Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate the input
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Originally Posted by B2k4E
How old and what brand are the rounds are you using? There could also be dust from something in Europe in the pistol's action, and getting onto your arms and hands when the slide operates.
Sounds like a good tear down and complete cleaning is in order. Also try to find some newer ammo around if possible. (Check Mitchell's Mausers, I believe they still sell reconditioned Mausers and Lugers, so he might have some ammo for your 38.)
I don't really see how somebody could be allergic to gunpowder since most or all of it is man-made. (Isn't it?)
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The old ammo was (I think) normal Winchester 32 Auto FMJ. The pricetag on the box indicated the 50-round box was $17.99 when it was purchased new, and considering the new 32 auto 50-round box of ammo I purchased was $35.99 I would guess the old stuff was maybe 10 years old...or maybe older. I don't know.
It was definately not WWII era ammunition, though. And I'm guessing that WWII was not the last time the gun was fired considering how "clean" the gun was before I cleaned it initially.
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Originally Posted by VASCAR2
I figure you had a reaction to the old gun powder or more likely the old primer compound. Depending on the age of the ammo the primers could be corrosive. A J P Sauer and son 38 H might be chambered for 7.65/32 ACP or 380 Auto/9MM Kurz if I remember correctly. Either cartridge is relatively easy to find now. It is also possible you had an allergic reaction to the old oils on the gun. Some petroleum based products are known to cause reactions.
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That's my guess. I don't have any idea what kind of conditions the old ammo was stored in before it came into our posession, so there could be any number of things that could have been wrong with the older ammo.
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Originally Posted by Brokinarrow
It's perfectly possible for someone to have a reaction to a man-made substance, but you're probably right about the dust. Skooter, do you have any other allergies that you know of? Maybe there was some sort of pollen or something in there...
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That's the thing, I've never been to an allergist so I really have no idea what I am or am not allergic to. I suppose I should go do that
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordo
Even with new ammo some of the stabilizers used in old military grade powder could cause this,just clean the bore well using KG gun cleaners my fav. and there are many opinions on gun cleaners but I use there stuff on 7,000+$ rifles and trust it and it works great.It could be lead fouled due to the age of the weapon and the fact there were not a lot of jacketed bullets being made for such a small cal. back then.The lead foul could be saturated with the chemical compounds giving you this reaction.You might have to scrub the $hit out of the bore.Another thing ,anytime you use gun cleaning chemicals wear gloves,the warnings about skin contact are there for a reason.Also if you ever have any loading or cycling issues try European ammo Dynamit-Nobel or Sellier & Bellot that will solve that because European ammo is loaded to C.I.P. stranded and is a little hotter and works better in German weapons.
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All I've been using to clean my gun(s) is the Hoppe's Elite Gun Oil I found at Academy, plenty of Q-Tips, blue shop towels, an old toothbrush, and the wire brush that came with my XDm-9.
The J P Sauer & Sohn 38H looks like it would be a real bear to completely disassemble for an extremely thorough cleaning. I think if it needs that, I should just take it to a gunsmith? I consider myself pretty good at figuring out mechanical devices, but I could easily see myself getting in over my head disassembling this pistol...
Does taking it to a gunsmith for this seem like a pretty safe investment to y'all? At the very least I could see if they know who to contact about getting original or reproduction grips to replace the wood ones my grandfather had made for the gun to replace the original cracked and brittle ones...