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LSP972 · June 18, 2013, 01:37 PM

The breech face erosion issue is well-documented, by several police departments. The cause is quite possibly the "green" primers.

Lead styphnate is a major ingredient in priming compound. It is an accellerant, promoting ignition of the compound when the anvil crushes the compond.

The earliest mercuric primers had ground glass in them to accomplish this, prior to the discovery of lead styphnate for the purpose.

Lead-free ammunition was developed for use in indoor ranges to reduce lead emissions, which aside from being harmful to human health can be explosive under the right conditions. Naturally, the enviro-nazis have seized upon it as yet another solution to world pollution, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

All the above is fact. Some of the rest of this post is conjecture on my part. I have asked one "suit" and one engineer, both employed by a major ammunition producer, about this specific issue and whether it is due to the "green" primers. It is the first time either has avoided answering a question I put to them.

On the one hand, primer blow-back should be leaving evidence of same on the case head and/or primer. Such has not been readily apparent in the "studies" I am familiar with. On the other hand, I have a Glock 19 with deep pits eaten into the breech face, that suddenly developed after several thousand previously uneventful rounds. You guessed it; I shot some "green" ammo through it, less than 100 rounds. It was WinClean NT (for Non Toxic, I can only presume).

BTW, the latest revelation on the web regarding this issue has to do with erosion of the striker tip itself. Mine looks okay, but the breech face is truly shocking.

My money is on the primers as the culprit. They had to do SOMETHING to replace the lead styphnate. Still, I have a really hard time believing that less than 100 rounds of tree-hugger ammo ate up my breech face... but something did.

As an aside, those lead free bullets left a streaky residue in my bore that was exceedingly difficult to remove.

Needless to say, I won't be firing any more of that crap in my guns, ever again.

.

June 18, 2013, 01:37 PM	#16
LSP972 Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2006 Posts: 189	The breech face erosion issue is well-documented, by several police departments. The cause is quite possibly the "green" primers. Lead styphnate is a major ingredient in priming compound. It is an accellerant, promoting ignition of the compound when the anvil crushes the compond. The earliest mercuric primers had ground glass in them to accomplish this, prior to the discovery of lead styphnate for the purpose. Lead-free ammunition was developed for use in indoor ranges to reduce lead emissions, which aside from being harmful to human health can be explosive under the right conditions. Naturally, the enviro-nazis have seized upon it as yet another solution to world pollution, etc., etc., ad nauseum. All the above is fact. Some of the rest of this post is conjecture on my part. I have asked one "suit" and one engineer, both employed by a major ammunition producer, about this specific issue and whether it is due to the "green" primers. It is the first time either has avoided answering a question I put to them. On the one hand, primer blow-back should be leaving evidence of same on the case head and/or primer. Such has not been readily apparent in the "studies" I am familiar with. On the other hand, I have a Glock 19 with deep pits eaten into the breech face, that suddenly developed after several thousand previously uneventful rounds. You guessed it; I shot some "green" ammo through it, less than 100 rounds. It was WinClean NT (for Non Toxic, I can only presume). BTW, the latest revelation on the web regarding this issue has to do with erosion of the striker tip itself. Mine looks okay, but the breech face is truly shocking. My money is on the primers as the culprit. They had to do SOMETHING to replace the lead styphnate. Still, I have a really hard time believing that less than 100 rounds of tree-hugger ammo ate up my breech face... but something did. As an aside, those lead free bullets left a streaky residue in my bore that was exceedingly difficult to remove. Needless to say, I won't be firing any more of that crap in my guns, ever again. .