corrosive ammo

[yotesmoker]

I posted this question on the ar forum but got no responses so let me try here.I shoot surplus ammo out of my colt ar in 7.62x39 that is corrosive.Just how far do I have to take down my ar for cleaning to take care to get rid of the corrosiveness.

 

[Rottweiler]

Take it down as far as you would to clean it after shooting any other ammo. Clean it with LOTS of windex first to get the corrosive salts out Soak it down let it sit a few minutes, clean out the windex, then clean it again with the usual solvent. Check it for rust after a day or so to make sure you got the corrosive stuff out

 

[yotesmoker]

have other rifles but not that familiar with the AR.Do I take off the hand guards to get to the gas tube?To clean the AR I clean the bolt,bbl,and trigger area,Is that enough?

 

[rcmodel]

The gas tube is stainless steel and it will probably cause no problems. More people screw up gas tubes by getting a broken-off pipe cleaner stuck in them then ever ruined one by just leaving it alone.

You do need to remove the hand-guards to clean the outside of the barrel and gas block base. There will be some leakage around the gas block, as well as under the hand-guard where the gas tube goes through into the receiver.

The bore on a real Colt AR is I assume, chrome lined, and normal cleaning for corrosive fouling should suffice. Flash hider will need extra attention.

I would completely dissemble the bolt carrier & bolt and clean & oil the internal stuff as much as possible.

I might even be tempted to take the lower and use the kitchen sink sprayer to hose out the trigger group with hot water. Then dry & oil again.

rc

 

[yotesmoker]

RCMODEL,I kind of thought that would be my answer.To me that is just too much take down for me.I shoot about 20 or 30 rounds a day and it's too much of a pain to do that every day.On the other hand my Mini-30 is a snap to detail strip.The reason for my question was to see which one of the rifles to keep.My AR is more accurate but the mini will be easier to maintain, so the Ar will go.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Use ammonia (Windex) to soak the bolt, and spray down the barrel, they have a bunch of formunlas for corrosive on mil sup sites, main thing is to get the salt out, probably, shotgun, degrease, ammonia / hot soapy water, dry, and lube, if the ammo isn't dirty, you can probably avoid having to deal with a detail cleaning for a LITTLE while.

 

[easyrider604]

My AR is more accurate but the mini will be easier to maintain, so the Ar will go.

Buy a Russian SKS with the proceeds of AR sale. Best all around 7.62 x 39 rifle for my money.

 

[41022collector]

In any event, I would say Keep the Mini-30, sell the AR. BEFORE firing, barely wet all surfaces with Tri-Flow or Break free, inside and out, the bore, action, bolt etc.

Then when you clean up, use any amonia based cleaner to get the salts out, I mean really mopped wet everywhere inside and out. Then use Kroil as your bore and firearms cleaner.

BUT.... my first rec is do not shoot corrosive ammo, period. I know it is cheap, but on decent pieces like the AR and Mini-30, no way. On an SKS you bet cha.