Cleaning AK's with Muzzle Brakes...?

[Digex2]

I'm looking for different ways to clean an AK that has a muzzle brake. So far one method that has been discussed is using a .22 Brownell Muzzle Guard as a guide for the cleaning rod. I have also seen people recommend the Otis Cleaning System.

Can you use the Otis Cleaning System on a Bulgarian AK with the shark grill muzzle brake (i.e. SAM-7, SLR-101)?

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Why are you cleaning it from the muzzle end? If you field strip your AK you can clean it from the breech. That's what I do with mine.

 

[Digex2]

Dave said:

Why are you cleaning it from the muzzle end? If you field strip your AK you can clean it from the breech. That's what I do with mine.

Good point. I was being led to believe that cleaning from the breech end wasn't feasible.

 

[AK103K]

I've tried cleaning from the breech and its not a lot of fun. The cleaning rod tends to bind and hang up on things. Is it really that big a deal to just clean it from the muzzle end? Unless your a Gorilla I doubt your really going to tear anything up. It would be nice if you could just pop the brake off like your supposed to, but I wont go there.

 

[firearms_instructor]

I use bore snake, aka gun floss on all my guns and it makes cleaning so much faster and easier.

 

[TheOtherOne]

I've tried cleaning from the breech and its not a lot of fun. The cleaning rod tends to bind and hang up on things. Is it really that big a deal to just clean it from the muzzle end?

I've found the same thing when trying to clean an AK from the breech. You just can't quite get the cleaning rod straight. I hope it's not a problem cleaning from the muzzle end because I find myself having to do alot of my guns that way.

 

[LiquidTension]

If your rod is long enough, you can easily clean from the breech (the way it should be done). You want to clean from the breech because if you clean from the muzzle, you'll "clean" all of the bbl junk straight into the action.

My cleaning rod is 32.5" long from tip to handle, and it cleans my AK perfectly. I always go from breech to muzzle because my rod is long enough to handle the slight curve, and it keeps me from "cleaning" all of the gunk into the action (which I also have to clean).

The point is, get a longer rod and you won't have to adjust anything else.

The Bore Snake would also solve your problem.

 

[762x51]

I use an Otis kit and clean from the breech. Give the cable a twist when it near the end of the barrel and it should go straight through the brake.