How Long Do You Spend Cleaning Corrosive Ammo?

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ColdNano

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Cleaning corrosive 762x39 out of barrel and other fouled metal with the hot water in a spray bottle.

How much/how long do you spray it with water till you're certain the salts are gone?

Is the idea that it's clean once the water's touched the spot once or does it need several rinses?
 
I strip the action off the wood and pull apart the gas system. Pour 1 full kettle of boiling water down (3/4 down action/barrel and 1/4 through gas tube). Typically the gun is too hot to touch so I pick it up with an oven mitt and by the time I am back at the gun room it's dry. Add oil, and TADA!
 
I always clean the same day that I shoot. Sauce pan of boiling water down the barrel with a funnel and then brushes, oil, patches. Then a second time the next day just to be sure but I just use solvent, brushes and patches...no boiling water...
 
Can't you clean everything using the same solvents as you would normally?

I ask because I've shot corrosive for years in a handful of rifles and while I am may be a little more diligent with everything like the gas systems, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary
 
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I don't even use water anymore after discovering the wonders of Ballistol. Oil-soaked patch up the barrel and gas tube, light coating on everything else. Let sit for a few minutes, wipe clean and reassemble. Have tried it with an SKS, Type 81, CZ 527, and M10X- no corrosion to be seen, and can be done in 15-20 minutes. Way more streamlined than faffing around with boiling water and trying not to spill it everywhere lol.
 
10 sprays of windex down the barrel before I leave the range....the ammonia is what neutralizes the corrosive salts and the water base is what flushes it out......

Normal cleaning procedure with breakfree and g96 when I get home

Never an issue in 30 years
 
Ipscshooters said:
10 sprays of windex down the barrel before I leave the range....the ammonia is what neutralizes the corrosive salts and the water base is what flushes it out......

Normal cleaning procedure with breakfree and g96 when I get home

Never an issue in 30 years
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Windex Does NOT contain enough ammonia to matter, if any at all.
I run hot water thru the barrel and gas tube in my Laundry sink next to the water heater. As said, afterwards the heat dries the water away. This ONLY removes the salts and a bit of carbon. The rifle still needs "Normal' cleaning. Still, all done in less than 1/2 hour - sometimes the carbon is stubborn in my '51 Tula, very pitted bore collects copper too.

And the cost of bulk is about 0.40/round, where NC is 0.50 to 0.75/round at Minimum. If you find it on Sale, which mostly is over now that the holidays are past.
 
Buck1950 said:
Windex Does NOT contain enough ammonia to matter, if any at all.
I run hot water thru the barrel and gas tube in my Laundry sink next to the water heater. As said, afterwards the heat dries the water away. This ONLY removes the salts and a bit of carbon. The rifle still needs "Normal' cleaning. Still, all done in less than 1/2 hour - sometimes the carbon is stubborn in my '51 Tula, very pitted bore collects copper too.

And the cost of bulk is about 0.40/round, where NC is 0.50 to 0.75/round at Minimum. If you find it on Sale, which mostly is over now that the holidays are past.
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Ok fair enough, if you don't want to go that route you can also use stale urine
 
Fordtrucks said:
Not worth running corrosive anymore imo unless you have a huge stash. Non is almost the same
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I ran corrosive once through an earlier SKS I owned - thankfully a "beater" one. I didn't know what I was doing in terms of the cleaning regimen so I was using a funnel to try to pour water directly from a kettle into the action/chamber/barrel. Forgot to wear gloves so it wasn't a good scene. Then I realized I could take the receiver out of the stock to run the hot water. It wasn't long that I found it too cumbersome for someone as lazy as I can be so I just started buying non corrosive.

I have since bought some SKSes that have gone through the corrosive route and were never cleaned and with seized piston rods, pitting everywhere, corrosion, etc. - I figured if I can just run known non-corrosive (ie. Barnaul, Norinco white box 311-14, red box 311-19, 311-20 and avoid white box 311-18), the cost difference is a few bucks, but to me it is worth it. I don't mind cleaning the gun as per usual with my cleaning rod and G96, but just taking the metal action out every time is just something I'd rather not do.

I just bought an SKS recently where I am not sure it has had much cleaning at all. Thankfully no corrosion that I could see but the gas tube contents were TAR BLACK, even after running 20 or so patches through it. It took about 22 before the colour started looking better - but the patches were small.

It is true that from a purely monetary and value proposition, corrosive is better value, since in either case, you can't re-use the steel cases anyway and the experience is indistinguishable at the range.

I would think for me, to use corrosive ammo, I'd have to be at the range shooting my SKS for at least 3-4 hours minimum to make it worth it for me to take it apart and run another kettle's worth of boiling water into it and hope I don't scald myself...again...
 
Cross94 said:
I don't even use water anymore after discovering the wonders of Ballistol. Oil-soaked patch up the barrel and gas tube, light coating on everything else. Let sit for a few minutes, wipe clean and reassemble. Have tried it with an SKS, Type 81, CZ 527, and M10X- no corrosion to be seen, and can be done in 15-20 minutes. Way more streamlined than faffing around with boiling water and trying not to spill it everywhere lol.
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100% agree. I've been doing this on all my guns after shooting corrosive or not for over 20 years.
 
ColdNano said:
Cleaning corrosive 762x39 out of barrel and other fouled metal with the hot water in a spray bottle.

How much/how long do you spray it with water till you're certain the salts are gone?

Is the idea that it's clean once the water's touched the spot once or does it need several rinses?
Click to expand...

I pour a kettle of boiling water down the barrel/gas system and soak the bolt and other stripped bits in boiling water in an old empty spam can, once it’s cool enough to handle I clean as usual with my solvent of choice.
 
The word "corrosive" scares many folks and makes them overthink and overkill. I clean using exact same materials and procedures like for non-corrosive. The only difference for corrosive - is that I try to clean right after the range trip, sometimes next day or two. No problem for so many years.
 
Disassemble, toss all the parts in a bin. Pour a kettle full of boiling water down the barrel (and gas tube if semi-auto) and have the water collect in the bin with the parts. Wait for the barrel to cool off, wipe exterior dry, brass brush, and dry patch. The use some Hoppe's 9 on the barrel/gas tube and any especially dirty parts of the receiver, set aside.
Dry parts, use some hoppe's where necessary, and wipe clean. Spray all metal parts with g96 oil.
Brass brush the barrel/gas tube, then dry patch. Spray some g96 oil down the barrel and then patch. Spray on exterior of barrel, and wipe with shop towel.
Reassemble making sure all metal parts have a light coating of g96 (use the same shop towel and apply extra oil if necessary).
All in all it takes about 30 minutes (45 if really really dirty) from start to finish.
You can substitute your favorite gun oil for the g96. I've never had a spec of rust on any of the guns I've use to shoot corrosive.
:cheers:
 
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