Is this ammo salvageable?

So, i was given some 7.62 ammo, and the magazines for my rifle from an estate. 

The ammo in the magazines is fine. However,the stripper clips have gotten wet and rusty. 

The rust ra ges from minimal like this

To severe like this

Im pretty sure i cant wire wheel ammo to clean it up, wipe it down with oil, and use it. Seems like a bad idea at first blush. 

So, can it be saved safely? If not, how do i dispose of it?

I'll dispose of it for you! 

I would try running the whole rounds through a tumbler it polish them.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/is-it-ok-to-polish-live-ammo-in-a-tumbler.156750/

Maybe depends on what they're being shot through? I'd be hesitant, but supposedly an AK can eat anything. Definitely remove what rust you can, and lubrication is always a good idea. 

It looks to have the ring of enamel sealer between the bullet and the case, so in theory the powder should be dry. Does it chamber? If it does, wipe the corrosion off the bullets and see what happens? Do you have a bolt gun to try it in? Can you lock the bolt on those Russian semiautos? Cases might split, and I'd rather not have a face full of backblast.

That looks dangerous as berkeley to me.

Those are brass?  Assuming yes, it looks worse than it really is.  I'd clean them up and use them.  But that's just me.

Those are rough. Some of that *may* be salvageable, but it looks like most of it isn't kosher.  As Bgkast suggested, run it through a tumbler and see how far the corrosion has eaten away the cases. Steel case is pretty much fire and recycle, so some percentage may be good to shoot at milk jugs- notably the ones with slightly corroded bullets and good cases.

I'd very much err on the side of caution, though.

If it were me, I'd give them a polish and sell them cheap to somebody with far more risk tolerance. 

1988RedT2 said:

Those are brass?  Assuming yes, it looks worse than it really is.  I'd clean them up and use them.  But that's just me.

Definitely steel case. To dispose of them, I'd take them to a gun show and sell the lot as-is. Why run that stuff through your guns. Realistically, I'd take them off the strippers and sort them. Use the good ones, drop the rest off at a gun & pawn shop.

bgkast said:

I'll dispose of it for you! 

I would try running the whole rounds through a tumbler it polish them.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/is-it-ok-to-polish-live-ammo-in-a-tumbler.156750/

This would be my suggestion but I've never tried it before. 

I wonder if there's an acid that's powerful enough to disolve rust but won't disolve copper?

AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:

1988RedT2 said:

Those are brass?  Assuming yes, it looks worse than it really is.  I'd clean them up and use them.  But that's just me.

Definitely steel case. To dispose of them, I'd take them to a gun show and sell the lot as-is. Why run that stuff through your guns. Realistically, I'd take them off the strippers and sort them. Use the good ones, drop the rest off at a gun & pawn shop.

Huh.  Hard to be sure in the pics, but the cases had a yellowish cast to my eye.

Steel?  I'd give it away if I could.  Get them to sign a waiver. 

It looks like 170 rounds of 7.62. 

You can buy new for .32c/round at Ammo Seek. So maybe the whole pile is worth 50$.

I'm a cheap bastard, but that's a no from me.

Looking online real quick you can easily get 7.62 for as little as $360 / 1000-rounds. I would not touch those with a 10 foot pole to save $.36/round!! Each one is a potential arm or face full of shrapnel.  Even with 140 of them that's still only $50 or so worth of ammo. I'd much rather you see recycle the stuff at the range and know you're not going to blow your arm off or get your face burnt over $50.

I think almost all of this will be turned into scrap at the gun shop. Only a few rounds look worth putting through my friends tumbler to see what they look like. 

And any reputable sites for the cheap 1000 rounds? Google has a bunch of places ive never heard of....

ammoseek is your friend

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Lucky Gunner is over in TN and I have purchased from them a few times. Good service and they usually have those rounds available in bulk. Let me know when you are ready to make some noise and I will join you with my 7.62.

Since they are steel case and the lacquer has failed, the chances of the cases being weak are pretty high. That would not result in good things if they failed in the chamber.

It's been a while since I shopped online, but J&G Sales and Aim Surplus were always good to me.

I'd run away personally, I'd be worried the case would rupture or stick

I'd not heard of ammoseek until this thread, so that's something. 

Me, before opening thread: "This is gonna be about 7.62 Soviet..."

I'd bet money AKs all around the globe have fired worse, but yeah, some of it looks worse than what I'd use a few inches from my own face.

I was just recommended to  this gun club and looked at their arms list page, as well as his website, and a site that reviewed is business model. Haven't joined  yet, but plan to!