What would be the proper technique for cleaning a rifle (AK in this case) after shooting corrosive? I've heard using Windex does the job but should be used when? After the regular nitro cleaner is used? And should the barrel be run with a dry patch after or do you leave it in like gun oil? If anyone has a good breakdown of steps to do this it would be helpful, thanks
Cleaning after shooting corrosive ammo
- Thread starter rammie
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Sunray
Member
Flush out the salts with Windex or plain boiling water when you get home then clean as per normal. A light coat of oil in the barrel is a good thing, but must be cleaned out before firing.
Lonestar.45
Member
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- Sep 3, 2004
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Nearly all the milsurp 7.62x39 on the market is corrosive.
Cacique500
Member
A bunch of places have the Yugo 7.62x39 (some on stripper clips, some not) - this stuff is very corrosive.
On your AK, make sure you hit the gas system as well when you clean it out.
On your AK, make sure you hit the gas system as well when you clean it out.
clean
1) Pour water down the bore - scrub with a patch.
2) Dry bore with patch
3) Clean as usual with any bore cleaner. On a semiautomatic, clean the gas system in the same manner. I finish up with gun oil. Before you take the rifle to the range run a dry patch through the rifle.
The only thing helping you in Windex is the water. The salt in corrosive ammo primers is water soluable.
I've been cleaning this way for years and have had no problems with rust.
1) Pour water down the bore - scrub with a patch.
2) Dry bore with patch
3) Clean as usual with any bore cleaner. On a semiautomatic, clean the gas system in the same manner. I finish up with gun oil. Before you take the rifle to the range run a dry patch through the rifle.
The only thing helping you in Windex is the water. The salt in corrosive ammo primers is water soluable.
I've been cleaning this way for years and have had no problems with rust.
Thanks guys, hadnt heard the water soluble tip before but it makes sense. The ammo I'm using is the Yugo milsurplus and is corrosive, probably made in the 70s but this stuff lasts forever and is widely available at the shops, unlike Wolf these days
Jenrick
Member
Slightly off topic, are any of the modern American manufactures (Rem, Win, Federal, etc.) corrosive? I can't imagine them being, but I figure it never hurts to ask.
-Jenrick
-Jenrick
Jim Watson
Member
No.
The last US corrosive primed ammo was Winchester .30-06 and .300 H&H factory match ammunition with the No 8 1/2 G primer which was both corrosive and mercuric. Dropped in 1960.
The last US corrosive primed ammo was Winchester .30-06 and .300 H&H factory match ammunition with the No 8 1/2 G primer which was both corrosive and mercuric. Dropped in 1960.
Cacique500
Member
Nope - not corrosive. I'm sure somebody will chime in with the exact date that they stopped using them
Speaking of cleaning...I took down the gas system on my SKS today (which I haven't done in a very long time) and man was it nasty. I always clean the bolt, receiver, barrel after every shoot but usually don't mess with the gas system...never again. If you've been neglecting it...dont. I spent a good 3 hours with a dental pick trying to scrape all that crap out.
JA
Member
Hot water,windex,caustic chemicals,and voodoo chants are not needed to clean any firearm after firing corrosive ammo.
Go to Wal-mart and get from these depts.
Sporting goods dept.
A pump spray bottle of Break-Free CLP www.break-free.com/
A 30cal and a 20 gauge bore brushes
Automotive dept.
A can of brake parts cleaner
A set of brushes or brush with brass or steel brissles. like this
www.woodcarvingstore.com/RotaryToolAccessories/CleaningBrushes.asp
Housewares dept.
roll of paper towels
Drug dept.
A new tooth brush.
When you get home swap out your new tooth brush for your old one.Spray down all the parts of your rifle with CLP and let it sit for 15 minuites. Use your old tooth brush to scrub the inside of the receiver and parts. Use the brass/steel brush on the gas piston. It will take several applications of CLP and scrubbing to get heavy amounts of carbon off the gas piston. A wire wheel in a electric drill can be used to cut down on the amount of scrubbing needed. Use the 30cal brush on the bore and the 20 gauge brush on the gas tube/gas block. Once clean put 4 paper towels in the bottom of the bag you brought the stuff home from Wal-mart in. Hold the parts over the bag and use the brake parts cleaner to rinse everything off. Brake parts cleaner removes everything and leaves no residue. Spray a 4"x4" piece of rag and one patch with CLP. Rub the rag on every part inside and out to lube/protect it and run the patch through the bore. Put the rag and patch in a zip lock bag to use the next time you clean your rifle. Make sure to wipe the gas piston and the inside of the gas tube and gas block. The CLP will get into the pores of the metal and not let the carbon stick tight. So the next time you clean your rifle the brass/steel brissle brush will not be needed only the tooth brush. Take the bag with the paper towels which have absorbed all the brake parts cleaner and dirt outside or in the garage to let the bpc evaporate then throw it away.
While the CLP doesn't nutralize the corrosive residue it does disolve it allowing the brake parts cleaner to rinse it out.
To clean a SKS you will need a 50 caliber bore brush to clean inside the smaller gas tube.
I use CLP to
Clean
Lubricate
Preserve
all my firearms for the last 20 years with fantastic results(i.e. no rust on any of my firearms even after sitting in the safe for 7+ years).
Go to Wal-mart and get from these depts.
Sporting goods dept.
A pump spray bottle of Break-Free CLP www.break-free.com/
A 30cal and a 20 gauge bore brushes
Automotive dept.
A can of brake parts cleaner
A set of brushes or brush with brass or steel brissles. like this
www.woodcarvingstore.com/RotaryToolAccessories/CleaningBrushes.asp
Housewares dept.
roll of paper towels
Drug dept.
A new tooth brush.
When you get home swap out your new tooth brush for your old one.Spray down all the parts of your rifle with CLP and let it sit for 15 minuites. Use your old tooth brush to scrub the inside of the receiver and parts. Use the brass/steel brush on the gas piston. It will take several applications of CLP and scrubbing to get heavy amounts of carbon off the gas piston. A wire wheel in a electric drill can be used to cut down on the amount of scrubbing needed. Use the 30cal brush on the bore and the 20 gauge brush on the gas tube/gas block. Once clean put 4 paper towels in the bottom of the bag you brought the stuff home from Wal-mart in. Hold the parts over the bag and use the brake parts cleaner to rinse everything off. Brake parts cleaner removes everything and leaves no residue. Spray a 4"x4" piece of rag and one patch with CLP. Rub the rag on every part inside and out to lube/protect it and run the patch through the bore. Put the rag and patch in a zip lock bag to use the next time you clean your rifle. Make sure to wipe the gas piston and the inside of the gas tube and gas block. The CLP will get into the pores of the metal and not let the carbon stick tight. So the next time you clean your rifle the brass/steel brissle brush will not be needed only the tooth brush. Take the bag with the paper towels which have absorbed all the brake parts cleaner and dirt outside or in the garage to let the bpc evaporate then throw it away.
While the CLP doesn't nutralize the corrosive residue it does disolve it allowing the brake parts cleaner to rinse it out.
To clean a SKS you will need a 50 caliber bore brush to clean inside the smaller gas tube.
I use CLP to
Clean
Lubricate
Preserve
all my firearms for the last 20 years with fantastic results(i.e. no rust on any of my firearms even after sitting in the safe for 7+ years).
Cacique500
Member
I used a .223 brush in side the small tube - and you're saying a 20 gauge works in the large end? (I just roll some big patches around the small end of a bronze toothbrush...but always willing to try something new!)
Exposure
Member
EVERYONE STOP BUYING AND SHOOTING CORROSIVE AMMO!!!!
If you don't then it will all get bought up before I can afford any more of it!!!!!
In all honesty though, excellent advice in this thread regarding corrosive ammo.
The yugo 7.62X39 that I have been shooting, while corrosive, is super accurate! It smells awful, but it goes bang every time and I have a TON of it here so I certainly can't complain.
I clean my guns as soon as I get home from the range every time so corrosive or not I could care less!
If you don't then it will all get bought up before I can afford any more of it!!!!!
In all honesty though, excellent advice in this thread regarding corrosive ammo.
The yugo 7.62X39 that I have been shooting, while corrosive, is super accurate! It smells awful, but it goes bang every time and I have a TON of it here so I certainly can't complain.
I clean my guns as soon as I get home from the range every time so corrosive or not I could care less!
JA
Member
Sorry about that.
A 20 gauge brush fits the AK gas tube.
The SKS gas tube needs the 50 cal brush on the large end and 24 cal brush on the small end.
A 20 gauge brush fits the AK gas tube.
The SKS gas tube needs the 50 cal brush on the large end and 24 cal brush on the small end.
iamkris
Member
JA said:
And you call hot water,windex,caustic chemicals voodoo chants? They seem simple compared to that list?
Cacique500
Member
Thanks for the clarification! I used my .223 brush on the small end and it worked great but I'll have to go hunt down a .50 cal brush. I had put about 7000 rounds through the SKS w/o cleaning the gas system and I'll never do that again
Much easier to keep get it clean on a more frequent basis than to let it all go!!JA
Member
Hot water,windex,and caustic chemicals are not voodoo chants. But they are things that will cause rust to form on the steel if not removed totally from every part of the firearm. The meaning of "voodoo chants" was that cleaning corrosive residue is not something shrounded in mystery or requires anything extra be done other than normal firearm cleaning procedures.
7000 rounds between cleanings,you will want to put that 50cal brush on one section of a cleaning rod and put it in a electric drill to get the gas tube clean without a lot of elbow grease.
7000 rounds between cleanings,you will want to put that 50cal brush on one section of a cleaning rod and put it in a electric drill to get the gas tube clean without a lot of elbow grease.
I used a flexible cleaning rod and bucket of hot water. plunk the barrel in the bucket and then run the rod up and down sucking hot water up into the barrel flushing out the salts. after about five flushes then move the barrel to a stack of newspaper, swap out a clean lightly oiled patch for the water wet one. pump up and down a few times. use spray lube on the action parts and you are done.
JA
Member
A patch soaked in Windex run into the barrel or sticking the barrel in a bucket of hot water sounds fine for a bolt action rifle but wouldn't do squat for a semi auto rifle. As the gas system and the interior of the receiver is the most vulnerable parts of a rifle to damage from corrosive ammo residue. This is due to them not being chromed plated like the inside of the barrels of most semi auto rifles.
Transfering a rifle from a bucket of water to a pile of newspapers sounds pretty messy and not my idea of a easy way to clean corrosive residue from a rifle.
Transfering a rifle from a bucket of water to a pile of newspapers sounds pretty messy and not my idea of a easy way to clean corrosive residue from a rifle.
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