Rust in Barrel of My SKS

CarloNord

CarloNord

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As the title says. I was looking over my little buddy, just got that adjustment tool for the front sight, so I was toying with it a bit to see if it was going to be a pain to adjust. Which is was, PB blaster helped, but that's not the point of this thread. After doing some work, I noticed the end of my barrel, just the rifling, had a little bit of an orange tint. So what's that about, I've only fired it like 20 times, and I cleaned it before and after. It's been about 4 weeks since I last went to the range with it, so I guess this has been building slow.

So I'd like to ask, it's only some rust tinting, doesn't look like it's raised at all. I'm going to be giving him a hell of a cleaning tomorrow, how should I do it? I've read around that hot water from a kettle or a steamer works great to get rid of the salts in there after shooting. Some say ammonia, some say windex. Clue me in please, as I'm quite new as a gun owner and would hate to make big mistakes. As an aside, is there a good place to find new barrels for an SKS? Just in case in the future I have fired enough rounds or something else has happened which means I need a new one.
 
Terry was faster ^^^^^^

Is it rust, or is it copper wash off the bullets?
Try some regular bore cleaner on a patch , if the patch turns blue it was copper not rust.
 
Joys of corrosive ammo.

I got a hose that I hook up to my faucet and I flush the system out, with hot water for a min or two. Basically sit the muzzle into the drain.

BTW SKS barrels are pinned and pressed in. You're not going to rebarrel it short of buying a new barreled receiver, or whole new SKS. But you need to shoot 10s of thousands of rounds to really wear it out. Then again it is just a SKS.
 
You shooting corrosive or non-corrosive? If any part of you thinks it may be copper fouling, there is copper remover bore solvent you can use. There are several brands, I use (and am happy with) Hoppes M-Pro7 copper solvent.
 
Pretty much since World War One, most militaries learned that it takes hot water to flush out salts from the bore that is left behind by corrosive ammunition - not oil based cleaners - they do not dissolve salt - hot water does - ammonia might, but not needed - just flush with hot water until barrel is warm to hot - dries immediately on the inside if barrel is hot - I think British Army WWI was one quart of boiling water through the bore - boiling - bubbling hot, not "warm" that you can put your hand into. I suppose that has to be re-discovered every 10 years or so. So proper cleaning after shooting even one round of corrosive is to flush with hot water, scrub or patch out fouling down to clean metal, then a coating of oil or grease to preserve the bore. Also need to know the difference between rust and copper deposit - a good bore cleaner usually turn blue on the patches when it works on copper. FYI - at least for past 10 years or so, Hoppe's No. 9 does not count as a "good bore cleaner". I mostly use WipeOut, but there are other "good" bore cleaners that remove copper.
 
50728744207-4279bf0184-c.jpg
So after taking a flashlight to it, maybe its not rust, but it is dirty. Looks almost dusty inside, but not dark dust, a copper like dust. I'm trying to see about getting a picture but the link I wanted isn't working.

@squidxm I'm shooting non-corrosive, but it's Norinco so that's kinda dubious I've heard. Pretty impossible to get anything like Barnaul right now, which I hear is pretty good but expensive.

@Terry & @Potashminer Thanks, I'll give that a try here tomorrow. I am using Hopps No. 9, and will be till I run out, it'd be easier if supply wasn't so limited right now. Hot water it is, hope it'll help if it's copper. If not, well I guess copper cleaner was going to be something I needed eventually anyway.

@Okayshooter Might just be an SKS, but it's also my first gun I've ever owned myself. I like to take care of things, even if they're cheap. But if that's how it is, well, that's how it is.

EDIT: Got the link working.
 
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Hope # 9 will do the job. It does not turn ‘blue’ like some ‘ new’ formula that added chemicals to show the user if there is copper fouling.
I use Montana 50 BMG and Wipe out. Work faster than Hope 9 , but those are not doing a good job on carbon. 9 does.
So the best is to use both or your favorite carbon remover and then copper solution.
 
All the above are great - especially using a brush. All brass is best, including the wire core- they're easily found on Amazon.ca. I also use a specific Carbon solvent to aid in removing the burnt-on carbon inside the barrel. Boretech C-4 is the brand I use and recommend for Carbon, in SKS and all my other rifles, especially .22s. And I would recommend a borescope - about $60 or so on Amazon, too. If you also have a .22 then you need a borescope that is only 0.20 " diameter. Lets you see ALL that you miss with "regular" cleaning. When I got one I had to "re-clean" all my rifles !!
 
Pics of Carbon and Copper fouling

Here's a slightly fuzzy pic of the muzzle of my Ruger .223 before cleaning, then one of mid-barrel before cleaning. You'll see the Black of burnt-on Carbon and the "gold" of the Copper. Both came clean with the solvents I mentioned. I don't have stills of my SKS, but I'll try a vid of it too. Nope, my Postimage won't accept my borescope vids. It was really worse that the Ruger with both solid black bars of carbon and copper from the Milsurp.


5-16-Ruger-4-mzl-1.jpg
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5-16-Ruger-bore-1-nr-chbr.jpg
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Rust inside the barrel of an SKS simply means that it's properly broken in. Here's how I like to do mine. First fire approx. 500 rounds of corrosive ammo through it, next, making sure that you have not cleaned it, throw it into a wet ditch and leave it there for six months. Should be just about right after this.
 
OkayShooter said:
Joys of corrosive ammo.

I got a hose that I hook up to my faucet and I flush the system out, with hot water for a min or two. Basically sit the muzzle into the drain.

BTW SKS barrels are pinned and pressed in. You're not going to rebarrel it short of buying a new barreled receiver, or whole new SKS. But you need to shoot 10s of thousands of rounds to really wear it out. Then again it is just a SKS.
Click to expand...

I don't know what the ratios are but most SKS rifles, other than the Chinese made rifles, were actually threaded. I have both threaded and pinned Chinese examples.
 
CarloNord said:
50728744207-4279bf0184-c.jpg
So after taking a flashlight to it, maybe its not rust, but it is dirty. Looks almost dusty inside, but not dark dust, a copper like dust..
Click to expand...

What year is it? If there is a silver ring around the muzzle (can’t quite see because of glare), the barrel is chrome lined. Early production barrels (pre-1953 if I remember correctly) were not chromed. The chamber is not chromed on all years, make sure to keep it clean and oiled at all times.

Re: barrel life - steel jacketed milsurp ammo will likely eat the rifling well before 10k rounds.
 
5.45 said:
What year is it? If there is a silver ring around the muzzle (can’t quite see because of glare), the barrel is chrome lined. Early production barrels (pre-1953 if I remember correctly) were not chromed. The chamber is not chromed on all years, make sure to keep it clean and oiled at all times.

Re: barrel life - steel jacketed milsurp ammo will likely eat the rifling well before 10k rounds.
Click to expand...

There's a stamp on the top of the receiver saying 1950r, so I assume that's the year. There is no silver ring around the muzzle, it's just black. As such I don't think it's chromed.
 
OkayShooter said:
Needless to stay more work, than probably any gunsmith wants to do.
Click to expand...

I've seen more than a few SKS rifles that have been re barreled. Some with replacement barrels, that used to be available from Lever Arms and some with .308 diameter barrels from Green Mountain.

The main issue with rebarreling an SKS is the metric threads. Some smiths lathes aren't set up to cut them or they don't want to learn the process.

The barrels that came out of Lever Arms were back around 2010. I believe they were new in white, Yugo barrels that needed the gas port drilled, once it was in place and head spaced properly.

Doing the drilling after installation would be easier than pre drilling and trying to index it properly later.

The tenon threads were already cut and the chambers just needed a a reamer run in a few thousandths to assure proper headspace. Not really a difficult procedure.

The thing is, back then an FTRed Soviet block rifle could be had for $150 and the new Yugo barrels were $65. By the time a smith charged out his time, most people would just as soon purchase another rifle. Unless of course they have an early pre 53 Chinese, which has a threaded barrel tenon and a blade bayonet. These seem to have always demanded a premium price.
 
CarloNord said:
50728744207-4279bf0184-c.jpg
So after taking a flashlight to it, maybe its not rust, but it is dirty. Looks almost dusty inside, but not dark dust, a copper like dust. I'm trying to see about getting a picture but the link I wanted isn't working.

@squidxm I'm shooting non-corrosive, but it's Norinco so that's kinda dubious I've heard. Pretty impossible to get anything like Barnaul right now, which I hear is pretty good but expensive.

@Terry & @Potashminer Thanks, I'll give that a try here tomorrow. I am using Hopps No. 9, and will be till I run out, it'd be easier if supply wasn't so limited right now. Hot water it is, hope it'll help if it's copper. If not, well I guess copper cleaner was going to be something I needed eventually anyway.

@Okayshooter Might just be an SKS, but it's also my first gun I've ever owned myself. I like to take care of things, even if they're cheap. But if that's how it is, well, that's how it is.

EDIT: Got the link working.
Click to expand...


No such thing as "Just an SKS" They're fine rifles for what they were designed to do, at the time they were made. I've used one under some extreme conditions and it never failed, not once.

Treat that rifle properly and it will likely outlast you, depending on how much you shoot. Don't expect "sniper" accuracy out of it, especially with surplus or full metal jacketed bullets. It was intended to shoot around 3.5 inch groups at 100 meters. Some will shoot much better.
 
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