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Posted: 10/23/2010 10:07:45 AM EDT
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So which parts of AK should I wash with water after shooting corrosive ammo. The whole rifle or just the bore and gas block. I been very frustrating recently, can’t seem to find anyone who make non-corrosive ammo that I can used at in-door range. My local range doesn’t allow Wolf, Golden Tiger, Silver Bear, Monarch, or what I just found out now Tulu. These is a out-door range I went awhile ago that allow steel ammo, but it’s too far and winter is coming.
I was planning to be able to go the range every week or two. To shoot maybe 200rds at most, but that doesn’t likely now. |
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The beauty of the AK...you only have to clean (wash) what the corrosive primer material comes into contact with...which isn't much: just the chamber, bore, gas tube and piston...bolt to be safe.
But you could dunk the whole thing in water w/o hurting it. Just be sure to dry it thoroughly. The beauty of the AK! FWIW our M4s get so dusty that we take 'em in the shower when we can't get to our dip tanks...and the tanks are water and Simple Green (some people $hit their pants over the Simple Green but it doesn't hurt anything)...our armorer is the one who preps the tanks. |
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The WHOLE THING. You can't hurt it. All that is needed is water (preferably HOT so it dries quicker) and mild dish soap.
Some say you don't need the soap (use Ballistal instead). Some say you only need to flush the barrel, gas tube and wipe down the piston/bolt carrier. (Don't heed the Windex advice. Its just water and soap!) I don't worry about doing a good job because I just do a full cleaning every time. Get a 50 cal nylon chamber brush. One of these for cleaning out the gas tube and various other places: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=326650&cm_mmc=Froogle-_-Shooting%20-%20Gun%20Cleaning-_-PriceCompListing-_-326650 A bore snake or jag & bore brush. And go to WallyWorld and pick up one of those dinky little dust pans and brushes. You are after the brush. Its about 6" wide and 1" thick. Works great for scrubbing out the inside channel of the receiver. Gets all the lacquer and stuff out. When it gets bent up, pitch it and buy another for $2. Scrub everything out, let it dry, and then clean normally and use some CLP or light oil that will get into the cracks and gaps where needed. Heavy oil or grease to instructions or your preference. Over the top??? Maybe. It takes me about an extra 5 minutes and I never worry. |
| I keep getting rust in my gas tube! Is it actually rust or is something else. I clean with hot water and a tooth brush, I dried using paper towels and cloths. I sprayed a generous amount of Rem oil and wipe again with a cloth and that was all about a few ago. But I just check again and there is rust in gas tube again. |
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RemOil evaporates as it is a light oil. You'll need something heavier or that seals.
Plus the fact that you may not be getting all the salts out of the gas tube. (Thats the most likely place for them to be) Get a bit bore brush or something that can clean it out. |
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hot water(like a hot shower) poured through the gas tube/down the barrel/gas block/ bolt carrier assy-muzzle brake rinsed
the hot water dries quickly then clean and lube(CLP) as normal,it only takes an extra 5 mins and is probably overkill but i feel good about it 
the salt rinse is done over a 5gal bucket that gets poured in my mother in laws flower bed 
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Quoted:
We did the same thing with M16s way back in the day and I learned that bad habit in OCS. It saved hours picking out little bits of sand and more importantly it ensured the weapon would function reliably, but at that time, you did not want to get caught doing it. It's nice to se that that practice has become the accepted norm.
The beauty of the AK...you only have to clean (wash) what the corrosive primer material comes into contact with...which isn't much: just the chamber, bore, gas tube and piston...bolt to be safe. But you could dunk the whole thing in water w/o hurting it. Just be sure to dry it thoroughly. The beauty of the AK! FWIW our M4s get so dusty that we take 'em in the shower when we can't get to our dip tanks...and the tanks are water and Simple Green (some people $hit their pants over the Simple Green but it doesn't hurt anything)...our armorer is the one who preps the tanks. ––––- That aside, the function of water is to dissolve/remove the salts used in corrosive primers. In that regard you don't need large amounts of water and you can instead clean with a water based solvent. Black powder solvents are water based and intended to deal with far greater amounts of corrosive salts and black powder residue. Black powder solvents can be found in any shop that sells muzzle loading supplies. Sportsman's Guide and Cheaper than Dirt both sell a 16 oz bottle of Birchwood Casey's No 77 Muzzle Magic black powder solvent for $6 -$7. Fill a surplus com block oil bottle with a water based solvent and you are good to go. Run a soaking wet patch through the bore, scrubbing it back and forth a few times then follow it up with another soaking wet patch and a couple dry patches. Then clean like you normally would to remove copper fouling. The gas tube, op rod, and chamber area can be cleaned in a similar manner by wiping them down with a couple wet patches. When you are done cleaning the bore and gas system, just follow it up with a patch with CLP or other oil as a rust preventative. |
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I hose all my AKs out in the utility sink with hot water. dish soap and a scrub-brush for dirty grease. Then rinse, and blow off with compressed air. Then a few passes down the bore with a brush and patch.
As an M60 gunner, I'd take the head off the shower and blast it out. Motor-pool to blow dry.. Then make myself scarce for 4 hours while everyone else cleaned theirs. Not a whole lot different than cleaning any other field gear. Or golf-clubs for that matter. I think a lot of people try to make gun cleaning a lot more complicated than it needs to be. |
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Quoted:
I hose all my AKs out in the utility sink with hot water. dish soap and a scrub-brush for dirty grease. Then rinse, and blow off with compressed air. Then a few passes down the bore with a brush and patch. As an M60 gunner, I'd take the head off the shower and blast it out. Motor-pool to blow dry.. Then make myself scarce for 4 hours while everyone else cleaned theirs. Not a whole lot different than cleaning any other field gear. Or golf-clubs for that matter. I think a lot of people try to make gun cleaning a lot more complicated than it needs to be. Exactly. We would get back from an op and head straight to the showers. Keep scrubbing until your ass and rifle are clean. |
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