AK 74 surplus ammo! How to Clean?

[AgoobyGOOBER]

I got a bulgarian ak 74 with the chromed barrel and milled reciever. I got this first because it is a great gun and also because ammo is cheap. With it i got some of the russian surplus ammo and was wondering that since it is corrosive in what special way should i be cleaning the gun. Should i get into the trigger mechanism and clean that as well since it could rust because of the corrosive ammo? It would be great if you could go into some detail so that i know what i am dealing with. Thank you.

[JayBell]

hot soapy water is what I use.
the corrosive priming salts attract water, so you want to wash them out.

pull the gas tube and carrier, and any muzzle brake if it has one.

clean the gas tube well, and scrub the gas piston and bolt head, and the inside surface of the brake, and the inside of the gas block.

I use a plastic brush and hot water down the bore, then follow with oil after drying.

DON'T let it sit a day or 2, so it right away.

thats it...

[brian]

hot water, simple as that.
swab the bore and the gas tube.
rinse the bolt and the carrier off.
take the flash hider off and rinse it well.
oil everything and put back together.

the only thing the receiver needs is wiped out every now and again, just to get the sealer and other debris that gathers in there out.

there is plenty of snake oil out there for "taking care" of corrosive ammo, but none of it beats plain water....the corrosive "stuff" is water soluble.

[eulogyADD]

Best thing for corrosive ammo is hot water, ammonia helps too. So run a patch down the barrel of a cheap window cleaner with ammonia first, followed by a few with hot water, then a few dry ones. Then clean like you normally would. As for the receiver, fire control, and bolt get 3 rags one for window cleaner, one for the water and one to dry. Give it a quick wipe off and you should be fine.

After about 1500-2000 I clean the piston and squirt out the receiver then dry with a heat gun or hair drier then oil the crap out of it. Had the gun for over a year, with 4000-5000 through it and no rust anywhere.

[YllwFvr]

Good advice. And gotta add what was said earlier, dont let it sit!

I did. For two days. Had to use a rubber mallet to get the bolt to slide back. I felt pretty sore at myself for letting that happen to a firearm.

[brian]

Good advice. And gotta add what was said earlier, dont let it sit!

I did. For two days. Had to use a rubber mallet to get the bolt to slide back. I felt pretty sore at myself for letting that happen to a firearm.

but in true ak fashion, it cleaned up just fine and has worked flawlessly since.....ask me how i know.......

[YllwFvr]

but in true ak fashion, it cleaned up just fine and has worked flawlessly since.....ask me how i know.......

They sure are rugged, thats for sure. Cleaned up and ended up looking better than before. That duracoat looks beautiful

[eddyb74]

I let my Tantal sit for a few hours and then went to shoot it again. The trigger was frozen. I had to really crank on it to get it to fire.

I have been using a foaming bore scrubber and lots of Hoppes. I'm gonna go the hot soapy water route the next time around.

[mak47]

OK, the first thing you need to remember is to calm down about the corrosive ammo. The Russians have used corrosive primers for their military ammo for decades, their guns still work just fine... so will yours.

The areas you need to focus on are the barrel, gas tube, chamber, piston, gas block and muzzle attachment.

You should clean your gun as quickly as possible after shooting it with this ammo, but contrary to paranoid belief, it is unlikely to turn into a pile of rusted metal just because you let it sit for a little while.

The reason your ammo is corrosive is because the chemicals that are released from the primer leave salt deposits in the barrel and gas tube. These deposits attract moisture and the chemical reaction that takes place leads to corrosion. Just like road salt does to your car.

It takes water (either vapor or liquid) to create this reaction. As long as your gun is being stored in an area that is not particularly humid, the reaction will be very slow.

OK, now that you understand why the ammo causes corrosion, and can stop worrying so much about it, we can discuss cleaning options.

Option 1: Hot Soapy Water. It works, but make sure the water is really hot. You need it to evaporate quickly, otherwise you're just adding the second component needed for the corrosive chemical reaction. Immediately after cleaning with this, you need to clean with a lubricating cleaner like CLP. This will further clean the weapon, and protect the metal from moisture.

Option 2: Windex. Until recently, this was my preferred method. I don't have the space to use the hot water method, and that can get messy, so I used Windex. The Ammonia in Windex is the chemical equivalent to the "Hot" in the previous method. It's basically just soapy water with some ammonia in it to help it evaporate quickly. Just clean your gun with it, make sure it's dry, then repeat the process with CLP for the same reasons above.

Option 3: I have recently switched to using Gunzilla brand cleaner/lubricant/protectant to clean all of my guns. It is much easier on the skin than others, the smell is not nearly as bad, and it cleans off your hands with simple soap and water. My girlfriend is very sensitive to the other cleaners so I thought I'd give this stuff a try...no more whining!

More importantly, the manufacturer states that Gunzilla dissolves corrosive salts and can be used without the aforementioned methods, thus allowing me to use only one cleaning product for all of my guns.

So far, the experience has been good. The product seems to work as described, I've found no evidence of any corrosion in my AK-74 using only Gunzilla. I've only shot/cleaned the gun twice since the switch, so I'm not entirely sure I totally trust the stuff just yet, but all signs point to yes as the magic 8 ball would say.

Gunzilla Manufacturer's Website

Good luck, and congratulations on the purchase. There's a lot of horror stories out there regarding corrosive ammo, but most of the time, there are other factors that contribute to those outcomes. Corrosive primers are extremely reliable, they store well over time, and therefore enhance the reliability of your AK. Just keep it dry, keep it clean, and have fun with it!

Any other questions, feel free to PM me.

[mojo]

I always thought that the amount of ammonia in Windex was very minimal, and wasn't enough to "counter-react" the salt. The reason that it works is because it's mostly just soapy water.

Don't use it so I don't know.