Oh My God He's Got A Gun

[Hoplophile]

Yes, I do. My very first firearm, my very first rifle. A WASR-10/63, purchased from ClassicArms.

Now, I have some questions.

1) What do I do before I fire it? Anything I need to clean? I know how to field-strip it, but how do I clean it? What parts should I avoid touching?

2) The muzzle brake is a bit loose. Why? Is that okay?

3) Should I oil the place where the safety slides across the receiver so I don't mar the finish?

4) It's a Century, so duh, it has a little mag wobble. A very little bit. How can I fix this?

5) I screwed up. I was very gentle with the bolt assembly and somehow got like the first tenth of a full cartridge jammed into the barrel. A few pokes with the cleaning rod and it tumbled out. However, another round in the mag got caught under it and when I yanked the mag out, it absolutely mutilated the round. Did I mess up my rifle?

6) If I have a round chambered, is it safe to pull the bolt back and let it down? The round should fling out, right?

7) Is dry-firing okay?

8) My rifle appears to have a bolt-hold-open...by accident. If I'm gentle with the bolt, it'll stay right on top of the hammer. Will this wear down over time? Should I oil that part of the hammer?

9) What should I use the clean it? What's the cleaning kit for? There's a wire brush, some crazy thing with a hole in it, something that looks sort of like a bottle opener's night with a screwdriver, and something that looks more or less like a pin. What do these things do?

10) Anything else I should watch for?

11) What gun oil should I buy?

12) The bayonet that came with this is positively revolting, covered in some grimy oil petrol crap. Is this Cosmoline? How do I remove it from the bayonet and inside the sheath?

Anyway, today, I've exercised both of my first two rights. I'm quite pleased.

 

[LKB3rd]

Congrats!
You should give it a thorough cleaning to get any cosmoline off of it. It looks like grease, but it is to fight off corrosion, not to lubricate. Mineral spirits works well. Lube it when this is done. I use a light coat of oil on all the metal parts, wiped down to remove excess, and make sure to lube all of the moving parts. Most people leave the firing pin dry, because it can gunk up with crud stuck in the lube and stick.
Dry firing is fine. Just make sure you develop and stick to safe habits re: ammo and dry firing. Keep the ammo in a different room. Triple check it to make sure its unloaded.
I don't know of any way to avoid the "safety line."
The cleaning kit can be used by inserting the screwdriver part in the slots through the side of the tube, making "T" handled tools. Screwdriver, front sight tool (The forked end). I don't know what the pin is for.
Cycling the bolt with a round chambered will eject the round, and chamber a new one, if the magazine is in and loaded. That is how you clear it to unload. Remove the magazine, and cycle the action, ejecting the round. Double check it, visually making sure the chamber is empty.
Anyway, that should get you started

 

[nalioth]

You will not avoid putting a line on the receiver under the safety.

The muzzle brake is supposed to be loose. The detent pin holds it in place.

Your "bolt hold open" is normal for new trigger groups. It will go away with use. Please don't 'baby' the bolt forward, pull it all the way to the rear and let it fly.

How to use the buttstock cleaning kit

 

[RP88]

1) clean off any cosmoline. Your main parts to clean are gonna be the gas tube, bolt carrier/bolt/piston, and sometimes the retracting spring. Be sure to maintain the trigger assembly and such as well. You dont need to pop it out; just reach in there with thin cloth or q-tips or something.

2) it isnt held in place by welding; it's held by a detent

3) sorry, but you're gonna rip into it no matter what. Use black permanent marker or something. It's a waste of effort to really worry about the finish of a normal AK

4) if it's only a little bit, and won't interfere with feeding, or if the mag doesnt drop out of the well, then don't even worry about it.

5) the AK is a stiff rifle. You gotta let the carrier slam forward. No, you didnt mess up the rifle. You can't really mess up an AK unless you pour acid on it. Even then, the AK may still be just fine.

6) of course. The round will extract as usual. Nothing to worry about. However, keep the four rules of safety in mind at all times, as you would with any gun.

7) dry-fires on a centerfire are just fine, because the firing pin is gonna only hit air. Your AK is a centerfire. Rimfires are the types of guns that you never want to dry-fire. They'll leave burs around the back of the chamber, and can break the gun.

8) WASRs have that. Oiling can help, but breaking it in is what will permanently fix it. If the bolt holds open, just give the gun a good smack. keep your fingers clear of the chamber opening though...

9) WD-40, Hoppes, CLP, anything that will clean and prevent rust and drive off moisture.

10) AKs will bite i.e. cut you when charging the carrier. Get a glove and/or keep your hand as far from the side when pulling back on the handle. It stings to have a chunk of skin go missing due to that kind of negligence *personal experience*

11) go for all-purpose CLP. Clean, lube, protect. Can't go wrong with it.

12) stripping cosmo can be done by boiling the bayonet, rubbing diesel fule, and many other creative ways.

have fun.

 

[Picard]

You got some good advice. I was confused like you about six months ago when I purchased an AK. It was also my first rifle purchase. In about a week or so, you'll know the gun like the back of your hand.

I use Breakfree CLP to clean and lubricate. Lubricate any area when you have moving metal to metal contact. It would also be good to, once in a while, take a paper towel and wipe CLP on everything, to protect the metal.

You made a good choice with an AK. A WASR is your entry level AK, but an AK is an AK. It's a rifle you can depend on with your life. Just make sure to have at least 10 mags on hand. They're cheap now so get them while you can. A good source is www.aimsurplus.com .

When I get back home, in a few days, I'll try and post a pic on how I got rid of magazine wobble. It's easy but you'll need some JB Weld.

As for cleaning the bayonet, CLP is good for dissolving cosmoline as well. What I did is clean the outside with it. For the bayonet sheath, I sprayed CLP in there. Then I put the bayonet in there and removed it repeatedly, wiping off any gun that stuck to the blade. Doing this a few times will get most of it out.

Take it out to the range and give us a range report complete with pics!

By the way, I know you're excited, but I wouldn't cycle the action too much with loaded magazines. You might make a mistake and put a hole in a wall.

 

[Travlin]

One guy who collects military surplus says that a blow dryer is his best method for removing cosmoline. Just heat it up over a bucket.

 

[Scratchy]

Does the mag wobble when loaded?

 

[TehK1w1]

I did all of the family Mosins by hanging them in the attic for a week or so in the summer. Just make sure you put a pan or something under them.

 

[jws527]

Looks like some of the other posters have already covered your questions point-by-point, so I just have a few things to add:

-The only cleaning you really need to do is get the cosmoline off of the moving parts and away from the bore and chamber (if there even is any). Don't worry if there's some caught in some awkward spots especially around the bottom of the receiver; in fact, it makes for an absolutely excellent preservative (that's why they use it!) and it's probably better there than not. I got lucky; there was very little cosmoline on my gun and most of what was there was deep inside the receiver.

-For lubrication, put grease on the receiver rails and synthetic motor oil (e.g. Mobil 1) on everything else (like the trigger group). If you want to be really cheap, just use Mobil 1 on the rails too (I've tried it and it works fine - but it doesn't last as long as the grease and you'll have to relube the rails every 60 rounds or so if you want to prevent finish wear). Before you lube the gun, put Breakfree on all of the exposed metal parts on the inside and outside of the rifle (except for the gas tube) and then let it dry for a few hours. It's supposed to leave an invisible film of teflon when it does this; in any case, Breakfree is an excellent rust preventative even when "dry," unlike some other fluids that are effectively gone (and thus not working) when they dry up.

-Some magwell wobble is to be expected in any AK (not just Century guns) - remember, the gun was designed with loose tolerances from the start. There will be some variances in the mags you buy, and the amount of wobble my gun has literally varies from mag to mag (some are so tight that they have no wobble whatsoever, while others wobble if the rifle is given a moderate shake). Unless the fit is so loose that the bolt isn't chambering rounds properly, don't worry about it.

-It's my understanding that the AK's free floating firing pin is unusually vulnerable to damage from repeated dry firing. Just buy a Snap Cap and be done with it.

 

[anymanusa]

6) If I have a round chambered, is it safe to pull the bolt back and let it down? The round should fling out, right?

Do this ONLY in a safe location, as you are liable to fire the rifle inadvertantly. The pin can dent the primer when charging, by accident.

Look what mine did on charging:



Luckily it didn't fire this time. Always point in a safe direction when charging.

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

1) What do I do before I fire it? Get yourself a good disassembly manual, learn to take it apart to an appropriate level to thoroughly clean it and put it back together. Clean it, paying special attention to making sure the chamber and barrel has no obstructions, aka cosmosline clogs, etc. Lubricate after cleaning in any place that appears to have metal to metal contact.

Anything I need to clean?Everything you can, thoroughly.

I know how to field-strip it, but how do I clean it? google cleaning an AK 47 and follow the procedures you find, lots of information of that type on the net


What parts should I avoid touching? Nothing, you should spend time famliarizing yourself with your rifle.

2) The muzzle brake is a bit loose. Why?

I suspect it needs tightening, but can't say without a picture.


Is that okay? I don't think so, but without seeing your specific firearm, I can't say for sure.

3) Should I oil the place where the safety slides across the receiver so I don't mar the finish? Yes, but it's going to get marred no matter what you do. Nature of the beast.

4) It's a Century, so duh, it has a little mag wobble. A very little bit. How can I fix this?

Hit the AK47 forums at AR15.com and AK47.net - they'll know about the muzzle break and how to resolve that as well. You need to tighten up the magwell, but they have pictures over there on how to do that.

5) I screwed up. I was very gentle with the bolt assembly and somehow got like the first tenth of a full cartridge jammed into the barrel. A few pokes with the cleaning rod and it tumbled out. However, another round in the mag got caught under it and when I yanked the mag out, it absolutely mutilated the round. Did I mess up my rifle? No, but you need to stop babying your rifle. It's an AK and is made to load a mag in, then pull back on the carrier and release, letting the bolt slam home to load. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll ruin a bunch more rounds. Additionally, don't play with weapons at home with live ammo. Get yourself some dummy rounds or wait till you get to the range. You're asking to have an accident happen playing with live rounds. Meaning you could shoot someone else or yourself accidentally fiddling around with such things. Leave the ammo for the range until you're more famliar with the rifle.

6) If I have a round chambered, is it safe to pull the bolt back and let it down? The round should fling out, right? Tp clear the rifle, remove the magazine and pull sharply back on the charging handle. The round will be extracted from the chamber and ejected.

7) Is dry-firing okay? Yes, but not until you get all the live ammo out of the gun and out of the magazines. Get yourself some plastic dummy rounds for safety if you want to play with your new toy.

8) My rifle appears to have a bolt-hold-open...by accident. If I'm gentle with the bolt, it'll stay right on top of the hammer. Will this wear down over time? Should I oil that part of the hammer?

This is only going to happen with a new, tight gun and with firing and wear, will likely go away. Yes, you should oil or grease that area, as it's a wear area.

9) What should I use the clean it? I suggest googling Ed's Red and making yourself a batch. One of the best and cheapest gun cleaners to be had. You can spend more, but the gun won't get any cleaner. Real good stuff for dealing with cheap, nasty commie ammo residues. Additionally, I use synthetic motor oil and grease (mobile 1) to lube the rifle with. Works great, is cheap compared to most of the "gun lubricants" on the market, which are also basically oil and grease.

What's the cleaning kit for? The one that comes with it isn't worth much. I would suggest tossing it in the trash or keeping it for if and when you decide to sell the rifle.

There's a wire brush, some crazy thing with a hole in it, something that looks sort of like a bottle opener's night with a screwdriver, and something that looks more or less like a pin. What do these things do? They're to torture you with. Go buy yourself either an Otis kit for .30 caliber/7.62 or get yourself a Dewey rod, jags and brushes for .30 caliber. I clean a lot of weapons, the dewey rods are the best I've used and I highly recommend them.

10) Anything else I should watch for? Yes, don't play with it in the house with live ammo any more. You're risking shooting something. Get some dummy rounds if you want to play with it.

11) What gun oil should I buy? You can spend more, but like I said before, motor oil and grease work great. I use Mobil 1 synthetic for my AK's, at the recommendation of my buddy who is bigtime into them. He owns about ten and builds them/has buildling parties all the time. Stuff works great and is cheap. "Gun oil" is expensive. Use that money for ammo and practice.

12) The bayonet that came with this is positively revolting, covered in some grimy oil petrol crap. Is this Cosmoline? Yep, enjoy your first experience cleaning cosmoline. You'll come to one day love the smell, as it only comes on surplus firearms generally new to you. So it means you've just gotten a new gun. (grin)

How do I remove it from the bayonet and inside the sheath? Soak everything good in the Ed's Red solution I mentioned above. If you have a 50 caliber ammo can, fill it half full of the solution or so and dunk those items in, leaving them, your bolt and any other small parts you can fit in there. After a few minutes, remove and scrub off with a GI joe cleaning kit toothbrush. Makes getting the cosmo off much easier.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your new firearm, but be safe. I suggest you also find a friend to help you familiarize with the new rifle.

Best Regards,

Dave
Aces & Eights Custom Guns

 

[Starship1st]

Dude,

You have gotten great advice hear as I always get. Do not forget to buy more magazines and ammo. When you go to the range I would start with 10 to 20 rounds and sqeeze off a few rounds at a time to get used to the sighting and function is working well.

Oh, when charging make sure you pull the lever back at let it slam forward on its own. The AK loves abuse and I have read here that people who hold on to it the bullet did not seat properly.

Have fun!

 

[MartinS]

Be careful with sight alignment, The front sight post is only happy when centered perfectly in the rear notch, short sight radius and all.
You are now an armed citizen, free republics don't last very long without people like you. Thank you.

 

[Mike U.]

I would like to add to MartinS' excellent closing comments by saying:
Now go buy LOTS of ammo to practice with and become as proficient with your chosen weapon as you possibly can.

 

[radioburning]

Lazy man's cosmoline removal:

tightly wrap the rifle in a couple layers of paper towel, put the wrapped rifle in a black garbage bag, put the wrapped and bagged rifle on the dash of your car(locked of course) on a hot day. After a couple hours most of the cosmoline will turn to liquid and drain out. Clean with mineral spirits to get the rest.