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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shadowrider" data-source="post: 1296758" data-attributes="member: 3099">Ammonia can seriously jack up lots of different metals.  That's why you have to be careful with bore cleaners like Sweets, Shooters Choice, and others.  The ammonia eats the copper so that's what makes it work.  It will also eat barrel steel if given enough time.  Here is the best "layman" explanation I could find quickly.  FYI cartridge brass contains about 70% copper.... Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, especially from ammonia or substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridge cases used for rifle ammunition during the 1920s in the Indian Army. The problem was caused by high residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere.  The cartridges were stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer months, so initiating brittle cracks. The problem was resolved by annealing the cases, and storing the cartridges elsewhere.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass</a></blockquote>