Couple questions on bullet weld

There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this subject. Bullets do not become welded to the cases. Welding is a heat process and unless you physically weld the bullet to the case it's impossible to happen. It is however possible to have corrosion form between the bullet and case, but I have never seen any issues with the round firing, but fouling a barrel, yes they will. I had, and still have some old military ammo dating back to late WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. If kept cool and dry they function like the day they were new. Now to answer your quetions.
1 - Since it does not really happen in real life, no to the inconsistencies and of no real danger if like anything else fired from a firearm in good condition.
2. - Depending on what you lube the necks with can cause corrosion. Remember we are dealing with dissimilar metals here, brass and copper.
3 - Bullet weld only exists in the minds of some. As mentioned earlier, I have shot ammo that is over 78 years old without any problems. Ammo only a few months or even years will never be an issue.

Yes, I do know that there are many out there that will argue this point, To each their own and believe whatever you want. Bullets do not weld themselves to cases.
"Cold Welding" is a real thing but that's not likely the issue here. Corrosion from contaminated brass and bullets with petroleum based lubricants and our own sweat/oils off of our fingers would be the big issue here.
 
So should we clean the brass necks back to clean bare metal? Then use graphite or moly etc to lube necks? A lot of folks like to keep carbon in necks. If a "salt compound" is potential culprit, then maybe brass cleaning plus neck cleaning is more critical to long term efficacy of a loaded round?
 
So should we clean the brass necks back to clean bare metal? Then use graphite or moly etc to lube necks? A lot of folks like to keep carbon in necks. If a "salt compound" is potential culprit, then maybe brass cleaning plus neck cleaning is more critical to long term efficacy of a loaded round?
I do and I've honestly never seen a problem in my own loads. The only problem I ever had was when I got "smart" thinking that putting some oil on them would keep them nice and shiny. That's the only set of loads I ever had a problem with exterior corrosion on.

Since then nothing but Hornady One Shot Spray both on the brass and the bullets.
 
There have been multiple previous threads on this subject. What some are calling "cold weld" is simply galvanic corrosion.

Search the site for "galvanic" or "cold weld" or "cold welding" to see the previous posts. This is what I posted in one about pin tumbling making brass "too clean" and subject to "cold welding":

Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in electrical contact with another, in the presence of an electrolyte. The electrolyte in this case being humidity in the air. As you mentioned about the moly coating, that breaks the electrical contact. Galvanic corrosion is common any time dissimilar metals touch. That's why, regardless of the industry, people have to take galvanic corrosion into account, typically putting something like a grease or anti-seize between the metals. You get the same thing with a steel bolt in an aluminum engine block. It's the same reason electricians use something like Noalox where copper wire touches aluminum connections. It doesn't happen quickly, unless the electrolyte is strong, like salt water, but the more time it has, the more it will do it.

Sealing the ammo in an air-tight container would probably also prevent the "electrolyte" part and prevent or reduce it.
 

Recent Posts

Top