Cleaning after corrosive ammo

[Terc]

I fired a bunch of corrosive ammo through my new/old Mauser K98 today and took it home and immediately cleaned it following a lot of the advice I previously received on this thread:

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=380385

I flushed the barrel with hot soapy water and some windex for good measure. Then I ran some patches to dry it and noticed that the patches were coming out pretty dirty so I decided to do a normal cleaning procedure and run some solvent in there until the patches came back clean. The patches never came back clean and I began to run out of patches. So I decided to run dry patches until I ran out, but they still never came back thoroughly clean. I mean, they were definitely cleaner, but not 100% spotless.

So my question is this: is this like my bike chain? I do my durndest to keep that thing clean, but I only succeed in getting it somewhat clean. Is it realistic to expect the patches to eventually come out spotless? I spent a half hour running patches; it got pretty boring. I finally just oiled the thing and put it away.

Thanks.

 

[MRIman]

Try building this.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp

 

[Lovesbeer99]

I follow the same process, but if the barrel is really dirty I use a brass bristle brush. After the wet patches I run dry patches until they come out dry, then follow with a bore snake of swab just for good measure.

By the way, the way I clean with soapy hot water is to place a bucket on the floor with a few inches of the hot soapy water in it. I put the muzzle right into the water and use a patch puller on a rod down the barrel and back until I'm satisfied. Then I swap the dirty soapy water for clean warm water and do it again. Then I clean with bore cleaner. Make sure you swab the reciever and the the bolt also.

Enjoy -

 

[Redlg155]

When shooting corrosive ammo, I always try to squirt some windex down the barrel before leaving the range and letting it work on the way home. Just make sure it's the Windex or similar with ammonia.

 

[Jeff F]

Hot water to flush the salts out then clean as normal. Cleaning can involve a large amount of patches and a lot of scrubbing with the brush. I have run out of patches before so I started cutting up an old T shirt for patches. Works pretty well.

 

[dispatch55126]

Fill your oiler bottle with ammonia windex and bring it to the range with you. After your done shooting, run a sbush dipped in the windex down the barrel a few times, then use the remaining fluid to flush the barrel. It'll dry quickly and you won't have to worry about the salts.

 

[Fatelvis]

I learned from the Blackpowder shooters that a product called Ballistol, available at Midway, mixed with 9 parts water, makes a solution called "Moosemilk". It works great on corrosive fouling and leaves a protective oil behind, after the water evaporates. The stuff is amazing!

 

[grendelbane]

Windex will work, because it contains water. It is the water that is dissolving the corrosive salt residue, not the ammonia.

I like hot, soapy water. But hot water by itself will work just fine. After the bore is dry, clean as usual.

 

[wnycollector]

I sucessfully been using windex on all of my surplus rifles and pistols for 15 years and thousands of rounds.

 

[DiN_BLiX]

+1 on WINDEX!

 

[DeerSlayer7600]

I use a foaming bore cleaner, let it sit for15-20 minutes, run a couple patches through and then a patch soaked in hoppes #9 let that sit for about a minute and then run some dry patches and a patch with g96 to lube the barrel to finish.

 

[Average Joe]

I use hot water .

 

[marktx]

I just took my FN 49 apart, thoroughly washed everything metal with water and put it in the oven which I had preheated to 200. After things cool down a bit I'm gonna spray a little Remoil on things and put it back together. In the past I have run a stainless 10/22 through the dishwasher to get it all nice and clean, wouldn't do that with most guns though.

 

[WhisperFan]

Windex - or hot water - or hot soapy water does a great job of getting the salts out of your bore (and don't forget the breech face of the bolt)

But none of these products is designed to disolve lead, copper, and powder fouling.

When I shoot corrosive ammo, I clean my rifle twice.
First I run a few patches of Windex down the bore and let it sit. Then a couple dry patches. Then I clean it normally and finish with a little CLP or gun oil in the bore.

 

[jburnett]

I've taken Browning 1919's and MG34's/42's to the car wash after shooting corrosive surplus 8mm at M.G. shoots... Seems to work QUITE well...
-J.Burnett