Post
by jaeger45 » Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:08 pm
I'm not really adding any useful information, just recounting my personal experiences with corrosive GI ammo. Anyway, that was the only kind of ammo we had then, hehehe....
Coupled with the fact that our GI solvent was that dark liquid which comes in a dark-green colored small can labelled BORE CLEANER. It has a very pungent smell which to this day remains the sweetest smelling aroma capable of bringing back fond memories better than the most expensive parfum from NY or Paris.
After marksmanship record firing which meant firing hundreds of rounds of corrosive ammo- non-corrosives were still in the dim future- it would mean three straight days of morning inspections, with our sergeant looking down the bore of our Garands. So that each night, everybody would be busy swabbing the bore of his rifle, accompanied by the usual racy banter associated with the sexy chore. Everybody would be bragging about his shiny bore, which was a fact. The bores were always shiny, as we would raise the barrel against the light and peer up the bore, and compare. I found that there WERE such things as BRIGHT, BRIGHTER and BRIGHTEST bores. I never did find how a few could manage to have the BRIGHTEST bores- more than likely, I just did not try hard enough, hehehe...
However, always, on the first day before inspection, the cleaning patch would come out red with rust, so that an oiled patch was needed to go through the bore and several more to make it shiny again. In fact, the pinkie inserted into the chamber would come out ringed with rust.
At the second inspection, many would still be found with rust.
At the third inspection- the day of reckoning since rust would mean cancelled week-end passes, only a few stragglers, or rather slackers, would have blackened bores. They just did not use enough elbow grease.
That's why Hoppe's No. 9 remain the sweetest perfume to me- a touch of No. 9 behind the ears of any fraulein or senorita would make me go bananas. Hohoho...
A bad shot is often caused by a loose nut behind the buttplate
