SKS post Corrosive Ammo cleaning

linuxbman

linuxbman

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Long time reader, first time posting.

I just picked up a Russian SKS, 1950 Tula refurb, my first firearm.

What a ###y piece of hardware!

I've spent alot of time online researching the SKS, and am impressed with the amount of knowledge available. I know it is much cheaper to get the military surplus ammo to fire from it. My first trip to the range I picked up a back of 20 rounds for 25$, since I could not afford the 200$ crate, the only other option the gun store/range had. 2 minutes later, I was out of ammo...

I'm picking up a few hundred milsurp rounds from a friend who already has one, but was wondering about the hazards of the corrosive ammo. I know I am supposed to clean my SKS after each time I use it with corrosive ammo (really any time at all I use it), but 2 questions keep coming to mind that I can not find a definitive answer to.

1. How long do I have after I am done firing the rounds to clean it before damage starts to occur? 1 hour? 24 hours?

2. What part of the gun am I supposed to clean? The gas chamber? the barrel? Both, neither?

and one last question along those lines, what is a good cheap option for cleaning product?

thank you in advance for the advice
 
there are 2 basic schools of thought: neutralize the salts left behind from the corrosive primers or simply oil the bare metal after cleaning. both work well when done right. Where you live will determine how long you have before rust sets in. In normal Alberta weather I can usually got 20 hours or so, but when its hot and humid I'll get rust in just a couple hours. The parts to be concerned with are anywhere thats exposed to the gases (barrel, gas tube, gas piston, gas block and inside the reciever) Some use boiling water, windex and other stuff like that but I just clean it the same as any other gun and oil it all up. I'm using M-Pro7 products right now but anything will work. To find if you missed anything after cleaning, inspect the rifle periodically over the next day or so to see if rust develops, this will reveal any areas that need more attention and after a few cleaning cycles you will get the hang of it. The rust doesnt do serious damage, its easy to remove and only leaves tiny pits behind. A nylon .45 cal bore brush and mop are good for cleaning rust and stubborn build up in the gas tube. Just add oil and scrub it out of there. You'll find everyone does something different and it all works, these rifles were made to stay reliable in tough environments with little to no care, so dont worry to much about it
 
linuxbman said:
Long time reader, first time posting.

I just picked up a Russian SKS, 1950 Tula refurb, my first firearm.

What a ###y piece of hardware!

I've spent alot of time online researching the SKS, and am impressed with the amount of knowledge available. I know it is much cheaper to get the military surplus ammo to fire from it. My first trip to the range I picked up a back of 20 rounds for 25$, since I could not afford the 200$ crate, the only other option the gun store/range had. 2 minutes later, I was out of ammo...

I'm picking up a few hundred milsurp rounds from a friend who already has one, but was wondering about the hazards of the corrosive ammo. I know I am supposed to clean my SKS after each time I use it with corrosive ammo (really any time at all I use it), but 2 questions keep coming to mind that I can not find a definitive answer to.

1. How long do I have after I am done firing the rounds to clean it before damage starts to occur? 1 hour? 24 hours?

2. What part of the gun am I supposed to clean? The gas chamber? the barrel? Both, neither?

and one last question along those lines, what is a good cheap option for cleaning product?

thank you in advance for the advice
Click to expand...
If you dont store your rifle in a humid place, you can leave it a couples of days, no problem. If there's rust, will clean well. ofc if you shoot in winter then when you get back home,soon as you get your gun inside, condensation will form and then rust can start. When you clean it, clean all the powder affected areas mean the bore+chamber+gas tube+piston+bolt+inside of receiver in the mag area.. In winter, let your gun at the room temperature before cleaning if you just get back from range. has for cleaning, every peoples have their preference. I will give you mine, i dont say its the best but always worked for me. After disassembling, with a funel, i pour a kettle of boiling water down the bore, this will flush all corrosive salt and the bore will dry in a sec. After i run a dry patch and if i plan to use the gun again soon, i run a very lightly oiled patch to protect from rust, you can use bore cleaner after the water flushing and after wiping the bore dry, oil very lightly. As for the gas tube, run boiling water to flush first and dry patch after. Some oil the gas tube and the piston after, i dont and never have rust. If you oil, wipe dry before shooting. For the remaining parts, i wipe them with clothe moisted in hot water and wipe dry after and i finish with oiled patch. Boiling water is cheap and efficient. Hope that help:)

Jocelyn
 
I hate to be one of those guys, but you should use the search function. There are sooooo many threads about this. I know lots of people here will rag on you, but I wont.

I personally use boiling water down chamber/barrel and then clean as normal with some extra attention going to the gas tube and piston.
Also depends on your rifle. My non chrome lined 51 Russian will start to rust fast! Like a day. My chromed chinese military, shot it and forgot it for 2 weeks, all was still good.
 
My Norinco has the Chrome lined barrel and i am debating about possibly using only non-Corrosive Ammo but this is my cleaning routine...first i run Windex down the barrel followed by boiling water then run a few dry patches then i run some Solvent through then more dry patches, then Oil her up with CLP...the Rest of the Rifle (Gas system,trigger group,receiver and bolt assy) pretty much the same Windex followed by Hot water then i oil her up good..except for the Firing Pin.. i use extremely light oil on that and none in the Bolt Channel...you don t want crap building up in there because if you have a free floating firing pin as most SKS Rifles do the pin may stick in the forward position causing (although rare) the dreaded slamfire.

btw-make sure the water down the barrel is hot so it will evaporate off and no moisture remains.
 
don't forget about the bolt, I used a small pot of boiling water and palmolive, let the bolt sit for a while. This was when my 1950 Tula was new to me and unfired by me. The cleaning job did reveal some minor pre existing pitting on the bolt, I figure from corrosive ammunition.
 
If you don't get time to clean it for a few days, just spray the crap out of it with WD40 til it drips out the barrel and gas piston. Clean it properly later.
 
R:d:R:d:Huh? You piss on your gun?....Is that how the communist soldier cleaned his rifle in the field? Q: How come the issued oil/solvent bottle thingy? Or do you just get a better cheek weld after a good cleaning/relieving?


BTW...urine is FULL of salts.... that's why you shouldn't drink it {or piss down your barrel}despite what Bear Grylls would have you believe. It is however sterile {if fresh} and can be used to irrigate serious lacerations....and that's all I got on that subject!:D
 
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Don't sweat it, keep all working parts well covered with CLP (WD40 does the job in a pinch, just not as well) between uses and you're pretty much GTG.

The corrosive thing is WAY overrated in my first hand experience, with multiple firearms, most of which are exclusively shooting "corrosive" ammo.

Clean then using the regular methods after every use if you can, otherwise just open the action to make sure it's clear, close it up, remove the dust cover, remove the recoil spring assembly, pop the bolt and bolt carrier assembly out, spray the whole works with CLP until it basically drips with the stuff, give the chamber a good long squirt until it drips out of the barrel. Bring the gas cylinder removal thingy up one notch, remove the gas cylinder, let the gas piston fall into your hand, cover the gas piston with a good, dripping dose of CLP, spray CLP in the back end then the front end of the gas cylinder, shake the excess off, reassemble the gas piston assembly, you're pretty much done with the immediate stuff, takes about a minute, you can do it at the range before you pack up.

Your gun won't rust.

Don't sweat it.
 
My method:

Shoot shoot shoot shoot, repeat for god knows how many rounds :)

Boil the bolt, pour boiling water down the gas tube, and barrel. Dry it off, couple patches of solvent, then couple patches of oil.

I think we need a sticky for this topic
 
plinker 777 said:
R:d:R:d:Huh? You piss on your gun?....Is that how the communist soldier cleaned his rifle in the field? Q: How come the issued oil/solvent bottle thingy? Or do you just get a better cheek weld after a good cleaning/relieving?


BTW...urine is FULL of salts.... that's why you shouldn't drink it {or piss down your barrel}despite what Bear Grylls would have you believe. It is however sterile {if fresh} and can be used to irrigate serious lacerations....and that's all I got on that subject!:D
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It also gets rid of atheletes foot. Just piss on those suckers in the shower. I use the boiling water method. But I use wd40 aswell. Then I lube with clp. Does anyone use the gunzilla clp. It is supposed to clean up corrosive salts? Havnt herd anyone talk much about it tho.
 
Corrosive ammo isnt 'acid' corrosive. It has salt. Salt causes rust. Best way to get rid of salt? Just like with salt stains in your combat boots in battleschool - HOT WATER. You dont need anything fancy. In fact, it's perfectly acceptable to completely immmerse your weapon in a tub of hot water for a few minutes. Want to see it in action? Pour some recently boiled water in a glass, sprinkle in some salt and stir it around notice the salt has dissovled. Cleaning up after corrosive ammo isnt about neutralizing acid - its about dissolving salt.

The experts above have it exactly right - boil some water in a teapot and pour it into the breech of the weapon so it runs out the muzzle - a few kettles worth is enough. Then use your air compressor to blow out the water, then clean and oil as per. Youtube has a lot of demontration videos.
 
Or you could just use the issue cleaning kit.

I dont imagine commie soldiers put on a brew after every battle just to give their weapons a bath.

Over the years I have shot many crates of corrosive ammo through all types of SKSs, chrome lined and otherwise. All I ever used to clean them was the issued kit and I never had any problems with corrosion except for one time I negligently failed to clean my rifle until the next day after a very long day of shooting. I just squirted some oil down the bore and went to bed. There was some rust on the gas piston waiting for me when I got up in the morning.

Remember. These are military rifles. Not Ferraris.
 
Thanks for all the great responses. I'm on an sks only board and they are a little more terrified of the affects of corrosive ammo. Some people on that board recommend doing a bit of preliminary cleaning before even leaving the range.

I really like this forum thus far. Lots of friendly people and intelligent posting.

Thanks again everyone.
 
cleaning techniques will all vary as you have seen here. You will notice one common piece of info in each one: it works! Some get more crazy about it than others, but we each own them for different reasons. Some are collectors pieces, while others are cheap guns that shoot cheap ammo, so attitudes toward cleaning will vary. Just take care of the rifle and the rifle will take care of you.
 
brokensoldier said:
Corrosive ammo isnt 'acid' corrosive. It has salt. Salt causes rust. Best way to get rid of salt? Just like with salt stains in your combat boots in battleschool - HOT WATER. You dont need anything fancy. In fact, it's perfectly acceptable to completely immmerse your weapon in a tub of hot water for a few minutes. Want to see it in action? Pour some recently boiled water in a glass, sprinkle in some salt and stir it around notice the salt has dissovled. Cleaning up after corrosive ammo isnt about neutralizing acid - its about dissolving salt.

The experts above have it exactly right - boil some water in a teapot and pour it into the breech of the weapon so it runs out the muzzle - a few kettles worth is enough. Then use your air compressor to blow out the water, then clean and oil as per. Youtube has a lot of demontration videos.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I simply strip and pour a few kettles of boiling water on all the small metal parts in my kitchen sink. I pour boiling water down the gas tube over the sink. I lean the barrel assembly against my garage door (outside) and pour a kettle of boiling water down the barrel and in the receiver area. The water is so hot, that it all quickly evaporates. I then give everything a light coat of Rem oil, and re-assemble. It takes me about an hour to do it. No big deal. I don't have a spot of rust on any of my SKS, and the berm at my local gun club can attest to the ton of lead that I added!
 
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