Is corrosive ammo that bad?

I just clean and oil. Everything else has been a waste of time for me. I also oil the firing pin and don't clean it often. Oil prevents rust and eliminates the need to disassemble the bolt every time. Very little material builds up in there, after hundreds of rounds there is slight fine particulate matter suspended in the oil. It would have to sit for decades to congeal enough to cause a slamfire. It would take thousands of rounds to warrant a cleaning.
 
Nothing wrong with the ammo, I've found my SKS's really like the Czech stuff. I started out trying to clean as I was used to, with Hoppes and oil, but could never get that light surface rust to stop forming. A buddy turned me on to boiling water and I haven't had an issue since. I turned up the heat on my hot water tank now, and use a deep laundry sink as a 'parts washer' of sorts. I have a floral pattern watering can with a narrow tube spout that fits perfectly in the chamber for the barrel rinse, then I rinse the bolt and gas bits off in the sink with the hottest water possible. A quick brush and scrub, followed with a coat of G96 and you're good to go. It really doesn't take that long after you do it once or twice.
 
I use the hot water method too, and if you use boiling water the metal parts get so hot they are hard to touch and dry very quickly! As a backup I picked up a small hair dryer that also works well.
Also a small spray bottle with some methanol would chase out the water from small areas and would evaporate itself very quickly (for you truckers out there from what I understand brakeline antifreeze is almost pure methanol with some lubricants added to keep rubber seals from drying out. could be just the thing to use and very cheap.)
 
Press fits like the SKS firing pin retainer and Mosin Nagant extractor should not be removed during regular cleaning. Each removal and reinstallation causes measureable wear. Soon these interference fits will become clearance fits and the parts will no longer be secure. The "once a year" recommendation is good advice.

I shoot lots of corrosive ammunition. I clean carefully with Hoppe's #9 and apply light oil. I have seen no ill effects so I personally see no need for the Windex, boiling water etc. To each his own....
 
The corrosive com-bloc ammo is supposed to work down to -60 degrees Celcius. So the real question is, "Is it that good?"

AS mentioned above, just clean well after use. I get the heeby-jeebies firing corrosive out of my expensive CZ858, but I wouldn't be concerned about the SKS.
 
tootall said:
Ignore anyone that says "Just spray Windex down the bore." unless they offer a replacement guarantee.
Click to expand...

Really? I've only ever used Windex, Hoppes #9 and G96 CLP on my Mosins, TT33, SVT-40, and SKS's after corrosive ammo. Never had any problems with surface rust, pitting or damage.

I suppose I could also add that my guns are stored in a safe with a large volume of desiccant that is regularly changed.
 
Last edited:
Personally I never felt comfortable to use water on guns. Soviet Army used to have alkali solution for cleaning guns, this is supposed to dissolve corrosive salts and provide acceptable cleaning. Generally a regular soap has alkali in it, so Windex should work at least because it has soap, ammonia might help, but I'm not sure. Anyway I put about 1400 rounds of corrosive through my SKS and I clean is first with Windex, then use Hoppes9. Recently I found that I like Breakfree CLP better than Hopes, but anyway my SKS doesn't have any rust yet.
 
A major step for me is the initial preemptive treatment of the bore and gas tube at the range immediately after shooting corrosive.

1.Windex down the bore, breech to muzzle.
2.Spray of G96/BoreBrite in the gas tube and action.
3. WD40 down the bore.
4. Pack up the rifle until FULL strip & clean 1-2hrs later. (No water needed now as a result at this point)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom