough up the $ to replace it. Do I replace it or not if I can find the authorized ammo, leave it alone or just switch mags making that my back up? I just don't want to be in a bind and find it is all messed up when I need it. IMO the ammo should be replaced. I am no expert on ammo. What is the consensus?

I carry a revolver in the field every day ... rain, sleet, snow, clear, cold, hot, steamy, etc. I've had my guns get well soaked to the point that I've had to change guns for the next day to allow my leather owb holster dry. I've never experienced an ammunition problem from a little rain, sweat or snow. Ammo is a lot better "sealed" than you might think.

surv

Haven't you ever seen Saving Private Ryan? Jeesh.

I don't think there is any problem either.

But, if I was at all concerned about my duty ammo, I would buy some new stuff to carry and shoot the ammo that got wet as practice ammo. If you have to shoot for real, you don't want stray thoughts like "I wonder if it will go off?" running through your head.

I once soaked my practice ammo, Blazer aluminum hulled stuff, in light oil for a week (Kroil, a penetrating oil, to be specific). I chose the cheapy ammo thinking that it probably had the lightest amount of quality control. All of it went bang, none of it leaked oil and failed to fire, so I would expect good quality self-defense ammo to be oil - and water - tight as well.

GIs have carried government purchased mass-produced for the (hopefully) lowest cost to produce ammo for decades thru rains, rivers, mud etc, and while there probably were some misfires along the way, it doesn't seem to have really been a problem for the ammo.

But if you still have the slightest doubt, replace it and have one less thing to worry about, whether it seems reasonable or not.

TKS I think I know my answer and will switch mags until I can get more. I've had my guns wet for years working k9's, but nothing like this. I guess I could have done an under water / hail test and filmed it for youtube .

Dry the ammo with a towel and it should be fine. Stick the gun and mags (empty of course ) in the oven on warm for a while and that should dry it out pretty good.

ELB wrote:I don't think there is any problem either.

But, if I was at all concerned about my duty ammo, I would buy some new stuff to carry and shoot the ammo that got wet as practice ammo. If you have to shoot for real, you don't want stray thoughts like "I wonder if it will go off?" running through your head.

I once soaked my practice ammo, Blazer aluminum hulled stuff, in light oil for a week (Kroil, a penetrating oil, to be specific). I chose the cheapy ammo thinking that it probably had the lightest amount of quality control. All of it went bang, none of it leaked oil and failed to fire, so I would expect good quality self-defense ammo to be oil - and water - tight as well.

GIs have carried government purchased mass-produced for the (hopefully) lowest cost to produce ammo for decades thru rains, rivers, mud etc, and while there probably were some misfires along the way, it doesn't seem to have really been a problem for the ammo.

But if you still have the slightest doubt, replace it and have one less thing to worry about, whether it seems reasonable or not.

It is my understanding that ammunition for the DOD is manufactured to very tight specifications. Any lot of ammunition that doesn't meet the specs generally will not be accepted by DOD. And also, generally, primers on military ammo are sealed. A lot of the stuff like XM193 and XM855 is very close to military ammo, but missing something (like the sealant on the primers) or it had minor defects that kept it from meeting specifications...that is why it has the X in front of the number.

My duty weapon has gotten pretty wet in the past, and my ammo has been fine.

A few weeks ago my wife brought me a magazine for my backup that had inadvertently gone through the washing machine. I did toss those rounds. I wanted to bring them to the range ans see if they fired, but I didn't want to keep them around just in case I forgot why I had them.

K.Mooneyham wrote:It is my understanding that ammunition for the DOD is manufactured to very tight specifications. Any lot of ammunition that doesn't meet the specs generally will not be accepted by DOD. And also, generally, primers on military ammo are sealed. A lot of the stuff like XM193 and XM855 is very close to military ammo, but missing something (like the sealant on the primers) or it had minor defects that kept it from meeting specifications...that is why it has the X in front of the number.

Can you provide a citation for that?

I've always been under the impression that Lake City manufactures the ammo exactly the same way, but some is slated for military use and some for LEO/civilian use.

Skiprr wrote:

K.Mooneyham wrote:It is my understanding that ammunition for the DOD is manufactured to very tight specifications. Any lot of ammunition that doesn't meet the specs generally will not be accepted by DOD. And also, generally, primers on military ammo are sealed. A lot of the stuff like XM193 and XM855 is very close to military ammo, but missing something (like the sealant on the primers) or it had minor defects that kept it from meeting specifications...that is why it has the X in front of the number.

Can you provide a citation for that?

I've always been under the impression that Lake City manufactures the ammo exactly the same way, but some is slated for military use and some for LEO/civilian use.

No, I cannot provide any citation for it. The part about the minor defects comes from me reading and sifting info from a few different sources, including one by a man who said he had worked at the Lake City plant at one time. From what I gather, the ammunition still has to meet all safety and general function standards, just not every spec that the government requires it to meet. For example, when X # of rounds from a specific lot # is tested, and chronos outside the specification, then that lot is rejected. Nothing physically wrong with it, still feeds, still goes bang, still puts holes in whatever, it just doesn't meet the specs in the contract. Of course, I've heard that a lot of the stuff is simply production over-runs, as well. I doubt any of us will ever get a 100% clear, concrete answer on the subject.

X in front of a Nomenclature is for experimental, or not general issue items.
Now if some civilian company decided to use it to name defective products that did not meet QAQC,, or product overruns (another explanation I have read) thats a different story. BUT I have used M118, back when it still was marked XM118. I can assure you, it was not defective and hit the intended target.

From MIDWAYS site

Special Notes:
This ammunition has passed Full Military Specification Testing. It is the same ammunition that is being used by our military. This ammunition is NOT Military Specification Rejected Ammunition labeled "NOT FOR DUTY USE".
All XM ammunition shipped from Lake City is first run quality

Yes Mil Spec ammo has crimped and sealed primers. And yes it fires after having been wet, sunk, muddy.

To the OP...
We're talking 2 or 3 mags of ammo yes? I suppose I'd trade it out for new, and shoot it next time I was out at the range, just for peace of mind.. But truly.. unless it was underwater at pressure....Im 99.9999999% sure it is still serviceable.

E.Marquez wrote:X in front of a Nomenclature is for experimental, or not general issue items.
Now if some civilian company decided to use it to name defective products that did not meet QAQC,, or product overruns (another explanation I have read) thats a different story. BUT I have used M118, back when it still was marked XM118. I can assure you, it was not defective and hit the intended target.

From MIDWAYS site

Special Notes:
This ammunition has passed Full Military Specification Testing. It is the same ammunition that is being used by our military. This ammunition is NOT Military Specification Rejected Ammunition labeled "NOT FOR DUTY USE".
All XM ammunition shipped from Lake City is first run quality

Yes Mil Spec ammo has crimped and sealed primers. And yes it fires after having been wet, sunk, muddy.

To the OP...
We're talking 2 or 3 mags of ammo yes? I suppose I'd trade it out for new, and shoot it next time I was out at the range, just for peace of mind.. But truly.. unless it was underwater at pressure....Im 99.9999999% sure it is still serviceable.

I cleaned my gun real good and switched the mag to back up status as those were dry. i'll be replaced the ammo in that mag to be safe.

What do you suppose SEALS do?

If they had problems parachuting into the ocean, swimming ~5 miles at depth, in salt water, then coming up and firing their weapons, etc., something would be changed. As it is, the SEALS use mostly usual gear, for example, 226s are/were standard, although specific ops can pick gear suited to that mission.

The NSW 226s have some corrosion resistant internals, and of course, they are kept up pretty well. "Take care of your gear and your gear will take care of you," I believe they say.

Just in case you wind up in a toad choker downpour and don't want to worry about if your Glock will run;
http://www.lonewolfdist.com/Detail.aspx?PROD=640139
They ensure that even with water or other debris inside your Glocks firing pin channel your pistol will fire.

Special Ops teams operate in extreme conditions,even infiltrating with guns and ammo while fully submerged for extended periods,and the Infiltrating to the target with the same ammo.The only time I have ever had an ammo/water problem was when I use to Duck Hunt,I was sitting on a bucket in reeds and my shell bags were submerged,the powder got damp and once I reloaded after emptying the 3 rounds in my Beretta the next shot looked like my shotgun sneezed out a buncha crap,shot landed about 20 feet away.I cleared the gun and made sure the wad wasn't stuck,I then switched to Winchester DryLok shells that had a sealed crimp,never had a problem again.