Question About Czech Surplus Ammo

johnny1984

johnny1984

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
23   0   0
Location
My house...in the middle of my street.
Hey Folks!

I recently bought my first SKS and was wondering about ammo for it. I am a little wary of the surplus Czech ammo that is out there but the price is just so good.

I always clean my rifles after every shoot so is there anything to worry about with the corrosive aspect of the ammo if I keep cleaning after every fire

Thanx for the info!
 
You would now have a delay to clean. To best would be to rinse it with WD40 or boiling water before leaving the range. Then you can clean it at home within 2 days.
 
wildphil24 said:
You would now have a delay to clean. To best would be to rinse it with WD40 or boiling water before leaving the range. Then you can clean it at home within 2 days.
Click to expand...

Sorry but did you just suggest he pour water down his barrel then leave it for 2 days? :eek:

Hoppes #9 claims to clean corrosive primers so if you cant give it a thorough cleaning immediately run a few patches of hoppes through it.

Really it only takes 10 minutes to clean once you have a good system rehearsed. Boiling water followed by a couple dry patches. Then clean like normal but be sure to clean the gas tube and gas port and your good.
 
I have a rule-of-thumb for any and all 7.62x39 ammo.
IT'S ALL CORROSIVE SO CLEAN IT!
So far no problem's.
I bought a bunch that old WW2 US issue GI bore cleaner that stink's.
I use it and like the smell!
 
Well if home is 2 days away, then I could see boiling water at the range.....LOL

as mentioned, have a fun day shooting, come home, take the rifle apart, drop all the parts in the laundry tub, grab your kettle, boil some water, pour all over the metal parts, down the barrel, gas tube, careful now, as the metal pars will be hot, towel dry, lube all exposed metal with some oil, run your patches down the barrel as you would any other rifle, keep the firing pin dry, reassemble, and put it away until your next outing

all in all about 25 minutes of work, unless your really slow ( and I don't mean that in a negative way), it might take you 45 minutes
 
Use Windex.

Give it a spray at the range when your done and you are good to go. The ammonia in the Windex counter acts the corrosive salts in the ammo, so no more rust. You are then free to clean you rifle at you leisure. Been doing this for more than a year and it works great. I shoot about a crate and a half a year. (Only had the gun for a year, number will be higher this year)

Shawn
 
The boiling water thing does work. You don't leave it in for two days though.

You use boiling water to flush out the salts from the ammo, it is boiling because it evaporates faster, so no rusting form the water. You can use room temp water but you would need to swab the bore really good to dry the water. Boiling water is easier as you don't need to swab it right away.

But, this is a pain in the ass, so I just use Windex. Give a few spays down the barrel at the range and clean it later.

Shawn
 
I have hosed down the gun with Windex (the no name brand stuff with lots of ammonia) or I just soak it down with WD40. Never a problem. Clean as usual when you get around to it, but I always do it the same day.
 
don't forget guys, the corrosive salts are not just in the rifle bore itself, they are all over, in the gas tube, on the extractor, the firing pin, the breech, trigger group and so on....

so a full breakdown, and pouring the hot water over everything metal will neutralize the salts from everything they have been in contact with....

just dry it all down, oil it up, and your good to go

many ideas here, pick the one you feel most comfortable with.......
 
WD-40 is very underrated its all i use in my SKS and 858 beater bush guns i spray lots on the bolt face, gas block, piston and barrel let it sit for a few, then wipe em down with a rag and run bore snake down the barrel a few times. ive been doing this for years i never had rust even in the humid west coast climate i live in.. But every year or 1000 rounds i will do a full detailed clean with solvent brushes and patches .. The WD works well and its dirt cheap ...
 
"...anything to worry about..." Nope. The solvent you're using may not clean out the primer salts though. A simple flush with plain hot tap water will do. Cold in a pinch.
Flush the gas system too, then clean as per normal.
Doesn't have to be boiling water. The ammonia in Windex does nothing. It's the water content that flushes out the salts.
 
shawn said:
Use Windex.

Give it a spray at the range when your done and you are good to go. The ammonia in the Windex counter acts the corrosive salts in the ammo, so no more rust. You are then free to clean you rifle at you leisure. Been doing this for more than a year and it works great. I shoot about a crate and a half a year. (Only had the gun for a year, number will be higher this year)

Shawn
Click to expand...

About the only advantage Windex has over plain water is its degreasing properties. It will do a better job of cutting through carbon fouling, which might conceal some of the primer residue. The same can be said for any other water-based cleaner, such as TSP or Simple Green.
 
No need to panic about cleaning or to start the process at the range (LOL)...clean within 24 hours of use and no issues will arrise. I used Windex and hot water followed by a normal cleaning job and never had any issues. Takes a bit longer then most guns but its a good trade off for getting to shoot it lots for cheap.
 
WD40 might be a good temporary corrosion inhibitor but it loses it's lubricative ability after about half an hour.
And it'll neutralize the existing grease and oil that your guns innards rely on for smooth working. Also I've heard it hardens up when it ages and can create added friction on the fine metal parts in your action.
I say leave WD40 in the garage for your lawn care stuff, and mix up a batch of Ed's red instead. A gallon for 25$ will last you a hella long time.

Oh yeah and Synthetic 5W30 is a pretty good gun oil. But you should use Lithium grease on the bolt rails.
 
I hear about people using windex but the best way is to use ballistol that stuffs the best it cleans and lubes and protects
 
jcpal said:
I hear about people using windex but the best way is to use ballistol that stuffs the best it cleans and lubes and protects
Click to expand...

You can get it at peter smith trading co go online and check it they ship anywhere in canada also go on youtube and check out the ballistol vids and how many people swear by it
 
sunray said:
The ammonia in Windex does nothing. It's the water content that flushes out the salts.
Click to expand...

Well you are the first person I have come across to say this. So I looked it up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonia

"Solubility of salts

Liquid ammonia is an ionising solvent, although less so than water, and dissolves a range of ionic compounds including many nitrates, nitrites, cyanides and thiocyanates. Most ammonium salts are soluble, and these salts act as acids in liquid ammonia solutions. The solubility of halide salts increases from fluoride to iodide. A saturated solution of ammonium nitrate contains 0.83 mol solute per mole of ammonia, and has a vapour pressure of less than 1 bar even at 25 °C (77 °F)."

And we are both wrong to a degree. I had always heard that ammonia was better than water for counter acting the salts. Turns out that water is better, but I don't think the ammonia does nothing either, you would be getting the cleaning properties as well.

So I will say that I was wrong about what the ammonia is doing.

But I will still use it as Windex is mostly water and it has ammonia in it which adds to the cleaning properties. Best of both worlds IMO.

Shawn
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom