Clean firing factory amo for the SKS?

John Y Cannuck

John Y Cannuck

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I was put to the range last weekend, blasting away with a number of rifles. Only fired ten rounds from the SKS. Hornady ammunition, steel cased. I was surprised at how dirty this stuff is. Ten rounds made the rifle dirtier than any of the others I fired that day. I have used a few other brands, can't say any were really much better. The Hornady is the most accurate I've used so far, but it also must be close to the dirtiest.

So, is there a clean 7.62X39 ammunition?

I know, you're gonna clean it anyway, still, it shouldn't be THAT dirty.
 
SKS has a generous chamber dimensions so it would run with any type of ammunition. No matter what ammo you try. Generally brass cased and non corrosive would seal the chamber better when case expands. Steel cased ammo doesn't expand as good as brass so some more gas blowby ends up in your chamber and action.
Try brass cased ammo next time, you'd see the difference.
 
The Hornady ammo with the SST projectile is my favourite for the SKS. I bet even though it is dirty, the SKS will fire & fire & fire!

Cheers
Jay
 
Even 22s get dirty after shooting . as you said your going to have to clean it anyways. I would say the Barnal 762x39 is the cleanest stuff that I have ever tried .
 
Clean burning smmo is nice, but unless it's corrosive ammo, you don't need to clean the SKS much unless you want to. 500-1200 rounds is a decent cleaning schedule. :)
 
ljones said:
Canada Ammo is supposed to be getting an unlimited supply of brand new production 7.62X39 ammo in a 2-3 months. According to them "Non-corrosive, brand new production, steel lacquered case, clean burning, 50/50 lead/steel projectile, very accurate, and very affordable." Will be interesting to see how it performs.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1371420-restocking-of-7-62x39-Norinco
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If it s the ammo Im thinking of right now, we bought a whole case of it last year that fit that description. Norc, new production, 50/50 lead and steel. Its a real shame because our outdoor range doesn't allow the use of steel core bullets... :/
 
Aadw79 I think an SKS would be a perfect first rifle it's cheap so is the ammo and plentiful by the case. All you need to do when you're done shooting is take apart get a bucket a kettle of water pour it down the barrel using the bayonet as a handle give the rest of your parts a quick soak.
The Boiling water dries quickly, scrub with brushes lubricate and put away. The process is much easier than it sounds that's how they designed it. It's a good first rifle because it teaches you how a semi auto really works and if you get tired of the cleaning process you can move it for not much less than you paid. There are plenty of threads on here if you get lost.

I only wish there were lots of cheap non corrosive 7.62x54r but the Mosin Nagant is so easy to clean its not a big deal if there isn't.
 
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Gatehouse said:
Clean burning smmo is nice, but unless it's corrosive ammo, you don't need to clean the SKS much unless you want to. 500-1200 rounds is a decent cleaning schedule. :)
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This is about what I do. I usually go a few trips shooting non corrosive, and then when I know I am going to clean it anyway I will bring some cheaper corrosive and blast it away before giving it a good clean.
In my experience though, there is no "clean" 7.62x39, there are only two considerations when it comes to it, corrosive/non corrosive and cheap/expensive

Aadw79 said:
I'm thinking about getting an SKS for my first rifle, I've been warned by friends though, that the corrosive ammo does do a number on them. I'm wondering about all those tin that say non-corrosive, I'd assume that it's non corrosive, but I've seen many a review telling me that all that surplus ammo is corrosive. Do I need to take her all apart and clean her every time I shoot her?
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the quick and dirty rule for 7.62x39 is that if it is in boxes of 20 that are clearly marked "non corrosive" (can still be a crate full of boxes) are ok and you can shoot them without any worry.

Anything that comes in spam cans in crates, wrapped in paper bundles, or plastic packages with no markings, treat it as corrosive.
There are some exceptions to this, but it's a good rule of thumb.
 
I don't think the problem is so much the ammo as the SKS itself.

I have an SKS, an 858 and an AR in 7.62x39, after a day at the range shooting about 50 rounds out of each, same ammo, the SKS was full of muck, the 858 was so/so and the AR was actually not too bad.

The thing is, I'm sure that the AR would be the first one to jam if I kept shooting without cleaning until one of them got jammed up and the SKS would probably be the last one to jam.
 
Aadw79 said:
I'm thinking about getting an SKS for my first rifle, I've been warned by friends though, that the corrosive ammo does do a number on them. I'm wondering about all those tin that say non-corrosive, I'd assume that it's non corrosive, but I've seen many a review telling me that all that surplus ammo is corrosive. Do I need to take her all apart and clean her every time I shoot her?
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Some people get obsessive about corrosive ammo. They worry about the 2-3 hours between shooting and cleaning and rinse the barrel at the range etc...

I go shooting in the morning, shoot a bunch of corrosive, finish up around 2pm and pack up then around 8pm or so I break down my SKS and clean it (boiling water first then 1-2 patches of Hoppes then dry patches til they come out clean then a final patch with USGI) if I'm going to go more than a few days before shooting again, I put some EWL on instead of leaving on the USGI. Takes me about 30 minutes to do the whole thing, including break down and re-assembly.

I have never seen a speck of rust anywhere on the gun.

If I'm shooting in the rain, and the gun is soaking wet when I pack it up, I break it down and dry it off right away when I get home (maybe 2 hours after shooting) then I leave it apart and clean it about 4 hours later. I have packed it up covered in snow and ice after shooting about 100 rds of corrosive and then dried it off a few hours later, zero rust problems.

I do have a chrome lined bore/barrel
 
sks isnt really a long range kinda thing, neither is ar unless you go long barrel and bigger calibre like 308 etc. for the mags and scope mount and stock issues, talk to the guys at hical, they can solve all of that for you. i have one with a scope, 10 rd detachable mags, works with stripper clips, scope mount auto realigns perfectly and comes off and back on in about 1 minute for cleaning. you will need to decide between bayonet and bipod if you dont want problems
 
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